sen john mccain

Pittsburgh Councilman Asks For An Apology From The McCain Campaign

The McCain campaign has tried to deny any involvement in Ashley Todd's racially charged hoax last week, but a Pittsburgh councilman isn't buying it:

A Pittsburgh city councilman said he is upset with the way Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign handled last week's alleged attack of a supporter, which later turned out to be a hoax.

The Rev. Ricky Burgess said a McCain-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin official was pushing a version of the story that was far more explosive than what was confirmed at the time.

Ashley Todd, 20, went to police with two black eyes and a knife-carved "B" on her face after she said she was brutally attacked in Bloomfield on Wednesday for her political views.

Burgess isn't stopping there either. He wants an apology from the McCain campaign for their actions:

Burgess sent a letter to McCain, saying, "That one of your campaign spokespersons would spread such an incendiary story before any confirmation of the facts is both irresponsible and runs counter to our nation's constitutional guarantee."

Burgess also asked for an apology to the city of Pittsburgh and its black community.

Somehow I doubt we will hear any apology from the McCain campaign, but this could be good to keep the story fresh for this week.

You Get What You Ask For

When you preach the politics of divisiveness, you end up with stories like this:

LONGWOOD, Fla. -- The home of a Central Florida Republican headquarters manager was shot up and damaged over his support of Sen. John McCain, the man told police.

Rog Coverely said several pellets pierced his Longwood home. Coverely showed several spiderwebbed-holes in the front windows of his home.

The Republican manager said he is convinced he was targeted because of new McCain signs he added around his home.

The first thing that jumps out at me is that the victim is claiming it was done because of his support for McCain. There is no evidence of this, just his claims, and yet Drudge is pushing the story like this:

The key word missing there is "allegedly". There is no proof of this yet, just the victims claims. But lets assume this is the case, and I wouldn't be shocked if it was.

John McCain has had his campaign and surrogates out there pushing a message of hate. They have been called out on it countless times and even suffered the loss of some Republican supporters over it. These kind of actions are sure to follow McCain's message of divisiveness. Sure people might get pissed at Obama and turn that rage into action, but the people who support Barack Obama, a majority of this country, can also feel the pain and end up taking action against John McCain.

This is the exact reason McCain campaign rallies are such a dangerous breeding ground. The are inciting rage and that is the catalyst to violence. You would think a 72 year old veteran like McCain would know this, but apparently he doesn't.

ACORN Nuttiness

Allegations of voter fraud by ACORN are being exaggerated according to election law officials:

Charges of potential vote fraud volleyed by Republicans, including Sen. John McCain himself, are out of proportion to reality, according to election experts.

The concerns raised by the Republican National Committee in daily conference calls with reporters, as well as by McCain himself in Wednesday's debate focus on the nonprofit group Acorn, whose nationwide voter registration efforts have garnered apparently fraudulent registration cards, some for fictional characters like "Mickey Mouse."

The news that the Obama campaign is going after McCain, the RNC and the White House for pushing these investigations is great news. Every cycle the Republicans cry voter fraud and it gets investigated then those claims are unfounded. Last time it resulted in U.S. Attorneys like David Iglesias getting fired. This meant our Justice Department became a political machine.

The Republicans really need to think about this. We are just over 2 weeks from a most likely Democratic super majority running our government. Do they want President Barack Obama politicizing the Justice Department like Bush has done - especially when oversight will be by his own party? You can bet if Obama pushes forward with an investigation after taking the oath of office, he will be ridiculed by the Right. He shouldn't let that go though, and our democracy depends upon a thorough investigation based upon fact and not politics. The fact that he is wanting investigations back to 2004 shows that he is serious about putting an end to Republican attempts at voter disenfranchisement once and for all.

Your Daily WHAAAAAAA!

The McCain campaign doesn't like being called what they are - liars:

Sen. John McCain’s top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.” They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama’s record.

But the call was so rife with simple, often inexplicable misstatements of fact that it may have had the opposite effect: to deepen the perception, dangerous to McCain, that he and his aides have little regard for factual accuracy.

