McCain’s “Maverick” Claim Backfires
John McCain has tried to claim for years that he is a maverick, an independent thinker who speaks his mind and is loyal to no one. NPR brings us word McCain may try to take it a step further…
“Democrats are fired up over Sen. John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Democratic campaign consultant Joe Trippi explains how this will change the campaign for both parties. Trippi tells Liane Hanson if McCain “can sell this as a maverick who picked another maverick, two reformers willing to change their own party…it starts to get into the turf that Obama has been holding all this time: change.”
But here’s an interesting tidbit that the Obama camp should use to negate any spin by McCain and Palin to paint themselves as mavericks…
The official definition of the word maverick, from the American Heritage Dictionary, reads…
“An unbranded range animal, especially a calf that has become separated from its mother, traditionally considered the property of the first person who brands it.”
A more accurate definition of John McCain hasn’t been written.
I wonder if McCain calls his cattlemaster, Charles Keating, on Father’s Day?
CNN Finally Covers Keating Five Scandal
The Jed Report brings us news that CNN has finally dipped their toes in the Keating Five Scandal. They briefly talk with McCain, McCain’s adviser at the time (Bush’s future Pentagon spokesperson Tori Clarke), and with one of the federal investigators whom the Keating Five tried to intimidate. One of the investigators hasn’t forgiven McCain for his part, and points out that McCain’s role was worse than the rest. The most ridiculous part is the McCain soundbite saying his Republican lawyer said he didn’t do anything wrong, so we should take him at his word, contrary to miles and miles of actual, you know, evidence.
We’ve permanently added the video clip to our Keating Five Videos page.
Arizona Reporter Who Covers McCain Calls Him A Farce
Amy Silverman is a writer and editor at the Phoenix New Times who has covered John McCain for 15 years. She has written an excellent article revealing the John McCain the public doesn’t see - the fake McCain with a corrupt and immoral past.
Silverman steps out as the first reporter in this election cycle to break from the mold and hammer McCain with his own behavior.
She calls McCain a “farce,” and a “poster boy for corruption at the federal level,” then points out the never ending corruption from the very first day she started covering him 15 years ago. Silverman exposes McCain as two-faced, saying one thing in public while he is doing the exact opposite in private - with money flowing into his pockets as a result. Then she really lets him have it.
An excerpt:
“You may be surprised to know that in 1987 and 1988, McCain voted against federal legislation reforming the campaign finance system. It was only in 1990, in the aftermath of Keating and the shadow of an upcoming re-election campaign, that he started supporting reform. Ditto for his efforts to cut government spending.
“And I’ve got to pause to say something about both of those efforts. In a word, they’re a farce. McCain famously sponsored a law designed to control special interests’ grip on Washington, but at the same time, he took money from those interests.”
Silverman then recounts a story she has never publicly told, although she was privy to the information at the time. When a Democrat serving as Secretary of State of Arizona was promoted to Governor to replace a corrupt Republican, Evan Mecham, who had been impeached, McCain plotted to have a recall election and throw the Democrat out of office after only 8 days. McCain went so far as to plant questions on state officials meant to embarrass Rose Mofford, then acting Governor, because she couldn’t possibly know the answers. McCain hired a professional camera crew to secretly film Mofford’s testimony in hopes it could damage her in a recall election. When McCain took a lunch break during the testimony and told good friend Pat Murphy, then editor of the Arizona Republic, about his scheme to embarrass Mofford and throw her out of office, Murphy was stunned and asked why McCain would stoop so low. McCain replied, “I’ll embarrass a Democrat any time I get the chance.” Murphy said that was the beginning of the end of his friendship and respect for John McCain. Murphy’s not alone, Silverman points out many Arizona citizens who lost all respect for McCain once they saw his real side.
This is a long, in-depth article, with many examples of what makes McCain a corrupt turd who shouldn’t be allowed near a political office, nevermind running for - or “serving” in one.
If you plan on voting in November, set aside a few minutes and read Silverman’s scathing article.
