It All Comes Down To This

I guess it’s only fitting that Ronald Regan’s Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein announced today that he will not be voting for John McCain.

Update: 

Here is a small list of other prominent republicans that have chosen to endorse Barack Obama over John McCain:

Former Republican Governor of Massachusetts William Weld

Former Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee

Former Republican Governor of Minnesota Arne Carlson

Former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach

Wayne Gilchrest, Congressman from Maryland

Larry Pressler, Former Senator from South Dakota

Lowell Weicker, Former Governor and Senator from Connecticut

Richard Riordan, Former Mayor of Los Angeles

Jim Whitaker, Fairbanks, Alaska Mayor

Linwood Holton, Former Governor of Virginia

Colin Powell, Former Secretary of State

Douglas Kmiec, Head of the Office of Legal Counsel under Reagan & Bush (41)

Charles Fried, Solictor General of the United States under Reagan

Jackson M. Andrews, Republican Counsel to the United States Senate

Susan Eisenhower, Granddaughter of President Eisenhower and President of the Eisenhower Group

Francis Fukuyama, Advisor to President Reagan

Rita Hauser, Member of President Bush‘s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

Larry Hunter, Former President Reagan Policy Advisor

Bill Ruckelshaus, served in the Nixon and Reagan Administrations

Scott McClellan, Former Press Secretary to President Bush (43) 

Ken Adelman

Jeffrey Hart, National Review Senior Editor

Wick Alison, Former Publisher of the National Review

Christopher Buckley, Son of National Review Founder William F. Buckley and former National Review columnist

Michael Smerconish, Columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer

C.C. Goldwater, Granddaughter of Barry Goldwater

Note:

John McCain is not fairing to well with newspaper endorsements either.  He is trailing Obama 245 to 78 with both the The Financial Times and The Economist coming out against him last week.

McCain Camp Admits Your Current Insurance Is Probably Way Better Than What You Could Get Under His Plan

From Think Progress:

Hotlz-Eakin argues that “under McCain’s plan, employer-funded care will generally be preferable to the tax credit alone — since it’s the tax credit plus the employer contribution — but that the tax credit alone will be a huge step up for people who have nothing at all.” In other words, in the individual market, without the employer contribution, Americans would have to pay more for less…and less as McCain’s tax credit does not keep up with medical inflation.

In fact, high deductible plans typically lead to higher out-of-pocket expenses, resulting in “a one-time shift in spending from premiums to patient out-of-pocket outlays.” As Holtz-Eakin himself points out:

McCain’s would leave them better off than they are now, but still with something less than complete coverage, unless they reach into their pockets to supplement the tax credit.

Oddly enough, Holtz-Eakin is now arguing that under McCain’s health care plan (which pushes about 20 million Americans out of the employer market and into the unregulated individual market), Americans would receive sub-prime health care coverage.

Race Baiters For McCain

In perhaps the saddest move of the political season CNN reports that a McCain spokesman was pushing the story of their poor campaign worker being attacked by a 6’4″ black man who carved a B in her face before the details were even released by the police department:

Note:  I do not believe John McCain in any way condoned this sick attempt at race baiting by some in his Pennsylvania camp.  This is however another example of the dirty attempts to play on peoples racial fears made by people in his camp.

Same As Bush On The Fundamentals

Today on Meet The Press:

He touts his immigration reform as going against his own party.  The problem is that he actually folded to his own party even saying that he would vote against his own immigration bill.

Note: John McCain often uses the McCain / Kennedy Comprehensive Immigration Bill as an example of him reaching across the isle even though he does not support it.  This bill also mirrored the immigration plan laid out by no other then George W. Bush.  McCain only changed his position after running for president.

Update: TJR shows just how much McCain’s words today don’t add up:

McCain Was For Obama’s “Socialist” Tax Plan Before He Was Against It

I guess this would also make him a “Socialist?”

So what has changed?  You only need to look at who is now running John McCain’s campaign.  He seems to have sold out on every key position he has ever taken.

Update:

I just came across this video of the John McCain I supported in 2000.  

What’s that Mr. McCain?

I guess we’ll just chalk this one up to another senior moment?

“You know, I think you may have noticed that Senator Obama’s supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about Western Pennsylvania lately,” McCain told the audience in the town of Moon Township. “And you know, I couldn’t agree with them more…”

John McCain We Have Seen This Before – WTF Are You Doing?

Then:

Now:

 

 

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Colin Powell Addresses Why He Will Not Be Supporting John McCain For President

Another must see video from TJR:

More conservatives speak out:

John McCain’s Unsteady Behavior Has Die Hard Republicans Jumping Ship Left and Right

Jed Lewison has put together a very detailed list of respected republicans jumping ship.  The list is currently at 41 but growing every day.  Here are some clips:

Conservative Women to John McCain: Man Up…Stop Hiding Behind Sarah Palin

Republican Michelle Lexalt gives John McCain a little straight talk about hiding behind Sarah Palin and not supporting equal pay for women:

 

You can see the whole discussion here.