10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't)

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10


Sources:
1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/...cated.html

"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/

2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/...M&refer=us

"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/...hi-mccain/

3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/...ture-veto/

4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008
http://www.childrensdefen...recard2007

"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/P...interview/

6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/arti...gD8VQ86M80

"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/...refer=home

7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Pol...id=4301022

"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/new..._is_tamed/

8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/...-lobbyist/

"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blo...id=4210251

9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.co...guide.html

"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/...-anti-gay/

"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/...dorsement/

10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/b...ent/77913/

#7 scares the heck out of me. I can't even imaging what would happen if McCain became president. Well, actually I can and it aint good. His "bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran," comments sums up what he plans to do if he became president. The guy is a loose canon.

Also, thanks for the links.

christ

and people would rather vote for him than hillary WHY?

He´s gonna make us miss G.W.Bush.
Maybe in retrospect, we will remember GW as someone who had at least a better relationship with Putin and some leaders in the Middle East.
Just kidding.
Sometimes the new one makes you miss the old one.

evenstar said:

christ

and people would rather vote for him than hillary WHY?

Accujack said:

evenstar said:

christ

and people would rather vote for him than hillary WHY?

Well, I can give you two reasons off the top of my head.

1. Most people don't like the idea of having their tax cuts repealed.

2. Although most Americans say that the war in Iraq is a mistake, they feel in their hearts, that this is a war aganist terrorism.
Which McCain is more suited to lead.

some of these are just laughable, the equivalent of saying on some things mccain as an alleged conservative actually does believe in limited government, and knows that liberal policies on the subject spell disaster.

but what possibly compares with the liberals belief that prenatal humans should have no protection from being willfully slaughtered? and that the killing of prenatal humans should be protected by the state and funded by tax dollars as a right?

NOTHING.

and yet such a morally depraved view is championed by the democrat party and its candidates.
[Edited 4/6/08 9:30am]

Accujack said:

evenstar said:

christ

and people would rather vote for him than hillary WHY?

Well, I can give you two reasons off the top of my head.

1. Most people don't like the idea of having their tax cuts repealed.

2. Although most Americans say that the war in Iraq is a mistake, they feel in their hearts, that this is a war aganist terrorism.
Which McCain is more suited to lead.

HiinEnkelte said:

Stymie said:

HiinEnkelte said:

evenstar said:

HiinEnkelte said:

some of these are just laughable, the equivalent of saying on some things mccain as an alleged conservative actually does believe in limited government, and knows that liberal policies on the subject spell disaster.

but what possibly compares with the liberals belief that prenatal humans should have no protection from being willfully slaughtered? and that the killing of prenatal humans should be protected by the state and funded by tax dollars as a right?

NOTHING.

and yet such a morally depraved view is championed by the democrat party and its candidates.
[Edited 4/6/08 9:30am]

i just love the term prenatal humans.

Accujack said:

Stymie said:

Accujack said:

evenstar said:

Accujack said:

Accujack said:

evenstar said:

christ

and people would rather vote for him than hillary WHY?

Well, I can give you two reasons off the top of my head.

1. Most people don't like the idea of having their tax cuts repealed.

2. Although most Americans say that the war in Iraq is a mistake, they feel in their hearts, that this is a war aganist terrorism.
Which McCain is more suited to lead.

Stymie said:

HiinEnkelte said:

HiinEnkelte said:

Stymie said:

Stymie said:

noimageatall said:

HiinEnkelte said:[quote]

Stymie said:

Stymie said:

HiinEnkelte said:[quote]

Stymie said:

HiinEnkelte said:

HiinEnkelte said:

Stymie said: