McCain has been bombarded all summer with attacks on him for opposing repeal. In mid-July, Birmingham, Ala., lawyer Harold Apolinsky, a longtime crusader against the estate tax, sent 23,600 letters to contributors who gave at least $2,000 to 15 senators opposed to repeal. McCain contributors were told: "Sen. McCain has shockingly failed to act on an issue of extreme importance to you." Contending that McCain's refusal to support estate tax repeal "may benefit and please the special interests, who've funneled millions of dollars into his many political campaigns," it asked backers to "contact" McCain and lobby him for his vote.
In August, the American Family Business Institute sent letters to all of McCain's supporters recorded as giving him $1,000 or more, requesting their help in changing his vote to support repeal. On Aug. 29, the Club for Growth revealed TV ads personalized for targeted senators -- four Democrats and McCain: "Sen. John McCain wants to keep the death tax. Isn't a lifetime of taxes enough?" The McCain ads are running in New Hampshire, the first presidential primary state.
"This one's all about political pressure," is an anti-estate tax lobbyist's comment about McCain. But that surely misreads the war hero who withstood torture and solitary confinement during six years in a communist prison camp. McCain has displayed immunity to letter-writing and TV ad campaigns.
Likely to affect him more is advice from close supporters. They say he may get away with diverging from the Republican consensus on campaign finance reform, global warming and the highway and energy bills, but tax policy is another matter. Nothing unifies Republicans more than the estate tax. McCain's willingness to support cloture and a compromise bill signals he recognizes that political reality.