Top 5 Myths About John McCain

Tim Dickinson does some fact finding in the latest addition of Rolling Stone magazine and debunks what he calls the top five myths about John McCain:

1. John McCain always puts “Country First.”

2. John McCain is a straight-talking reformer.

3. John McCain was the central hero of his P.O.W. camps.

4. John McCain was a “Top Gun” pilot.

5. John McCain is a Washington outsider.

John McCain Wants You To Forget About The Economy

According to this piece in The Washington Post, the McCain campaign feels it’s time to turn the page on the economy stating:

“We are looking for a very aggressive last 30 days,” said Greg Strimple, one of McCain’s top advisers. “We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr. Obama’s aggressively liberal record and how he will be too risky for Americans.”

Instead of talking about the issues that are important to us it appears John McCain is going to ramp up his ongoing battle with nonpartisan fact checkers.  Instead of explaining to all of us in detail how his policies are fundamentally different than George Bush, he’s going to start throwing the kitchen sink of smears.  In fact the McCain campaign is now spending 100% of it’s advertising budget on negative ads.   Here are just some examples from the fact checkers:

Guilt and Associations

Keeping Quiet?

Education

Obama’s Trillion Dollar Spending Plan

Obama’s Fannie Mae “Connection”

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

John McCain Doesn’t Speak For The McCain Campaign

You really have to wonder who is in charge.  In the latest round of McCain vs. his handlers we have John McCain admitting a week ago that his health care plan would in fact tax American families and then we have his spokesman Tucker Bounds saying that is an absolute lie:

Of course we all remember this one where McCain admitted he would consider raising payroll taxes to fix social security only to have his spokesman Tucker Bounds come out to correct him:

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Fact: John McCain Is No Maverick On The Issues That Count

It turns out Joe Biden, who has known John McCain longer than just about anyone in the senate, hit the nail on the head when he said:

On The Economy:

McCain attacked legislation requiring the federal government to purchase American-made goods as the “worst, most disgraceful aspect of the legislative process in Washington.”
Source: Vote 63, 3/17/05; Vote 83, 5/5/04; Vote 517, 10/26/95

McCain opposed increased funding for job training programs to help displaced workers.
Source: Vote 63, 3/17/05; Vote 83, 5/5/04; Vote 517, 10/26/95

McCain’s economic plan gives Big Oil a $4 billion tax break while 101 million working families get no relief at all. 
Source: Tax Policy Center, Preliminary Analysis Of The 2008 Presidential Candidates’ Tax Plan, 6/20/08; Center for American Progress Action Fund, 3/27/08 

John McCain supports tax breaks for companies that send American jobs overseas. This year, we’ve lost more than 600,000 American jobs to outsourcing. 
Source: John McCain 2008, “Jobs for America,”; “The McCain Budget Plan,” Washington Post, 7/14/08; USA Today, 3/20/08 Vote 63, 3/17/05; Vote 83, 5/5/04; Vote 517, 10/26/95

John McCain will continue George Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while the middle class struggles with stagnant wages and rising prices.
Source: The Washington Post, 7/14/08

On Health Care:

Voted NO on providing $9.13 billion for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) [Title I (Sec. 101)]

McCain Looked Out For Tobacco Industry Over American Children. TheNew York Times reported, “Like the other Republican presidential candidates, Senator John McCain opposes the so-called S-Chip bill to expand children’s health care coverage, in part because it widely expands the eligibility criteria and would cost some $35 billion… But what really sets him off is the way Congress proposes to finance the measure, which President Bush vetoed and is facing a veto override vote: an added tax on cigarettes.” [New York Times, 10/16/07]

Voted No to extend rebates for prescription drugs to enrollees in Medicaid managed care organizations. 

Voted No on providing emergency health care and other relief for survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

Voted No on increasing the funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program by an additional $74 million. 

Voted No on adding prescription drug benefits to Medicare.

Voted No to protect Social Security surpluses and move Medicare trust fund surpluses off budget to prevent using them for other purposes. 

Voted No to increase access to health care and to protect consumers in managed care plans and in other health coverage.

On Education:

Voted NO on $52M for “21st century community learning centers”. 

Voted NO on $5B for grants to local educational agencies.

Voted NO on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education.

Voted NO on funding smaller classes instead of private tutors.

Voted NO on funding student testing instead of private tutors.

Voted NO on spending $448B of tax cut on education & debt reduction.

Voted NO on national education standards.

His YES votes are just as bad and show how out of touch he is with the needs of the education system.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

McCain’s Nightmare Health Care Plan – Admits He Will Raise Taxes But That’s Just Scratching The Surface

From Think Progress:

Last week, during an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who has previously promised “not [to] raise your taxes nor support a tax increase,” finally admitted that his health care tax credits would not cover the costs of a comprehensive health insurance plan:

MCCAIN: Actually, my position is that it will be, it will give people actually more money to go out and purchase tax – health insurance on their own and only those with the Cadillac gold-plated health insurance policies today are the ones who might suffer from it. The ones –

STEPHANOPOULOS: So they would see their taxes go up potentially.

