This is from McCain’s website. This is his position, in his own words:
On abortion rights:
John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.
Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.
However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion. Once the question is returned to the states, the fight for life will be one of courage and compassion - the courage of a pregnant mother to bring her child into the world and the compassion of civil society to meet her needs and those of her newborn baby. The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level.
Except, of course, McCain’s voting on funding for programs for teen pregnancy is goddamn abysmal. Also, it sounds like he is relying on some community organizers for his Plan B.
On same sex marriage (entitled Protecting Marriage)
The family represents the foundation of Western Civilization and civil society and John McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It is only this definition that sufficiently recognizes the vital and unique role played by mothers and fathers in the raising of children, and the role of the family in shaping, stabilizing, and strengthening communities and our nation.
(emphasis added)
You simply cannot support McCain on civil rights issues if you believe in a woman’s right to reproductive autonomy, and that gay couples are just as much a family as straight couples. I get that people think he is going to lower their taxes and all that. He isn’t - he can’t, in any meaningful way - but even if he would - the cost of voting for him affects so much more than the pocketbook. And I simply don’t get how anyone can sign off on that cost.
