As stated before, I recognize this site is mainly for the updating readers as to the events surrounding the lives of my family. However, there have been times when I have taken some time to talk about favorite movies, music or TV shows. And very occasionally, I can't help delving into political stuff. Now for the half of you that haven't already clicked away, I ask you to hang with me for a little bit. Especially if you are an Arizona voter...an Arizona Republican voter to be specific. I would like to pose some thoughts to think about as we head toward the primary elections later this year. And if you agree with them, please talk about them with those you know who could be influenced to think similarly. The main question is this: John McCain for six more years? Do we have to?!?!
I would like to cover some of John McCain's greatest hits over the last decade. Should this post just randomly stop, don't worry, it is likely that I had to run to the bathroom to fight acid reflux and take my heart rate to ensure that I don't drop from a coronary incident remembering all of this stuff. Here goes:
1. Kerry/McCain - 2004 Certainly not his first mystifyingly stupid stunt, but most possibly his worst, McCain seriously considered running as John Kerry's running mate in 2004 against Bush/Cheney. Now if you asked him today, he will tell you he never seriously considered that and it was all blown out of proportion by a silly establishment media. The problems with this explanation are that at the time, McCain was the silly establishment media darling because he always was quick to talk about how bad Bush and many Republican ideas were. If you wanted someone to trash his own party, McCain was always first in the rolodex. Also, if you are not seriously considering something, the first time it gets reported, you come out guns blazing saying how incorrect and slanderous a statement is. You don't sit there and say...(crickets chirping)...uhhh, nooo, I probably won't do that. He is a politician. He knows this stuff. He knows what not commenting on a story like that means. He considered it and he did it to stick his thumb directly into the eye of George W. Bush because he won the nomination for president in 2000 and McCain didn't. In fact, he liked to stick his thumb in Bush's eye at every opportunity. Think back to Bush's tax cuts when he joined with other "straight talking conservatives" like Susan Collins from Maine, Olympia Snowe from Maine and Lincoln Chafee Rhode Island to try and derail the tax cuts that were passed in 2001. If you wonder what some of those tax cuts were, those of you getting that $1,000 tax credit per child this year can thank the Bush tax cuts because they raised it from $500. And that was just a small part of them.
He claimed that he was disillusioned with all the spending that was going on with the Republican party under George W. Bush. So I know, let's go join the Democratic ticket. They don't spend money like drunken sailors do they Mr. Obama? Mr. McCain likes to talk about cutting wasteful spending as a key reason to vote for him. We will come back to why that is a crock.
2. Ambiguous Stands On Social Issues If pushed, Mr. McCain will say the right things on social issues. But he doesn't seem to like to address them at all. It is one of the things that derailed him in 2000 when he waffled on the abortion question. WHY??? Set aside the reality that abortion is a moral atrocity, but when you are running for the Republican nomination heading into the South Carolina primary, how much of an idiot do you have to be to not say, "I am 100% opposed to abortion." Especially if it is a belief you truly hold. Yet he didn't. Of course he came back later and said the right things, but the damage was done. So what does he really think? I can't say that I know. But when you have deep seeded beliefs morally, you tend to: a)have received them from your upbringing, b)choose to spend your life with someone who shares those beliefs and c)pass them on to your children. So let's look at what those closest to him (we assume) have to say on some social issues.
Mormonism - I recognize Mormonism isn't necessarily a moral issue, but being a Mormon, I tend to care how politicians will view me because of my religion. In an interview with MSNBC (I am going to leave alone the fact that a so-called "conservative" was doing an interview on MSNBC in the first place) John McCain sat with his mother Roberta when she was asked about Mitt Romney and his time as CEO of the Olympic games in 2002 when he helped rescue them from disaster. Her response? "As far as the Salt Lake City thing, he's a Mormon and the Mormons of Salt Lake City had caused that scandal. And to clean that up, again, it's not a subject." Nice
Proposition 8 in California - Those who know me and my family well can correctly assume this is not an easy issue for me or my family. I believe that much can be done to help those on both sides of this issue find a peaceful resolution. However this isn't happening because of the rhetoric being amped up on both sides and injecting words that poison any chance for meaningful dialogue. One of those words is "HATE". I despise that word in this context. To imply that the only reason anyone would oppose gay marriage is because of hate is ignorant. It is inflammatory and hateful in and of itself. Which leads me to the NOH8 campaign. This is another wildly brilliant creation of the Hollywood left. Let's have people dress all in white, paint NOH8 on their cheeks and stand with duct tape over their mouths to signify...Who the crap knows. It is stupid and sophomoric and makes absolutely no sense. For instance, how many supporters of proposition 8 committed vandalism, including many hateful epithets, against their opponents following the election? Oh wait, my bad, that was the supporters doing that. In fact, many people appearing in the NOH8 ads, have said plenty of hateful things about several religions and individuals for supporting Prop. 8. Now let's move to the duct tape. While I am all in favor of just about everyone who has appeared in these ads continuing to wear duct tape over their mouths, the implication is that they are being silenced...I guess. Yet I would have prayed for silence during the Jack Black Jesus video in which it was implied...no flat out said that Christians would totally abandon their beliefs if they could make money in the process. Silence would have been golden during any of Rosie's flamethrower rants filled with vitriol. But I guess she was just full of righteous indignation, not hate.
