By failing to release Cindy McCain's returns, the McCain campaign is raising serious concerns about his own credibility, about how McCain's position as a U.S. Senator may have benefited John and Cindy McCain's business ventures, and about how McCain's political career has benefited from her personal wealth. Just last week, the New York Times revealed that McCain helped save his floundering campaign by paying a discounted rate for the use of her company's corporate jet. McCain's lack of transparency and accountability stands in stark contrast to the Republican National Committee's call for Teresa Heinz Kerry to release her tax returns in 2004. At the time, the RNC Chair said, "Americans value disclosure and transparency in campaigns." [New York Times, 4/27/08]

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

"What is John McCain trying to hide? Throughout this campaign, he has acted like his own calls for openness and accountability apply to everyone but himself. Now he thinks he can bring that same double standard to the White House. Whether he is skirting the FEC, withholding his tax returns, or stocking his campaign with the same Washington lobbyists he attacks on the campaign trail, John McCain is showing that he doesn't respect the voters enough to be honest with them. John McCain may not like it, but the American people have a right to know about the well documented links between his political career and the McCains' business ventures. John McCain's refusal to meet the standard of every other candidate seeking the office is one more reason he's the wrong choice for America's future."

John McCain Wants It Both Ways

MCCAIN CLAIMS HIS FINANCES ARE "SEPARATE" FROM HIS WIFE'S FINANCES...

Campaign Will "Never" Release Cindy McCain's Tax Returns, Not Even If He's Elected.
"CINDY MCCAIN: You know, my husband and I have been married for 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate.
QUESTION: You'll never release, you're saying?
CINDY MCCAIN: No
QUESTION: Never?
CINDY MCCAIN: No. No.
QUESTION: Even if you're first lady?
CINDY MCCAIN: No.
QUESTION: Because that is, even though not an elected position, you would be in a very public role.
CINDY MCCAIN: I'm not the candidate." [NBC's The Today Show, 5/8/08: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXDV2kZX_MU]

McCain Campaign Says that John and Cindy McCain Keep Their Personal Finances "Separate." On April 18, 2008, the McCain campaign released the senator's 2006 and 207 tax returns, but refused to release Cindy McCain's returns. According to a press release issued by the campaign, "Senator and Mrs. McCain have kept their personal finances separate throughout their 27-year marriage." The release added, "in the interest of protecting the privacy of her children, Mrs. McCain will not be releasing her personal tax returns." [McCain press release, 4/18/08]

...BUT MCCAIN HAS USED HIS WIFE'S FORTUNE TO START, AND CONTINUE, HIS POLITICAL CAREER.

Associated Press: The McCains Marriage has "Mixed Business and Politics from the Beginning." "The McCains' marriage has mixed business and politics from the beginning, according to an expansive review by The Associated Press of thousands of pages of campaign, personal finance, real estate and property records nationwide. The paperwork chronicles the McCains' ascent from Arizona newlyweds to political power couple on the national stage. As heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career -- even if the millions remain in her name alone. Yet the arm's-length distance between McCain and his wife's assets also has helped shield him from conflict-of-interest problems." [Associated Press, 4/3/08]

The Phoenix New Times: It's "Doubtful" That McCain Would Be a Presidential Contender If It Wasn't For His Wife's Family Fortune. "Would United States Senator John McCain be a presidential contender if it weren't for his marriage to Cindy Hensley McCain, heiress to the Hensley liquor fortune? It's doubtful. The senator's wife and -- more important -- his father-in-law, James Willis Hensley, are very wealthy people. Like his father and grandfather before him, McCain was a career Navy officer. His earning power and his inheritance were modest. At its peak, his pay as a captain was about $45,000. But he retired from the military in 1980, divorced his first wife, wed Arizona native Cindy Lou Hensley and moved here to plunge into the world of politics. His first job in Arizona was as a public affairs agent for Hensley & Company, one of the nation's largest beer distributors. He was paid $50,000 in 1982 to travel the state, touting the company's wares. But he was promoting himself as much as he was Budweiser beer. A better job description might have been "candidate."" [Phoenix New Times (Arizona), 2/17/00]

