John McCain is a Liar
Each and every ad debunked in this video was an ad approved by John McCain. After watching McCain and his spin machine lie to all of us, I’m just curious about what the word “honor” means to him. After all, he’s the one who said he’d run an “honorable campaign”. Last time I looked, the definition of ‘honorable’ didn’t include lies about everything from national security to legislative meaning and intent.
McCain has demonstrated his craven desire to wield power. Here is the choice for voters: Do you want yet another proven liar in office, or are you willing to take a chance on integrity this time around.
Since the press won’t call out the lies, I will. And so will these folks.
Will you?
Sphere: Related ContentListen: Rachel Maddow – What’s Wrong with John McCain?
“…everybody acknowledges that the facts don’t matter…only matters what is said about the candidate regardless of their relationship to the truth”
“What ought to be the scandal in this campaign is the fact that John McCain is making stuff up.”
Sphere: Related ContentPrivatizing Social Security: Reason #6,467,982 not to vote McCain
The very first blog post I ever wrote was a screed dressing down George W. Bush for even thinking about privatizing Social Security, and now we have John McCain endorsing the same policy.
Privatizing Social Security is the very worst idea the Republicans have ever brought forth. It’s nothing more than a money grab intended to take away what few retirement benefits are available to lower and middle class workers.
Consider this: If George W. Bush’s effort to privatize Social Security had been passed, every American within 15 years of retirement could have lost over 50% of their retirement accounts in the last 8 years as a result of market fluctuation, malfeasance (think “subprime mortgage crisis”), and fees.
All it should take to convince anyone to back away from privatized Social Security is an understanding of where the money goes. Right now, Social Security is backed by the full force and guarantee of the federal government. That’s how it must remain. Privatizing it, even a portion of it, means sending money to the very same Wall Street investment banks that the federal government just bailed out.
It means the possibility of your retirement dollars invested abroad. It means there are no longer any guarantees.
When John McCain says he doesn’t understand economics, he tells the truth. He also doesn’t understand how pensions and Social Security work.
Privatizing Social Security means only one thing: The government wants to shirk the responsibility to pay guaranteed pensions to citizens who have paid into the system for their entire working lives, not to mention their employers, who match the employee contribution. Among the Republican proposals, this one is the most insidious and yes, even criminal. They lie and say they’re empowering citizens, when they’re robbing them.
McCain has walked back his statements, just a little. But not enough. Here’s what he says today:
John McCain supports supplementing the current Social Security system with personal accounts–but not as a substitute for addressing benefit promises that cannot be kept. John McCain will reach across the aisle, but if the Democrats do not act, he will. No problem is in more need of honesty than the looming financial challenges of entitlement programs. Americans have the right to know the truth and John McCain will not leave office without fixing the problems that threatens our future prosperity and power.
Here’s what he said in 2004:
Q: Will privatizing Social Security be a priority for you going forward?
McCAIN: Without privatization, I don’t see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits.
In addition to the veiled contradiction, his current position is dishonest. Exposing the lies:
- Social Security is not an “entitlement program“. Social Security is paid for by employees and employers, as is Medicare. The benefits provided by Social Security are earned, not given.
- Social Security can ALREADY be supplemented with personal accounts. That’s what IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k) plans and employer Profit Sharing plans are. Of all the lies, this one is the most offensive. While Republicans claim that Democrats support big government and spending out of one side of their mouths, they advocate for a mandated retirement savings program that shifts the burden of providing guaranteed and earned benefits from the government to the individual. Should every individual be saving for their retirement? Absolutely, without question. But the mechanisms are already in place for that to happen. The suggestion that a mandate will stabilize Social Security is just specious, and smacks of Big Brother intervention.
- Finally, what does he mean by “If the Democrats do not act, he will.” Will he simply bypass the Congress and will of the people with an executive order abolishing Social Security?
Here’s a hint to John McCain and the Republicans: After 8 years of seeing what little financial security they had ripped away by investment bankers’ malfeasance and Republican greed, Americans are not going to take kindly to your efforts to shear away what little tiny bit of security they might have for retirement. This is particularly true of those of us who fall into the Baby Boomer generation, who have seen Republicans slide their retirement dates from 65 to 70 over the past 10 years.
