Quote:
Originally Posted by Oakland Red
I guess that you weigh what is discussed in the article differently than I do, Sheriff. To you, it is par for the course for a politician. For me, it belies the very image of being a "principled politician" that many have had of him.
I think it is very important to know exactly what we are getting when we vote for a president. When Bush was running for example, he made many lies about himself, including how he was "not interested in nation building."
I just got this in my email box tonight about McCain:
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):
1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6
7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10
John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be.
-- From MoveOn.org
|
This "email" is, to be blunt, stupid and insulting. It makes it seem as if McCain and the Washington media are trying to hide things about him.
But if you've been paying any attention over the last year (if nothing more) then you already know McCain is anti-abortion, a war hawk, wealthy (married into a wealthy family), short-tempered, had a poor voting record according to the LCV (did a 41% the previous year and compared to other fellow party nominees stands out, though still not where he probably should be), and perhaps more.
It's one thing to disagree with his stances and record. It's quite another to act like these are all huge secrets that McCain and the press are conspiring to keep from the public. Quite frankly, if you weren't aware of most of these things than you have no business commenting.