ANTI-MC CAIN E MAIL: An Alaskan Talks About Palin

Greetings:

Most of you live in what we Alaskans like to call the "Lower 48", and as such, had probably never heard of Sarah Palin before last week. If you've watched any news at all since last Friday, you've probably heard plenty about her by now. Well, allow me to provide you with a small reality check on my Governor. It's a long story, but hopefully an interesting one. I urge you to read this in its entirety, and share it with everyone you know.

You really can't talk about Sarah Palin without some background about her predecessor, Frank Murkowski. Frank had been Alaska's junior Senator since 1980. When he ran for Governor in 2002, columnist Mike Doogan noted his major accomplishments included "keeping a gray suit from falling down on the floor for over 2 decades." When you stand in the shadow of Ted Stevens though, it's awfully hard to get noticed here in Alaska. Oh, and Ted is a story all his own, but one for another time. In 2002, Alaska revenues were in decline as oil production on the north slope was dwindling. Talk of a state sales tax or income tax was in the air, but Murkowski would have none of it. He insisted that he would not raise taxes, along with other standards from the Republican playbook, and won the election over the incumbent Lieutenant Governor. Within his first month, he raised the state gasoline tax. When challenged about his campaign promise to not raise taxes, he responded that "the gas tax isn't really a tax - it's a user fee. If you don't want to pay it, don't use gas." Seriously. Talk about starting off on the wrong foot.

At the time, if a sitting U.S. Senator leaves office for any reason, the Governor selected a replacement. After claiming that he was going to cast a wide net and choose the most qualified candidate, he selected his own daughter, Lisa Murkowski, who had been a state legislator for a few year.

You've probably heard about "the jet." Frank wanted the jet because until that time, the Governor of Alaska had to travel around the state in a propellor-driven plane. It was slow, had a limited range, and didn't have a bathroom on board. But the State Legislature said "no, we're not buying you a jet." And although they wouldn't appropriate the money, he moved some around in the budget and bought it anyway. Average Alaskans didn't care for that decision either, and the jet became the subject of many jokes, including a contest to pick a name for it. I think the winner was "The Bald Ego."

You've also probably heard about the natural gas pipeline. Although the north slope of Alaska is home to our country's largest oil reserves, it has even more natural gas. However, with the prices of oil and natural gas relatively low, it has not been economically feasible to build a pipeline for the gas. As energy supplies have diminished, the gas pipeline has moved closer and closer to becoming a reality. To move things forward, Frank Murkowski met behind closed doors with the heads of the three major oil companies that operate in Alaska, and put together what most folks think was a sweetheart deal. He tried to strongarm the legislature into approving the deal, but they didn't go along.

In the meantime, there were other ethical scandals in the Murkowski administration. His Attorney General, Greg Renkes, was found to have been involved in a financial conflict of interest and forced to resign. All of these events were eroding Murkowski's popularity here in Alaska, and by the end of his term, he was the least popular Governor in the country.

Murkowski had also hired the head of the Alaska Republican Party, Randy Ruedrich, to work on the oil and gas commission. It was discovered that despite signing a declaration, Ruedrich conducted Republican Party business on the State's dime. This was where Sarah Palin rose to notoriety, as a fellow commissioner, she blew the whistle on Ruedrich. He was forced to resign from the oil and gas commission, but amazingly enough, has been retained as the head of the Alaska Republican Party. I guess they figure: "Sure, he's an unethical jerk. But he's OUR unethical jerk, and he's effective." But out of this scandal came Sarah Palin: an ethical Republican.

She ran against the incumbent Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary in 2006, and won. Murkowski was so unpopular, he actually came in third. Palin then went on to defeat former Governor and Anchorage Mayor Tony Knowles. I didn't vote for her, but given her professed ethical standards, was willing to give her the chance to prove me wrong.

One of the first things she did was put the jet up for sale on eBay. Now, you may have heard John McCain say today that she "sold it on eBay... at a profit." That's not true. It did not sell on eBay, even after 3 tries there were no bids above the minimum amount. We ended up selling the jet through a broker, at a loss. But as the jet was a sore spot with Alaskans, we loved her for getting rid of it.

She did dismiss her personal chef, claiming it was an extravagance that she didn't need. Another popular move.

She worked with the legislature to come up with something called the Alaska Gas Inducement Act (AGIA), designed to solicit competitive bids to build the gas pipeline. In that sense yes, she did stand up to "Big Oil." After several state legislators had been indicted for taking bribes to keep oil revenue taxes low, she threw the existing law out the window and the legislature ended up raising those taxes a few percent, boosting state revenues. All of those legislators who have gone to trial have been convicted, by the way. Ted Stevens (mentioned earlier) has been indicted in connection with the same oil services company that bribed the other guys. Oh, Alaska politics is fun, you betcha.

Up until this point, I would have to say that I didn't have any serious complaints about her performance as Governor. That ended when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was considering adding polar bears to the Endangered Species List. Unless you've been in a coma for the past few years, you know that climate change has had a profound impact on sea ice, the primary habitat for polar bears. Every major climate model predicts that the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free in summer sometime during this century. The only real difference between the models is how soon it will happen. The bad news is that last summer was the greatest loss of arctic sea ice in recorded history, and that this summer may exceed 2007. Even worse is that these conditions are ahead of even the most pessimistic climate model. Yes, it's that bad.

The Palin Administration opposed listing polar bears as a threatened species. They published op-ed pieces in the local newspaper that, quite frankly, insulted our intelligence. Rather than deal in the science and biology of the issue, the focus was on the potential impact of the polar bear listing on economic development in Alaska. The opposition consisted of a series of specious arguments including, I kid you not, that once all the sea ice was gone, "polar bears would evolve to become land bears." Never mind the fact that there is already a land bear that occupies that ecological niche in Alaska. The polar bear has since become listed, and the State of Alaska has filed a lawsuit against the federal government to overturn that decision. This was the first major issue that caused me to part ways with Governor Palin.

Another incident which you may have heard about has come to be known as "Troopergate." Palin had appointed former Anchorage Chief of Police Walter Monegan to be the head of her public safety division. A division that includes the State Troopers. Then abruptly and without warning or cause, she fired him a few months ago. She initially claimed that she simply wanted a new direction for the public safety commission, but an alternate motive soon became known. Palin's sister was going through nasty divorce and custody proceedings with a State Trooper, and we learned that she may have canned Monegan because he refused to fire that Trooper, Palin's brother-in-law. She immediately denied any wrongdoing, and the State Legislature has started an investigation which she agreed to cooperate with. Shortly thereafter, it came out that one of her staffers had been recorded pressuring Monegan over the telephone. That guy has been put on paid leave until the investigation is completed.