McCain’s Keating Five Scandal “Rivals Watergate”
A 1989 newspaper article written by Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Fitzpatrick of the Phoenix New Times reflects the anger at the time over the Keating Five Scandal and particularly John McCain’s key role in it.
It it truly amazing that John McCain could manipulate the press and his public image to remain in politics after helping a friend (and more importantly key campaign donor) steal almost $4 billion from investors. This article reveals the early steps McCain took to guarantee his political survival and lay the ground work for a new image that would ultimately become “The Straight Talk Express.”
Fitzpatrick’s piece is a must read, and he pokes McCain repeatedly (and deservedly) with the sharp edge of his pen. A few excerpts…
“The story of “the Keating Five” has become a scandal rivaling Teapot Dome and Watergate. The outcome will be decided, not in a courtroom, but probably on national television.
“Since Keating’s collapse, you find yourself doing obscene things to save yourself from the Senate Ethics Committee’s investigation. As a matter of course, you engage in backbiting behavior that will turn you into an outcast in the Senate if you do survive.”
Fitzpatrick was dead on with that prediction, as McCain is almost a pariah among his fellow Senators, particularly fellow Republicans. Fitzpatrick then made the most accurate prediction of any writer covering the Keating Five scandal…
“Those who survive will be the sociopaths who can tell a lie with the most sincere, straight face. You (John McCain) are especially adept at this.
“…you sold your fame for Charles Keating’s money. It was a Faustian bargain. It was also a bad joke on the rest of us and a disaster for many old people who lost their life’s savings to Keating.
“The money was never really Keating’s to give. But he never would have got his hands on it if you and the rest of the Keating Five didn’t halt the government takeover for two long years while Keating’s people continued their looting.
“You’re John McCain, clearly the guiltiest, most culpable and reprehensible of the Keating Five. But you know the power of television and you realize this is the only way you can possibly save your political career.”
This is a fantastic article that has been buried by time and years of lies. Help dust it off and share it with friends and family, and hit those social bookmarks to make sure as many voters see this as possible. McCain is a crook. It doesn’t take a genius to predict what the next four years will be like if we don’t stand together to keep him out of office.
Read Fitzpatrick’s entire 1989 article here.
John McCain and the Keating Five, What Every Voter MUST Know
During the 2000 Republican Presidential Primaries, Slate.com writer
1. John McCain
2. John McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, along with her father, made a $359,000 investment in retail property owned by Charles Keating in 1986, a year before John McCain first met with federal regulators on behalf of Keating. Keating was later convicted on 73 counts of fraud, conspiracy, and other crimes. Years later, Cindy McCain sold her investment for $15,000,000.
For anyone not aware of the Keating Five, here’s a very simple summary:
Charles Keating owned a savings and loan in California. He was illegally using the money of his bank’s customers to give loans to himself and friends that they didn’t have to repay, and to speculate on risky real estate investments, which was strictly forbidden by U.S. law (and was one cause of the Great Depression).
When the feds found out what was going on and launched an investigation into Keating and his company, Keating called five U.S. Senators whom he had wined, dined, and lavished with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations and personal gifts.
Keating asked the five Senators to tell the feds to bug off, and the five Senators, later known as the Keating Five, obliged, meeting with federal investigators twice and pressuring them to stop investigating Keating’s crimes. They bought Keating some time, but the feds didn’t give up and eventually Keating was nailed. The reason the feds were so persistent was because Keating wasn’t playing with mere chump change. Keating blew $3.4 billion through illegal personal loans and bad investments, and the FDIC had to reimburse Keating’s customers who had been ripped off.
(Background Info - Keating wasn’t the only Savings and Loan owner who was committing fraud, 20% of the S&L’s that failed during that three year period were found to have been caused by fraud and/or insider trading. The failure of the Lincoln Savings and Loan and other S&L’s pushed the country into a recession, costing the U.S. government $126 billion dollars in FDIC insurance payouts to investors. All of this came to a crescendo during the first year of the presidency of George H.W. Bush, who pushed through the S&L bailout plan to keep the economy afloat.)
