The Wall Street Journal-20080122-Politics - Economics- McCain Keeps Populist Pitch- Republican Is More Teddy Roosevelt Than Bush on Business Issues
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Politics & Economics: McCain Keeps Populist Pitch; Republican Is More Teddy Roosevelt Than Bush on Business Issues
Sumter, S.C. -- In the frantic last-minute campaigning here last week, Sen. John McCain made an unusual pitch to voters in a Republican contest: "You're probably talking to one of the great enemies of the pharmaceutical companies in Washington," he told a town-hall style gathering here.
Mr. McCain's primary victory two days later boosted his status, albeit a fragile one, as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. And that makes the 2008 campaign even more nerve-wracking for some in the American business community who already are jarred by intensifying populist attacks from the Democratic field.
The Arizona senator's brand of Republicanism is much more Teddy Roosevelt than George W. Bush, particularly when it comes to relations with big corporations. Over the past seven years, drug companies and other powerful industries have enjoyed the friendliest White House in decades. During that period, Mr. McCain has been a rare Republican willing to tangle with corporate trade groups over their priorities.
Not only did he oppose the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, he voted against transportation funding and oil exploration. His spearheading of campaign-finance overhaul was aimed in many ways at curbing the influence of corporations.
Mr. McCain often talks proudly of defeating a $21 billion contract for Boeing Co. to lease a fleet of refueling tankers to the Air Force. "I admire Boeing," he said in an interview aboard in his campaign bus. But he wasn't afraid to cause a stink when he saw improper dealing between a former Air Force official and the aerospace company. "They were in on a deal that was going to cost taxpayers $6 billion," he said. "If someone in business doesn't like me because of that, then I'm honored by your dislike."
As for Big Pharma, Mr. McCain toned down his rhetoric toward the drug industry. "I'm not an enemy of the pharmaceutical companies," he said on the bus. "I'm an enemy of any legislation that would harm the American consumer." He voted against the 2003 Medicare prescription- drug bill, which secured billions of dollars in revenue for the industry. He joined many Democrats in doing so because the program didn't allow the government to negotiate drug prices or allow the reimportation of American-made drugs from Canada, which imposes price controls.
More broadly, he said: "I'm not anti-business. I'm anti a process that gives them special favors, leverage over average citizens. I'm not saying that in a populist fashion."
To be sure, Mr. McCain's overall economic philosophy is more in line with business groups than are those of the leading Democrats. When Mr. McCain unveiled an economic-stimulus package Thursday, it consisted entirely of corporate tax cuts and no new spending. He now wants to make permanent the Bush tax cuts he originally opposed. In the upcoming Florida primary, which is closed to registered independents, often his most reliable supporters, he needs that economic message to play well with hard-core pro-business Republicans.
Mr. McCain's maverick tendencies to vote against legislation preferred by business groups and fellow Republicans seems to be rooted in a sense that government shouldn't play favorites. He lauds the free-enterprise system's ability to fix problems. But he sees government as a necessary tool. He has called for $4 billion in stipends to help make up lost wages for displaced manufacturing workers. On the issue of climate change, he wants to implement a so- called cap-and-trade system that uses the market to lower emissions. He says he would sign a global treaty to cut greenhouse gases, but only if China and India take part.
Mr. McCain bristles at the notion that his voting record means he's antibusiness. "I've never had a record of being, quote, anti-business. In fact, I'm pro business." He points to support from Wall Street titans John Thain, chief executive of Merrill Lynch & Co., and Henry Kravis, founder of private equity firm Kolberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Orange County, Calif. real-estate mogul Donald Bren is a top fund- raiser.
He refers to rankings from groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Look at my record and at what I've done and not at rhetoric that some people might have," he says.
Yet a look at the Chamber of Commerce's records shows that Mr. McCain is a fickle friend to the group's priorities in Congress. He often ranks near the bottom among Republicans, although higher than most Democrats, in voting for legislation the group supports. In 2001, he voted 50% of the time with the group's preferences.
His opposition is often rooted in disdain for legislation that benefits specific industries or companies and discretionary spending, especially the kind passed through legislative "earmarks" that don't require a formal committee review. He sees overspending as both a cause for the current economic condition and the downfall of the Republican party in the 2006 election. "When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, he said we've got to cut taxes, but we have to cut spending," he said last week in South Carolina. "Unfortunately, in the year 2001, we went the opposite direction."
In fact, amid the current economic-stimulus debate, he takes the somewhat contrarian economic view that curbing government spending is the best way to lift the economy.
"It's out-of-control spending that has been a major factor in being where we are today," he said Saturday. Then, almost on the fly, he proposed a new tax cut to illustrate how eliminating "pork" would stimulate the economy. "Here's one of my proposals: kill the pork- barrel spending. Give every child in America $1,000 in tax credits," he said. "Give Americans a choice: 'What do you want, a Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska?'" he said, referring to a $223 million federal allocation for a bridge to a lightly populated island, "'or do you want every child in America to have a tax credit?'"