Fast-forward to August 29, 2008, when John McCain announced that Sarah Palin was his pick for vice-president on the Republican ticket. It was big, no HUGE news here in Alaska. But all the attention and scrutiny dragged up Troopergate, as well as a lot of other stuff. As for her recent pregnancy and the birth of her fifth child, and her 17-year old daughters unwed pregnancy, I won't comment on them as they are family matters unrelated to her conduct in office. But now she has changed her mind about cooperating with the investigation. She has hired a personal lawyer, who is trying to stop or at least stall the investigation so that the results do not come out until after the November 4 election. They have also tried to stop other witnesses from testifying, and today the legislature has said that they will issue subpoenas to compel their testimony. For someone with nothing to hide, they are trying awfully hard to keep us from getting to the truth. And it was just discovered that they inappropriately accessed that Trooper's personnel file, and the union has filed an ethics complaint.

The thing that disappoints me the most though, is that she has shed her mantle as an "ethical Republican" if there ever was such a thing. She has leaped head-first into the cesspool of Karl Rove fear-and-smear politics, and is just wallowing in it. She has told repeated lies in the past week and during her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. She didn't turn down the money for the "Bridge to Nowhere," she welcomed it. And after it became politically unpopular, she decided not to go forward with the project, but the State of Alaska kept the money. Yet she keeps repeating that she said "Thanks, but no thanks." That simply is not true, and even though this point has been thoroughly debunked in the media, she continues to lie about it. As Mayor of Wasilla, she called the local librarian to inquire about banning books that she contained language she didn't like. We don't have a state sales tax, but many communities have a local sales tax, as their populations are too small to raise enough revenue through property taxes alone. She raised the sales tax in Wasilla, and still left office with a huge debt. And most troubling of all, as someone who campaigned under the banner of "Open Government," she will not meet with the media to answer any questions about these and a host of other issues. If she can't stand up to Larry King, how in the world can she stand up to Vladimir Putin, one might ask.

It will come as no surprise to you that I support Barack Obama for President. On issue after issue, ranging from the Iraq War to tax policy, he has shown superior judgement. Don't be fooled into believing that John McCain is a "Maverick." He may have been 8 years ago, but since that time, he has sold out his principles and been joined at the hip to George Bush and his disastrous policies that have ruined our economy, lowered the average incomes of middle-class families, overstretched our military, and put our credibility around the world in the toilet. Howard Dean said it best: "The John McCain of 2000 wouldn't vote for the John McCain of today." If you're one of the 26% who think George Bush is doing a good job, and the country is heading in the right direction, then all I can say is "wow." John McCain is your guy. But if you're like me, and think that we need change in Washington, then Barack Obama is the only candidate who offers the hope we need right now. And if you're on the fence between Obama and McCain, please don't let Sarah Palin sway you in that direction.

I have tried to give you my honest, unbiased opinion about Governor Sarah Palin that includes both the good and the bad. In the end though, I have to say that she is not qualified to be vice president, and the thought of her in office, literally just a heartbeat from being the de facto leader of the free world, gives me the heebie-jeebies something fierce. She may be the darling of the conservative movement, but she is completely unqualified for the job. She doesn't believe in climate change, which is one of the most important issues facing our country and the whole world in the coming years, in my opinion. She doesn't believe in science, and would like to see creationism taught in schools. How can we hope to compete with China, India, and the rest of the world if we don't raise our children with a solid educational foundation? She believes that the Iraq War is a "task from God" which is just, for lack of a better word, nuts.

So after the excitement wears off, and we've all enjoyed a nice, tasty mooseburger, think about it. Former mayor of a small town in Alaska (population 7,000). Governor of the geographically largest, but one of the least populated states in the country, for less than 2 years. Has rarely travelled abroad. Has no foreign policy experience. No national security experience. Potential Vice President to a man who just turned 72 years old, and is a cancer survivor. If that doesn't scare the poop out of you, then you my friend have a mighty strong sphincter.

But don't take my word for all this.  Use "the Google" and look this stuff up. Read what other Alaskans are saying about her. Don't take anything anyone says at face value, because she has shown (me, anyway) that she will say anything to satisfy her own personal ambition. And as she continues to duck the hard questions from the media, remember that she's ducking the hard questions from you, too.

The truth of the matter is...

that McCain could have picked Charles Manson as his running mate and the right-wing columnists and talk show hatejocks would have been slobbering over how great he is and how he's more qualified than Obama. ("It takes guts and character to carve a swastika into your forehead! More guts than Obama would ever dream of having!")

I have seen some lousy VP picks in my life, but Palin takes the cake. Eighteen months ago she was running a small town in Alaska (and running it into the ground, by all accounts). [CORRECTION! Eighteen months ago she was essentially unemployed!] Now she wants to be considered one of the Big Dogs. Just don't make her answer any questions in an uncontrolled environment, and don't expect her to know a damned thing about anything. Oh, and one other thing: this cocky, arrogant little troll lies through her teeth every time she opens her mouth. She's one of these Republicans who thinks we should be living in a theocracy instead of a republic. She doesn't know how hard the real believers in America are going to hit back at her.

I really wanted to beat McCain before he picked Palin. Now, I want to crush them. She's rallied a base all, right.

It's called the Democratic Party.

Yeah Baby!

The Unbelievable Chutzpah of John McCain

The word chutzpah is a word borrowed from Yiddish. I'll let Dictionary.com give you its meaning:

1. unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall.
2. audacity; nerve

John McCain's statement that the "special interests" are through when he comes to power is perhaps the most blatant example of chutzpah I have ever heard of. McCain is THOROUGHLY tied into the world of Washington power brokers, influence peddlers, lobbyists, and financial fat cats. Charlie Black, one of his top campaign people, is tied into several of the most murderous, brutal regimes on the planet through his lobbying. Phil Gramm, former senator and lobbyist extraordinaire, chief architect of our financial sector meltdown, is McCain's top economic advisor. McCain has as many as SIXTY lobbyists working with his campaign. Does he think, if people knew that, that anyone would swallow this garbage he's spewing about taking on the special interests?!? McCain IS the special interests.

When McCain also talks about the need to change Washington, who does he think has been in power for eight years? Who was that president he avoided talking about with whom he has voted NINETY PER CENT since 2001? How can McCain possibly, with a straight face even, say that he will take on a Washington Republican establishment of which he is an integral part? The mind reels.

