WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Sen. John McCain's vote for the $700 billion U.S. financial market bailout hurt his credibility among conservatives, observers and conservative lawmakers say.
Three conservative House Republicans said the Arizona senator and party's presidential nominee missed an important chance to prove his belief in limited government by opposing the bailout, The Hill reported.
"He's alienated his base," one House Republican told the Washington publication anonymously. "Maverick McCain missed his moment. He could have opposed this and created distance from Bush."
Another Republican said supporting the bailout would trouble more than members of the Republican base.
"There's a wide swath of opinion out there that this is not a good deal," the second legislator said.
A third Republican suggested that McCain remember that a lot of Americans "don't like the (Treasury Secretary Henry) Paulson plan and Republicans and conservatives hate it."
But Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, a coalition of House conservatives, defended the party standard-bearer's vote.
"Principled colleagues could come to different conclusions," said Hensarling, who said many Republicans voted for the legislation because they felt they needed to act and lacked the time to develop an alternative.
