A Freudian Slip? John McCain The RINO?

You Decide….

t/b: Rosemary’s Thoughts, A Blog For All, 123beta, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, , Woman Honor Thyself, DragonLady’s World, The World According to Carl, The Pink Flamingo, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Wolf Pangloss, , Right Voices, Stageleft, and The Yankee Sailor, Amy Proctor, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, Leaning Straight Up, Cao’s Blog, Conservative Cat, Adeline and Hazel, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, third world county, Allie is Wired, Faultline USA, Nuke Gingrich, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Celebrity Smack, A Newt One, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, The Yankee Sailor, Gone Hollywood

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McCain’s Obfuscation Express keeps on rolling along.

John McCain considered Benchmarks in Iraq as early as January of 2007. McCain is becoming the flip flopper that was John Kerry in 2004. Problem is that McCain doesn’t claim to be for them before he was against them. McCain just lies about his previous statements.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the most stalwart supporters of the war in Iraq, said Thursday that he might propose that the Iraqi government meet certain benchmarks for the United States to continue its engagement.

Fellow senators and independent political scientists said McCain’s thinking reflected growing concerns within the Republican Party about the course of the war, and also might mark a turning point for the likely 2008 presidential contender, whose previous unconditional backing of the war may have hurt his prospects.

McCain said Thursday that he hadn’t yet decided on precise benchmarks. “They’d have to be specific, and they (Iraqi government officials) would have to meet them,” he said.
Asked what penalty would be imposed if Iraq failed to meet his benchmarks, he said: “I think everybody knows the consequences. Haven’t met the benchmarks? Obviously, then, we’re not able to complete the mission. Then you have to examine your options.”

…

Even Joe Biden was surprised about McCain’s Statements:

… several Senate Demo-crats who oppose the troop buildup and also may seek the presidency said they were struck by McCain’s comments.

“We Catholics call that an epiphany,” said Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joseph Biden, D-Del., who is sponsoring the main Democratic resolution opposing the troop buildup.

John McCain… What will he lie about the next time? Immigration? Oh wait he already has…

McCain on immigration

Voted on Senate floor in favor of guestworker-amnesty bill by voting in favor of cloture motion to end debate and bring bill to a vote in 2007
Sen. McCain voted in favor of a motion to invoke cloture and limit debate on S. 1639, thereby preventing it from moving toward a final vote. S. 1639 is the “corrected and updated” version of S. 1348, the guestworker-amnesty bill that would: grant an amnesty; authorize the importation of millions of new foreign workers; and do little to curb our illegal immigration crisis. Two days prior to this vote, the Senate had voted to invoke cloture and move forward with the debate on S. 1639, outside normal channels and bypassing the committee process. Two weeks prior to this vote, the Senate rejected cloture on the “grand bargain” substitute amendment to S. 1348 by a 45-50 margin, thus halting – for the time being – the bill’s progress toward final passage. President Bush then stepped in to plead with Senate Republicans to give the “compromise” another look. Senate Majority Leader Reid chose to bring the proposal back to the Senate as a new bill, S. 1369. This motion to invoke cloture on S. 1639 (the second motion) failed by a vote of 46 to 53.

Voted on Senate floor in favor of guestworker-amnesty bill by voting in favor of a motion to bring bill to the Senate floor for a debate and a vote in 2007
Sen. McCain voted in favor of a motion to invoke cloture and bring S. 1639, the “corrected and updated” version of S. 1348, the guestworker-amnesty bill that would grant an amnesty, would authorize the importation of millions of new foreign workers, and would do little to curb our illegal immigration crisis, to the Senate floor. Two weeks prior to this vote, the Senate rejected cloture on the “grand bargain” substitute amendment to S. 1348 by a 45-50 margin, thus halting – for the time being – the bill’s progress toward final passage. President Bush then stepped in to plead with Senate Republicans to give the “compromise” another look and Senate Majority Leader Reid then brought the proposal back to the Senate as a new bill, S. 1369. The motion to invoke cloture passed by a vote of 64 to 35.

