Well, the problem is, it doesn’t seem like that at all. It looks more like it’s an argument of convenience. Here’s why I say that.
You speak approvingly of McCain’s vote in 2017 to spike repeal of the ACA. If you disapprove of obstructionism for its own sake, that must mean that you think his vote was made out of some conviction to save the ACA. But if you examine the historical context, it’s absurd to think that.
McCain voted 3 times against the ACA when it was first passed: He voted to prevent cloture on 12/23/09, he voted against Senate passage on 12/24/09, and he voted against the reconciliation bill on 3/25/10.
Then, on 2/2/11, he cast a vote in the Senate to repeal the ACA.
Then, on 12/3/15, he cast a vote in the Senate to repeal the ACA. Here’s what he said about the ACA on the Senate floor:
“Today, I am proud to once again stand with my Republican colleagues as we continue the fight to repeal and replace Obamacare. From the start I opposed the sweeping scope of this healthcare law…”
Then he ran for reelection in the Senate in 2016. Not surprisingly, he campaigned against the ACA.
5/16/16: “The Obamacare system is collapsing and tens of thousands of Arizonans are being forced to find new health-care coverage and brace themselves for higher premiums next year,” McCain campaign spokeswoman Lorna Romero said in a written statement to The Arizona Republic . “Democrat Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick’s continued support of the failed health-care system shows she is nothing more than a rubber-stamp for President Obama and the liberal establishment."
8/29/16: Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is seeking re-election for a 6th term, in a state where Blue Cross Blue Shield is pursuing a rate increase of more than 51%. To Senator McCain, the answer is obvious; Obamacare is unraveling. He tells FOXBusiness.com “the whole thing is collapsing like a house of cards.”
9/16/16: The fundamental problem is they decided they were going to take money from healthy, young Americans to subsidize the health care of not-so-healthy older Americans,” McCain said. “This is why there has to be a repeal.”
McCain opposed the ACA at every single opportunity he had, both rhetorically and with his vote. Then, suddenly, on 7/28/17, after 8 years of railing and voting against the ACA, he suddenly votes to save it, and he does it in a way to maximize the irritation value it has for Trump.
It’s perfectly clear from the record that he cast that vote simply to frustrate Trump, who he dislikes. So, he did what you said you deplore: He voted simply to be obstructionist, against his own stated convictions. Why, then, do you seem to approve of his vote?