New York Times: McCain's Wife's Fortune Allowed Him to Lend $167,000 to His First Campaign for Congress. "Records show that he outspent his opponents in part through access to his wife's family wealth. He received $11,000 in contributions from Mr. Hensley and company employees. More significantly, though he had little money of his own because he had been a career naval officer, his wife's fortune allowed him to lend $167,000 to the campaign, which was permissible under campaign laws then. Additional money was raised by another powerful Phoenix businessman who served as a big benefactor, Charles H. Keating Jr., the corrupt savings and loan operator whose ties to Mr. McCain continue to haunt the senator." [The New York Times, 2/21/00]

Republicans and Joint Filers:
RNC Demands Disclosure

In 2004, Kerry Campaign Releases Spouse Returns: The only apparent example of a presidential candidate who files taxes separately then their spouse in recent history appears to be John Kerry, with Teresa Heinz Kerry filing separate returns then her husband. We presume that Cindy McCain and John McCain file separate returns, although since they have never disclosed their filings publicly, it is impossible to say for sure. In 2004, the Kerry campaign released her 1040 form when it was filed, having provided summary figures earlier in the year. [Boston Globe, 5/12/04; 10/16/04]

2004: Head Of RNC Demanded Disclosure Of Spouse's Returns: During the 2004 campaign, then-Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie called on the Kerry campaign to release Teresa Heinz Kerry's tax returns, saying "Throughout history, presidential candidates have disclosed income tax information prior to Election Day. We believe Americans value disclosure and transparency in campaigns." Earlier in the year, an RNC spokesperson said "We're waiting to see what they do," and "It's a question of saying one thing and doing another." [RNC Release 10/14/04 via US Newswire; The State (Columbia, SC), 5/17/04]

REALITY: Her Fortune And His Political Success Intertwined. According to the Associated Press "The McCains' marriage has mixed business and politics from the beginning, according to an expansive review by The Associated Press of thousands of pages of campaign, personal finance, real estate and property records nationwide. The paperwork chronicles the McCains' ascent from Arizona newlyweds to political power couple on the national stage. As heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career -- even if the millions remain in her name alone. Yet the arm's-length distance between McCain and his wife's assets also has helped shield him from conflict-of-interest problems." [Associated Press, 4/3/08]

The History: Decades Of Significant Disclosure

Since at least 1976, all presidential candidates have released years of returns. In recent memory, every general election candidate already had a tradition of releases returns and/or released at least five years of records, often many more. Reagan's 1980 disclosure of a single year is the most minimal disclosure on the record. As the New York Times wrote in 2004 "Almost every president and nominee for president and vice president since Richard M. Nixon in 1973 have released their tax returns." [New York Times, 4/25/04]

2004: Kerry & Bush: Decades Of Records
Kerry: Kerry continued his two decade history of releasing his returns annually. [Boston Herald, 1/19/08]
Bush: Bush's returns were already public from annual releases from White House, and years before his election were on the record from previous campaigns and disclosures. [http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns]

2000: Gore & Bush
Gore: Gore's returns for many years were already public, pursuant to White House tradition. [New York Times, 10/25/00]
Bush: As president, the White House annually released his returns. As governor of Texas, he had also annually released federal returns and released his 1999 filing in October of 2000. [http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns; Austin American-Statesman, 10/11/97; New York Times, 4/18/00 10/25/00]

1996: Clinton & Dole
Clinton: As president, Clinton annually released his returns and materials back to 1978 were on the public record from prior releases. [Tax History Project (http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns); Knight Ridder, 3/18/08; Associated Press, 3/6/08, 3/26/94]
Dole: Then-Senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole released 30 years of filings in January of 1996 (back to 1966) and then released his newest filing in April of 1996. [Associated Press, 1/25/96, 4/16/96]

1992: Clinton & Bush
Clinton: Released filings back to 1980 [New York Times, 3/27/92]
Bush: As president and vice president, Bush had annually released his tax returns going back into the 1980s. [Washington Times, 4/4/92; http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns]

1988: Dukakis & Bush
Dukakis: He released his 1987 return in early May, adding to his earlier release of the previous five years. [New York Times, 11/14/87; Associated Press, 5/5/88]
Bush: As vice president, Bush had annually released his tax returns back to 1980. [Washington Times, 4/4/92]

