John McCain ‘staring death in the face’ will inspire ‘good choices,’ Rep. Matt Cartwright says

Extemporaneous comments about the political benefits of Sen. John McCain’s brain cancer this week prompted the family to lash out at Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright.

A town hall meeting in Pennsylvania on Tuesday delved into dark territory when Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare became the topic of conversation. Mr. Cartwright told an audience at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Tamaqua that the Arizona Republican’s judgment on important matters will improve since “he’s staring death in the face right now.”

Video of the incident first reported by The Washington Examiner shows the lawmaker saying, “McCain I’m worried about. Also because the governor of Arizona came out in favor of the Lindsey Graham-Bill Cassidy bill so that puts pressure on McCain. But, man, something tells me McCain, he’s staring death in the face right now, so he’s probably going to make good choices and he’s not going to bend to political pressure.”

Meghan McCain, the senator’s daughter, blasted the Democrat late Thursday for his rhetoric.

“What a disgusting and macabre statement,” Tweeted.

Mr. Cartwright responded within hours with an apology.

“I want to express my deep admiration for Senator McCain and gratitude for his service to our nation,” he said in a statement. “I have reached out to apologize directly to him and his family for my statement about his illness, which I agree was insensitive, and which has clearly offended the McCain family.”

Mr. McCain, 80, was diagnosed with a primary glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in July. He returned to the Senate to side with Democrats in a 51-49 defeat of a “skinny repeal” of Obamacare on July 27.

“From the beginning, I have believed that Obamacare should be repealed and replaced with a solution that increases competition, lowers costs, and improves care for the American people,” the senator said in a statement released the next day. “The so-called ’skinny repeal’ amendment the Senate voted on today would not accomplish those goals. While the amendment would have repealed some of Obamacare’s most burdensome regulations, it offered no replacement to actually reform our health care system and deliver affordable, quality health care to our citizens.”