Voted on Senate floor in favor of guestworker-amnesty bill by voting in favor of motion to limit debate and move to vote in 2007
Sen. McCain voted in favor of the second cloture motion on the “grand bargain” substitute amendment (SA 1150) to S. 1348, the guestworker-amnesty bill that would grant an amnesty, would authorize the importation of millions of new foreign workers, and would do little to curb our illegal immigration crisis. The motion to invoke cloture would have ended the debate on the “compromise” proposal and limited further discussion of amendments to a previously-agreed upon set of proposals — thus a vote against cloture was effectively a vote in favor of killing the amnesty-guestworker bill. The motion to invoke cloture failed by a vote of 45 to 50.

Voted on Senate floor in favor of amendment to kill border fence in 2006
Sen. McCain voted in favor of the Manager’s Amendment (SA 4188), offered by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. The Manager’s Amendment made many minor changes to S. 2611, none of have significant numeric impacts on the overall bill. However, the Manager’s Amendment included a provision that requires consultation with the government of Mexico concerning the construction of additional fencing and related border security structures along the international border between the United States and Mexico. This would virtually guarantee that the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border would never be completed. The Manager’s Amendment passed by a vote of 56 to 41 to 1 (the 1 denotes a “present” vote).

Voted in favor of bill to increase immigration and grant amnesty to illegal aliens in 2006
Sen. McCain voted in favor of final passage of S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. S. 2611 would dramatically change most occupations and communities in America with the largest movement of foreign workers in world history. Specifically, S. 2611 would: reward approximately 10.2 million illegal aliens with an amnesty allowing them to permanently take American jobs and become U.S. citizens; entice millions more foreign workers to illegally enter our communities, crowd the housing and schools, take the jobs and depress the wages because they reasonably can believe they eventually will be given an amnesty, too; double legal immigration from 1 million to 2 million a year; give out permanent green cards to up to 66 million foreign workers and dependents over the next 20 years. The main difference in terms of numbers between the final version of S. 2611 and the version of the bill when the cloture motion was invoked was that the Bingaman Amendment to cap the number of employment-based visas for workers, spouses and children at 650,000 was adopted after cloture but before final passage. Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation estimates that the Bingaman Amendment would reduce employment-based visas available under S. 2611 by about 150,000 a year. S. 2611 passed by a vote of 62 to 36.

t/b: Captain’s Quarters, Stop The ACLU, Michelle Malkin

h/t: Hot Air, Ace of Spades

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The Real John McCain Exposed of course this is courtesy of the Romney campaign; never the less true.

Beware of McCain!

THE

MCCAIN WAY

ATTACK REPUBLICANS

A Top 10 List…

1. Defending His Amnesty Bill, Sen. McCain Lost His Temper And “Screamed, ‘F*ck You!’ At Texas Sen. John Cornyn” (R-TX). “Presidential hopeful John McCain – who has been dogged for years by questions about his volcanic temper – erupted in an angry, profanity-laced tirade at a fellow Republican senator, sources told The Post yesterday. In a heated dispute over immigration-law overhaul, McCain screamed, ‘F— you!’ at Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who had been raising concerns about the legislation. ‘This is chickens—stuff,’ McCain snapped at Cornyn, according to several people in the room off the Senate floor Thursday. ‘You’ve always been against this bill, and you’re just trying to derail it.’” (Charles Hurt, “Raising McCain,” New York Post, 5/19/07)
2. In 2000, Sen. McCain Ran An Attack Ad Comparing Then-Gov. George W. Bush To Bill Clinton. SEN. MCCAIN: “I guess it was bound to happen. Governor Bush’s campaign is getting desperate, with a negative ad about me. The fact is, I’ll use the surplus money to fix Social Security, cut your taxes and pay down the debt. Governor Bush uses all of the surplus for tax cuts, with not one new penny for Social Security or the debt. His ad twists the truth like Clinton. We’re all pretty tired of that. As president, I’ll be conservative and always tell you the truth. No matter what.” (McCain 2000, Campaign Ad, 2/9/00;
   

    

   target=”_blank”>www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHoXkCprdL4)