There are many, many reasons why the Republicans need to go down in flames this year. But John McCain's unbelievable claims to the mantle of "change" are right near the top of the list.

Does he think we're more stupid or forgetful?

Sarah Palin Speaks!!

AMAZING! Republicans Won't Let Palin Do Any Interviews--EVER!

Jay Carney has the story here. They won't let the press ask any questions of the GOP's favorite pathological liar/beauty contestant/rightwing lunatic. Unbelievable! Will the press stand for this crap??

A True Patriot

Seen in the audience of the Republican Smearfest:

ANTI-MC CAIN E-MAIL: A Shocking Anti-Veteran Voting Record

McCain Refused to Support Sen. Jim Webb’s and Chuck Hagel’s new GI Bill--and then tried to take credit for it!

The bill, officially called the “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007″, would establish a program of educational assistance for members of the Armed Forces who serve in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001.

Sen. Jim Webb has called on McCain to sign on as a co-sponsor to his GI bill

The bill has 51 co-sponsors – including 9 Republicans – but needs 60 co-sponsors to make it filibuster proof.

McCain Voted Against $19 Billion for Military Hospitals, Choosing Tax Cuts for Wealthiest Earners over Veterans.

In February 2006, McCain voted against an amendment that would have provided for at least $19 billion for military health facilities, paid for by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthiest earners.
*Senate Amendment 2735, Amendment failed.

McCain Voted Against Legislation to Provide $2.8 Billion For Medical Care for Veterans.

McCain voted against a 2006 Democratic amendment that would have provided $2.8 billion to increase veterans’ medical care.
*Senate Amendment 149, Amendment failed.

McCain Voted Against Establishing $1 Billion Trust Fund to Provide Improvements to Military and Veterans’ Health Facilities

McCain voted against an Amendment to establish a $1 billion trust fund to provide improvements to health facilities that treat veterans and military personnel paid for by allowing dividends and capital gains tax breaks, for those with incomes greater than $1 million to lapse on December 31, 2006.
*Senate Amendment 2735

McCain Chooses Corporations Over Veterans, Voting Against Adding $1.5 billion to Veterans’ Medical Services in 2007 Budget by Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes.

McCain voted against an Amendment offered by Democrats to increase medical services funding to veterans by $1.5 billion in 2007, to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
*Senate Amendment 3007

McCain Voted Against Mandatory Funding of $6.9 Billion in 2007 Budget and $104 Billion Over Five Years for Veterans’ Health Care.

McCain voted against a Democratic amendment to provide a mandatory stream of funding of $6.9 billion in Fiscal Year 2007 and $104 billion over five years for veterans’ health care; paid for by restoring the pre-2001 top tax rate for incomes over $1 million and closing various corporate tax loopholes.
Senate Amendment 3141

September 2007: McCain voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments.

The legislation would have provided minimum periods between deployment of units and members of the Armed Forces deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
*Senate Amendment 2909

April 2006: McCain one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430 million for Medical Services for the Department of Veteran Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.

Despite his vote against, it passed overwhelmingly, 84-13 (3 not voting). All 13 voting against were Republicans.
*Senate Amendment 3642

October 2003: McCain voted against an amendment offered by Senator Dodd that called for an additional $322 million for safety equipment for troops in Iraq.
*Senate Amendment 1817

April 2003: McCain voted against an amendment that would have provided more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.
*Senate Amendment 452

August 2001: McCain voted against increasing the amount available for medical care for veterans by $650 million.
*Senate Amendment 1218

[Taken Directly from Donkey O.D.]

"In Dick Morris's Defense, He's a Lying Sack of Sh-t."

ANTI-MC CAIN E-MAIL: Is This Guy Stable?

Is this guy mentally stable?

The President of the United States wields awesome power. He’s got nuclear weapons at his command. He can send American soldiers into war at a moment’s notice. And his decisions can affect the lives of countless people forever. It takes a steady hand.

Does John McCain have a steady hand?

You tell me. Here are John McCain’s Top Ten Blow-Ups. BTW, please forgive the rough, crude, often obscene language here. I’m just quoting John McCain:

10. Senator Ted Kennedy - On August 6, 1993, the Boston Globe ran a story detailing a heated verbal exchange between Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy and McCain. Kennedy was at the lectern delivering remarks, when McCain began walking toward him from across the Senate floor, mocking the Massachusetts legislator. McCain shouted at Kennedy to "shut up." A stunned Kennedy fired back at McCain, telling him, "you shut up...and act like a Senator."

9. Democratic Rep. Marty Russo (D-IL) - In its December 1985 issue, Atlantic Monthly described an altercation that took place just a few years after McCain had been elected to the House for the first time. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) found himself in the crossfire between the two Congressman, who were angrily shouting "seven-letter and twelve-letter" epithets back and forth at one another, when the exchange became violent and they began pushing and shoving one another. The two were separated from their tangle by a few other legislators who were nearby.

8. Former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson - Newsmax, the "conservative perspective" political publication run by Chris Ruddy, didn't cut McCain any partisan slack in a July 2006 article, in which it recounted a dust-up between McCain and some local government officials in his home state. Speaking at a luncheon at which McCain was in attendance, former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson was among a group of local mayors fielding questions from the Arizona Congressional delegation about local land issues. In the midst of one answer from Johnson, who helmed the city from 1990 to 1994, McCain blurted out, "Hold it a minute. Somebody write down everything this guy has to say. You know what, we need to record him. It's best to get a liar on tape."

Taken aback, Johnson offered the Senator a chance to speak privately, saying, "Senator, if you have a problem with me, why don't we go out in the hallway and talk about it."

McCain fired back: "You're God-damn right I have a problem with you! They've been treating you like a princess in Phoenix while they've been burning me over this damn deal, and I'm sick of it!"

7. Unidentified GOP Senator - Accounts of McCain's outburst at a Senate GOP policy lunch has reached near-epic proportion, having been written about by just about every blog and news site from Newsmax, to Daily Kos, to the Huffington Post, to Wonkette, and so on. During a vitriolic exchange between McCain and another unnamed Senator who took a position contrary to that of his colleague from Arizona. McCain became infuriated, jumping from his chair and calling his fellow Republican a "shithead," prompting an immediate demand for an apology. McCain stood up again and issued it...sort of. "Okay, I apologize," he said. "But you're still a shithead."