1984: Mondale & Reagan
Mondale: Had 12 years total on the public record. In 1984 he released the prior three years, covering the period since he left the VP's office. This added to the annual releases while he was Vice President and the five years he released as the running mate in 1976. [UPI, 4/17/84; Associated Press, 5/31/79; New York Times, 8/25/84]
Reagan: As president, he had released his taxes annually, building on his 1980 election year disclosures. [Washington Post, 9/27/94]

1980: Carter And Reagan
Carter: As a candidate in 1976, he released copies of six years of returns, and then annually provided releases while in office, for a total of ten years by the 1980 election. [New York Times, 9/29/76; http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns]
Reagan: As a candidate in 1980, he released his 1979 return. [New York Times, 8/2/80]

1976: Carter And Ford
Carter: As a candidate in 1976, he released copies of six years of returns. [New York Times, 9/29/76]
Ford: Released at least summaries for prior ten years. [New York Times, 9/29/76]

Rakolta is just one of a troubling circle of radical friends and cronies surrounding McCain. As the Chicago Tribune noted this week, McCain has praised G. Gordon Liddy and attended fundraisers in his home despite the fact that Liddy served a four-year prison term for his role in the Watergate break in. He spent a year seeking the endorsement of Rev. John Hagee, despite Hagee's history of anti-Catholic, anti-women, anti-LGBT, and anti-African American rhetoric. McCain's former campaign manager, Terry Nelson, was responsible for a racist ad against Harold Ford in 2006. McCain himself even campaigned for George Wallace, Jr., a known apologist for racist groups.

"John McCain consistently says he will be a new kind of Republican, but time and time again he surrounds himself with some of the most radical and inflammatory voices in his Party," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. "McCain's failure to distance himself from people who compare political opponents to Hitler, propose kidnapping war protesters, or defend radical organizations is one more reason John McCain is the wrong choice for America's future. If McCain is willing to stoop to this level, he truly will do anything to win."

McCain's Friends on the Fringe

HITLER AD FINANCIER JOHN RAKOLTA

Voice the Vote Bankrolled by Rakolta, Liggett and Cummings Families. Michigan's Voice the Vote PAC, which was active during the 2006 mid-term elections, "placed a racially charged ad…in a weekly Detroit newspaper that compared Gov. Jennifer Granholm and other Democrats to Adolf Hitler.." According to campaign finance records, "state Republican fund-raising heavyweights Julie and Peter Cummings, John and Terry Rakolta and Robert Liggett contributed more than two-thirds of the cash the group raised." [Detroit Free Press, 3/15/07]

Voice the Vote PAC Produced Ad Comparing Democrats to Adolf Hitler. In 2006, the Detroit-based political action committee Voice the Vote ran ads in the Michigan Chronicle that "featured photographs of Hitler, Granholm and former Democratic presidents, claiming Granholm was the latest in a long line of Democrats to take black voters for granted." [Detroit Free Press, 3/15/07]

WATERGATE CONSPIRATOR G. GORDON LIDDY

McCain Praises Liddy's Values, Says He's "Proud" of Him. "In 1998, Liddy's home was the site of a McCain fundraiser. Over the years, he has made at least four contributions totaling $5,000 to the senator's campaigns--including $1,000 this year. Last November, McCain went on his radio show. Liddy greeted him as 'an old friend,' and McCain sounded like one. 'I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family,' he gushed. 'It's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon, and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great.'" [Chicago Tribune, 5/4/08]

Liddy Plotted Murder, Plotted to Kidnap War Protesters, Has No Regrets Over Watergate Role. "Which principles would those be? The ones that told Liddy it was fine to break into the office of the Democratic National Committee to plant bugs and photograph documents? The ones that made him propose to kidnap anti-war activists so they couldn't disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention? The ones that inspired him to plan the murder (never carried out) of an unfriendly newspaper columnist? Liddy was in the thick of the biggest political scandal in American history--and one of the greatest threats to the rule of law. He has said he has no regrets about what he did, insisting that he went to jail as 'a prisoner of war.'" [Chicago Tribune, 5/4/08]