When the involvement of the Keating Five was made public, a scandal erupted and the Senate Ethics Committee launched their own investigation into whether the Keating Five had violated Senate ethics rules. The other four Senators left office either immediately or within one term. John McCain was formally rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for exercising “poor judgment” for intervening with the federal regulators on behalf of Keating, but because McCain accepted Keating’s gifts of travel and vacations to Bahama while McCain was a member of the House of Representatives (he served one term there before moving to the Senate), the Senate claimed they had no jurisdiction to censure McCain. (However the meetings to pressure federal regulators occurred during the first few months of McCain serving in the Senate in 1987, so that excuse doesn’t hold up)
John McCain then went back to the drawing board and re-invented himself as “the Straight-Talk Express” and the media gobbled it up. “Tax-Evading-Criminal” doesn’t sound as catchy as “Straight-Shooting-War-Hero”.
Ever since the scandal, when McCain lies today, it’s never questioned, because he’s a “straight talker”. The man has more skeletons in his closet than any politician in history. The Keating Five is just one bone.
After reading the Slate article, ask yourself: if Obama or any other candidate had a scandal such as the Keating Five in their past, would the mainstream media never question it? Could any other candidate even have a political career after the Keating Five? For the other four Senators, the answer is no. And while Charles Keating went to prison for his role in the scandal, John McCain swept it under the rug and could soon be President of the United States of America.
Read the full Slate.com article here.
The FDIC also has a list of recommendations for further reading on Charles Keating and the Lincoln Savings and Loan.
John McCain: A History of Corruption
One of the major letdowns of the 2004 Presidential campaign was John Kerry’s refusal to rip George W. Bush for an almost unbelievable list of crimes and blunders. While trying to remain above name calling is noble, in 2008, it’s also idiotic.
The single biggest reason to doubt Obama’s ability to defeat McCain in November is if Obama insists on running a “clean” campaign. John McCain has more dirty laundry than any politician in history, and the American public needs to know about it because it is not being reported in the mainstream media, who once again, have their own conservative agenda to appoint the next war president. (Learn why here)
I’m not advocating that Obama run a dirty campaign. Actually, I’m hoping for the opposite. All Obama needs to do is run truthful ads exposing McCain for being the hypocrite and criminal he is. McCain has already done the dirty work for Obama through a lifetime of questionable, immoral, and sometimes illegal behavior. All Obama has to do is stop trying to run the ideal campaign. If Obama really wants to help this country he cannot allow John McCain to go unchallenged. McCain’s past is so damning that if the American mainstream media were actually doing their jobs - old fashioned investigative journalism, the John McCain campaign would be dead in the water.
Relying on bloggers and the people who read Digg and othe social bookmarking sites will only go so far, since it’s the same group of people Digging similar articles over and over. A large chunk of America is not internet savvy and instead get biased news from the mainstream media, who (as a whole) refuse to criticize McCain.
My elderly father, for one, has never been on the Internet in his life, is anti-McCain, yet he believes the anti-Obama propaganda the newspapers and television keep reporting. That’s Obama’s biggest enemy - phony character assassination jobs by the press. If Obama tries to stay on a positive message the entire campaign, as appealing as that is, he risks losing the election because McCain, the GOP, and the media will spend the next few months calling Obama a liar and the same old recycled Washington politician (so what does that say about McCain?). Regardless of the truth, if the media keeps painting Obama as a liar, a large enough chunk of America will believe it. Just look at how many people already believe McCain is stronger on foreign issues.
John McCain Issues
Listed below is the beginning of a list of McCain’s high crimes and misdemeanors. I’ll update it as we find out more. You can do your part by sharing it with everyone you know, either by email link, or for those without Internet access, print it out or talk about it. If we love America and want things to get better, we can’t sit by and let the war profiteering press hand pick the next president.
There are actually so many McCain crimes and blatant corrupt acts that it’s becoming easy to forget some of these. I thought I would try and bring them all together, kind of a McNasty depository. If there is anything I’ve missed, please post it in the comments and I’ll add it - include a link to your source if possible.