6. Senator Pete Domenici - Newsweek's February 21, 2000 edition highlighted an exchange between McCain and Republican Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico, Chairman of the Budget Committee. In staunch disagreement with a particular portion of a budget amendment, McCain exploded. "Only an asshole would put together a budget like that." Domenici, who'd been in the Senate nearly 30 years by that point, gave a restrained reply, noting that even in the most heated debated throughout his entire career, no one had ever used that kind of language toward him. McCain didn't back down. "I wouldn't call you an asshole unless you really were an asshole."

5. Unidentified GOP Senator- In 2006, Ron Kessler of Newsmax wrote that much of McCain's unpopularity in the Senate stems from his 2000 campaign, when the vast majority- in fact, all but four- of his colleagues backed George W. Bush in the GOP primary. One of McCain's top aides recounted a telephone conversation between McCain and another Senator, who was explaining that he'd already committed to supporting Bush. When he finished, McCain bristled. "Fuck you," he said, and hung up, never to speak to him again.

4. Senator Strom Thurmond - In an article titled "Senator Hothead," The Washingtonian recounted one particular encounter between McCain and then-92-year-old Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. McCain was giving an opening statement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing when Thurmond, the committee chairman, interrupted to inquire as to whether McCain was finished so that the proceedings could be moved along. McCain glared at Thurmond and thanked him for his "courtesy." McCain later confronted Thurmond on the Senate floor, and a "scuffle" ensued. "The two didn't part friends."

3. Senator Chuck Grassley - The same Newsweek article that outlined McCain's confrontation with Domenici pointed to a similar incident with Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa. The two were debating issues related to soldiers who had been reported Missing In Action in Vietnam. After a blistering commentary by McCain, Grassley took offense. "Are you calling me stupid?" he asked.

McCain didn't miss a beat. "No, I'm calling you a fucking jerk."

2. Senator John Cornyn - On May 18, 2007, The Washington Post reported that McCain had locked horns with another one of his GOP colleagues, this time Senator John Cornyn of Texas. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill of 2007 had caused an enormous rift among Republicans, and the two Senators found themselves on opposite sides. Cornyn objected to a provision of the bill that allowed for what he perceived as too many judicial appeals for illegal immigrants. McCain called his objections "chicken shit" and accused Cornyn of making petty tactics to sabotage the whole bill. Cornyn took immediate offense.

"Wait a second here. I've been sitting in here for all these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line."

Then McCain, who'd been spending a lot of time away from Washington on his presidential campaign, got a little more out of line. "Fuck you!" he shouted. "I know more about this than anyone in this room!" McCain apologized shortly afterword.

1. His Own Wife, Cindy McCain - In his new book, The Real McCain, Cliff Schecter, a journalist and frequent contributor at the Huffington Post related perhaps the most disturbing of McCain's tirades. During his 2000 White House bid, the Senator was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, his aides, and three journalists who spoke to Schecter on condition of anonymity, but independently confirmed each other's accounts of the incident. Cindy McCain playfully ran her fingers through the Senator's hair and teased, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain reddened and fired back, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollup, you cunt." After he'd cooled down, McCain apologized, saying he'd had a long day.


QUOTE FROM MISSISSIPPI REPUBLICAN SENATOR THAD COCHRAN:

"The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

As I said—is this guy stable enough to be president?

Not from where I sit.

NOW are you going to give money to Obama and Biden? Go here to contribute.

Rudolph Giuliani on John McCain (2008):

“[McCain] has never run a city, never run a state, never run a government. He has never been responsible as a mayor for the safety and security of millions of people, and he has never run a law enforcement agency, which I have done.”

Just remember that when you hear about Giuliani attacking Obama's "lack of executive experience".

Joe Klein on McCain's Sudden War Against the Media

It's right here. Money quote:

There is a tendency in the media to kick ourselves, cringe and withdraw, when we are criticized. But I hope my colleagues stand strong in this case: it is important for the public to know that Palin raised taxes as governor, supported the Bridge to Nowhere before she opposed it, pursued pork-barrel projects as mayor, tried to ban books at the local library and thinks the war in Iraq is "a task from God." The attempts by the McCain campaign to bully us into not reporting such things are not only stupidly aggressive, but unprofessional in the extreme.

ANTI-McCAIN E-MAIL: McCain and Corruption

The Senator Nobody Really Knows

He’s a candidate for president, a big celebrity who has appeared on The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live. He’s one of the best known people in America, and yet, what do we really know about him?

Yes, what do we really know about John McCain?

What do we know about McCain’s involvement in the Savings and Loan scandal in the 1980s that cost the American taxpayers $250,000,000,000?

Why did McCain HIDE—yes, HIDE—almost 750,000 documents related to the Republican criminal and con man Jack Abramoff? Was it to keep them from embarrassing him?

Did you know that McCain has almost SIXTY major lobbyists and Washington insiders working for him—more than almost any other Senator?

Did you know that McCain’s chief economic advisor, Phil Gramm, is responsible, more than any other person, for the financial mess in housing and banking??

Did you know that McCain lies when he says he’s never asked for any earmarks or “pork” for Arizona?

Did you know that McCain LIED when he said he never wanted to PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY?

Did you know that a CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN WEBSITE (here: http://www.searchbling.net/?c=90&q=McCain+mob+Hensley) accused McCain of being tied to ORGANIZED CRIME?

WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT THIS GUY???


DON’T BELIEVE ME? Follow the links!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/21/AR2008022101131_pf.html

http://www.truthnews.us/?p=1559

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/08/did-mccain-engage-in-abramoff-coverup.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-scher/mccain-lies-about-social_b_106862.html

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1989-11-29/news/mccain-the-most-reprehensible-of-the-keating-five/1

http://www.searchbling.net/?c=90&q=McCain+Phil+Gramm

I was mistaken: Palin NOT Anti-Contraception

But her backers believe the Pill to be an abortifacient. How long before ol' Sarah gets in line?

BTW, Johnny Boy wants insurance to cover Viagra--but not birth control pills.

Palin has excited all the right wing theocrats who want to see America's Republic destroyed. Her selection was a big. "F--- You" to everyone else.

Disgusting. Palin Slashed Funding to Help Pregnant Teens in Alaska

The story is here.

My GOD is this woman a piece of work!

