Long story short on the present day issue which is generating a ton of headlines is that Donald Trump said that Mexico was sending their criminals to the US (paraphrasing here so I can get to the point of this article), then John McCain called people that agree with Trump on illegal immigration "crazies," to which Trump fired back and said McCain is “not a war hero.” But then, Trump immediately modified his statement saying– four times– that McCain is a war hero: “He is a war hero.” “He’s a war hero because he was captured.” “He’s a war hero, because he was captured.” “I believe, perhaps, he’s a war hero. But right now, he’s said some very bad things about a lot of people.”
Caught up? Good! Now lets take a look at the underlying issue of why John McCain is calling people against illegal immigration and amnesty "crazies."
John McCain has a documented history of anger, known for tirades, calling his opponents ""sh*theads," "a**holes" and in at least one case "a f*cking jerk."..
In 2011 Huffington Post pulled up Nexis results on Angry Man McCain. It is a long list of examples which include McCain admitting to having anger issues, other Congressman describing McCains "temper," colleagues describing McCain as "Senator Hothead," and a scuffle with a 92 yr-old Senator.
At the time, I wrote on my Political blog, Wake up America "McCain just voted Aye, another one of Arizona's Senators that needs to be dealt with, and he can kiss his presidential aspirations goodbye." (Later it ended up being between McCain and Obama, so many held their noses and voted for mcCain anyway, but some claim that vote was the defining moment and why the GOP lost the 2008 presidential race to Obama.)
By 2008, the bill had been defeated and John McCain claimed he heard his constituents when he spoke at the 2008 CPAC, shown in the video below, where he was booed, but conservatives didn't forget his amnesty plans and support. McCain stated at CPAC: "Surely, I have held other positions that have not met with widespread agreement from conservatives. I won't pretend otherwise nor would you permit me to forget it. On the issue of illegal immigration, a position which provoked the outspoken opposition of many conservatives, I stood my ground aware that my position would imperil my campaign. I respect your opposition for I know that the vast majority of critics to the bill based their opposition in a principled defense of the rule of law. And while I and other Republican supporters of the bill were genuine in our intention to restore control of our borders, we failed, for various and understandable reasons, to convince Americans that we were. I accept that, and have pledged that it would be among my highest priorities to secure our borders first, and only after we achieved widespread consensus that our borders are secure, would we address other aspects of the problem in a wa y that defends the rule of law and does not encourage another wave of illegal immigration."
(Article continues below the clip)
Via Vanity Fair in 2010, we see the disdain McCain held for his constituents, Conservatives and those against illegal immigration and amnesty:
In 2006, I watched McCain tell a group of sensible, blue-suited Republican businessmen in Milwaukee, who asked about immigration, “By the way, I think the fence is least effective. But I’ll build the goddamned fence if they want it.” His presidential campaign nearly crashed completely in the summer of 2007, when he was so low on money that he flew commercial coach with just an aide or two in tow. But McCain had campaigned diligently for Bush’s 2004 re-election, publicly, if awkwardly, hugging the man he had despised, and then for Republican candidates around the country in the 2006 midterms. Eventually, as his mother had predicted, the Republican Party held its nose and made him its nominee. It’s been downhill ever since.
In April 2014, McCain called it a "stain on America's honor" that we haven't passed amnesty yet. (Video here)
McCain never gave up on amnesty, he simply pretended to have "heard" his critics when it was politically expedient, as proven by his backing Barack Obama's open borders and amnesty as described at DownTrend in February 2015.
Not only did McCain never give up on amnesty, but he never forgave those against illegal immigration and against giving amnesty to illegal aliens, which is what the "crazies" remark was all about which is also why Trump says McCain should be the one apologizing:
"A week ago, I had thousands of people in Phoenix, Arizona, talking about the whole horrible situation with illegal immigration," Trump said. "We had thousands and thousands of people. And he called them 'crazies.' He insulted them. He should apologize to them, by the way. He insulted them, and then I insulted back."
Trump had the same message for McCain on ABC's "This Week." According to a transcript, he said: "We had thousands of people, and he said they're all crazies. He called them crazies. And frankly, I think he owes them an apology."
