"There's only one place left in America that they don't get it," McCain told a town hall gathering outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, referring to Washington. "Pork-barrel spending is out of control and Americans want it stopped."
He said the result "is an interesting commentary on how the Congress and the Senate [are] disconnected from the American people."
The suggestion, of course, being that McCain is the true man of the people and that the two Democratic candidates are not, even though they both voted in support of the 1-year suspension of earmarks.
The problem with McCain's argument is that it opens him up to an evaluation of his other positions under the same microscope.
According to CNN:
A majority of Americans consider waterboarding a form of torture. ... Asked whether they think waterboarding is a form of torture, more than two-thirds of respondents, or 69 percent, said yes; 29 percent said no.
Asked whether they think the U.S. government should be allowed to use the procedure to try to get information from suspected terrorists, 58 percent said no; 40 percent said yes.
So on the issue of torture, McCain is obviously, as he puts it, "disconnected from the American people."
According to USA Today:
Which would be better for the United States?
Keep a significant number of troops in Iraq until the situation there gets better: 35%
Set a timetable for removing troops and stick to it regardless of what is going on in Iraq: 60%
Obviously, McCain is out of touch with America when he says, on his campaign website:
A greater military commitment now is necessary if we are to achieve long-term success in Iraq. John McCain agrees with retired Army General Jack Keane that there are simply not enough American forces in Iraq. More troops are necessary...
So 60% of Americans want to set a timetable for withdrawal and McCain wants to send more troops. Who's disconnected?
One of McCain's strategies is to run as an outsider. People in Washington just don't get it, he says, conveniently ignoring the fact that he is one of the people in Washington. Americans are disappointed with Congress, which doesn't listen to them, and doesn't get anything worthwhile accomplished. Meanwhile, McCain--who is a member of Congress--has totally ignored his duties as a Senator. According to that first CNN story:
McCain returned to the Senate for the first time in a month to cast his ballot for an issue that is one of his central themes on the campaign trail.
McCain's only interest in his job as a Senator is making himself look better for the presidential election this fall. Maybe we should have a poll to find out how many Americans approve of that.
.
9 comments:
Hey Mike.....I was having a conversation about this very thing this morning....notthe earmark legislation but the unpopularity of congress...people harp on the unpoularity of the president but comparitively so he has a far better approval rating by more than half in some polls...interestingly enough we have 3 Senators still in the race. go figure.......great post. :)N
Hey, Nikki. Most of the current low Congressional approval rating is due to their inability to actually get things done. There was a lot of hope on the left that once the Dems took over they would start kicking ass and undoing the things that the Bush administration has done. Unfortunately, they ran into 2 major problems: 1) they are spineless. 2) the Republicans have set up a wall of filibusters to block almost every piece of legislation rather than allowing a simple vote. Funny how the R's were screaming a couple years ago about using the "nuclear option" and eliminating the filibuster, and now it's their best friend.
McCain, senator for Arizona, has a number of past pork earmark spending legislation. Everyone in Arizona knows this, why don't you. Look it up. McCain is no different than any other politican of the old politics.
Earmarks are bad. Defending our country is good. You have to do what you think is right, not live by the polls. And politicians will be politiians.
Just to add to your statistics, 52% of Americans now believe we are winning in Iraq now, the highest # since 2006.
Merideth,
Thanks for the comment. You make a valid point. While opposition to earmarks is the one issue that McCain hasn't flip-flopped on in the past year, it certainly hasn't stopped him from taking a little pork when he could get his hands on it. According to the White House Office Of Budget And Management, "In fiscal year 2005, there were 166 earmarks totaling $282,260,000 for appropriations accounts" that went to Arizona. Maybe Saint McCain needs to fight a little harder against government waste.
Freadom,
McCain's argument was that Congress shouldn't do what they think is right, but rather should listen to "the people," who he claims are opposed to earmarks. I wasn't saying he is right or wrong, I was saying that by the same logic, he is out of touch with the people on other topics.
It doesn't surprise me that 52% of Americans believe we're winning the war in Iraq. (Though it would be nice if you could cite your source there.) The conservative media has worked the phrase "the surge is working" into just about every newscast over the past month or so. In August of 2006, The Washington Post reported that "Half of U.S. Still Believes Iraq Had WMD."
I believe that's one of the effects of what Bush referred to as catapulting the propaganda.
Thanks for the comment.
80% of the country supported the war in the lead up to the war, and that support was high until the war dragged on. The popularity of wars goes up and down, the popularity of presidents goes up and down, but does that mean a person should change his mind as often as the polls change. That's how Kerry got into trouble when he was running for office. He supported the war when it was popular to do so, and then when support waned, he changed his opinion. The one thing you can say about Bush and McCain, whether or not you agree with them, is that they are consistent and true to what they say; they do not live by the polls.
McCain has always been opposed to earmarks. Sure, he may have been forced to support a bill from time to time with earmarks in it.
McCain was never forced to support his Arizona of. And McCain did write and co-wrote a few. And talk about lack of consistencing: McCain in 2002 co-wrote the "McCain-Feingold Act", a bill that was to stop the practice of having ones seat at both ends of the washington lobby money. Yet, Companies who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to McCain's Non-Profit 'Reform Institute' were also Lobbying the Senate Commerce Committee. What is the problem with that you say? Well, McCain just happen to have a seat on that same committee. He was at both ends of the Lobbying money in washington. McCain was receiving the Donations from the Lobbyists, and he was in the position of voting in favor of bills the same lobbyists wanted passed.
After years of Violating his own 'McCain-Feingold Act', in 2005 McCain's devious acts were Exposed. There is a reason why the Republicans and Conservatives have labeled him, "DOUBLE-TALK MCCAIN! Funny how you even forgot about Keating with his Lincoln Savings and Loan. You know, McCain's best friend. Whom McCain wrote letters to the Bank Regulatory committee, telling them to "BACK OFF HIS FRIEND." And after years of McCain URGING the Bank Regulators to Leave his friend alone, McCain's dear friend Keating ran his Savings and Loan Company to the ground, because he used the money of peoples accounts for his own benefits. Remember when the Lincoln Savings and Loan went bankrupt costing TAXPAYERS Billions of dollars. McCain has 20+ years as the Senator from Arizona in Washington. Like I said, there is a reason why the Republicans and Conservatives call him, "Double-Talk McCain."
Freadom: Your argument, then, is that no matter how unpopular earmarks are, the politicians in the House and Senate should continue using them, so long as they feel it is the right thing to do? I ask for clarification because you just rebuked McCain's argument that since the public is against them, Congress should stop using them.
I do not concede McCain's consistency on any issue other than wanting to be in a war in Iraq. Read this Salon piece to see how he has flip-flopped on his support of the Rumsfeld strategy. Also, he has changed his position on things like the Bush tax cuts and torture, as well as others. The only reason people say he is consistent is that the compliant conservative media paints him as such.
Meridith: You nailed it. McCain is a hypocrite and a liar. Why is no one talking about how McCain was one of the Keating Five? He is an economic disaster waiting to happen. I only hope that the voters learn that in time to stop his "straight talk express" from railroading us into another 4 years of Bush policies.
Post a Comment