Palin: Out-and-Out LIAR

A disgusted Bob Somerby has the details here.  The issue is whether Palin vetoed the grotesque pork barrel boondoggle known as "The Bridge to Nowhere". Excerpt:

Yesterday, we noted the obvious. In fact, Palin never “told Congress” a bloomin’ thing about that much-derided bridge or earmark; Congress had removed itself from the matter thirteen months before she took office. But just to establish the fuller record, let’s ask two more obvious questions. When did Palin “champion reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress?” And returning to her alleged defiance of Congress: When did Palin “tell Congress” that “if our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves?”

“If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we'd build it ourselves?” Question: When did Palin say or do something that dimly resembles that?

In our view, Palin’s statements about the bridge/earmark are essentially outright lies. Yesterday, though, the utterly hapless New York Times called them a “slight exaggeration.” But so it has gone in the past sixteen years, as lying became a Democratic disease in the press corps’ reliable scripts. In the journalism of the past sixteen years, Republicans have been allowed to misstate as much as they pleased. By way of contrast, the press corps has often invented lies, then pretended that Major Democrats said them. Covering Palin, hapless news orgs like the New York Times are enacting this drama again.

And no, that isn’t the only howler in Palin’s new stump presentation. In this passage from Friday’s speech, she gives an absurdly bowdlerized account of her vastly heroic work on behalf of Alaska’s tax-payers:

PALIN: Along with fellow reformers in the great state of Alaska, as governor I stood up to the old politics as usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies, and the good old boy network. When oil and gas prices went up so dramatically, and the state revenues followed with that increase, I sent a large share of that revenue directly back to the people of Alaska.

What a champion of the people! But Palin vastly misstates this heroic tale too. Once again, she has basically lied.

Dishonest. Liar. Utterly inexperienced. Right-wing fanatic.

Gee, it must have taken McCain about 15 minutes of research to come up with her. But it's not an important position. Just one that in nine instances has required its holder to become president of the United States. Just what in the hell kind of judgment is that?

You Need to Spread This Video Far and Wide

I NEED YOUR HELP!!

I'm sure you've all been following the developing political story about Sarah Palin with a mixture of disbelief and alarm. A variety of presidential historians and political scientists have pronounced her the least qualified individual to ever be on a national ticket. What you also need to know about her:

1. That she was a member of the Alaska Independence Party, a right-wing secessionist group, as recently perhaps as 2004.
2. That her selection by McCain was imposed on him by the so-called Council for National Policy, a semi-secret group that serves as an umbrella organization for the most fanatically right wing social conservatives in America, and which is led by Theocrats Tim LaHaye and James Dobson.
3. That she is a "no exceptions" person on abortion (even for rape or incest).
4. That she is a creationist, a global warming denier, and an "abstinence-only" opponent of sex education.
5. That her church's pastor believes the end of the world is imminent.


In short, she would be a fantastically dangerous person to have as Vice President serving under a 72 year old with a history of cancer. If by some misfortune she were to be elevated to the presidency, it would be a catastrophe. She would be utterly clueless in world and national policy and dementedly right wing in her outlook. And don't think the Republicans can't get it close enough to steal again--look what they were able to do with a twit like W. There is a real possibility that the the lunatic religious right is close to its goal--seizure of national political power.

She and McCain have to be stopped. There is no "maybe" about it.

Obama may be ahead where you live, but it's neck and neck in a lot places (like Ohio) that we MUST win. So here's what I'm asking. Loyal Rampant Readers, I'd like you to help spread the word that I'm fund raising for Obama. My goal is to raise $10,000. My contribution page is here:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/JMiller

Now is the time for action. Don't look back in sorrow on Wednesday, 5 November, wishing you had done more. Remember what Edmund Burke said:

All it will take for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.

Again, Are You F---ing Kidding Me?

Question (in writing) to Sarah Palin:

Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

SP: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892. The "under God" part was added in 1954.

[Hat Tip: JLFinch on DKos]

The Place Where Sarah Palin Earned Her Awesome Executive Experience

Are you f---king kidding me?

Right Out of the Box, Palin Lies

An Alaska blogger has the story here. (BTW, check this guy's whole site out--it's really good.)

Palin: No-Class, Two-Bit Jackass

She is one ugly human being:

An Andrew Sullivan Reader Absolutely Nails It

It's so good that I'd like to steal--er, quote it--in full:

I had been reluctant to acknowledge how flawed and dead the conservative movement has become; that's over now. No more excuses, no more clinging to old visions of rational discourse and principled debate. I really have witnessed the death of conservatism and its replacement by a kind of toxic babbitry which would be merely laughable or cringeworthy if it were not also so extraordinarily dangerous.

This election year has been a series of revelations and disillusionments--the crudely ugly tactics of Limbaugh and Hannity (and--worse--their embrace by Buckley's heirs at National Review), the thinly-veiled racism and nativism of the campaign against Obama, the transparently cruel and God-hating ideology of movement Christians; but--even though dismayed by McCain's bizarre campaign--I had retained some illusions as recently as this morning. I believed McCain to be at least a patriot, sincerely concerned with issues of national security.

His nomination of Sarah Palin ended that illusion, too.

No remotely serious politician--no honest patriot--would think of placing this individual a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, however admirable she may be, however lively her biography.

Moreover, the elation on the right regarding Palin's nomination made clear to me that none of them has ever been remotely serious about national security, either. On the contrary, as the left has insisted for years, for them it really has all been about political advantage, noise and bluster and ugliness with no core of principle, no genuine strategic commitment.

The very same people who, only yesterday, insisted that Obama's resume was too dangerously thin to entrust him with the oversight of our national security, today are celebrating Palin's accession as a triumph for conservatism (evidently this is because she is hostile to both abortion and polar bears). Their hypocrisy is staggering--they truly do believe in nothing but their own entitlement to power by any means.

And I'm very much afraid I must conclude this is as true of McCain as it is of his ghastly cheerleaders, the Limbaughs and the Hannitys. Nothing else could explain the elevation of a woman so singularly unqualified in every aspect save gender.

29 August 2005

What the people of New Orleans were doing:




What John McCain was doing:

This is Who McSame Thinks is Qualified

"What is it exactly that the vice president does all day?" --

Sarah Palin to CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow LAST MONTH.

ANTI-MC CAIN E MAIL: McCain's LOUSY Choice for VP

TOP TEN REASONS SARAH PALIN SHOULD NOT BE ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT

#1: Palin opposes a woman's right to choose what to do with her own body, opposing the right to an abortion even for rape victims.

#2: Palin believes that Creationism should be taught in public schools, which runs both counter to well-settled evolutionary science, and to the Constitutional separation of church and state.

#3: Palin is a global warming denier, who (as with her views on evolution) has expressed skepticism about the well-settled science.

