On Morning Joe, Harwood again referred to McCain as a "maverick" who "voted against Bush's tax cuts"

Summary: On Morning Joe, John Harwood described Sen. John McCain as a "maverick" without noting any of the numerous actions McCain has taken that undermine that characterization. Harwood later asserted that McCain "voted against Bush's tax cuts" without noting that McCain reversed his position on the tax cuts and now calls for making them permanent, or that he has since offered a different explanation about why he voted against them than he gave at the time.

On the May 13 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, CNBC chief Washington correspondent John Harwood stated: "And in this election, who rose to the top? But -- not the establishment candidates, not the off-the-rack Republican, Mitt Romney, or the establishment candidate, Hillary Clinton. It's John McCain, maverick, at odds with Bush on some things." Harwood later asserted that McCain "voted against Bush's tax cuts" without noting that McCain reversed his position on the tax cuts and now calls for making them permanent, or that he has since offered a different explanation about why he voted against them than he gave at the time.

Harwood has previously referred to McCain's "maverick brand," as Media Matters for America has documented. Indeed, on the action that Harwood again cited as a mark of McCain's independence -- that he voted against the Bush tax cuts in 2001 -- McCain now supports their permanent extension. Moreover, McCain said in a May 26, 2001, floor statement that he opposed the bill providing the tax cuts because "so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief." Yet McCain has since claimed that he originally voted against the tax cuts because they were not paired with spending cuts. During his most recent Morning Joe appearance, Harwood again failed to mention that McCain opposed the tax cuts at the time for disproportionately benefiting the wealthy.

From the May 13 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:

BRZEZINSKI: But you say that the "Washington gridlock may be broken after the general election by reviving the long-dormant political center." Explain.

HARWOOD: We have seen the two parties become increasingly polarized over time. We've got a liberal party and a conservative party. Their bases of support are consistent, they divide the country in consistent ways, we've sent the same electoral map for the last several years. And in this election, who rose to the top? But -- not the establishment candidates, not the off-the-rack Republican, Mitt Romney --

BRZEZINSKI: Right.

HARWOOD: -- or the establishment candidate, Hillary Clinton. It's John McCain, maverick, at odds with Bush on some things --

BRZEZINSKI: From death, by the way. I mean, at one point, his campaign was dead, it appeared.

HARWOOD: Flat on his back.

BRZEZINSKI: Yeah.

HARWOOD: Like down there. [points to floor]

BRZEZINSKI: Down there.

HARWOOD: Right. The one who voted against Bush's tax cuts, the one who's running on capping carbon emissions, as he talked about in his speech yesterday. That's not what you're used to seeing.

—M.A.