We must be clear on who John McCain really is.

[expatriot]

McCain has successfully duped a vast proportion of Americans, even liberals/progressives into thinking he is qualitatively different than the "other" Republicans, that he is a maverick and a man of the people.

It is my belief that McCain is potentially the most dangerous man in America. He is the only chance the ultra-conservative/corporatist Bushite agenda has to continue its reign of terror beyond Bush II's reign.

McCain will continue Bush's war against the public sector, against working families, unions, etc. He is also quite the social conservative. he is anti-choice, voted several times to kill the National Endowment for the Arts, etc.

Here is a graph I made over a year ago for a website I was making



It looks like the GOP is really looking to McCain to save them in 2008. We need to start unduping the American people - and ourselves -- ASAP.

[Somawas]

1. Well said. Every time I hear that "McCain is the Democrats' favorite

Republican" I ask Why?

[shoelace414]

2. I don;'t see him making it through the republican primary.

[expatriot]

4. Big business will be behind him and conservative groups will

realize it is their best chance to beat the anti-Bush funk with the American people... the freepers will fall in line behind these two groups' leadership.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1879926,00.html


"The last time McCain visited South Carolina he was called the “fag” candidate because he had met a group of gay Republicans. He offended evangelical Christians by denouncing the decision of his rival, George W Bush, to speak at Bob Jones University, a college known for its ban on inter-racial dating.

Now he is back with a 65% approval rating in the polls, dominating the pack of Republican presidential candidates in one of the “must-win” states. Marshall Whitman, a former McCain supporter and Christian Coalition organiser, said: “In many ways the movement is coming to him.”

[shoelace414]

8. I know this means nothing because it's 2005 but,

I think the republicans are going to be overly arrogant and will say things like "the only reason Bush started losing is because he became too moderate" and will put up a "movement conservative"

but heck, I have no idea what will actually happen, nobody does.

[leftstreet]

3. But will the NEOCONS actually let him run?

:shrug:

[NanceGreggs]

5. I don't think McCain is of the same ilk as BU$HCO ...

... and when he stands up for something righteous (like anti-torture legislation), he can be great.

However, I lost all respect for him when he shilled for Bush last summer. He knows (better than anyone) what the Bush people did to him, and to his family, in order to keep him from running. He then turned around and encouraged people to re-elect BUSH -- knowing what he knew.

I've heard it a million times: "Yeah, but he had to do that, if he was ever going to have another shot at the presidency."

Well, that's too bad. A man who would trade his soul for the presidency has proven he doesn't deserve it. McCain became a Judas Goat, leading the sheeple to the slaughterhouse.

[JuniperLea]

9. Agreed

I feel the same way about him as I did for Colin Powell. I think they both want to do the right thing, but they have to support the ChimpInChief so they can't fall too far from the banana tree.

All the while Powell was lying to us, you could see it in his eyes. He didn't believe a word he said and he would look around to see if anyone appeared to be onto him. Same with McCain. He lowers his eyes. He speaks softer, but tries to sound firm. Not working, imho.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

10. Yea. Someone was speculating about Cheney being out

and McCain being in.

I assumed they meant McCain being appointed to VP if Cheney stepped down.

I was just saying to someone that I hoped not, because it would inevitably lead to him being Colin_Powellenized.

[WCGreen]

27. Totally agree about the trading of his soul....

And why he didn't just go up to Bush and smack him in the mouth for dragging his wife and adopted kids into the South Carolina Primary....

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

6. He is a maverick like Barry Goldwater was

But I wouldn't want either as President.

He is also very conservative, which is what he said when people asked him about being Kerry's running mate.

He is probably the Republican most likely to cross party lines and vote with the Dems on occasion.

He does stuff like the anti-torture amendment.

He is the Chair of the Indian Affairs committee, which does valuable work.

In being realistic, I am grateful for the good things he has done and continues to do.

But his coziness with the shrub and the RR make me queasy.

And I would never support a candidate for President with his conservative views.