3. Sen. McCain Repeatedly Called Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) An “A**hole”, Causing A Fellow GOP Senator To Say, “I Didn’t Want This Guy Anywhere Near A Trigger.” “Why can’t McCain win the votes of his own colleagues? To explain, a Republican senator tells this story: at a GOP meeting last fall, McCain erupted out of the blue at the respected Budget Committee chairman, Pete Domenici, saying, ‘Only an a–hole would put together a budget like this.’ Offended, Domenici stood up and gave a dignified, restrained speech about how in all his years in the Senate, through many heated debates, no one had ever called him that. Another senator might have taken the moment to check his temper. But McCain went on: ‘I wouldn’t call you an a–hole unless you really were an a–hole.’ The Republican senator witnessing the scene had considered supporting McCain for president, but changed his mind. ‘I decided,’ the senator told Newsweek, ‘I didn’t want this guy anywhere near a trigger.’” (Evan Thomas, et al., “Senator Hothead,” Newsweek, 2/21/00)
4. Sen. McCain Had A Heated Exchange With Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) And Called Him A “F*cking Jerk.” “Senators are not used to having their intelligence or integrity challenged by another senator. ‘Are you calling me stupid?’ Sen. Chuck Grassley once inquired during a debate with McCain over the fate of the Vietnam MIAs, according to a source who was present. ‘No,’ replied McCain, ‘I’m calling you a f—ing jerk!’ (Grassley and McCain had no comment.)” (Evan Thomas, et al., “Senator Hothead,” Newsweek, 2/21/00)
5. In 1995, Sen. McCain Had A “Scuffle” With 92-Year-Old Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) On The Senate Floor. “In January 1995, McCain was midway through an opening statement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing when chairman Strom Thurmond asked, ‘Is the senator about through?’ McCain glared at Thurmond, thanked him for his ‘courtesy’ (translation: buzz off), and continued on. McCain later confronted Thurmond on the Senate floor. A scuffle ensued, and the two didn’t part friends.” (Harry Jaffe, “Senator Hothead,” The Washingtonian, 2/97)
6. Sen. McCain Accused Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Of The “Most Egregious Incident” Of Corruption He Had Seen In The Senate. “It escalated when McCain reiterated the charges Oct. 10 in a cross-examination, calling McConnell’s actions the ‘most egregious incident’ demonstrating the appearance of corruption he has ever seen in his Senate career.” (Amy Keller, “Attacks Escalate In Depositions,” Roll Call, 10/21/02)
7. Sen. McCain Attacked Christian Leaders And Republicans In A Blistering Speech During The 2000 Campaign. MCCAIN: “Unfortunately, Governor Bush is a Pat Robertson Republican who will lose to Al Gore. … The political tactics of division and slander are not our values… They are corrupting influences on religion and politics, and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America shame our faith, our party and our country. Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right.” (Sen. John McCain, Remarks,
   Virginia Beach, VA, 2/28/00)
8. Sen. McCain Attacked Vice President Cheney. MCCAIN: “The president listened too much to the Vice President . . . Of course, the president bears the ultimate responsibility, but he was very badly served by both the Vice President and, most of all, the Secretary of Defense.” (Roger Simon, “McCain Bashes Cheney Over Iraq Policy,” The Politico, 1/24/07)
9. Celebrating His First Senate Election In 1986, Sen. McCain Screamed At And Harassed A Young Republican Volunteer. “It was election night 1986, and John McCain had just been elected to the U.S. Senate for the first time. Even so, he was not in a good mood. McCain was yelling at the top of his lungs and poking the chest of a young Republican volunteer who had set up a lectern that was too tall for the 5-foot-9 politician to be seen to advantage, according to a witness to the outburst. ‘Here this poor guy is thinking he has done a good job, and he gets a new butt ripped because McCain didn’t look good on television,’ Jon Hinz told a reporter Thursday. At the time, Hinz was executive director of the Arizona Republican Party. … Hinz said McCain’s treatment of the young campaign worker in 1986 troubled him for years. ‘There were an awful lot of people in the room,’ Hinz recalled. ‘You’d have to stick cotton in your ears not to hear it. He (McCain) was screaming at him, and he was red in the face. It wasn’t right, and I was very upset at him.’” (Kris Mayes and Charles Kelly, “Stories Surface On Senator’s Demeanor,” The Arizona
   Republic, 11/5/99)
10. Sen. McCain “Publicly Abused” Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). “[McCain] noted his propensity for passion but insisted that he doesn’t ‘insult anybody or fly off the handle or anything like that.’ This is, quite simply, hogwash. McCain often insults people and flies off the handle…. There have been the many times McCain has called reporters ‘liars’ and ‘idiots’ when they have had the audacity to ask him unpleasant, but pertinent, questions. McCain once… publicly abused Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama.” (Editorial, “There’s Something About McCain,” The Austin American-Statesman, 1/24/07)

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John McCain’s Straight Talk Express has evolved into the Obfuscation Express.

