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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 18 September 2008 |
I like John McCain. The old John McCain. The old McCain who wasn’t afraid to pick a fight with the GOP and instead followed his beliefs. The old McCain who, while maybe not truly a “maverick”, at least deviated enough from far right party doctrine to appeal to the broad group of moderates.
The old McCain
- Opposed illegal wiretapping of US citizens.
The new McCain flip flop
- Defended the bush administration warrantless wiretapping policies
The old McCain
- Did not support an overturn of Roe V Wade (abortion rights), and actually proposed modifying the republican platform to allow abortions in the cases of incest, rape or where the mother’s life was in danger.
The new McCain flip flop
- Opposes the overturn of Roe V Wade , and believes abortion should be illegal even in cases of incest, rape or where the mothers life is in danger.
The old McCain
- Was opposed to pandering to the religious right like Jerry Falwell. “Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right.
The new McCain flip flop
- When asked if he thinks Jerry Falwell was still an agent of intolerance said “no”. In fact, he went well beyond that and co-hosted a commencement ceremony with Jerry Falwell at Liberty University.
The old McCain
- Fought for fiscal restraint , opposing the magnitude of the Bush tax cuts because “a disproportionate amount of the cuts went to the wealthiest Americans”, and because it would be damaging to our economy and our ability to balance the budget. In fact, he was right, as the United States is now averaging close to a staggering $500 Billion annual deficit, by a huge margin the largest deficit in American history.
The new McCain flip flop
- Put out an advertisement claiming, “I’ll make the Bush tax cuts permanent.”
The old McCain
- Wrote a bill to dramatically reform the immigration system, formalizing the status of over 10 million illegal immigrants in the US so they can pay taxes and contribute officially to our economy
The new McCain flip flop
- Said “I would veto my own bill ” referring to the immigration bill he wrote.
The old McCain
- Tried to convince the Bush administration to either formally declare the detainees as war criminals or return them to their home countries for prosecution, saying they “deserve to have adjudication of their cases”.
The new McCain flip flop
- Adamantly opposed the supreme court ruling that these detainees are entitled to due process .
The list goes on and on.
Now I’m the first person to argue that changing your mind is part of growing. As you go through life, you get more experience, and learn more facts. And if you don’t occasionally change your position, then frankly you’re either closed minded or stupid, or both.
But why would McCain change so many positions, in such a dramatic way, in such a short period of time?
You only have to look back to the 2000 elections. Early on, the race narrowed to a contest between Bush and McCain. Bush was able to pull ahead because he was able to galvanize the support of the more radical elements of the Republican Party like the fundamentalist Christians.
Following his loss to Bush , McCain systematically “sold out” and began to tow the party line. Not only did he make dramatic shifts in his position above, he voted with George Bush 95% of the time. He put his strong support behind the disastrous policies of Mr Bush, campaigned for him in the 2004 elections, and generally made a very strong case for initiating the disastrous and unjustified Iraq war in 2003. In essence, the “maverick reformer” decided it was more important to appease the party and get elected president, than it was to stand for anything he believed in.
Yes, I could have supported the old McCain. He was a reasonable guy with reasonable positions and showed he could think for himself and vote his conscious. But the new McCain is the new-ultra-conservative. And worse, he doesn’t stand for anything he believes in. Where is the integrity that we need in the highest office?
How do I boil this down to a sound bite? McCain sold his sole to the Bush… err… Devil.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 08 November 2008 )
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