#4: Palin opposes listing polar bears as an endangered species, because it means oil and gas companies might have to be just a little bit careful out there.

#5: Palin is rabidly dedicated to drilling in the Artic wildlife refuge, known as ANWR.

#6: Palin is in the midst of a growing ethics scandal, involving the alleged abuse of her gubernatorial power to punish a State Trooper who is her sister's ex-husband, firing a State Commissioner who refused to go along.

#7: Palin called Hillary Clinton a "whiner", even as she cynically tries to woo Clinton voters to the McCain ticket.

#8: Palin has very little experience for the Vice Presidential job, serving less than two years so far of her first term as Governor of a state with fewer residents than Fort Worth, Texas. (Previously, she was Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, pop. 8,500.)

#9: Palin has no foreign policy experience at all, so little in fact that her supporters are reduced to citing Alaska's proximity to Russia.

#10: Palin is virtually untested, unvetted and unknown to Americans, a fact which throws into relief the hypocrisy of the many unfair criticisms leveled at Barack Obama during this campaign.

BONUS REASON, #11: Palin only recently said that she doesn't even know what the job entails, saying on the CNBC show Kudlow and Co. that:

"[A]s for that V.P. talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day?" (July 2008)

(end)


[Courtesy of Hudson at DKos]

Sarah Palin? Is That Supposed to Be a Joke?

McCain thinks the Governor of our 47th most populous state, someone who's been in office a year and half, is qualified to run America? McCain thinks that someone with no foreign policy experience who has hardly ever even left Alaska could deal with the world situation? And does he think women in this country are stupid and don't recognize an obvious, condescending pander when they see one? And why did McCain pass over women like Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas or Olympia Snowe of Maine, women who have long careers in Congress? Palin is a creationist. Palin thinks that if your 14 year old daughter is impregnated by a rapist that she should be forced to go through with the pregnancy. (She also makes no exception for incest or the life of the mother.) Palin is also embroiled in scandal in her home state, a scandal that is not going away:




Palin's selection is an atrocious pick, an act of desperation by a candidate who knows he's losing, especially after last night. It's a slap in the face to women, and it's an insult to the entire country. McCain is 72 and has a history cancer. Two years ago, Sarah Palin was mayor of a town in Alaska with 9,000 people. Can you imagine her having to deal with the world? This pick is worse than Bush trying to put Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court. It's worse than Barry Goldwater picking William E. Miller. It's more ludicrous of a choice than Dan Quayle was in 1988.

As I said, is this supposed to be a joke?

An AMAZING Speech by Our Next President, Barack Obama

Watch it our read it here.

As I said on DKos, I've been watching political speeches since I was 12, in 1964. Barack Obama's speech tonight was the most brilliantly powerful political speech I have ever seen. Never have I seen an individual make such a powerful case for himself, his party, and above all, the people of our beloved nation. I have never been so fired up with enthusiasm for a political leader in my life as I am right now.

Just before Super Bowl XX, Steve McMichael of the Chicago Bears threw a folding chair at a blackboard, smashing it to pieces. He then said, "I'm ready." For the first time, I understand what he meant.

Take It From an Ex-Republican: Learn to Fight Dirty

Any reasonably alert observer knows the vicious, unprincipled depths to which the Radical Right, i.e., the modern Republican Party and its hacks, will sink in their attempt to destroy Barack Obama. In case you need to see them all in one place, these are attacks that McCain and his thugs have ACTUALLY made:

Obama is a traitor

Obama may just be the AntiChrist.

Obama is a secret Muslim pro-terrorist Manchurian candidate.

Obama is a Marxist.

Obama is just a paper-thin "celebrity"

Obama hates the troops.

Obama is an ally of terrorists here in America.

Obama is an elitist who despises white middle class Americans.

Obama is simply an "affirmative action" candidate.

Obama is soft on crime.

Obama wants to kill live babies.

And the list goes on an on and on.

These observers have also seen, with varying degrees of outrage and disbelief, how McCain's huge fan club in the Corporate Media is doing everything it can to put McCain in the White House. (CNN's atrociously bad coverage of the convention is just one of a thousand examples). Republican hacks like Giuliani are allowed to spread lying bullshit with impunity. Right wing hate radio has gone into overdrive. And millions of ugly, lying emails are circulating. Since I was a Republican up until 1991, none of this surprises me, but I continue to be surprised by the inability of many of my beloved Democratic friends to understand something:

YOU NEED TO FIGHT DIRTY TO BEAT THESE REPUBLICAN ASSHOLES. Allow me to explain.

By "fight dirty" I do NOT mean make up lies about the Republicans.

I do not mean to ally ourselves with idiots like the so-called "Vietnam Veterans Against McCain".

I mean, we have to be willing to tell the ugly truth about this son of a bitch again and again and again

We need to hit him on his philandering, lying, and cheating on his loyal first wife HARD. A lot of Americans hate people who cheat like that, including many social conservatives. Mention it AGAIN AND AGAIN.

We need to call McCain what he is: A DAMNED LIAR who will do or say ANYTHING to win. And yes, we need to use the word LIAR. The Swiftboat Assholes used that term against Kerry EXPLICITLY. It was a falsehood coming from them. When we call McCain a liar, it is simply the bare truth.

We need to call McCain a CROOK, because it's true. From his wife's Mob-infested family to his connections with shady underworld figures In Arizona to his corrupt land deals to the Keating Five scandal to covering up 95% of the Abramoff evidence, McCain is simply a slimy, two-bit hustler. Start hitting him in those terms.

We need to remind people of how McCain has basically simply defecated on veterans in America, highlighting his atrocious, anti-veteran voting record. We need to remind people of how McCain has attacked POW-MIA groups. And we need to remind people that REAL heroes don't run around reminding people of their heroism every 5 minutes. I had four uncles who served in the Pacific in World War II. I never ONCE heard any of them brag about their service--not once. McCain is dragging every veteran through the mud every time he uses his POW card to deflect any criticism. That shit has GOT to stop.

And we need to stop the constant genuflecting to McCain's service. Remember the fucking Purple Heart bandages from the 2004 Republican Convention if you don't agree.

I know what some of you will say. You'll say things like "We don't lower ourselves to their level" and "we take the high road". My God, I just shake my head in disbelief when I read or hear stuff like that. When I was a Republican we used to LOVE to run against Democrats like that, because they didn't have the spine and the guts to stick up for themselves. They didn't do what needed to be done. And they lost--again and again and again. Republican views are perverse and atrocious, but Republicans will do ANYTHING to win. That's why this Ayers shit might stick. It's why the Radical Muslim shit is still circulating.

