Re: By Leefeller, February 23 at 10:12 am #

McCain didn’t say we can be at war for 100 years.  He said we might have troops in Iraq for 100 years… just as we have in Europe.  Big difference.

Interestingly, your claim that Obama’s site won’t contain substantive policy (which would be dangerous you say) is contradicted by the post that follows yours.  I still maintain that Obama is all about “hope” and not about substance.  The country doesn’t run on hope.

2nd Fact about McCain.
McCain is the political whore changeling who will speak the silvery sounds that catch the ear of his entire Republican horde. 
For full quotes, check out:
http://www.ontheissues.org/John_McCain.htm
Among many, here are a few cherry picked.
On abortion…
Flip:  Support adoption & foster care; work together on abortion. (Oct 1999)
Flop:  Restrict abortions; no partial-birth; no public funding. (Jul 1998)
Flip: Wants Roe vs. Wade made irrelevant, but would not repeal it. (Aug 1999)
Flop:  Supports repealing Roe v. Wade. (May 2007)

FlipFlop:  FactCheck: Said—then denied—he needed economics education. (Jan 2008)

What could these flip/flops mean?
Flip:  Things are tough now, but we’re better off than in 2000. (Jan 2008)
Flop:  To avoid recession, stop out-of-control spending. (Jan 2008)
Question:  If we are better off, why do we have to avoid a recession?

Flip:  The issue of economics is something that I’ve really never understood as well as I should. (Chicago Tribune, Dec 2007)
Flop: I’m very well versed in economics. I was there at the Reagan Revolution. (Jan. 2008)

Flip:  Republicans have forgotten how to control spending. (Nov 2007)
Flop:  He missed voting on the 2007 GOP Budget.
McCain gives a very fuzzy picture on what he would do about taxes and the budget.  Fact is you can’t balance a budget without money and if you give tax cuts to the rich, where are you going to get the money?  Is that a dumb question?

Flip: The state of California and state of Arizona, we westerners care very much about our environment and we want to act.
Flop: In 1996, McCain voted against an amendment to the Fiscal Year 1997 Budget Resolution (SCR 57) which would have increased funding for national parks and sewer systems by $6.5 billion.  This amendment failed by a vote of 45 to 54.  In 1995, McCain also voted against an amendment to the Fiscal Year 1996 Budget Resolution (SCR 13) that would have increased funding for National Parks by $1 billion.  The motion to consider this amendment which required a 3/5ths vote to pass was defeated by a vote of 46 to 53. [CQ Vote# 155, 5/23/96; CQ Vote# 210, 5/25/95]

There’s more of the environment issue kind of flop reported by JM Bell in DNC Press.

On border security.  Flip:  Criticized federal funding for border and law enforcement agencies to increase security. (Sept. 01 and again in Apr. 03 and again in May 06)
Flop:  Stated “We [he] will secure the borders first. (Jan. 07)

On immigration:
Flip:  Backed away from comprehensive reform and legalization (Boston Globe and NY Times Mar. 07)
Flop:  Changed tune and went back to comprehensive reform (Washington Post, and Roll Call May 07)

I think this is enough for today.

More Facts to come.

1st Fact about McCain:
He vows no new taxes.  What same old same old Republican political rhetorical crap!  That is a clue as to how this country will not be able to pay back its debt to foreign countries for an illegal and immoral war. That is the clue as to how this country will not be able to pay down its National Debt.  That is a clue as to how this country will not be able to afford better education.  That is a clue as to how this country will not be able to afford better health care for the middle class and the poor. This a clue as to how the rich will be able to get richer the poor will get poorer as prices on everything continues to rise.  That is a clue as to how we have allowed this Republican government to flush our country down the proverbial toilet.

More facts to come.

Message must be ambiguous, to bring in more people. McCain saying we can be at war for the next 100 years is not ambiguous.  Guess we should vote for McCain Mr. non ambiguous. 

It is a matter of hope and change verses status quo, isn’t that how Bush won by being ambiguous? Look what happened to Kucinich or Paul and Gravel, they ended up in the black hole for having issue stands. 

If you found some major change items in Obama’s site I would be surprised.

Do not know what you mean the more things “change” the more thay stay the same?

Three times, I have tried to post about the danger of our facing four years with this fossil in the Big Chair running another war presidency. Since I also criticize HillBillary Clinton, all of the previous blogs have been vetoed by Truthdig. I guess this will be effort number four. His semi-centrist positions in a few other areas notwithstanding, nor his vote against the Bush/Cheney pet torture law recently, it will require a military conscription to beef the ranks of the armed services for the numbers of wars and multiple fronts McCain will blunder us into. Both he, and Clinton, see nothing fundamentally flawed in the US presence in Iraq. He must be stopped, and she can’t stop him. That leaves us with only one other choice, unless the Democratic kingmakers eliminate that decision for us.

