Despite the fashionable opinion that John McCain’s “maverick” reputation was merely an image concocted by his political handlers and sold to the media, McCain really used to have a tendency to vote independently of his party not too long ago. As recently as 2006, according to National Journal’s calculations of his votes that year, he was only the 46th (out of 55 Republicans) most conservative senator. But in 2010? He was tied, with seven other Republicans, for the most conservative voting record. [National Journal]