MCCAIN: It depends on, on, on what plan they have. But that’s usually the wealthiest people. Ordinary working Americans have the kind of – or an overwhelming majority have the health insurance plans that this tax credit, refundable tax credit, will actually put more money in their pockets for the purchase of health care than what they had before.

Watch (starts about 52 sec in):

 

Progressive Accountability takes a closer look at McCain’s plan:

McCain’s Plan Will Tax Families For Their Health Care Benefits & Force Employers To Stop Offering Coverage For Millions Of Americans

McCain’s Plan Would Remove Incentives For Employers To Provide Health Insurance. According to the New York Times, McCain’s health care plan calls “for eliminating the tax breaks that currently encourage employers to provide health insurance for their workers.” They added that, “His proposal to move away from employer-based coverage was similar to one that President Bush pushed for last year, to little effect.” [New York Times, 4/30/08]

McCain’s Plan Would Force Patients To “Buy Health Insurance On Their Own.” McCain’s healthcare plan is an attempt to force patients to “buy health insurance on their own instead of receiving it from their employers.” [New York Times, 5/1/08]

McCain’s Plan “Would Seek To Lure Workers Away From Their Company Health Plans. ”While describing the health care plan proposed by John McCain, The Washington Post wrote, “McCain’s prescription would seek to lure workers away from their company health plans.” McCain would provide families with a $5,000 tax credit to purchase their own health insurance on the free market. [Washington Post, 4/30/08]

McCain’s Flawed Policy Is Just Like The One Bush Put Forward

McCain’s Health Care Plan Is “Similar To A Proposal Put Forth By President Bush Last Year.” While describing the health care plan proposed by John McCain, The Washington Postwrote, “Sen. John McCain on Tuesday rejected calls by his Democratic opponents for universal health coverage, instead offering a market-based solution with an approach similar to a proposal put forth by President Bush last year.” McCain also proposed health savings accounts, which were “a centerpiece of Bush’s health-care efforts.” [Washington Post, 4/30/08]

McCain’s “Move Away From Employer-Based Coverage” Resembles Bush’s Failed Plan.In an article outlining McCain’s health care plan, the New York Times wrote, “His proposal to move away from employer-based coverage was similar to one that President Bush pushed for last year, to little effect.” [New York Times, 4/30/08]

When it Comes to Military Strategies, John McCain Just Doesn’t Get It

Let’s face it, John McCain’s has staked his entire military strategy around the surge.  The fact is McCain is so consumed by the surge that he is blind to the reality of the situation we are in. He continues to mention general Petraeus while saying that we will be victorious in Iraq even though Gen. Petraeus himself said he did not know if he would ever use the word “victory” when it comes to Iraq:

“This is not the sort of struggle where you take a hill, plant the flag and go home to a victory parade… it’s not war with a simple slogan.”

 

So consumed by the surge stratagy is John McCain, that he’s now claiming Iraq should be the example of how we approach Afghanistan:

“Senator Obama refuses to acknowledge that we are winning in Iraq . . . That’s what’s happening in Iraq, and it wasn’t a tactic . . . It was a stratagem. And that same strategy will be employed in Afghanistan by this great general.”

 

“Senator Obama calls for more troops, but what he doesn’t understand, it’s got to be a new strategy, the same strategy that he condemned in Iraq. It’s going to have to be employed in Afghanistan.”

Despite VP pick Sarah Pailin’s willingness to lie to the American people yesterday, the leading general in Afghanistan, Gen. McKiernan (not Mclellan as she claimed) did in fact say:

 “What I don’t think is needed — the word that I don’t use in Afghanistan is the word “surge.” There needs to be a sustained commitment of a variety of military and non-military resources, I believe. That’s my advice to winning in Afghanistan. It won’t be a short-term solution.”

Veterans Hitting John McCain Hard For His Flawed Record of Support

From Veterans Today:

Open Letter to Senator John McCain

by Jere Beery

Senator McCain, I watched the 1st Presidential debate with great interest. One particular comment made by you caught my attention. You stated “the veterans know you will take care of them’ if you are elected President. I’m one of the veterans you were apparently speaking of/for, and I take issue with your assumption. Your voting record in the Senate on veteran’s issues has been nothing less than deplorable. Most recently, you opposed the new GI Bill on the basis it was too generous. Your record speaks for itself. Why should the veterans believe you now? 