[formernaderite]

24. Maverick, ,my ass....

that's a media whore invention. He's a repub through and through, who just loves the camera so much....he'll pretty much say anything...but what he DOES is pure REPUBLICAN.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

28. Whatever, but it isn't a media invention. n/t

[indepat]

7. Maybe just a tad less horrid?

[bluedog]

11. hes on fox now

saying we must stay in Iraq..........because the terrorists will come over here........like whats stopping them from doing that now?........pushing his new book....going to talk about "08.......

[Skwmom]

12. McCain - the straight shooter - is a media created myth. n/t

[Disturbed]

13. John McCain, Hypocrite

John McCain, Hypocrite
by Doug Ireland

John McCain, the media's darling, has found a clever way around his own campaign finance reform law to take big corporate bucks in furtherance of his political ambitions while carrying water for the corporate mammoth providing the dough. But the national press is ignoring the story.


The Associated Press first ran the story of John McCain's odorous but lucrative Senatorial service to the communications giant Cablevision on the afternoon of March 7. But, while some local papers in McCain's home state (like the East Valley Tribune) have run the story, nothing has as yet made it into the print editions of the New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Washington Post, or any of the half-dozen other big city dailies I checked (although, if one searches the hundreds of AP stories available on the Post's website on its Politics page by clicking on "Latest Wire Reports," one can find it there--but how many readers would bother to do that?) One notable exception: the Kansas City Star.


Here's what the AP's investigation found:


McCain repeatedly intervened on behalf of a policy Cablevision favored -- one which "congressional and private studies conclude could make cable more expensive" -- while his chief political adviser, Rick Davis (who's masterminding McCain's probable '08 presidential rerun) solicited $200,000 in contributions from Cablevision to an institute that promotes McCain and pays Davis a $110,000 annual salary.


The Reform Institute was set up to promote McCain and his issues--especially campaign finance reform, embodied in the famous McCain-Feingold law. This Institute is "a tax-exempt group that touts McCain's views and has showcased him at events since his unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign," and it "often uses the senator's name in press releases and fund-raising letters and includes him at press conferences," the AP says. And, of course, it provides a cushy sinecure with no heavy lifting for McCain's main man, Davis, as he prepares the pontificating Senator's next presidential run. Cablevision's contributions account for a whopping 15% of the Institute's budget.


http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0309-35.htm

[blm]

14. here's a great article about the Bushification of John McCain.

THIS ARTICLE WILL BE A GREAT TOOL FOR DEFINING MCCAIN NOW BEFORE HE GETS ANY FURTHER WITH HIS BS.


http://www.alternet.org/story/28266 /

The Bushification of John McCain

By Ari Melber, AlterNet. Posted November 15, 2005.



The bad blood between the two men has been infamous since 2000, when Bush's campaign lied about McCain's family and war service, and McCain told Bush to "get out of the gutter."

But during Bush's reelection in 2004, McCain strained to embrace his former rival -- literally. In their first joint appearance, they hugged dramatically before 6,000 soldiers at a Fort Lewis rally. Those events made for great campaign visuals. Yet while most Americans saw McCain's big heart, Republican leaders saw hungry ambition.

Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative magazine National Review, recently described that campaign bear hug as nothing but proof of "the senator's presidential ambitions." Lowry argues it's just part of McCain's scheme to get "the Right to stop loathing him." In targeted moves since the election, McCain has continued his Bushification by changing positions on conservative priorities like creationism, gay marriage and tax cuts.


.........

As the costs of Hurricane Katrina mounted, McCain went on national television and told Chris Mathews the Bush tax cuts must be maintained. But McCain voted against those tax cuts.

In fact, he was one of only two Republicans to oppose Bush's signature 2001 tax cut. Given the surging costs of Katrina, Iraq and Medicare, there is no policy rationale for reversing his position now. The only rationale is political pandering. And that's exactly how some influential conservatives see it. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, recently said that although McCain has "flip-flopped on a number of issues," he is still "anti-taxpayer" because "he's voted against every tax cut."

