McCain's Bid for Re-Election and His Stance on Immigration - Term Paper Example

Policy paper on McCain’s bid for re-election and his stance on immigration The Arizona senator and the Republican Party leader John McCain who lost the last President election in 2008 to the present president Barak Obama is trying to contest the 2012 President election also. In order to get the Republican Party nomination, he is at present fighting hard with some other Republican Party leaders. McCain ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 also, but lost to George W. Bush. In 2010 McCain again won a fifth consecutive senate term and at present he is trying everything possible to get the Republican Party Presidential nomination for 2012. McCain has changed many of his controversial opinions and policies in order get more public acceptance. The critics blame McCain for such fluctuating policies. His major opponent in the Republican Party for the Presidential nomination, Hayworth accused McCain for teaming with Democrats on key issues. He blamed McCain for working with “Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin on campaign finance reform and with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts on an immigration bill that would have created a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants” (U.S. Senate Facing Toughest Re-Election Bid, McCain Moves Right on Several Issues). This paper analyses McCain’s social policies in general and immigration policy in particular. Hayworth and his supporters are particularly troubled by McCain's immigration bill, which they call "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. McCain has since backed off his calls for comprehensive immigration reform, saying the government should focus first on securing the border before figuring out how to handle the millions of illegal immigrants already in the country. He says he opposes amnesty (U.S. Senate Facing Toughest Re-Election Bid, McCain Moves Right on Several Issues). McCain’s major opponent Hayworth and his allies criticize McCain mainly because of his controversial immigration policies. McCain believes that America needs the services of the immigrants for its development and it is necessary to give citizenship to the immigrants. In his opinion, America is facing stiff manpower shortage at present in the employment sector and that is why most of the organizations are outsourcing their jobs to cheap labor markets such as India and China. Obama is trying hard to avoid outsourcing of jobs from America in order to put an end to the uncontrolled capital outflow from America. In McCain’s opinion, by providing citizenships to the illegal immigrants, America will be benefitted from the skills of these people. Moreover, giving citizenships to the immigrants is essential especially under the current globalized environment. On the other hand, Hayworth argues that McCain’s stand would encourage the illegal immigrants further and Americans will lose more jobs as a result of giving citizenship or amnesty" to illegal immigrants. In his opinion, many of the Americans are currently struggling to find suitable jobs for them because of the recent recession. Giving citizenship to the illegal immigrants would further increase the unemployment problems in America. McCain blamed the federal government for failing to control the illegal immigration. In his opinion, the border should be protected well in order to prevent illegal immigration. At the same time, Immigrants who are already in America should be given citizenship on humanitarian basis. “Hayworth, who hopes to tap anti-incumbent sentiments, has campaigned against McCain as a Washington insider who is weak on illegal immigration” (John McCain's reelection bid loses 2 staffers, including campaign manager). Hayworth miscalculated that the majority of the Americans may discard the arguments of McCain in this recession period. Americans are struggling to reshape their economy at present and in order to make more employment in the country, President Obama is trying hard. Obama has recently declared after the recently concluded Indian visit that the Americans may get more than 50000 employment opportunities as a result of the deals signed with the India government. In other words, American administration is currently trying to create more employment opportunities in the country. Under such circumstances, Hayworth calculated that McCain’s immigration policies would be rejected by the public. But his expectations and calculations went absolutely wrong. The arguments of Hayworth and McCain were put into the test when both of them clashed in the August 24, 2010 primary elections. McCain easily defeated Hayworth by a huge 56 to 32 percent margin and moreover, he went on to defeat the Democratic city councilman Rodney Glassman in the general election also. Fritze (2010) has pointed out that around 74% of voters had a favourable opinion of the state's senior senator, John McCain (Fritze). Even though McCain do not have the charisma of President Obama, to fire up the Republicans, many of the Americans still see a future president in McCain because of his huge experience as a senator and straight forward approach. Apart from the immigration policies, many other opinions of McCain have caught the attention of the public. McCain is a strong critic of Obama economic stimulus package of 2009. In his opinion, Obama is