Be Afraid of President McCain

[TexasBushwhacker]

This is a good article to pass on to anyone who is undecided and leaning GOP, and it's a good explanation about why many Republicans can't stand McCain.

From Reason Magazine:

"The John McCain presidency effectively began on January 10, 2007, when George W. Bush announced the deployment of five more combat brigades to Iraq. This escalation of an unpopular war ran counter to the advice of Bush’s senior military leadership, ignored the recommendations made by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, and sidestepped the objections of the Iraqi government it was ostensibly intended to assist. But the plan was nearly identical to what the Republican senior senator from Arizona, nearly alone among his Capitol Hill colleagues, had been advocating for months: boost troop levels by at least 20,000, give coalition forces the authority to impose security in every corner of Baghdad, and increase the size of America’s overburdened standing military by around 100,000 during the next five years.

By enthusiastically endorsing McCain’s approach, the lame duck president all but finished the job of anointing the senator his political successor. McCain had already spent the previous three years lining up Bush’s campaign team, making nice with the social conservatives he railed against in the 2000 primaries, and positioning himself as the most hawkish of all the nomination-chasing Republican hawks. For the purposes of the 2008 campaign, Bush’s surge announcement was almost the perfect gift: McCain got to solidify his case with primary voters even while giving himself operational deniability. (“We’ve made many, many mistakes since 2003, and these will not be easily reversed,” he said on January 11, while reiterating his call for even more troops.) The sheer unpopularity of Bush’s move did knock the previously front-running McCain a notch or two behind Rudy Giuliani in the polls. (Both men have consistently finished ahead of Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in head-to-head competition.) But it also allowed McCain to recapture some of his lost reputation as a straight-talking independent. “I would much rather lose a campaign than lose a war,” he said with a grin on Larry King Live right after Bush’s speech. The press, which had been souring on the candidate during his noisy lurch to the right, breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Defiant McCain back as maverick,” declared the Chicago Tribune."

http://www.reason.com/news/show/118937.html

[Faygo Kid]

1. I've known mavericks. Mavericks have been friends of mine. Sen. McCain, you're no maverick.

[TexasBushwhacker]

3. That picture is when I lost ALL respect for him

I knew he would do ANYTHING to be president, and that is a very disturbing attitude for any politician to have, especially during wartime.

This may sound mean, but ultimately, I think McCain is kind of loser, compaired to the other men in his family. He was near the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy. His father and grandfather were both 4 star Admirals. McCain III achieved the rank of Captain, got shot down and became a prisoner of war. His father and grandfather were leaders. McCain III was a victim.

He came back from Vietman a broken man, to find that his wife is rather broken too (in a car accident). He divorces her, and marries a younger woman from a wealthy family. I could go on, but the bottom line, is does any of this really spell WINNER?

[mwb970]

6. It's a horrible picture.

Both of them look so pathetic. A faux, phony "strongman" hugging a submissive, simpering wimp. Yuck. It doesn't get any worse than this.

I too can no longer respect McCain at all after seeing this disgusting photo. It sums the whole thing up for me.

[iaviate1]

7. McCain be a looser...

But your reasons are horribly flawed. WTF?!?

[SheilaT]

2. For me, the scariest thing about McCain

is how many Democrats look upon him favorably. Even those who ought to know better.

He's not a liberal of any sort. He's not a maverick. He is, as his ads so clearly point out, and old-fashioned conservative. That's the kind we need to be worried about.

What worries me the most is that whether it's Obama or Clinton as the nominee (as seems inevitable now), there are too many who won't vote for him or for her but will instead vote for McCain, because they think he's not so bad after all, and better than (fill in the blank here with whatever negative you care to about either Obama or Clinton).

As for a Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton ticket, either one is worse. Just think how many people won't vote for that ticket, whichever configuration, because they just can't abide the second choice.

[mcg]

5. McCain's voting record is horrible, ratings from interests groups...

Ratings from interest groups (see below) shows that McCain is very conservative.
We need to debunks these myths about him being a moderate, he is not.
McCain's torture bill was a farce, see
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2005/12/17/439/23862
He wants to make Bush's tax cuts permanent, and fight the Democrats' plans
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/0B8E4DB8-5B0C-459F-97EA-D7B542A78235.htm
He wants "greater military commitment" in Iraq and wants us to be there for a "100 years".
He has promised "more wars".
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/01/28/mccain-promises-voters-more-wars/
This war monger sang 'bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran'.
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/McCain_unplugged_Bomb_bomb_bomb_bomb_0419.html
He has a 29 lifeline rating from the League of Conservation Voters, he's not green, he's RED.

From Project Vote Smart
http://votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=53270

An * indicates that higher is more conservative.

Percent Year Senator McCain supported the interests of ...

Abortion Issues:

0 2006 NARAL Pro-Choice America
0 2006 Planned Parenthood
0 2005-6 National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
:

Agriculture Issues: not friendly to our farmer's

0 2005-6 National Farmers Union
:

Animal Rights and Wildlife Issues: he doesn't like Fido or Betsy

40 2005-6 Fund for Animals
40 2005-6 The Humane Society of the United States
20 2005 The Humane Society of the United States
20 2003-4 American Humane Association
20 2003-4 American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
20 2003-4 Animal Protection Institute
20 2003-4 Doris Day Animal League
20 2003-4 Fund for Animals
20 2003-4 Society for Animal Protective Legislation
20 2003-4 The Humane Society of the United States
:

Arts and Humanities:

0 2004-5 National Trust for Historic Preservation
60 2003 National Trust for Historic Preservation
0 2000 Americans for the Arts

Budget, Spending and Taxes:

* 80 2006 Americans for Tax Reform
:

Business and Consumers: the trees? CUT THEM ALL DOWN!

* 80 2006 Business-Industry Political Action Committee
:
* 100 2006 U.S. Chamber of Commerce
* 71 2005-6 American Forest and Paper Association
:

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights:

33 2006 Americans United for the Separation of Church and State
13 2006 Association of Community Organization for Reform Now
15 2006 Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
33 2005-6 American Civil Liberties Union
33 2005-6 Human Rights Campaign
:

Conservative:

* 100 2007 The Club for Growth
* 65 2006 American Conservative Union
* 100 2006 Americans for Prosperity
:

Environmental Issues: McCain's NOT an environmentalist

29 2006 League of Conservation Voters
:
16 2005-6 American Wilderness Coalition
20 2005-6 Comprehensive US Sustainable Population
:
Labor:

8 2007 Service Employees International Union
7 2006 Senator AFL-CIO
0 2006 American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees
12 2006 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
:

Veterans Issues: he doesn't support our troops

20 2006 Disabled American Veterans
D 2006 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America - a grade of D
18 2006 The Retired Enlisted Association
:

[Demeter]

4. But but but... I Thought Romney Was the Annointed One

Blessed by Bush and BushCo, tapping into the vast pool of slush funds and hush money.....