RADICAL REVEREND JOHN HAGEE

McCain Spent One Year Courting Hagee Endorsement. "In an interview that will appear in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, controversial televangelist Rev. John Hagee declares, 'It's true that [John] McCain's campaign sought my endorsement.' McCain has attempted to distance himself from some of Hagee's views, much as Barack Obama is doing in relation to Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But unlike McCain, Obama has not stood on stage with Wright and accepted his accolades this year." Editor and Publisher, 3/20/08]

Rev. John Hagee on Hurricane Katrina: "All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that." [NPR Fresh Air, 9/18/06]

• Hagee Repeated Claim: "The topic of that day was cursing and blessing… What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God, in time if New Orleans recovers and becomes the pristine city it can become it may in time be called a blessing. But at this time it's called a curse… In the case of New Orleans, their plan to have that homosexual rally was sin. But it never happened. The rally never happened." [Dennis Prager Radio show, 4/22/08]

Hagee on African Americans: The San Antonio Express-News reported that Hagee was going to "meet with black religious leaders privately at an unspecified future date to discuss comments he made in his newsletter about a 'slave sale,' an East Side minister said Wednesday." The Express-News reported: "Hagee, pastor of the 16,000-member Cornerstone Church, last week had announced a 'slave sale' to raise funds for high school seniors in his church bulletin, 'The Cluster.' "The item was introduced with the sentence 'Slavery in America is returning to Cornerstone" and ended with "Make plans to come and go home with a slave." [San Antonio Express-News, 3/7/96]

Hagee on Catholicism: "Most readers will be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews." [Jerusalem Countdown by John Hagee]

Hagee on Women: "Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist." [God's Profits: Faith, Fraud and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters, Sarah Posner]

More Hagee on Women: "[T]he feminist movement today is throwing off authority in rebellion against God's pattern for the family." ["Bible Positions on Political Issues," John Hagee]

RACIST AD CREATOR TERRY NELSON

Racist Ad Against Harold Ford Approved By Terry Nelson, Former Senior McCain Strategist. Terry Nelson, who served as McCain's campaign manager in 2006 and part of 2007, was the head of the independent expenditures operation for the RNC responsible for the content of the advertisements run against African American Senate candidate Harold Ford that experts said played on racial fears of voters. "John Geer, a professor at Vanderbilt University and a specialist in political advertising, said that it 'is playing to a lot of fears' and 'frankly makes the Willie Horton ad look like child's play.'" Despite Nelson's role in approving the ad, McCain strategist John Weaver said that the campaign had no intention of firing him. [New York Times, 10/27/06; Washington Post, 7/11/2007; New York Times, 10/26/2006]

• Washington Head of NAACP Said Ad Plays To Racial Fears. Hilary Shelton, Washington director of the NAACP, said the ad plays off racial fears of some voters. "In a Southern state like Tennessee, some stereotypes still exist…There's very clearly some racial subtext in an ad like that." [AP, 10/26/2006]

MLK HOLIDAY OPPONENT RICHARD QUINN

Richard Quinn, McCain's South Carolina Spokesman, Criticized the MLK Holiday as "Vitriolic and Profane." Richard Quinn, identified as "McCain's South Carolina strategist" in 2008, also worked for the Senator in the 2000 campaign. In 1983, Quinn wrote a column "arguing against the recognition of Martin Luther King Day," saying, "King Day should have been rejected because its purpose is vitriolic and profane. The Black leaders who lobbied so furiously for King Day confirmed another unpleasant reality. By celebrating King as the incarnation of all they admire, they have chosen to glorify the histrionic rather than by heroic and by inference they spurned the brightest and best among their own race." [Greenville News, 3/16/2008; Spartanburg Herald-Journal, 1/6/2006; Philadelphia Tribune, 2/22/2000]