The Keating Five Scandal
The first and only reason most voters will need to NOT vote for John McCain is his involvement in the Keating Five Scandal. What was it, why it so revealing about McCain’s behavior, and why aren’t mainstream media mentioning this everyday?
From Wikipedia: “The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s….” John McCain was the only Republican Senator involved and is the only one of the Keating Five still in the Senate. The five Senators met with federal auditors twice to pressure them to stop investigating Charles Keating and his Lincoln Savings and Loan.
Essentially what happened was Charles Keating was a rich campaign donor to many Congressmen, including John McCain. During the 1980’s Keating helped make McCain a Representative, then Senator, contributing (along with friends) $56,000 to McCain’s House races in 1982 and 1984, and $54,000 to McCain’s 1986 Senate race. During those years McCain used Keating’s personal jet to take 9 family trips, including yearly vacations to Keating’s exclusive Bahama vacation home, which he did not disclose on his tax returns or to the Senate until years later when he was investigated for accepting favors from Charles Keating and Keating’s Lincoln Savings and Loan.
In 1987 the Lincoln Savings and Loan was under investigation by federal auditors who were looking at Keating’s banking practices. Keating was using bank money to speculate on investments (similar behavior by bank executives in the 1920’s led to the Great Depression). Keating asked the contacts he had so carefully groomed in the Senate to put the kabosh on the federal investigators.
John McCain and four other Senators met with federal auditors twice and put pressure on them to stop the investigation. The Senators bought two years for Keating, but in 1989 the Lincoln Savings and loan went belly up. The FDIC bailout cost taxpayers $3.4 billion and helped push the country into a recession. Keating was convicted of 73 counts of fraud, racketeering, and conspiracy and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Senate launched an investigation of the Keating Five and criticized McCain and the others for “questionable behavior”. For breaking Senate ethics rules and not reporting gifts, McCain and the others were given a slap on the wrist.
One lasting note: In 1986, McCain’s wife, Cindy, and her father invested $359,000 in a shopping center owned by Charles Keating one year before McCain first met with federal officials. They later sold their $359,000 investment for $15,000,000.
McCain Falsified IRS Tax Returns
Last I checked, that was a crime. McCain admitted to not reporting gifts he and his family received from convicted felon Charles Keating. Those were taxable gifts, including free airfare, free lodging at Keating’s personal island in the Bahamas, plus other perks. Years later, McCain later confessed and paid the IRS.
How come the mainstream media doesn’t bring this up? It turns out a San Francisco tv station quietly mentioned it in passing…while praising McCain!
“When (Keating’s) company tried to take tax deductions for the trips (given to McCain), the IRS raised questions. McCain, who said he mistakenly thought his wife had reimbursed the cost, paid back more than $13,000 — years after the trips and after the senator knew of Keating’s problems with the government.”
This isn’t the same thing as a person not filing income taxes because they can’t afford to pay what is due. This was a case of McCain intentionally defrauding the United States Internal Revenue Service and the citizens of this country. We don’t need a president who cheats the IRS. What else does he cheat on? It turns out, damn near everything.
Mafia Connections?
I’m not one to buy into conspiracy theories, but actual facts show McCain has extensive connections to organized crime.
In 1995, McCain sent birthday regards to Joseph “Joe Bananas” Bonano, the head of the New York Bonano crime family, who had retired to Arizona. McCain also sent regrets for not attending Bonano’s birthday party. Another politician to send regrets was Arizona Governor Fife Symington, who has since been kicked out of office and convicted of 7 felonies relating to fraud and extortion.
Republican blogger Kevin Tracy points out about McCain, “a quick search on OpenSecrets.org revealed that at least five members of the Bonanno family made generous donations ($2,100 each) to the McCain campaign. Each member made a donation that was $200 less than the federal maximum on the same day.” Why would an “honest” politician send birthday wishes to a mafia leader?