Shark jumping by Schmidt? Joe Klein thinks so.

Cram Session!

The Republicans are trying to get Sarah ready to debate Biden:

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman is among several national security experts helping brief Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on foreign policy issues as she prepares to hit the campaign trail while cramming for a debate with her Democratic opponent, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), in less than a month, according to officials from Sen. John McCain's campaign.

Oh Boy! We get "bomb Iran" Lieberman in there. Do they really think that a cram session will equate to 30 years of experience?

Here's an idea. McCain loves these townhall meetings. Perhaps Biden should challenge Palin to one in the next week or so. Call their bluff and see how the McCain campaign responds.

Good Job Johnny!

He got the bailout to pass!

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his top aides took credit for building a winning bailout coalition – hours before the vote failed and stocks tanked.

The rush to claim he had engineered a victory now looks like a strategic blunder that will prolong the McCain’s campaign’s difficulty in finding a winning message on the economy.

Shortly before the vote, McCain had bragged about his involvement and mocked Sen. Barack Obama for staying on the sidelines.

“I've never been afraid of stepping in to solve problems for the American people, and I'm not going to stop now,” McCain told a rally in Columbus, Ohio. “Senator Obama took a very different approach to the crisis our country faced. At first he didn't want to get involved. Then he was monitoring the situation.”
McCain, grinning, flashed a sarcastic thumbs-up.

“That's not leadership. That's watching from the sidelines,” he added to cheers and applause

Yeah now pat yourself on the back John. Oh wait a minute....

McCain Sure Packs Them In

McCain is introducing his VP pick today at the Nutter Center in Dayton. The Nutter Center holds about 12,000 people, but look at this:

Tickets are still available for Sen. John McCain's Friday, Aug. 29, rally at Wright State University's Nutter Center in Fairborn.

McCain and his wife Cindy will appear at the event, dubbed the "Road to the Convention Rally." Doors open at 9 a.m. and the event begins at 11 a.m.

Tickets are being given away at county GOP offices in southwest Ohio and in Indiana and Kentucky.

This event is being held in the heart of a red state tri-fecta, yet McCain hasn't been able to sell out (or give out actually). But red state isn't the only thing the Nutter Center is situated in. Dayton is also home to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, which has about 6,000 military and 9,000 civilian personnel. You would think such close proximity to a military base would give McCain's speech a boost, and it may very well have, but he still has tickets available.

John McCain has no enthusiasm there.

BREAKING: NBC Reports Palin Is McCain's Pick

NBC just did a breaking news cut in to report they have learned that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be McCain's VP pick. It looks very probable as there are reports that she flew into Hook Field last night:

A Gulfstream IV jet owned by a firm in Kirkland, Wash., landed at Hook Field Municipal Airport late Thursday night is believed to have had Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on board as a passenger.

National media outlets have identified the first-term Alaska governor, the first woman elected to the position, as a possible vice presidential candidate for Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

Chuck Todd has just referred to this pick as a big gamble. I would have to agree. McCain has gone with someone really not known and the debate between her and Biden will be interesting.

Something else important on this is the experience issue. Palin would be a heartbeat away from becoming Commander in Chief. Her political career is very short, so that puts a damper on the experience argument against Obama.

UPDATE:

All news outlets are now confirming it.

Dumb And Dumber

That is the nicest way I can describe John McCain and his campaign. This is a prime example of this:

But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

So the guy who helped McCain come up with his health care policy obviously has no idea about preventive care, prescriptions, testing, or just what the a trip to the emergency room costs. Costs can run into the $10,000 very easily. Just basic blood work generally runs about $500. That doesn't include the doctor!

Now listen up Obama campaign. This is a gift coming at you. You need a new ad out right now asking why John McCain wants to commit genocide against American citizens. That is exactly what his adviser is suggesting. Let them die through lack of health care.

When You Don't Know How Many Homes You Own

You can not be President. Simple!

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.

"I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."

The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties.

The GOP tries to paint Obama as the elitist, but I am sure Obama knows how many homes he owns (that being one).

