Getting Down To Business

There are many valid reasons for conservatives to have serious reservations about John McCain. Because of his tendency to engage in populist rhetoric against "big business," I've had some concerns about what his attitude toward business would be if he occupied the Oval Office. Although the title of the piece didn't do much to ease my fears, a couple of paragraphs from an article in today's Wall Street Journal--McCain Keeps Populist Pitch (sub req)--did provide some cause for hope:

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."

As a strong supporter of free markets, I want a president who will seek to create a healthy economic and regulatory climate for business in general, not to support specific businesses. Frankly, using the power of the government to support individual companies is exactly what group like the Chamber of Commerce are often after and it's why I'm skeptical of their endorsements of either candidates or specific issues.

This doesn't mean that McCain is entirely solid (and more importantly supportable) on his approach to business issues. What it does mean is that it isn't an area that should necessarily lead free market conservatives to disqualify him as a candidate. One down, many more to go.