• Quinn Served As Editor Of Magazine Described As "Rabidly Devoted To The South's Confederate Heritage." In its November 2004 issue, Vanity Fair described Southern Partisan, the magazine of which Richard Quinn served as editor, as "rabidly devoted to the South's Confederate heritage." [Vanity Fair, 11/2004]
• Quinn Praised Ku Klux Klan Member David Duke. In Southern Partisan, Quinn praised David Duke in a 1990 entry, writing, "what better way to reject politics-as-usual than to elect a maverick like David Duke?" [Newsday, 2/17/2000]
• McCain Repeatedly Defended Quinn, Refused To Fire Him Despite Views. In 2000, when the group, People For the American Way, called on McCain to fire Richard Quinn, McCain defended him saying, "this is a fine man who worked for Ronald Reagan and Strom Thurmond and other fine people." In a 2000 ABC News interview, McCain said Quinn was "a man who is very intelligent, and a man who has done a great job for me in the state of South Carolina. And I do not believe that he is a racist." [Associated Press, 2/18/2000; ABC News, "This Week," 2/6/2000]

HATE GROUP DEFENDER GEORGE WALLACE, JR.

McCain Endorsed George Wallace Jr., Called Him A "Committed Conservative Reformer," Despite Speeches to Hate Group. In November 2005, McCain visited three Alabama cities to endorse George Wallace Jr. for lieutenant governor. McCain said, "I'm proud to offer my support to this committed conservative reformer. George will bring great leadership and integrity to the lieutenant governor's office." [AP, 11/17/2005]

• Wallace Spoke Repeatedly To White Supremacist Group. Wallace had spoken on numerous occasions to the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a white supremacist hate group; once in 1998, twice during 1999, and gave the opening remarks to their national meeting in June of 2005. The audience for his speech included "Don Black, proprietor of Stormfront.org, the most influential hate site on the Internet, and former Alabama grand dragon of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan; Jamie Kelso, right-hand man and Louisiana roommate of former Klan leader David Duke; Jared Taylor, editor of the neo-eugenicist American Renaissance magazine; Alabama CCC leader Leonard "Flagpole" Wilson, who got his nickname shouting "Keep Bama white!" from atop a flagpole during the University of Alabama race riots in 1956." [Southern Poverty Law Center, Intelligence Report, "Into the Mainstream," Summer 2005, http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=541 ]
• Wallace Said There Was "Nothing Hateful" About The CCC. After speaking to the Council of Conservative Citizens, George Wallace Jr. said the group appeared to him to be "good patriotic people…There is nothing hateful about those people that I've seen." According to the Associated Press, "the Council of Conservative Citizens says it opposes interracial marriage, massive immigration of non-European and non-Western peoples, hate crime legislation, and multicultural and 'Afrocentric' curricula in schools." [AP, 6/6/2005]

The following is a statement from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean responding to John McCain's right wing judicial philosophy:

"As John McCain said today, our next president will make hundreds of judicial nominees with far-reaching consequences for the future of our country. Given John McCain's radical, right wing judicial philosophy, it's clear he's the wrong choice to safeguard that future. No matter how far they have gone to restrict our fundamental rights or their clear records of gutting the reforms John McCain claims to care about, he has put loyalty to his party and a radical agenda ahead of the American people. When voters see John McCain's real record, they are not going to elect a radical rubberstamp who voted for every one of President Bush's activist judges and promises hundreds more just like them."

JUDGING MCCAIN'S JUDGES

2000: McCain Secretly Promised Pro-Life Judicial Litmus Test, While Bush Would Not Make Similar Guarantee. "Somewhat surprisingly, McCain had the support of Gary Bauer, the social conservative, who had dropped out of the race by that time," reported the New Yorker. Bauer explained: "I wanted a commitment from either George Bush or John McCain that if elected he would appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court...Bush said he had no litmus test, and his judges would be strict constructionists. But McCain, in private, assured me he would appoint pro-life judges." [New Yorker, 5/30/05]

McCain Ran to the Right of Bush On Judicial Litmus Test. "In 2000, when McCain last ran for president - which is what he is doing now - he earned the support of Gary Bauer, a conservative Christian, because he promised Bauer he would 'appoint pro-life judges.' This, Bauer told The New Yorker, was further than George Bush was willing to go at the time. [Washington Post, 5/16/06]