But the juiciest news comes from McCain’s father-in-law’s ties to organized crime, but they are so extensive that it’s a subject for another article (coming soon, until then read this).
Iraq
McCain continues to lie about how well things are going in Iraq. The best example is this clip from CNN where McCain claims Baghdad is now a safe, happy place where children frolic under rainbows and soldiers exchange their guns for bananas. A CNN correspondent in Baghdad, in between ducking gunfire, called McCain’s comments “beyond ludicrous” and, “I’ve spoken to military sources about what McCain said and there’s laughter.”
McCain also has said staying in Iraq for 100 years “would be fine by me.” Then he has repeated it over and over, including recently on The Today Show.
The Ultimate Hypocrite - Voting Against Our Troops For Decades
It’s not just bills pertaining to our troops in Iraq that McCain turns his back on our soldiers, it’s troops at home as well. Whether it’s better healthcare for our soldiers and veterans, improved G.I. education, or counseling for returning troops, McCain is against it. In March, April, and May of 2006, McCain voted against improved health care for our troops and veterans. He’s also voted to table bills that would provide funding for proper equipment to our National Guard troops in Iraq that would have supplied soldiers with “unnecessary items” like helmets and bullet proof vests. Then McCain attacks Obama as unpatriotic and not supporting our troops, and the press jumps to the beat and repeats the lie over and over.
He Didn’t Even Vote For the Surge
For a guy who claims he is an expert on foreign affairs, he sure has a long history of not voting on key issues. McCain takes every opportunity available to talk about how the surge is working, yet back in February, 2007, he didn’t even bother to show up and vote against a bill condemning the planned surge.
Changing Religions Based on What State He’s Pandering To
From the Washington Post: “Campaigning in this conservative, predominantly Baptist state (South Carolina), McCain called himself a Baptist when speaking to reporters Sunday and noted that he and his family have been members of the North Phoenix Baptist Church in his home state of Arizona for more than 15 years…” despite telling everyone he’s an Episcopalian his entire life and admitting he hasn’t been baptized in the Baptist church he now claims he has been a member for 15 years. The first tenant of the Baptist church is that you must get baptized. McCain admits he hasn’t. That sir, means you are not a Baptist.
Tax Cuts For The Rich
In 2000, McCain was against Bush’s tax cuts for the rich, saying, “Sixty percent of the benefits from (Bush) tax cuts go to the wealthiest 10% of Americans—and that’s not the kind of tax relief that Americans need…I’m not giving tax cuts to the rich.”
In 2008, despite the economy failing and the deficit soaring as the government is forced to borrow money from China to keep the country afloat - largely because the income from tax cuts is now so small, McCain suddenly is 100% behind tax cuts for the rich and has voted to make them permanent.
Impending War With Iran
Voters should never forget McCain singing “Bomb Iran” to a Beach Boys tune at a town hall meeting when asked about Iran. That’s not the kind of “joke” a world leader should ever make. It’s also hard to pass it off as a “joke” when McCain’s public statements have consistently supported going to war with Iran.
When McCain recently criticized Obama for saying he would use diplomacy to meet with Iran’s leaders, Joe Biden called McCain’s bluff. “(McCain asked) What is it Obama wants to talk (with Iran) about?”, Biden said. “If John can’t answer the question, we’re in trouble…What’s John’s plan for dealing with these dangers? You either talk; you go to war; or you maintain the unacceptable status quo. If John has ruled out talking, that means we’re going to get more of what we’ve had for most of the Bush administration – or worse.”
Flip Flopping…His Own Words on Iraq
McCain does more flip flopping than a fish wearing summer sandals. If John Kerry was a flip flopper in the 2004 Presidential Campaign, then John McCain should be called “Flipper”. On Iraq, McCain said, “The success will be fairly easy…I believe we can win an overwhelming victory in a short period of time…it was easy”, later he said, “the American people were led to believe this would be a walk at the beach…I knew it would be long and hard and tough, and those that voted for it and thought it would be easy were mistaken, maybe they didn’t know what they were voting for.” Watch these videos to see McCain’s own words condemn him over and over.