If McCain is so worried about our nation’s security why is he for amnesty for illegal aliens?

Here is a video compilation of McCain Advisor Juan Hernandez’s ideas on illegal immigration

(Courtesy of Digger’s Realm).

John McCain was quizzed on his relationship with Hernandez in Florida on Sunday. Below is McCain’s answer:

That doesn’t sound like straight talk to me. McCain dodged the question with a non answer.

On Meet The Press on January 28 McCain was asked if he would support the McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill if he were President. His answer? YES…

A Fellow passenger on the Obfuscation Express and McCain supporter, Lindsey Graham, was quizzed by Sean Hannity about a dubious ad the campaign aired about Mitt Romney’s stand on the war in Iraq. Graham had no honest answer to Hannity’s grilling.

Check it out:

Bill Clinton on John McCain:

Campaigning in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Friday, the former president brushed aside suggestions his wife would prove to be a divisive nominee for the Democratic Party, pointing out how she has successfully worked with Republicans in the Senate — including one of the current GOP presidential candidates.”She and John McCain are very close,” Clinton said. “They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they’re afraid they’d put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other.”

What happened to the straight talk? John McCain cannot and will not win in the general election if he is nominated as the Republican nominee.

h/t to : Michelle Malkin and Hot Air for much of the information contained in this post.

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Regardless: My unsolicited answer to Right Wing News is Arlen Specter with Pat Buchanan running a close second by a nose.

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Another RINO bites the dust. Now we can put a real conservative in to replace Hagel.

Update: From The American Spectator

With the announcement today that Sen. Chuck Hagel is retiring, Republicans in the Senate are privately giving big props to National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. John Ensign for his behind the scenes support to Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, which started about six months ago.Bruning, a solid conservative and supporter of the Iraq War, quietly made a visit to Washington in the spring to gauge political and financial support from Senatorial, the RNC, and K Street. Initial meetings among fundraisers and donors weren’t forthcoming until Ensign quietly encouraged them.

Chuck Hagel will announce his retirement from the US Senate Monday in his home State of Nebraska.

Every time I watched the Senate on C-Span Hagel was always caucusing with the Dems especially Dickie Durban. No big loss for the Republicans.

From Omaha.com :

Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel plans to leave the Senate after two terms as a Republican Party maverick, people close to him say.
Hagel plans to announce that “he will not run for re-election and that he does not intend to be a candidate for any office in 2008,” said one person, who asked not to be named.

Hagel has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. Monday at the Omaha Press Club.

According to one person interviewed, Hagel told Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Friday morning that he had decided to retire. Hagel’s staff learned of his decision that afternoon.

The North Platte native earned national recognition as perhaps the most vocal, at times angry, GOP critic of the Bush administration’s Iraq policies.

His outspokenness on Iraq and other key issues, including Social Security and foreign policy, fueled national interest in Hagel as he flirted with a possible presidential bid.

His national profile reached its zenith in March, when he headed to Omaha to hold a press conference on his political future.

But amid wide speculation that he was leaning toward a White House run, Hagel announced that he would disclose his plans later in the year.

His pending retirement leaves another GOP Senate seat without an incumbent at a time when the Republican Party is struggling to stem potential losses and must defend more seats than Democrats.

In Nebraska, the news will trigger a scramble among possible successors.

Attorney General Jon Bruning has been campaigning for the GOP Senate nomination since spring. A second Republican, financial adviser Pat Flynn of Schuyler, also already announced his candidacy.

t/b: Hot Air , Michelle Malkin

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Chuck Hagel & Pat Leahey (D-Vermont)

It seems that Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel (RINO) might have a problem for re-election in 2008. I say good riddance Chuckie don’t let the door hit you in your left leaning posterior.

This From the Nebraska Politics Blog Leavenworth Street :

With U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel announcing his quarterly fundraising numbers (Hagel has raised nearly $1.1 million – LJS – 7/13/07), we can now compare his fundraising with that of Attorney General Jon Bruning.