Yet the mainstream media is so attached to McCain's maverick image, most journalists didn't cover the tax reversal.

..............

Ari Melber served as a national staff member of the John Kerry presidential campaign and as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate.

[incapsulated]

15. McCain won't get out of the primaries

He offended the fundie wing when he ran. Doesn't anyone remember his attack on the "religious right wing" in 2000 just before he imploded?

It would galvanize them against him if he runs.

At least I hope so because he is a very formidable candidate to go up against in 2008. Back in 2000 I thought if he ran as an Independent, he may well have walked away with the whole thing.

[blm]

16. The hypocrite spent time with Pat Robertson recently and endorsed

Intelligent Design.

They kissed and made up.

[incapsulated]

18. Well, that's not happy news.

:(

I seriously fear McCain. More than all the rest combined.

[killbotfactory]

17. Why is Kerry so fond of him?

[blm]

19. Why was kerry fond of him? Mccain used to have a decent streak in him.

Looks like Kerry lost trust in him these days.


http://www.alternet.org/story/28266 /

The Bushification of John McCain

By Ari Melber, AlterNet. Posted November 15, 2005.



The bad blood between the two men has been infamous since 2000, when Bush's campaign lied about McCain's family and war service, and McCain told Bush to "get out of the gutter."

But during Bush's reelection in 2004, McCain strained to embrace his former rival -- literally. In their first joint appearance, they hugged dramatically before 6,000 soldiers at a Fort Lewis rally. Those events made for great campaign visuals. Yet while most Americans saw McCain's big heart, Republican leaders saw hungry ambition.

Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative magazine National Review, recently described that campaign bear hug as nothing but proof of "the senator's presidential ambitions." Lowry argues it's just part of McCain's scheme to get "the Right to stop loathing him." In targeted moves since the election, McCain has continued his Bushification by changing positions on conservative priorities like creationism, gay marriage and tax cuts.


.........

As the costs of Hurricane Katrina mounted, McCain went on national television and told Chris Mathews the Bush tax cuts must be maintained. But McCain voted against those tax cuts.

In fact, he was one of only two Republicans to oppose Bush's signature 2001 tax cut. Given the surging costs of Katrina, Iraq and Medicare, there is no policy rationale for reversing his position now. The only rationale is political pandering. And that's exactly how some influential conservatives see it. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, recently said that although McCain has "flip-flopped on a number of issues," he is still "anti-taxpayer" because "he's voted against every tax cut."

Yet the mainstream media is so attached to McCain's maverick image, most journalists didn't cover the tax reversal.

..............

Ari Melber served as a national staff member of the John Kerry presidential campaign and as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate.

[0007]

20. The freepers hate McCain, I can't see them supporting him.

But who indeed knows?

[Punkingal]

21. Thank you!!!!

I don't want him in the White House.

[lovelaureng]

22. Well said, n/t.

[snowbear]

23. If you do a little research on McCain and racist Richard Quinn..

..it will make you SICK. :puke:

You don't have to look hard, you'll find tons of articles on Google. Why McCain is so close (and he is CLOSE!!!) to someone like Quinn is mind boggling!

Someone here also posted an article about McCain and another racist he's working with now (aside from Quinn) on here recently.. but the name escapes me right now.

Let him run!! :rofl:

[tsuki]

25. I am very clear who McCain is. Every time that I hear of a domestic

program being cut, I think Keating Five. We are still paying on that S&L debacle. Thank you, John McCain. I hope you enjoyed all those trips and exotic vacations provided by your friend.

[ncteechur]

26. MCCAIN IS A SELLOUT.

[hughee99]

29. John McCain has no base...

He's obviously pushed away many progressives with his support on repuke issues, and he's also pissed off the "conservative base" with what freepers like my brother consider selling out conservative values for short term political gain an PR. In the end, IMHO he won't be able to win the repuke primaries and won't be a candidate in '08.