Reminder: McCain Almost Bolted From the Republican Party

In an oldy but goody, Drudge points us to this article from earlier last year at TheHill.com, Democrats say McCain nearly abandoned GOP. A good reminder that McCain's claim that he is a loyal conservative Republican, while true for his career up until 2000, changed drastically after that year's primary race against George W. Bush. The important thing about this story is that it is uncontested by anyone that it wasn't Democrats who approached McCain, it was McCain's people who contacted them!

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions.

In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist.

Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in the early months of 2001 about switching parties, but in McCain’s case, they said, it was McCain’s top strategist who came to them.

Just keep this in mind when the good Senator talks about being a loyal, Reagan Republican...