More McCain Double Talk in CPAC Speech
February 7, 2008
Either John McCain's shameless pandering knows no bounds or the Double Talk Express runs on ethanol. During his remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference today, Campaign McCain tried to proclaim himself a consistent conservative by claiming to have campaigned against ethanol subsidies in Iowa. But in what Fortune magazine called "a flip-flop so absurd it'll be a wonder if it doesn't get lampooned by late-night comedians" the Real McCain pandered to Iowa Republicans: declaring himself a "strong" ethanol supporter and calling it "a vital alternative energy source not only because of our dependency on foreign oil but its greenhouse gas reduction effects." [Fortune, 10/31/06]
In fact, at CPAC, Campaign McCain took his do-anything-to-win presidential campaign to new lows, claiming to be a consistent conservative in a speech loaded with double talk on everything from pork spending, to immigration reform, to the Bush tax cuts. McCain bragged about his support for extending the President's reckless tax cuts, but failed to mention that he voted against them. He claimed to have stood by his immigration reform proposal even though he said just last week that he would vote against it if it returned to the Senate floor. And he pledged not to sign any spending bill with earmarks, despite pushing his own earmarks for Arizona while in Congress and relying on one of Washington's most successful pork lobbyists to fund his campaign.
"John McCain's politically motivated flip-flops and shameless pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party show why the American people simply cannot trust him to provide the change they are looking for," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera. "John McCain has consistently put his political fortunes ahead of his principles and the interests of our country. A vote for John McCain is a vote for a third Bush term."
McCain Flip-Flopped on Ethanol to Pander to Iowa Republicans. "In a flip-flop so absurd it'll be a wonder if it doesn't get lampooned by late-night comedians - not to mention opponents' negative ads - McCain is now proclaiming himself a "strong" ethanol supporter. 'I support ethanol and I think it is a vital, a vital alternative energy source not only because of our dependency on foreign oil but its greenhouse gas reduction effects,' he said in an August speech in Grinnell, Iowa, as reported by the Associated Press." [Fortune, 10/31/06]
John McCain Said He'd Vote Against the Immigration Bill He Wrote. Asked by Janet Hook of the Los Angeles Times during the debate if his "original proposal came to the Senate floor, would you vote for it?" McCain tried to argue it would not come up for a vote, but then admitted, "no, I would not." [CNN debate, 1/30/08; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M34KKaczvKg]
Voted For Bush Tax Cuts And Defended The Flip-Flop As A Legislative Gimmick. John McCain voted to extend tax cuts supported by the president that were set to expire between 2005 and 2010. "The Senate voted 53-47…in favor of extending the president's investor tax cuts on dividends and capital gains." McCain's vote was described as "a sharp reversal of his anti-tax-cut posture," though he defended the shift, saying, "it was a gimmick," reasoning that "the tax cuts were temporary and then had to be made permanent. The tax cuts are now there and voting to revoke them would have been to--not to extend them would have meant a tax increase. I've never voted for a tax increase in my life." [Senate vote #10, H.R. 4297, 2/2/06, passed 66-31; New York Times, 2/21/06; Washington Times, 3/6/06; NBC News, 4/2/06]
McCain Fights Other's Pork, Pushes His Own. "Arizona Sen. John McCain is sponsoring two interesting pieces of legislation. One mounts a direct assault on congressional earmarks, those little morsels of home district pork that lawmakers slip into unrelated spending bills. The other steers $10 million to the University of Arizona to launch an academic center honoring the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Yes, McCain does seem to be saying to himself: Stop me before I sin again. McCain and co-sponsor Jon Kyl, Arizona's other GOP senator, insist their pork proposal isn't hypocritical because they aren't trying to hide anything. It is set out in stand-alone legislation to be vetted on its own merits. In Congress, it seems, the only bad pork projects are those sponsored by somebody else." [Chicago Tribune, 3/4/06]
McCain's Chief Fundraiser Earned $3.9 Million for Creating $40 Million in Federal Pork. McCain's new Presidential campaign consigliere, and chief fundraising strategist, Tom Loeffler, founder of Loeffler Group has spent much of the last decade as a lobbyist. According to documents filed with the Secretary of the Senate, Loeffler and his associates have collected $3,920,000 over the years lobbying for the Texas cities of San Antonio, Houston, Pharr, Donna and Mercedes. In return, according to Citizens Against Government Waste, the cities received $40 Million and possibly more in Federal Government pork. [Politico, 4/4/07; Washington Post, 4/4/07; Lobbyist Disclosure Documents Filled with Secretary of the Senate, Citizens Against Government Waste Pig Book 2003-06]
