A possible origin for the pro-choice McCain impression:

http://archive.salon.com/politics2000/feature/2000/01/14/mccain/index.html

I have to say, I was under the impression myself. The impression has staying power, I think, because he just seems moderate in his manner.

here's a good story you should cover:

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-abortion8feb08,1,2888587.story

McCain is a social conservative. The only place he deviates from the party line is stem cell research and even there he is flexible.

He has already said he will appoint judges in the mold of Roberts, Alito and Scalia. A McCain presidency will guarantee 20-30 years of a conservative federal court system and a far right Supreme Court. All of our civil liberties will be in jeopardy if that comes about. Roe V Wade, good-bye; fourth amendment, been nice knowing you; gay rights, forget about it; anti-trust laws, what were those again?; hello unitary executive.

This idea that McCain is a ‘moderate’ must be stamped out and stamped out hard. Due to the power of the religious right in this country much of the public perceives ‘conservative’ as meaning ‘social conservative’ so when the news media keeps saying ‘McCain is a moderate’ and ‘Conservatives hate McCain’ the perception is that he is not a social conservative and must be ‘pro-choice’ and pro gay rights. Dead wrong. His voting record is solidly ‘pro-life’.

The only places where he deviates from conservatives is on immigration, the Bush tax cuts (which he voted against because there weren’t offsetting spending cuts not because he opposes the idea of giving the rich a free ride) and campaign finance reform. That’s pretty much it. Every place else he is lock step with the party line. And he’s even more warmongering than the Bushies.

If McCain is the "lowest" ranked Senator with "a zero rating" from Planned Parenthood, where are Sam Brownback and James Inhofe? How about Mitch McConnell? Cornyn?

I'm no radical when it comes to reproductive rights; I just wonder about the invective being used against McCain.

By the way, the reason that I am supporting McCain is because he has promised, in no uncertain terms, that he will nominate federal judges in the mold of Roberts and Alito. McCain would be within his rights to remind my fellow conservatives that President Reagan gave us O'Connor and Kennedy, so the "Reagan" bar has been set rather low. And there are vast numbers of conservatives who don't care too much about abortion per se, but who are passionate about judges.

So thank you for reminding the conservative base that there is every good reason to enthusiastically support John McCain.

The guy has a soothing voice, looks like Grampa and calls everybody "my friends," so brains that should know better turn to mush. Kudos to Planned Parenthood for reminding "folks" who this guy really is. We're going to need a lot more of this type of strongminded perception correction in the months ahead.

is you can count on the draft being started up.

You also can't believe anything the man says.

Here's the link.http://www.ppaction.org/ppvotes/Scorecard.html

Wording wasn't clear: he's not the only one to have received a 0% ranking (Cf., as you suggest, Brownback), but -- obviously -- it's as low as you can go.

The link is http://www.ppaction.org/ppvotes/Scorecard.html. They all got 0% ratings for obvious reasons, but only one is running for President. You can rally the base as much as you want, it's not going to be enough.

This is just another straw in addition to the 100-Year War, warrantless surveillance, gross regulatory neglect, permanent tax cuts and an imploding economy.

The fact is that there is very little difference between McCain and George W. Bush.

Thanks all for the link to the Planned Parenthood website.

Please, by all means, all others who haven't seen it, go there for yourselves after reading the Lynn Harris article.

I counted 42 -- Forty-two, FORTY FREAKING TWO! -- Senators who all enjoy a 0% rating from Planned Parenthood.

Let us compare that factoid to the pronouncement in this article: "(McCain has received an impressive zero percent rating from Planned Parenthood, the lowest in the Senate.)" Change one McCain vote, or add one McCain vote on stem cell research, and guess what -- McCain would suddenly have something like "the 55th BEST vote in the Senate on reproductive rights."

So, 42 Senators all enjoy "the lowest [Planned Parenthood rating] in the Senate." Dang, that's an informative "rating."

This is going to be a fun year. Next up: Barack Obama's voting record concerning abortion, dating back to his southside activist and Illinois statehouse days.

The reason I fear McCain being elected...

is you can count on the draft being started up.

No, that's Charlie Rangel, (D-NY) who wants to reinstate the draft.

As that other great New Yorker, Yogi Berra, said; "You could look it up."

Planned Parenthood Action Fund's ranking

Here's the link.http://www.ppaction.org/ppvotes/Scorecard.html

Wording wasn't clear: he's not the only one to have received a 0% ranking (Cf., as you suggest, Brownback), but -- obviously -- it's as low as you can go.

-- Lynn Harris

No, I am sorry but I don't get it. Yes, we knew that a 0% rating was as low as "you can go." You didn't say that McCain 'was one of a large number of Senators with a zero rating.' You slanted the reporting, to make it appear that McCain was an unusually radical abortion foe. Because that fit with your argument. Even though the facts were otherwise.

I'd have a lot more respect for the pro-life forces (I think that if I were a legislator, I'd vote in favor of most reproductive rights, as might Justice Thomas, but as a judge I'd overrule Roe v. Wade in an instant) if their arguments and methods weren't so intellectually dishonest.

McCain is just as moderate as Benny XVI is on married priests or Walt Disney was on tolerance toward Jews.

Perhaps the GOP in-group continues to make sure the Mike Huksterbee is funded to keep focus away from the real evils ideas that McCain carries as baggage. Politicians can be changed every 4 years or so but supreme court justices are for life. Since most decisions of real importance to the nation appear to be made at the Supreme court level, in reality the supreme court becomes the PRIMARY Authority in the land. MAybe who is president is somewhat irrelevant?