Take it from an ex-Republican: the Republican Convention next week is going to be a NON STOP HATE FESTIVAL AGAINST OBAMA. There will be NOTHING but the crudest, most vicious attacks on him. You and I both know it. And if, by 5 September, McCain is in the lead nationally, it will be very hard to overturn that lead. And don't give me this crap about the debates, because the Corporate Media will set the bar impossibly high for Obama and ridiculously low for McCain. If McCain doesn't keel over or wet himself, he'll be declared the winner. Remember the first 2000 Debate if you don't buy that argument.

Too many of my fellow Democrats are just too G-d damned NICE. It's part of why I love you. You have decent instincts and a sense of fair play. But we're in a WAR we must win. The Republicans are your ENEMIES. I guarantee that's how they see you and talk about you. Many of them hate you. Some of them actively advocate killing people like you. (Michael Reagan called for Howard Dean to be killed, for example. Limbaugh has called for the killing of liberals. Exterminationist rhetoric is very common on the Right.) If these people win again, in what should be a Democratic landslide year, the consequences will be tragic. Every loyal, patriotic kid who is killed in the wars McCain will start will, in one sense, be blood on our hands because we weren't willing to tell the ugly truth--that John McCain is a mentally unstable, lying crook.

Barack won't do it. The Democratic Convention won't do it. The fierce language of truth will be up to us, the soldiers in the campaign trenches, to use. Our country is dying. If we don't win this because we wanted to play nice, it will be the ultimate betrayal.

Trust me on this--I've seen this kind of right wing hate campaign from the inside. It's part of why I had to leave. But you know something:

It works.

Get used to it. And roll up your sleeves.

And G-d damn it, FIGHT DIRTY.

It's Like Hillary Said

John McCain: "Philanderer, War Pimp, Bush Policy Clone, and Neocon Liar"

I don't much like the original website, but I can't disagree with a single word of this:

John McCain totally destroyed my respect for him with the uncaring, selfish, cold-hearted betrayal in how he dumped [his first wife]. Indeed, I will never forget nor forgive him for the cruel way he showed his true colors. He quickly threw Carol aside and replaced her with Cindy Hensley, his new rich sugar mama, with whom he was having an affair. Hensley is a spoiled home wrecker, worth approximately 100 million, bred from the loins of a staunch Republican father who conveniently helped elevate Johnny boy within the DC realm. I'm not into Freud, but it's easy to wonder who came so ruthlessly after McCain -- Cindy...or her father?

And this self-righteous, self-serving animal wants my vote? Well, it will have to be a Hell's-Kitchen-burning-white-hot-winter November day in Bullhead City, Arizona before I would even consider putting a checkmark next to his pathetic name in the 2008 Presidential Election. Catch my meaning? Good.

Read the whole thing. It's worth it.

ANTI-MC CAIN E MAIL: The Senator and the Terrorist

THE SENATOR AND THE TERRORIST

This terrorist is as evil a man as America has ever given rise to.

He originated a plot to destroy the American political system.

He has told people the best way to kill Federal agents.

He has made death threats against public officials.

He has called for mass murder and says American soldiers should be trained to fight like "the Waffen SS"--i.e., he wants them to fight like Nazis. No surprise, since Adolf Hitler was his earliest political inspiration, by his own admission.

The terrorist is called G. Gordon Liddy.

And the Senator who supports him and has lavished praise on him is

JOHN MC CAIN.

McCain has appeared on Liddy's hate radio program. Liddy has organized fund raising for McCain. And McCain counts himself HONORED to be Liddy's friend.

Can you trust ANY public figure that calls scum like Liddy his friend?

BTW, if you don't believe me, check out the EVIDENCE here:

http://jamillerrampant.blogspot.com/2008/08/
john-mccains-terrorist-friend-g-gordon.html

McCain's Tax Plan: Keep Showering Money Down on the Top 1%

From the L.A. Times (click to enlarge):

John McCain's Terrorist Friend: G. Gordon Liddy

In light of the completely unsurprising news that McCain is going to try to tie Barack Obama to Bill Ayers, I thought it might be fun to look at John McCain's much more dangerous, much more violent, much more radical friend: G. Gordon Liddy, notorious even in the lawless Nixon White House for his fanaticism and his unbelievable lack of any moral restraint whatsoever. Chicago Tribune columnist Stephen Chapman brought the issue up this spring (the article is not online, unfortunately) but HuffPo picked up on it. Read along with me, dear friends, as we dive into the muck of Liddy, the Ultimate Right Wing Republican and die-hard McCain supporter.

Let's start by establishing their connection:

In 1998, Liddy's home was the site of a McCain fundraiser. Over the years, he has made at least four contributions totaling $5,000 to the senator's campaigns--including $1,000 this year.
Last November, McCain went on his radio show. Liddy greeted him as "an old friend," and McCain sounded like one. "I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family," he gushed. "It's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon, and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great."

And what kind of man is Liddy, exactly?

[Adolf Hitler] was G Gordon Liddy's first political hero. Liddy was a sickly, asthmatic child when he grew up in Hoboken, New Jersey, in the 1930s. The town was full of ethnic Germans who idolized Hitler. Liddy was made to salute the Stars and Stripes Nazi-style by the nuns at his school; even now, he admits, "at assemblies where the national anthem is played, I must suppress the urge to snap out my right arm." His beloved German nanny taught him that Hitler had -- through sheer will-power -- "dragged Germany from weakness to strength."

This gave Liddy hope "for the first time in my life" that he too could overcome weakness. When he listened to Hitler on the radio, it "made me feel a strength inside I had never known before," he explains. "Hitler's sheer animal confidence and power of will [entranced me]. He sent an electric current through my body." He describes seeing the Nazis' doomed technological marvel the Hindenberg flying over New Jersey as an almost religious experience. "Ecstatic, I drank in its colossal power and felt myself grow. Fear evaporated and in its place came a sense of personal might and power."

Read the whole terrifying interview with Liddy here.

Liddy was the originator and leader of the Watergate break-in, about which he is utterly unrepentant. (He wanted to kill columnist Jack Anderson for writing critcal articles about Nixon, as well.) Liddy did his absolute best to undermine American democracy, for which he has the deepest contempt (being a Nietzschean)and yet he hides behind the First Amendment to say things like this, which is from a 1994 exchange on his radio show:

Liddy: When the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms thugs come to kill your wife and children, to try to disarm you and they open fire on you. When they come at the point of a gun, force and violence, when you're going to defend yourself, use that Gerand [M-1 rifle]. That thing is 30-06, and it'll take 'em right out.