Leave Social Security alone. Shore it up, quit using it as a credit card to bury war costs into the budget. And above all, do not let John McCain and the Republicans take your retirement dollars and hand them to liars, thieves and Wall Street greed.
Sphere: Related ContentClinton’s letter to superdelegates
Tell me again that she’s vying for the vice presidency. Um…I don’t think so. I’ve bolded some of the specific reasons in the body of the letter that highlight the ambition and expectation that she will be the nominee. This letter was accompanied by Karl Rove’s charts and polls supporting her argument. Gosh, he’s everywhere lately.
Dear ___________,
The stakes in this election are so high: with two wars abroad, our economy in crisis here at home, and so many families struggling across America, the need for new leadership has never been greater.
At this point, we do not yet have a nominee – and when the last votes are cast on June 3, neither Senator Obama nor I will have secured the nomination. It will be up to automatic delegates like you to help choose our party’s nominee, and I would like to tell you why I believe I am the stronger candidate against Senator McCain and would be the best President and Commander in Chief.
Voters in every state have made it clear that they want to be heard and counted as part of this historic race. And as we reach the end of the primary season, more than 17 million people have supported me in my effort to become the Democratic nominee – more people than have ever voted for a potential nominee in the history of our party. In the past two weeks alone, record numbers of voters participated in the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries. And with 40 and 35 point margins of victory, it is clear that even when voters are repeatedly told this race is over, they’re not giving up on me – and I am not giving up on them either.
After seven years of feeling invisible to the Bush administration, Americans are seeking a President who is strong, experienced, and ready to take on our toughest challenges, from serving as Commander in Chief and ending the war in Iraq to turning our economy around. They want a President who shares their core beliefs about our country and its future and “gets” what they go through every day to care for their families, pay the bills and try to put something away for the future.
We simply cannot afford another four – or eight – years in the wilderness. That is why, everywhere I go, people come up to me, grip my hand or arm, and urge me to keep on running. That is why I continue in this race: because I believe I am best prepared to lead this country as President – and best prepared to put together a broad coalition of voters to break the lock Republicans have had on the electoral map and beat Senator McCain in November. (See, it’s not just about her base — it’s her strong belief that she, and only she, can lead this country. Message: Obama weak; me strong)
Recent polls and election results show a clear trend: I am ahead in states that have been critical to victory in the past two elections. From Ohio, to Pennsylvania, to West Virginia and beyond, the results of recent primaries in battleground states show that I have strong support from the regions and demographics Democrats need to take back the White House. I am also currently ahead of Senator McCain in Gallup national tracking polls, while Senator Obama is behind him. And nearly all independent analyses (This is not true. She handpicked her analyses) show that I am in a stronger position to win the Electoral College, primarily because I lead Senator McCain in Florida and Ohio. I’ve enclosed a detailed analysis of recent electoral and polling information, and I hope you will take some time to review it carefully.
In addition, when the primaries are finished, I expect to lead in the popular vote and in delegates earned through primaries. Ultimately, the point of our primary process is to pick ourstrongest nominee – the one who would be the best President and Commander in Chief, who has the greatest support from members of our party, and who is most likely to win in November. So I hope you will consider not just the strength of the coalition backing me, but also that more people will have cast their votes for me. (again with the popular vote lie…way to make your case, base it all on a lie).
I am in this race for them — for all the men and women I meet who wake up every day and work hard to make a difference for their families. People who deserve a shot at the American dream – the chance to save for college, a home and retirement; to afford quality health care for their families; to fill the gas tank and buy the groceries with a little left over each month.
I am in this race for all the women in their nineties who’ve told me they were born before women could vote, and they want to live to see a woman in the White House. For all the women who are energized for the first time, and voting for the first time. For the little girls – and little boys – whose parents lift them onto their shoulders at our rallies, and whisper in their ears, “See, you can be anything you want to be.” As the first woman ever to be in this position, I believe I have a responsibility to them. (and if you don’t give me this nomination, you’ll disappoint all the little old ladies and little girls and little boys…wah.)