Actually I bet the Democrats let this go unnoticed, when they should be pounding it into the ground. One of the big issues the Republicans used against Kerry in 2004 was his four homes and Teresa's family fortune from Heinz. It was effective and most likely cost Kerry the election (with how close it was anything could have cost him). So now the Democrats need to fire back using the same argument against McCain. If they don't start pushing back hard, then we can forget the White House this year.

Clintonites Against Democrats

This is getting really old:

A brother of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and local Democrats who backed her unsuccessful presidential campaign socialized privately Monday with a top surrogate of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

The private gathering featured Carly Fiorina, Mr. McCain’s top economic adviser, and took place at the Dunmore home of political consultant Jamie Brazil, a longtime friend of Mrs. Clinton’s family who has signed on as paid national director of Mr. McCain’s Citizens for McCain Coalition.

It sure sounds like some of the Clinton camp really want to see Obama loose in November. I guess they are laying the path for Hillary to become the next Lieberman.

You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

It looks like a lot of Republican Senators are scared to be seen with their ilk:

Nine of 12 targeted Republicans running in the most competitive Senate races this fall are either skipping the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., or have not decided whether to attend.

Among those who will not attend are Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who is not close to presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is a McCain loyalist. Stevens and Collins will use the convention week to focus on their campaigns.

Also sending regrets is former Rep. Bob Schaffer of Colorado, running for the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Wayne Allard.

Six others -- Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, John Sununu of New Hampshire, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Gordon Smith of Oregon and challengers John Kennedy of Louisiana and Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico are still on the fence. Their spokesman offered responses ranging from "there are no plans yet" to "no decisions have been made."

That's an interesting list. Even though they won't be in attendance at the ~~America Destroyer~~ Republican Convention, we all know they are still very much in love with the party.

A Trial Seperation?

So you thought John McCain was done with Phil Gramm? Well you were wrong:

After Sen. John McCain publicly repudiated his close friend and adviser Phil Gramm's comments about a "nation of whiners" and a "mental recession," the two old political comrades patched up their relationship.

Gramm apologized to McCain for his remarks that gave Democrats an opening against the Republican presidential candidate and provided several days of ammunition for blogs, cable television and radio talk shows. McCain told Gramm not to worry about the expected pitfalls of a campaign surrogate. Gramm will continue as an adviser and surrogate.

Gramm remained a steadfast supporter last year when it appeared that McCain's campaign had collapsed. McCain was a loyal backer of Gramm's failed 1988 campaign for president and did not leave until the candidate dropped out of the race.

So Gramm is to remain an "adviser" to McCain. He apologized to McCain, but not the American people for calling them "whiners" when it comes to the economy. This proves that McCain is standing by his friend and adviser and must believe what Gramm has said. Must be easy when you have a multi-millionaire wife to support your ass.

Is This The Leader We Want?

McCain talks about Obama missing stuff, well look here:

It turns out that presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain has attended even fewer Afghanistan-related Senate hearings over the past two years than Obama's one. Which is a nice way of saying, McCain, R-Ariz., the top Republican on the Senate Armed Service Committee, has attended zero of his committee's six hearings on Afghanistan over the last two years.

[SNIP]

A review of the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings as listed on the committee Web site for the past two years reveals that McCain's committee has held six hearings that included the word "Afghanistan" in the title or Central Command -- which overseas U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

McCain missed them all.

(emphasis added)

McCain constantly attacks Obama on missing hearings, yet Mr. 'Foreign Policy' hasn't even mustered the gumption to attend one meeting on Afghanistan? This guy is a total joke and fraud, but I got a feeling it will be written off as another "senior moment".

McCain Has A GOP Problem

A "gang of 14" House Republicans won't endorse John McCain:

At least 14 Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse or publicly support Sen. John McCain for president, and more than a dozen others declined to answer whether they back the Arizona senator.

Many of the recalcitrant GOP members declined to detail their reasons for withholding support, but Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) expressed major concerns about McCain’s energy policies and Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) cited the Iraq war.

A handful of other Republicans on Capitol Hill made the distinction between “endorsing” and “supporting,” adding that while they have not endorsed, they do support McCain.

We need lots more news like this.