Caller: And yes, aim for the head.

Liddy: Absolutely.

If Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich or Oliver North missed the Sept. 15 show, the Sept. 6 show would have helped them understand this Republican supporter's character.

Liddy: Arm yourself. Get instructed in how to shoot straight.

Caller: I've got weapons.

Liddy: Absolutely. And don't give 'em up, and don't register either.

Caller: No way. And I'm aiming between the eyes.

Liddy: There you go. That way their flak jackets won't protect them.

For the listeners to Liddy's 250 stations, appeals for the election of Republican candidates were sandwiched between frequent depictions of the Clinton administration as an evil that needed to be resisted with deadly force. That may explain why Liddy was invited to be the guest of honor at the Republican Party's "Salute to Talk Radio."

Now, maybe McCain likes and admires Liddy because Liddy, like McCain, knows how to win wars. Here's Liddy, from the Media Matters article, on Vietnam:

While the Nixon administration was spraying tonnes of napalm and poison over Vietnam, he complained the policy was "too soft." He says now, "I wanted to bomb the Red River dykes [sic: dikes]. It would have drowned half the country and starved the other half. There would have been no way the Viet Cong could have operated if we had the will-power to do that."

"... What I'm saying is we had better embrace the horror of war. If you aren't tough, if you don't pull out all the stops, you lose." So all of the conventions created in the wake of the Second World War - the Geneva Conventions, the very concept of war crimes - these are all just polite fictions to be crumpled? "Of course. The Seventh Infantry Division in 1945 used to drive their tanks around with the heads of defeated Japanese solders displayed proudly on the front. That's what we need to train our present-day soldiers to be." Returning to Vietnam, he adds that the French -- the colonial power preceding the Americans -- succeeded in Vietnam because "they were using the Foreign Legion, then manned almost completely by veterans from the most disciplined, ruthlessly efficient practitioners of all-out warfare in history: the Waffen SS."

Of course, what did you expect from someone who said:

G. Gordon Liddy's comment in 1995, when discussing how he'd used stick figures of the Clintons for target practice. "Thought it might improve my aim," he said.

Yes, this is John McCain's good friend and supporter. Liddy is the darling of the Freepers and the other right wing lunatics. He's a violent enemy of our nation, a traitor, a pathological liar, and a true domestic terrorist. He's also heard on 238 radio stations every weekday. So if Johnny Boy wants to play rough, I suggest we go G. Gordon Liddy on his ass.

Since McCain Can't Remember How Many Houses He Owns, Here's a Handy Guide

Click to enlarge!!

By Bush and Cheney's Standards, John McCain Was Never Tortured

Andrew Sullivan lays out the devastating case here. All of the horrifying and barbaric things done to John McCain have been called NOT TORTURE by Bush and his lawless criminal thugs. And here's the terrible truth:

But the actual techniques used on McCain, and the lies they were designed to legitimize, are a matter of historical record. And the government of the United States now practices the very same techniques that the Communist government of North Vietnam once proudly used against American soldiers. When they are used against future John McCains, the victims will know, in a way McCain didn't, that their own government has no moral standing to complain.

Now the kicker: in the Military Commissions Act, McCain acquiesced to the use of these techniques against terror suspects by the CIA. And so the tortured became the enabler of torture. Someone somewhere cried out in pain for the same reasons McCain once did. And McCain let it continue.

These are the prices people pay for power.

He Just Wants It, That's All

John McCain:

"I didn't decide to run for president to start a national crusade for the political reforms I believed in or to run a campaign as if it were some grand act of patriotism. In truth, I wanted to be president because it had become my ambition to become president. I was sixty-two years old when I made the decision, and I thought it was my one shot at the prize."

Ten years later, it's still the only reason he can think of.

More on McCain, the Anti-Veteran Veteran

Seems the only veteran John McCain gives a rat's ass about is himself.

What kind of low life bastard votes against the interest of disabled veterans 80% of the time?

The Anti-Veteran Veteran

Get a look at McCain's LOUSY, ANTI-VETERAN voting record here

To me, what's especially outrageous is this:

AFTER FIGHTING TOOTH AND NAIL AGAINST JIM WEBB'S GI BILL, MC CAIN TOOK CREDIT FOR IT WHEN IT PASSED!!

We have GOT to beat the hell out of this phony, lying, two-faced SOB.

Anti-McCain E-Mail Marches On!

Senator Do-Nothing, The D.C. Fraud

 

You’d think that if someone in the Senate was running for president, he’d at least have DONE something in his time there to merit consideration.

 

You know, that he’d be someone who has actually ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING.

 

Yes, it’s really too bad that John McCain is a do-nothing fraud running for an office he doesn’t deserve.

 

What’s the record, you say? I’m glad you asked:

 

When Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal—a REPUBLICAN--was asked if he could think of ANY big idea McCain is campaigning on, he COULDN’T THINK OF ONE! Look here:

 

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/17/jindal-stumped-when-asked-to-new-big-ideas-that-mccain-is-proposing/

 

Former Governor Mitt Romney—a REPUBLICAN-- said he can’t think of ANY idea John McCain has ever had on energy policy. (But that’s OK—McCain just approved of whatever Bush and Cheney told him to.)

 

And legislative accomplishments? McCAIN’S OWN WEB SITE ONLY LISTS ONE IN ALMOST 22 YEARS IN THE SENATE—a law McCain no longer stands by!!

 

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/14582.html

 

The truth is, McCain has done virtually NOTHING in Congress. He talks big, but in the end, he simply supports Bush 95% of the time.

 

 

And you can’t tell what be believes, either. He’s FLIP-FLOPPED positions on major issues OVER SIXTY TIMES.

 

Here is a list of  SOME of the issues that McCain has FLIP FLOPPED on:

 

Social Security (he wants to PRIVATIZE it!)

The Iraq troop withdrawal

Tax Cuts

Roe v. Wade

Gay Marriage

Offshore drilling (he OPPOSED it until 2 months ago!)

Equal pay for women

 

HE’S DONE NOTHING. HE CHANGES POSITIONS LEFT AND RIGHT. HE STANDS FOR NOTHING. HIS POSE OF BEING A “MAVERICK” AND AN “INDEPENDENT” IS A FRAUD!

 

YOU CAN’T TRUST THIS GUY!!