Finally, I am in this race because I believe staying in this race will help unite the Democratic Party. I believe that if Senator Obama and I both make our case – and all Democrats have the chance to make their voices heard – everyone will be more likely to rally around the nominee.
In the end, I am committed to unifying this party. What Senator Obama and I share is so much greater than our differences; and no matter who wins this nomination, I will do everything I can to bring us together and move us forward.
But at this point, neither of us has crossed the finish line. (Actually, one will cross the finish line on 6/3, but not her) I hope that in the time remaining, you will think hard about which candidate has the best chance to lead our party to victory in November. I hope you will consider the results of the recent primaries and what they tell us about the mindset of voters in the key battleground states (hint: they won’t vote for a black guy). I hope you will think about the broad and winning coalition of voters (White women over 50, Appalachian voters and who else? Hispanics are moving in droves to Obama…) I have built.(Because yeah, Obama didn’t build a goddamn thing, it’s all about what SHE’S built. Gimme a break, and give Bush some credit too) And most important, I hope you will think about who is ready to stand on that stage with Senator McCain, (HRC code words arguing her ‘experience’) fight for the deepest principles of our party, and lead our country forward into this new century.
I’m telling you, she’ll take it to the convention, in which case Rachel Maddow will be absolutely 100-frickin’-percent right.
Sphere: Related ContentI’m shocked — SHOCKED– that Republicans lie
What Obama said:
JG: Do you think that Israel is a drag on America’s reputation overseas?
BO: No, no, no. But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions, and so we have a national-security interest in solving this, and I also believe that Israel has a security interest in solving this because I believe that the status quo is unsustainable. I am absolutely convinced of that, and some of the tensions that might arise between me and some of the more hawkish elements in the Jewish community in the United States might stem from the fact that I’m not going to blindly adhere to whatever the most hawkish position is just because that’s the safest ground politically.
I want to solve the problem, and so my job in being a friend to Israel is partly to hold up a mirror and tell the truth and say if Israel is building settlements without any regard to the effects that this has on the peace process, then we’re going to be stuck in the same status quo that we’ve been stuck in for decades now, and that won’t lift that existential dread that David Grossman described in your article.
The notion that a vibrant, successful society with incredible economic growth and incredible cultural vitality is still plagued by this notion that this could all end at any moment — you know, I don’t know what that feels like, but I can use my imagination to understand it. I would not want to raise my children in those circumstances. I want to make sure that the people of Israel, when they kiss their kids and put them on that bus, feel at least no more existential dread than any parent does whenever their kids leave their sight. So that then becomes the question: is settlement policy conducive to relieving that over the long term, or is it just making the situation worse? That’s the question that has to be asked.
How House Republican Leader (architect of the anti-mothers vote last week, BTW) John Boehner lied:
“It is truly disappointing that Senator Obama called Israel a ‘constant wound,’ ‘constant sore,’ and that it ‘infect[s] all of our foreign policy.’ These sorts of words and characterizations are the words of a politician with a deep misunderstanding of the Middle East and an innate distrust of Israel”
Boehner was spurred along by the Republican Jewish Coalition:
“Once again, Senator Obama demonstrates his questionable grasp of America’s foreign policy. Senator Obama manages to excuse the inexcusable actions of anti-American militant jihadists by putting the blame for their actions on America’s foreign policy. America stands with Israel because it is one of our strongest allies and the only democracy in the Middle East. Senator Obama naively believes that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will solve the global scourge of radical Islamic extremism. Yet Senator Obama never says how he will reign in Hamas’ daily onslaught on Israel or Iran’s scurrilous condemnations of Israel. Is it any wonder Hamas has endorsed him for president?”
And so, the Nixonizing now moves to a new arena. John McCain and his surrogate Republican in Democrat’s clothing calling himself independent Joe Lieberman, have already begun the memeorizing of the “Hamas endorsement”. But Boehner and the GOP Jewish Coalition have now just lied. Flat-out lied.
This isn’t even twisting. It’s a lie. Read it for yourself. In context.
I really hope all the voters think in this election. This is not an election that can be punditized. As Obama said, politics doesn’t do nuance well, but voters can.
Technorati Tags: lies, Republicans, Boehner, Nixon, Israel, Palestine