Has there ever been an election where “change” was not the buzzword campaign theme?  That’s what politicians run on - time after time after time.  The more things “change”, the more they stay the same.

I’ve perused Obama’s website for issue stands and there’s little there that involves major change.  There are references to improving the welfare of the “middle class” - a completely ambiguous term that’s just perfect for building a populist platform that no one can pin you to.

Hi, Cyrena. Nice to hear from someone like you instead of lilmamzer.

Needed to bone up on fascism, me Mr.  semantics here.  I had always equated fascism to corporatisim, unfortunately you are correct. Fascism is a simple ideology that considers the individual insignificant to the master grand plan.  Me thinks true democracy dost not fit the mold. If I could only find a true democracy.

Actually, we’re not as dumb as we look Marshall.

The horrors of the Dick Bush regime have forced Americans to start paying attention. That the press has continually ignored this, doesn’t mean that we aren’t getting smarter, it just means that people like you are still too arrogant to notice.

Bravo Ostrogoth!! What an excellent commentary you share with us!!!

Your astute observations and insight are much appreciated. (well, at least I appreciate them.)

I suspect other Americans do as well.

Thanks!!

PS..I admit that the reality of your post; the fact that we the people are surely living under a fascist regime, (boarding on totalitarianism) is not the most welcome of news.

Still, it IS the reality. The more we’re forced to face that, the better chance we have for a collective recovery/survival.

Americans should stop it already with the polite euphemisms. John McCain, who may at one time in his life have been a principled conservative, has crossed his Rubicon, along with 44 other US Senators who voted against the ban on water torture. These thugs in suits are not patriots, republicans, or conservatives. They are fascists. Don’t be so afraid to apply the label when it fits. Fascists support torture of detainees. Patriots, republicans, and conservatives do not.

As if supporting torture weren’t bad enough, he’s an unconditional booster for Zionist apartheid and racism, at U.S. taxpayer expense. He wants to terrorize innocent Iraqis in aeternum, and do the same to Iranians. He voted for the Patriot (sic) Act, for the MCA, and for the AIPAC resolution authorizing war on Iran. F-a-s-c-i-s-t.

Oh, and spare me the cynical, hypocritical rhetoric about how water torture isn’t torture, or how we should trust our government officials to torture us only when it’s justified. Maybe the newborns in the maternity ward will buy it.

But the scariest thing about John McCain isn’t what John McCain says, or does, or who he is, although that’s all scary stuff. It’s all the Americans who buy into his war-, fear-, and hate-mongering lies. If McCain stumbles, there are countless fascists in this country, even more fanatical than McCain, just waiting to pick up his torch. And their numbers are growing, not shrinking. Even if McCain doesn’t get into power, someone like him will before long. None of the current Republican leaders—McCain, Romney, Huckabee, or Giuliani—have any use for democracy or constitutional government.

Yes, that is true, they hate us. But it is not sound reasoning to argue from a specific incident to a generalized statement applying to everone over there.

Obviously not everyone hates us or we wouldn’t have any allies.

The question, then becomes what’s best for them, and for us. Maybe our aggression has made the violent ones more violent, and made the moderates seem foolish.

We simply are not going to be able to stop the spead of radical Islam by violence, Or by throwing money at it either.

Then there is always the problem of what good does it do us to fight over there if we destroy our own country economically in the process?

For example in Brittain, there is a problem with Sharia law right now, because of the large number of Islamic people living there.

They are living there because middle class families are no longer having children like they used to, there are problems with divorce, and Islamic people have come to Brittain as workers.

In many ways we share the same problems as Brittian does, high divorce rate, disapearance of the middle class into poverty.

Our failures in regard to fundamentalist Islam are also related to our own cultural problems and declinning economy. Unless we take a look at this issues we will not succeed.

In short we are suffering because we have a McWorld businsess culture, they are succeeding because they don’t.

Good article Eugene. You nailed McCain and why he would be bad for America. Now that Obama has won Wisconsin and probably Hawaii, I think Hillary is toast. Obama will engergize the country behind him except for the redneck states who still won’t vote for a black candidate. Obama will win overwelmingly elsewhere. As you clearly spell out - Obama is on the right side of the arguments vis a’ vis the economy, the Iraq war, and the abysmal state of our health care systems.  The endorsement for Obama will now start to roll in as it’s clear Hillary can’t win.

Liars and deceivers a important part of being corrupt, not bad if you feel the need to support liars and deceiver. Though, some people may receive Liars and deceivers like cockroaches in the pantry. Not bad if you are a cockroach.

Yes, the rule of law is a farce. Chaney has worked hard to reestablish the laws instituted to safeguard the Watergate kind of mentality.  Sadly he has been successful. We are doomed to let the liars govern.