Anyway, any guesses who has posed for the NOH8 campaign? Meghan McCain, John's daughter. Oh wait, and his wife Cindy.
How many of you have a mother, wife and a daughter who all have views that are so diametrically opposed to your own? Me neither.
Now There Is a Straight Talker!Dirty Politics While Claiming Straight Talk McCain loves to trumpet what a straight talker he is. What a load! During the primary season of 2008, Mitt Romney started to point out John McCain's record over the past eight years. He talked about his opposition to tax cuts. (Yes John, you were opposed to them. It really happened.) He talked about his support for Campaign Finance Reform which severly limited free speech and all but tried to hand deliver every political race to the incumbant. (John there was a reason your most loyal supporters of this bill just happened to be every liberal democrat in the Senate and House.) He pointed out his support for Global Warming legislation. (Wow, John, it is unfortunate that the story appears to be true that they have fabricated data and that the earth's temperature has not risen since 1995.) The list goes on and on. McCain considered talking about his record, his LEGITIMATE record, as running a dirty campaign. He talked about how beneath the process that was. Then he did something else.
The West Virginia primary consists of delegates voting for their candidate of choice. You have to vote once and if no candidate gets over 50% of the delegates, then you vote again and the candidate with the most votes wins the state. Mitt Romney won the first vote. John McCain then instructed all of his delegates to vote for Mike Huckabee in the second round giving the state to Huckabee. That sounds very above board. Next, three days before the Florida primary, McCain launched an ad campaign and stump speech accusing Romney of supporting time lines on getting the troops out of Iraq, an unpopular idea among conservatives. The problem? It wasn't true. Yet he repeated it over and over and won the primary. When pressed on when Romney had made that statement, he would refuse to look the questioner in the eye, but rather would look straight ahead and just say, "He supports time tables." Over and over. First of all, WOW, how mature. Second, don't we all need a little more of that kind of straight talk?
4. He's A Wasteful Spending Hawk John McCain loves to run as someone opposed to wasteful spending and he has voted against wasteful spending many times. However, now he is trying to totally discredit JD Hayworth as a wasteful spender when he was in Congress. Bottom line, this one is easy. You can't run as a defender of the tax payers' money when you voted for the Obama stimulus. AND HE DID! We all knew what was in the stimulus bill before they voted on it and we all knew it was full of pork and things that wouldn't stimulate a stud horse, and yet he voted for it. Stop telling me how much of a pork spender JD Hayworth is if you voted for that bill. You either have principals or you don't.
5. Serving In Vietnam Is Not A Reason To Elect Someone In 2010 I heard one of McCain's recent campaign commercials. It starts of talking about how he didn't come home early from Vietnam when he had the chance. It then went on to say that this shows attributes that clearly show he is someone to send to Washington to represent us. My question is why? He also divorced his first wife and married someone much more politically connected when he got back from Vietnam. Should I take that into account when it comes to electing him as well? My answer to both is actually no. What I should consider is his record and it sucks. But beyond that, there is a Vietnam vet begging for money at my local Safeway parking lot. His veteran status does not make me want him for my senator any more than John McCain's should. I respect his service to our country. He did a great thing. He probably did many great things. However, he is not conservative. He doesn't represent my beliefs and despite wanting to call himself a Maverick, he is as representative of what is wrong with Washington as any politician I can think of...and yes that includes Harry Reid. At least Reid is honest about who he is and what he believes.
In conclusion, I am not saying that JD Hayworth is the greatest candidate we have ever had. I honestly don't know enough to make that call. I know I liked him as my congressman back in the 90s. I generally agreed with votes. What I am mainly saying is, John McCain needs to go. I believe in term limits and in my opinion he has exceeded his. If you have made it this far, thanks for your patience. I promise no more politics for at least a few months.