McCain Wants To Be Uber Fuhrer II
Despite McCain’s long list of pre-2000 scandals, he still had people believing the “Straight Talk Express” slogan was accurate. That was because McCain was a loose cannon who would unload on anyone who got in his way, including George W. Bush. But a short while after Bush and Karl Rove used dirty tactics in the South Carolina primary to defeat McCain, he fell into line behind Bush and became a “yes” man to every law Bush wanted broken. Patriot Act to spy on U.S. citizens? Yes! Illegal war in Iraq? Yes! Cut funding and supplies to our soldiers? Yes! When the U.S. economy goes to shit, turn blame on Islamic Fundamentalists? You bet! Restricted Flight Lists? Here! Here!
An entire group of Republicans believed McCain would stand up to Bush and instead were let down as this “hero” helped take away our rights and start an illegal, immoral war, then push hard for a second war.
McCain has gotten so bloodthirsty to be president, he hired Karl Rove as one of his adviser’s. Among all the other crimes Rove has committed, he may have been involved, twice, in a plot to kill a female Republican staffer who testified in front of Congress during the Don Siegelman investigation. What did she testify? That Rove swore to destroy Siegelman, then Governor of Alabama, who was sent to prison thanks to a Republican judge and ZERO evidence of wrongdoing. The evidence was so weak that another judge ordered Siegelman released during his appeal. McCain overlooked Rove’s long list of crimes, some of which might eventually see the propagandist actually be held accountable and sent to prison.
Like Bush, McCain’s Father Was a Treasonous Jerk, Too
In 1967, McCain’s pop, Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., Commander in Chief, United States Naval Forces, Europe, covered up an attack on the U.S.S. Liberty by Israel and instead blamed it on Egypt, almost sending the U.S. to war on a lie. Sound familiar? McCain’s daddy-o also allegedly ordered rescue ships recalled so more soldiers on the Liberty would die, fomenting a larger public outrage against a Muslim nation that never attacked us.
Is McCain EVEN ELIGIBLE To Be President?
McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone to American parents.
McCain defenders claim the Panama Canal Zone was a U.S. territory and thus, anyone born there is a natural born U.S. citizen. However, the Panama Canal was never a U.S. territory. The United States leased the land from Columbia. Leased land is not a territory, nor is a person born on leased land a “natural born citizen”, or “naturalized citizen”. According to Section 1, Article II of the Constitution, McCain is not eligible to be the United States President.
But his eligibility or lack of eligibility is a minor story. With his record of criminal and immoral behavior, coupled with his complete disregard for facts, the man should never have made it this far in a presidential election.
Forced Relocation of Native Americans To Steal Their Coal and Property
Native Americans just keep getting kicked in the face. John McCain used his powers to steal land from thousands of Native Americans in his home state of Arizona and turn it over to lobbyist friends to mine for coal and explore for oil and natural gas. McCain took part in forming a fake group of tribal elders and forging their signatures on papers approving the “genocide”. The Native Americans, who’s ancestors had lived there for hundreds of years, were forced to relocate to Utah. The United Nations condemned the treatment of the Native Americans, and singled out and condemned John McCain for his role.
The Lobbyist Problem - Pay McCain and He’ll Pass Anything
When Viacom wanted to buy CBS in 1999 they knew it would break FCC rules controlling how many radio and tv stations a company could own, so they turned to old friend John McCain (and frequent recipient of Viacom’s campaign donations) who assured Viacom the FCC wouldn’t be a problem. Within a week of the purchase, McCain went on the Senate floor and proposed a change to U.S. law allowing the purchase. Not coincidentally, Viacom has been the fourth largest donor to McCain’s campaigns over the past 25+ years. The FCC law McCain helped destroy was meant to protect American citizens from media becoming too powerful and controlling the news. McCain’s history of being friendly to lobbyists is legendary.
How Old is John McCain?