Don’t bet on a sure winner here. First the democrat side still needs to be decided so maybe and hopefully the 2 remaining wannabes can get down to talking and explaining their answers to the issues and NOT get down and dirty with the negativism that most likely will dominate the finals up to election day.
Surely, the conservatives have unequivocally shown their direction in where they want to keep this country going. The other side claims to want to change that direction. But neither side has given any substantive plans for anything but who more a threat to this country. And unfortunately that will probably be all we can base our decision to vote upon from these people.
I would say the election is up in the air and especially so when the outcome of the 2006 election has shown such poor results.

“politicians are not listening to popular opinion because they attribute little knowledge, reason or intelligence to the populace.”

And why should they?  Most voters are ignorant of the issues.  We elect politicians for the purpose of understanding the issues for us and making policy so we don’t have to.  Those of us that DO research the issues can make more reasoned arguments for and against those policies, but we’re by far the minority.

Many in this country just don’t see it that way Mike.  While you may be convinced of your assessment of the war, reasonable people of good intention can disagree with you and that doesn’t make them bad people.

The important point is not the percentage of the muslim world that supports the global caliphate, its the lethality of the small group that does.  They fully intend to use our technology against us to bring this about, and there seems to be no shortage of those willing to give their lives in the process.

VOT:

You have an obviuous right to believe that anyone who would stone their daughter to death for being seen with a non-related male is “extremist,” and that such punishments are barbaric vis-a-vis a more “enlightened” civilization.

However, it is a seriously illogical leap to say that “these people” want to kill “you, and me, and our families.”  While certainly some of those who would impose these punishments on their own DO support the idea of a global Islamic caliphate, most do not; i.e., as repugnant as those punishments are to us, most of “these people” are NOT interested in projecting those punishments elsewhere.

And while some Muslims do indeed “want to kill us,” they represent a comparatively small minority of the over 1 billion Muslims on the planet.

Peace.

Eugene is right that McCain is out of step with the American public, but candidates have good reason to believe the the public is fickle and if the personality and/or superficial qualities of the candidate are right, they will forget that the candidate’s views are at odds with their own. Beginning especially with W, politicians are not listening to popular opinion because they attribute little knowledge, reason or intelligence to the populace. Why else is the corrupt and impeachable Bush and Cheney still able to do damage to our country? In fact, the criminal Tom DeLay was treated like an expert on MSNBC after the Feb 5th election. We apparently have no standards of conduct anymore.

Ok, so a father who stones his 14yr old daughter to death, for being seen with a non-related male and injuring her father’s reputation, is not extremist????  These people want to kill you, and me, and our families.  Hell, they kill their own families for less.  And this is the same type of law, Sharia, that they want imposed on us.  What part of I hate you and will try to kill you any way I can isn’t translating for you????

And it would definitely play to McCain’s advantage if we had another “terrorist attack” (read “false flag operation”) on U.S. soil just prior to the elections…

“The Democrats also recognize that while U.S. forces are bogged down in Iraq, al-Qaida is regrouping in Pakistan and plotting new attacks.”

I think both parties recognize this, though there’s little we can do about it physically without violating Pakistan’s sovereignty.  So our involvement in Iraq isn’t particularly related to Pakistan in this regard.

“The Democrats have tapped into the widespread discomfort and insecurity that polls indicate many Americans feel, while McCain and the Republicans can only talk about more tax cuts and the eternal glory of free and unfettered markets.”

Odd then that the Dems backed the tax cuts of the stimulus - an overdue admission that tax cuts stimulate the economy, and a contradiction of their opposition to the original cuts starting in 2001.

Troublesum is right…

This race will be against fear…And there are so many fears right now, when you add them up, the make a very long list….

Even before the primaries are over, the tactics of fear have began. The Republican party has become the party of fear, and their nominee will be the King of Terror.

...fearmongering wrecked Ron Paul, and it may yet destroy Hillary or Obama; so don’t underestimate it.

How about Hillary mongering?

John McCain’s losing message is that he is John McCain.

^ “The Democratic Party is currently his best weapon against the Democratic Party.”  Because it’s so true.

I’m not surprised that Bush 41 gave McCain a heartfelt endorsement.  They are conservatives of the same breed.  And while i don’t trust Sen McCain any further than he can raise his own arms, i also wouldn’t be surprised if once installed in office he became a very different conservative than the kind he will have to campaign as to win.

Then again, its hard to get a feel for who the real John McCain is anymore.  But i’d be willing to bet that Bush 43 doesn’t really endorse him, and the people who will be swayed by that endorsement will vote Republican no matter who the nominee is.

In any case, he’ll have an uphill battle.  And the more he panders to the base, the more he’ll turn off the moderates and independents…which should be his strong suit.  He’s in good health for his age, but if the Dems already had a nominee and played the 50 state strategy…i would assume that they could simply tire him out, mentally and physically.  The Democratic Party is currently his best weapon against the Democratic Party.

John McCain may win the same way Buh did: vote fraud and fear.  You are underestimating how susceptible the public is to fear mongering.