The vicious attacks on John McCain show the depths to which American conservatism has sunk to under Trump

McCain's chief sin today is that he is one of a number of conservatives who don’t much care for President Donald Trump, and has been willing to say as much

Imagine the response if a Democrat described Republican Senator John McCain, tortured as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese army during America’s war in South East Asia, as “Songbird McCain” despite there being no evidence that he gave his captors anything at all useful.

Imagine, too, the reaction to a functionary from that party had they said of his opposition to one of its nominees while battling against an aggressive form of brain cancer: “It doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway.”

Such comments would have provoked a tsunami of outrage, that would have swept away the guilty parties and taken a lot of people with them. Rightly so. They should be beyond the pale even in the bare knuckle brawl that is modern democratic politics.

But what may serve as parting shots at the ailing Arizona Senator came from his own side. They were attacks from conservatives.

There is no better evidence of the way that movement is eating itself in America than the way it is treating McCain, who is publishing what will likely serve as a valedictory book in the form of The Restless Wave.

In researching this piece I gritted my teeth and trawled twitter to gauge the reaction. The ugly memes and McCain conspiracy theories atop Make America Great Again hashtags were depressingly common.

It was notable that many (although not all) of the people rushing in to defend him against them identified as Democrats. They made use of another popular hashtag, “BlueWave”, referring to what they hope will be the result of the forthcoming US mid term elections.

It’s hard to imagine McCain welcoming that. He is often described as a maverick and has repeatedly proven that he can work across the floor of the US Senate, and in so doing keep its government working given that its structures demand some level of bipartisanship to get anything much done.

He notably spared the flagship healthcare reform of his erstwhile opponent Barack Obama from being gutted by voting against his party’s attempt to repeal it. He has been a strong advocate of campaign finance reform.

Yet, while his condition has granted him a certain freedom from the pressure to conform to the desires of his party, McCain is still a conservative, and his record makes that clear.

His 2017 rating from the American Conservative Union stands at only 57 per cent based on his votes, but his lifetime score is a solid 80.91. He has had numerous prior years in the 90s.

In the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, the New York Times reported him as the Senate’s top recipient of money from the US National Rifle Association with $7.74m. Crowdpac, which rates candidates on who funds them, gave him a 4.3C, with 10C being the most Conservative and 10L being the most liberal. Meanwhile, Americans for Democratic Action gives him a Liberal Quotient (LQ) of just 5 per cent for 2016.

And don’t forget, he won a US Republican presidential primary.

His chief sin today is that he is one of a number of conservatives who don’t much care for President Donald Trump, and has been willing to say as much.

This has put him squarely him in the firing line of a movement which has become more religious cult than political project.

American conservatism had come to regard dissent from its core positions as tantamount to apostasy before the advent of Trump, but now the mere suggestion of it is enough to have those who indulge thrown to the keyboard lions. The latter clearly take the unpleasant way their hero comports himself and the language he uses as an inspiration.

I was particularly struck by a tweet from a woman by the name of Jody Butler. It reads: “If John McCain doesn’t want shots fired from the WH while in his current medical condition then he needs to stop firing shots at the White House! #SowingAndReaping #TitForTat #McCain #KeepAmericaGreat”

Butler doesn’t appear to see the contrast between her description of herself as “a Child of the Most High God, a wife, mom, daughter, sister, & friend! Love God! Love people! Be blessed & be a blessing!” and the bile she spits.

But she’s hardly alone in that.

I don’t imagine McCain is at all worried about taking shots from either her or the White House. He’s spent decades in the bear pit of American politics. Phil Boas, a columnist for the Arizona Republic, suggested that the comments may even serve to inspire him in his battle against cancer.

“If you don’t think the Arizona senator is happy that he’s still punching and people are punching back, you don’t know John McCain,” he opined.

That’s something for Butler, and the rest of the ugly trolls, to chew on.

If decent Americans react to their behaviour by sending that blue wave crashing over Washington there would be a certain irony in their nastiness helping McCain punch back against his cancer for long enough to see it.