Environmentalists Wary of McCain's Appointments To The Supreme Court. Joseph Romm, former top Energy Department efficiency and renewable energy official said that environmentalists worry that McCain's appointments to the Supreme Court would be extremely conservative. They worry that conservative judges "would overturn last year's landmark 5-4 ruling -- in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency -- that the EPA has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide under existing laws. 'We will have a devil of a time getting serious action on global warming if the Supreme Court reverses its position,' says Romm." [Business Week Online, 4/22/08]

McCain Praised Alito And Roberts As Two Of The Greatest Justices In Court's History. The East Valley Tribune reported that "Furthermore, he commended President Bush's nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the high court, calling them 'two of the greatest' justices in its history. Both sided with the majority in the abortion case. McCain said he would appoint similar candidates -- those who would strictly interpret the U.S. Constitution and who wouldn't legislate from the bench." [East Valley Tribune, 4/29/2007]

• Roberts Wrote That Roe V Wade Was "Wrongly Decided And Should Be Overturned." In 1990 while serving as the Deputy Solicitor General, Roberts coauthored a brief in the case of Rust v. Sullivan, "[w]e continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled . . . [T]he Court's conclusion [] in Roe that there is a fundamental right to an abortion . . . find[s] no support in the text, structure, or history of the Constitution." [Brief for the Respondent, Rust v. Sullivan, 1989 U.S. Briefs 1391 (1990)]
• Roberts Would Have Taken Position That Would Have Deprived American Soldiers Tortured in Iraq from Seeking Restitution. The case of Acree v. Republic of Iraq was filled under the terrorism exception to the Foreign Soverign Immunities Act by seventeen American soldiers who had been captured and tortured during the Gulf War. The district court had decided in favor of the plaintiffs, but the government contended that the court did not have jurisdiction due to federal law. Two of the judges on the panel, Harry Edwards and David Tatel, rejected the government's argument, but Roberts, however, would have adopted the position of the government that federal law "deprived the courts of jurisdiction over suits against Iraq" for damages resulting from torture and other terrorist acts. The result would have been to deprive Americans tortured in Iraq of any possible relief in federal court. [Acree v. Republic of Iraq, 370 F.3d 41 (D.C. Cir. 2004)]
• Alito Would Require Women To Notify Husbands Before Exercising Her Reproductive Rights. Alito wrote a troubling opinion concerning reproductive rights in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. The Third Circuit in Casey upheld a number of the provisions in the restrictive abortion law enacted by Pennsylvania in the late 1980's, in an opinion that questioned Roe v. Wade. But the Third Circuit struck down the law's requirement that women notify their spouses before having an abortion. Alito dissented because he would have gone even further than the rest of the court and would have upheld the spousal notification requirement. [Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 947 F.3d 682 (3d Cir. 1991), aff'd in part, rev'd in part 505 U.S. 833 (1992); Washington Times, 10/29/1991]

McCain Was Key Negotiator In Deal That Lead To Confirmations Of Ultra-Conservative Judges Owen, Brown and Pryor. "The deal, which was finalized in McCain's office after a weekend of back-and-forth discussions between Byrd and Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), would put an end to three filibusters and allow votes on three appellate court nominees: Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor." [Chicago Tribune, 5/24/2005]

• Pryor Called Abortions "An Abomination" And Said Overturning Sodomy Laws Would Lead To "Necrophilia" And "Pedophilia." "But he scandalized many Democrats and proponents of a centrist Supreme Court by calling the 1973 Roe decision legalizing abortions nationwide an abomination. He has also said that when the Supreme Court overturned state sodomy laws used against gays, it gave the green light to "necrophilia" and even "pedophilia" so long as the child was deemed "willing."" [Chicago Tribune, 5/1/2005]
• Even Alberto Gonzalez Blasted Owen's "Unconscionable Act Of Judicial Activism." "Owen's opponents have made much over her opinion in a 2000 case involving a Texas law that requires girls to notify their parents before they have an abortion, unless a court finds she's "sufficiently well-informed" and "mature." .Of Owen's dissent, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who was then on the court, wrote that "to create hurdles that simply are not to be found in the words of the statute would be an unconscionable act of judicial activism."" [St. Petersburg Times, 5/22/05]
• Brown Bashed Federal Regulatory Efforts, Called New Deal Economic Regulations A "Socialist Revolution." "In speeches to conservative groups, she has described a 1937 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding New Deal economic regulation as "the triumph of our own socialist revolution"; has declared that when government moves in, "the result is families under siege, war in the streets ... and the triumph of deceit"; and has said senior citizens "blithely cannibalize their grandchildren" for government benefits. Opponents say Brown's condemnation of government is especially troubling because the court to which she has been nominated by Bush, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., hears more cases involving federal regulations than any other." [San Francisco Chronicle, 5/18/05]