First their fund raising numbers to date:
Hagel: $1.1 million
Bruning: $721,000

It would seem that this is advantage Hagel, but Chuck’s numbers are a bit misleading. When Hagel’s guy Kevin Chapman said a few weeks ago that their numbers would be “well beyond” Bruning’s, he was referring to their fundraising since 2003. Well, we would hope they’d be over that. We confess that we assumed Chapman was talking about Hagel’s 2007 second quarter numbers.

When we look at the second quarter of 2007, we get:
Hagel: $388,000
Bruning: $721,000

…

More From the Omaha World Herald :

The latest campaign finance report by Sen. Chuck Hagel offers no hints about the Nebraska Republican’s political future.

Hagel on Friday reported raising $387,000 during the second quarter of this year, considerably less than the $720,000 reported for the period by Attorney General Jon Bruning, who is seeking the 2008 GOP Senate nomination.

Hagel held just four fundraising events during the three-month reporting period. He said he will decide later this year whether to seek a third term, run for president or leave public office.

If he runs for re-election next year, Hagel will be able to raise the money necessary to win, said Kevin Chapman, the senator’s political director.

“I have no doubt that if Sen. Hagel runs for re-election, the money will be there for him to win,” Chapman said. “You can’t conclude that because we’re not on a 24-hour, seven-day fundraising binge, that he’s not running”

He said Hagel remains focused on his duties in the Senate.

According to his latest report to the Federal Election Commission, Hagel has raised a total of about $1.1 million for the 2008 campaign cycle. He reported having about $483,000 in the bank as of June 30. Of that, about $100,000 is set aside for the general election.

Bruning, who began raising funds in mid-March, reported having about $620,000 in the bank as of June 30. Of that, about $100,000 also was for the general election.

“The difference gives a good snapshot of where the thoughts, the hopes and the will of Nebraskans are at this point,” said Bruning’s campaign manager, Jordan McGrain.

Bruning released his latest campaign finance report last week. At the time, Chapman said that the Hagel campaign would report raising “well beyond $700,000.”

Chapman stood by that statement Friday, saying Hagel has raised a total of about $1.1 million over the past couple of years for a possible 2008 race.

Several potential candidates in both parties are awaiting Hagel’s decision about his political future. Some, including former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey, have said they will consider running only if Hagel decides not to seek a third term.

Other possible Republican contenders include U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, Columbus businessman Tony Raimondo, former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub and U.S. Reps. Jeff Fortenberry and Lee Terry.

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A petition has been created to recall Mel Martinez at RecallMel.com :

We here at recallmel.com have a very simple & defined mission, to effect a legal recall petition drive with the ultimate goal of a special election to remove Senator Mel Martinez from office. It is our belief that our home America is crumbling at the foundation and this proposed legislation is a dangerous & misguided tragedy that has the potential to bring the US down. When our elected leaders betray their campaign promises and display reckless disregard for our interest, it is our duty to do everything possible to take away the power they so desperately crave. Please give us your support by Signing the Petition today and getting everyone you know to help our cause!

I’m not sure that Florida residents can do this, but if we can I would support this cause.

Martinez has lied to the citizens of Florida.

From the RecallMel site.

Martinez’s own words:

Our immigration policy should first and foremost ensure the security of our nation and those individuals posing a terrorist threat should be prevented from entering our country. I strongly oppose amnesty for illegal aliens.

Source: Florida Senate Debate, Q&A by Associated Press Oct 24, 2004

Martinez will fight to secure our nation’s borders and end the flow of illegal aliens to our country.

Source: Campaign website, MelforSenate.org, “On The Issues” Jul 2, 2004

Our immigration policy should first and foremost ensure the security of our great Nation and those individuals posing a terrorist threat should be prevented from entering our country. I strongly oppose amnesty for illegal aliens; our immigration laws should not reward lawlessness.

Source: 2004 Congressional National Political Awareness Test Oct 14, 2004

Linked to: Michelle Malkin

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Ohio’s terrible representation in the Senate Voinovich and Sherrod Brown.. what a team.

Voinovich gets cranky.

He was on Sean Hannity’s Radio show and hangs up unable to answer tough questions.

Hot Air has the Audio

Link:

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