spending too much for too little benefits. McCain argued that the taxpayer’s money should not be utilized for assisting the private companies. In his opinion, the entire recession problems occurred in America because of the untidy and unwise policies of the private companies and for that it is illogical and unethical to punish the people.According to Hamby (2010), “John McCain, along with most of the Republicans, has been very good on not raising taxes” (Hamby) Obama’s policies in Afghan war were also undergone severe criticism from the former military leader McCain. In his opinion, the Afghan war can be easily winnable if some fine tuning is done in the war strategies. McCain also criticized Obama’s for stopping the construction of the U.S. missile defense complex in Poland. McCain’s opinion against the Don't ask, don't tell" policy was also caught the attention of the public. “McCain criticized senior military officials when they told Congress this month that they supported repeal and would study how to pull the Don't ask, don't tell" policy off (U.S. Senate Facing Toughest Re-Election Bid, McCain Moves Right on Several Issues). Don't ask, don't tell (DADT) is a policy implemented in US military by law, which prevent the gays and Lesbians from serving openly in the military. Even President Obama is also against this policy. McCain argues that this policy is a violation of human rights. In his opinion, personal life and professional life are entirely different and the military should appoint people based on the merits of professional skills rather than the peculiarities of personal life. There are many prominent personalities who support and oppose the candidature of McCain. McCain’s vice president candidate in the 2008 elections, and the celebrity, Sarah Palin came out publicly in favor of McCain’s candidature for the 2012 elections. In fact Sarah’s entry in politics is owed to McCain. “McCain supporters hope the former Alaska governor's full-throated endorsement, and her well-established following among conservatives, will fortify the senator's campaign” (Somashekhar& Kane) On the other hand, “Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Lincoln Chafee (I) said that John McCainBut the former senator said that when McCain campaigned for him in 2006, he spoke about more nuclear energy and "more troops needed in Iraq” (Fabian). In other words, Lincoln Chafee believes that McCain’s winning of President Election will further increase the conflicts in Iraq. McCain has no hesitation in justifying Iraq war and former president Bush’s Iraq policies. Moreover, he sees no anger in developing more nuclear energy sources, especially at a time when the world is thinking in terms of reducing nuclear power usages. Even though McCain is getting a solid support from the Republicans, his support from the independent public is lacking. From the independent community, only 38 percent approved his policies whereas 51 percent of the republicans supported McCain’s policies according to a poll (U.S. Senate Facing Toughest Re-Election Bid, McCain Moves Right on Several Issues). At the same time, Ponder (2009), has pointed out that “McCain had only a two-point lead, with 45 percent choosing him and 43 percent backing Hayworth” after a poll conducted among republican voters (Ponder). Zakeet (n. d) has pointed out that “McCain was in the midst of the "Keating Five" scandal in which he and four other senators were accused of trying to intimidate regulators on behalf of a real-estate developer later convicted of fraud” and his popularity has come down drastically (Zakeet). Conclusions At this point of time it is difficult to predict who will win the Republican Party nomination for the 2012 election. But a fierce battle is going on mainly between McCain and Hayworth. McCain has openly supported the policies like giving citizenships to the immigration, withdrawal of Don't ask, don't tell (DADT) policy. At the same time he criticized President Obama severely for his inability to use better tactics in Afghan war. He also criticized the huge bailout package declared by Obama for rescuing the industries in America. In short, McCain has well defined and clear stands and opinions about most of the serious matters faced by the Americans; however, he is changing his stands periodically and the opponents blame him for his fluctuating opinions. Works Cited 1. Fabian, Jordan. “Chafee: McCain Helped Torpedo 2006 Reelection Bid.”The Hill. 26 October 2010. Web. 18 November 2010. 2. Fritze, John, “Senator John McCain's Re-election Bid Faces Hurdle.” USA Today. February 2, 2010. Web. 18 November 2010. 3. Hamby, Peter. “Norquist endorses McCain's re-election bid”CNN political ticker February 10th, 2010. Web. 18 November 2010. 4. “John McCain's Reelection Bid Loses 2 Staffers, Including Campaign Manager.”Los Angeles Times. 17 May 2010. Web. 18 November 2010. 5. Ponder, Trish. “Poll Shows McCain’s Re-Election Bid in Trouble.” Pensito Review. Nov. 20, 2009. Web. 18 November 2010. 6. Somashekhar, Sandhya and Kane Paul. “McCain, Palin Reunite in Reelection Effort for Senator.” The Washington Post. March 27, 2010. Web. 18 November 2010. 7. “U.S. Senate Facing Toughest Re-Election Bid, McCain Moves Right on Several Issues.”Fox News, February 13, 2010. Web. 18 November 2010. 8. Zakeet. “Facing Toughest Re-Election Bid, McCain Moves Right on Several Issues”. Web. 18 November 2010. Read More