McCain Even Backed Bork, Who Criticized "One Man, One Vote" As Counter to the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1971, he said that "the principle of 'one man, one vote' runs counter to the text of the Fourteenth Amendment, the history surrounding its adoption and ratification, and the political practice of Americans from colonial times up to the day the court invented the new formula."" [Washington Post, 7/2/1987]

• McCain Voted To Confirm Bork As An Associate Justice Of The Supreme Court. McCain supported the confirmation of the nomination of Robert H. Bork to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. [1987 Senate Vote 348, 10/23/1987]

The following are excerpts from the story:

Doing the Troops Wrong
By Bob Herbert
New York Times
May 6, 2008

"At the top of the list of no-brainers in Washington should be Senator Jim Webb's proposed expansion of education benefits for the men and women who have served in the armed forces since Sept. 11, 2001. It's awfully hard to make the case that these young people who have sacrificed so much don't deserve a shot at a better future once their wartime service has ended. Senator Webb, a Virginia Democrat, has been the guiding force behind this legislation, which has been dubbed the new G.I. bill. The measure is decidedly bipartisan. Mr. Webb's principal co-sponsors include Republican Senators Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and John Warner of Virginia, and Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey…

"Who wouldn't support an effort to pay for college for G.I.'s who have willingly suited up and put their lives on the line, who in many cases have served multiple tours in combat zones and in some cases have been wounded? We did it for those who served in World War II. Why not now? Well, you might be surprised at who is not supporting this effort. The Bush administration opposes it, and so does Senator John McCain.

"Senator McCain's office said on Monday that it was following the Pentagon's lead on this matter, getting guidance from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Under pressure because of his unwillingness to support Senator Webb's effort, Senator McCain introduced legislation with substantially fewer co-sponsors last week that expands some educational benefits for G.I.'s, but far less robustly than Senator Webb's bill. 'It's not even close to the Webb bill,' said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group. Politicians tend to talk very, very big about supporting our men and women in uniform. But time and again -- whether it's about providing armor for their safety or an education for their future -- we find that talk to be very, very cheap."

To read the entire article, click here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/opinion/06herbert.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

McCain said he would pursue comprehensive immigration reform as soon as he takes office. But in the same news conference, McCain also took the opposite position: saying that the borders have to be secured first. McCain touted a virtual fence today and said we could have secured the border if it wasn't for all the earmarks and pork spending in Washington. But as recently as March, McCain called the virtual fence a "failed effort" and a "disgrace." Asked whether state and local law enforcement agencies should be enforcing federal immigration laws, McCain said "I support the enforcement of every law that's on the books in the United States of America." But moments later McCain took the opposite position, blaming the federal government for having "failed to act" and asserting, "when I'm president, beginning in January 0f 2009 we will have a federal approach to what is a federal problem."

Today's news conference was the latest in a string of double talk on immigration reform. Earlier this year, McCain caved in to the right wing of his Party, admitting that he would vote against his own immigration reform bill if it came to the floor of the Senate. And, despite today's rhetoric about the need for comprehensive immigration reform, McCain's campaign scuttled a deal on comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. House of Representatives just last month. [CNN debate, 1/30/08; http://youtube.com/watch?v=PgvFkICnRoo; Roll Call, 4/3/08]

McCain's double-talk is indicative of a major problem the GOP nominee faces heading to the general election, trying to both appease the Party's conservative base while trying to reach out to moderate voters and Hispanics who have been targeted with ugly Republican Party attacks on the immigration issue. A recent survey from the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center found that 57% of Hispanic registered voters call themselves or lean Democrat "while just 23% align with the Republican Party -- meaning there is now a 34-percentage-point gap in partisan affiliation among Latinos." [Pew Hispanic Center, 12/06/07]

"It's hard to know what someone's real vision for our country is when they consistently take every side of the issues," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "John McCain cannot have it both ways. He cannot pander to the right wing of his Party by promising an enforcement-only approach to immigration while telling Hispanics that he supports comprehensive reform. As the saying goes, 'dime con quien andas, y te diré quien eres.' If John McCain can't say where he really stands, he's giving voters one more example of why he is the wrong choice for America's future."