In a 2000 interview with PBS’ Jim Lehrer, McCain said, “By 2008, I think I might be ready to go down to the old soldiers home and await the cavalry charge there.” Ronald Reagan was the oldest U.S. President in history, 69 years old when he took office. McCain would be 3 years older than Reagan if he were to be sworn in.
McCain Ignores His Morals to Line His Pockets
In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending “dirty money” to help finance Bush’s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly.
In April, 2006, McCain reached out to the Wyly’s for donations to McCain’s campaign.
That same year, as he planned his 2008 presidential campaign, McCain realized he needed to make peace with old enemies, so he cozied up to the Republican Right and people like Jerry Falwell, John Hagee, and others he used to openly condemn. McCain began giving speeches at Falwell’s university, in return for political endorsements and the lucrative donations they bring.
Seeks Right Wing Endorsements From Pastors and Preachers He Has Condemned for Years
For years John McCain criticized the religious right like Jerry Falwell, John Hagee, Rod Parsley, and others. But in recent campaigns McCain realized he couldn’t win without the conservative right, so he made amends in order to win their endorsement, then claimed he didn’t know they have said outrageous and offensive things for decades, despite once calling Jerry Falwell “an agent of intolerance.” Among the offensive messages McCain buried his head in the sand over: “God sent Hitler,” “Katrina was sent by God against American Gays,” and “Catholicism is the Great Whore of Babylon.”
No Foreign Policy Expertise
McCain keeps Joe Lieberman around to make up for his lack of foreign policy experience, yet keeps touting he has more experience than Barack Obama. So why does he need Lieberman? Oh, to point out when McCain says something incorrect and blatantly wrong, like every five seconds on Iraq, al Qaeda, and Iran. And when it’s pointed out that McCain doesn’t know basic facts about Iran, he keeps foolishly repeating these mistakes himself and arrogantly challenging reporters.
No Economic Expertise
McCain’s own words on his lack of economic understanding: “I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated.” And, “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” McCain now claims he never said those things, despite it being in print and on video.
He’s said he relies on former Senator Phil Gramm, and would appoint him chairman of the Federal Reserve if McCain is elected. Gramm’s removal of banking laws put in place since the Great Depression have directly led to the subprime mortgage meltdown that has helped cripple the U.S. economy. After leaving the Senate, Gramm took a job with one of the companies that benefited by his own bank friendly laws, and continued to lobby the Bush Administration to remove remaining consumer protection laws for lending. McCain says Gramm “has one of the most honorable records of anyone in the U.S. Senate.” Now McCain wants to put that guy in charge?
John McCain Torture
McCain was against torture, now he is for it. He’s claimed for years he was tortured when he was a POW in Vietnam but never talked. It helped to create this false image the media pushes as a tough war hero.
However, fellow POW’s who were with McCain said he ratted out American soldiers in order to avoid being tortured, (they even nicknamed him “songbird”) and once McCain told his captors who his father was (four star Navy general overseeing the Pacific theater), he was treated better than other prisoners. Despite McCain claiming his fellow POW’s are lying, McCain actually publicly admitted to all of the above to reporters from various newspapers and countries from 1967-1973, including AFTER he returned to the U.S.
In 1992 McCain earned the scorn of Vietnam veterans when he insulted the families of POW’s during a Senate hearing, then pushed to close further investigation because it would reveal documents showing McCain had helped the Vietcong and received special treatment. Some veterans groups have since organized against McCain.
John McCain 2008
McCain doesn’t even know what his own policies are! He has repeatedly explained his own policies on several issues to the media, only to be revealed a fool because the policies he explains in person are completely different from his own policies on his own campaign website. So, who created the policies on the website? Why should anyone believe either version of his platform on any issue? They change so often, it’s not even daily, sometimes it’s by the minute.
Four More Years
McCain is running such a bungled, inept, incompetent campaign, it’s like watching Bush all over again, and yet according to some polls he is either tied with Obama or leading. Which tells us something about either how intelligent some Americans are, or reveals more about how honest the press is. You be the judge. It’s time to do our part and reveal McCain for the confused, incompetent, sometimes criminal, hypocrite he is.