As I said, I am one of the veterans you were addressing. I am the recipient of 1 Bronze Star and 3 Purple Hearts for service in Vietnam. I have been a veteran’s advocate for over 25 years now and I am more than qualified to criticize you and your comment. I have personally been fighting for increased funding for veterans’ healthcare for three decades. I am currently involved in the nationwide movement for full mandatory funding of the VA healthcare system.

To date, our resolution for full funding has been adopted by several Presidential candidates, to include; Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hilary Clinton, Senator John Edwards, and Governor Bill Richardson. You have been approached on several occasions by members of our organization for your endorsement of the full funding concept, just to be snubbed. You have been quoted to say that you do not support fully funding veteran’s healthcare, so much for the idea that you will take care of our veterans.

Senator McCain, the simple truth is; I don’t believe you, and I’m certain that many of our veterans don’t believe you either. Pandering to the veteran community at this late date is only going to backfire on you. The veterans aren’t as dumb as you apparently think they are.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jere Beery is the Public Relations Director of Operation Firing For Effect, a veterans group. 

He can be reached by email at jerebeery@aol.com.  Operation Fire for Effect Web Site is at www.offe2008.org

More interesting facts:

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the country’s largest Iraq veterans’ group gave John McCain a grade of D when it comes to looking out for their issues.

In 2007, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), after surveying McCain’s votes on healthcare issues for its 1.3 million members, gave him only 20 percent rating. 

On Webb’s GI Bill, he expressed opposition, and he was AWOL when it was time to vote on May 22. He has since tried to claim credit.

Last September, he voted against another Webb bill that would have mandated adequate rest for troops between combat deployments.

On a badly needed $1.5-billion increase for veterans medical services for fiscal year 2007 — to be funded through closing corporate tax loopholes — he voted no. He also voted against establishing a trust fund to bolster under-budgeted veterans hospitals.

In May 2006, he voted against a $20-billion allotment for expanding swamped veterans medical facilities.

On April 26, 2006, McCain voted against an amendment by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) that would have “provided an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.”

March 14, 2006, McCain voted against “increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.” 

On March 10, 2004, McCain also voted against“creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans’ medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating tax loopholes.”

On Troop Funding:

John McCain has recently criticized his opponent claiming that he voted against troop funding. However, as mediamatters.org points out:

On March 29, 2007, McCain himself voted against H.R. 1591, an emergency spending bill that would have funded the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and would have provided more than $1 billion in additional funds to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Senate passed H.R. 1591 by a margin of 51-47. Once the bill’s conference report was agreed to by the House, the Senate again passed the measure on April 26, 2007, by a vote of 51-46. McCain did not vote on that version of the bill. By contrast, Obama voted for it on both occasions. President Bush vetoedthe bill, citing its provision for a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

From the non-partisan Votesmart.org:

2006 Senator McCain only supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 20 percent of the time.

2006 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Senator McCain a grade of D.

2006  Senator McCain sponsored or co-sponsored 18 percent of the legislation favored by the The Retired Enlisted Association in 2006.

2005  Senator McCain supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 25 percent in 2005.

2004  Senator McCain supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 50 percent in 2004.

2004  Senator McCain supported the interests of the The Retired Enlisted Association 0 percent in 2004.

2003-2004  Senator McCain supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 100 percent in 2003-2004.

2003  Senator McCain supported the interests of the The American Legion 50 percent in 2003.

2001  Senator McCain supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 46 percent in 2001.

1999  Senator McCain supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 66 percent in 1999.

1997-1998  Senator McCain supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 0 percent in 1997-1998.

1989-1990  On the votes that the Vietnam Veterans of America considered to be the most important in 1989-1990 , Senator McCain voted their preferred position 50 percent of the time.

McCain’s Character Comes Front and Center

John McCain is known to have a very bad temper.  Todays interview by the Des Moines Register Editorial Board should serve as a warning as the to type of temperament McCain would bring into the oval office:

 

On The Record: John McCain’s Judgement on Putting Our Troops in Harms Way

From Jed Lewison:

Another Major Foreign Policy Gaffe by McCain

Tonight John McCain claimed that Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf’s military coup came as a result of Pakistan being a “failed state.”

Max Burgmann points out that for someone who claims foreign policy to be his strong point McCain’s lack of understanding of this subject is unacceptable:

Musharraf took power in a military coup in 1999 when he diposed Nawaz Sharif – who recently participated in the latest election. The coup followed the 1999 war in Kashmir with India and was due to a power struggle with Sharif, not due to Pakistan being a “failed state.” The United States did not welcome the Musharraf coup. Instead the government of the United States imposed sanctions against this action.

Remember Pakistan had nuclear weapons in 1999. Did McCain believe that there was a failed state that possessed nuclear weapons? If he did he showed no concern at the time. The fact is McCain made a huge gaffe and demonstrated he has little understanding if the region.