A DNC Interested Parties Memo on McCain's difficulty with Hispanics can be found in PDF format by clicking on the link below. http://www.democrats.org/page/-/pdf/042208_Memo_McCainHispanics.pdf

More McCain Double Talk on Immigration Reform

MCCAIN TODAY: We Can Secure Border With "Vehicle barriers, Cameras, Sensors." "All of that can be worked out and adequately so, particularly when you get outside of populated areas where you can use vehicle barriers, cameras, sensors and many other ways. It is an issue that in my view is not only not insurmountable, but it can be worked out in cooperation between state and local and government agencies." [McCain Media Availability, Phoenix (AZ), www.cnn.com/live feed, 5/5/08]

• MCCAIN IN MARCH: McCain Called Arizona's "High-Tech" Virtual Fence a "Failed Effort" and a "Disgrace." The AP reported McCain "told reporters in Phoenix on Monday that not enough research has been done on the 28-mile array of radars and surveillance cameras. McCain says it is a failed effort." "It's a - it's a disgrace. It's a disgrace.they spent a huge amount of money on this quote virtual fence and it's just. I mean. I - It's so disappointing when the Americans highest, one of their highest priorities is to secure our borders, that we have a major corporation that gets a major contract and it turns into be a failed effort, but, in no way does this diminish my enthusiasm or anybody else's to get our borders secure." [CNN Live Feed (Phoenix, AZ), 3/3/08; [AP, 3/3/08]]

MCCAIN TODAY: We Must Secure The Border First. "We must secure the borders and the border state governors will then certify that the borders are secure. Then we have a temporary worker program with tamper-proof biometric documents and we address the issue of people who have come here illegally." [CNN Live Feed (Phoenix, AZ), 5/5/08]

February of 2007: McCain Admitted He Was Pandering to Conservatives on Border Enforcement, Saying, "I Think the Fence is Least Effective. But I'll Build the Goddamned Fence If They Want It." "A day earlier, in Milwaukee, in front of an audience of more sympathetic businessmen, McCain had been asked how debate over the immigration bill was playing politically. 'In the short term, it probably galvanizes our base,' he said. 'In the long term, if you alienate the Hispanics, you'll pay a heavy price.' Then he added, unable to help himself, 'By the way, I think the fence is least effective. But I'll build the goddamned fence if they want it.'" [Vanity Fair, February 2007]

• In September of 2006, McCain Said "Enforcement First" Was "An Ineffective and Ill-Advised Approach" to Immigration Reform. "In passing this legislation, the Senate rejected the argument for an 'enforcement first' strategy that focuses on border security only, an ineffective and ill-advised approach. . . . "Congress cannot take a piecemeal approach to a national security crisis. I believe the only way to truly secure our border and protect our Nation is through the enactment of comprehensive immigration reform. As long as there is a need for workers in the United States and people are willing to cross the desert to make a better life for their families, our border will never be secure." . . . "If Congress thinks that it can continue this piecemeal approach to border security and achieve any real results for our national security, it is sadly mistaken." [Congressional Record, 9/29/06]
• In May of 2006, McCain Said An Enforcement-First Approach to Immigration Reform Would Never Succeed in Stopping Illegal Immigration. "No wall, no barrier, no sensor, no barbed wire will ever stop people from trying to do what is a basic yearning of human beings all over the world, and that is to have better lives for themselves and their families." . . . "And as much as I believe in technology and as much as I think walls are important and UAVs and all that, there has never been a case in history where you have been able to stop people from doing something that has to do with their very existence. That is the way many people feel who come here." [Congressional Record, 5/16/06]
• In March of 2006, McCain Said An Enforcement-Only Bill Would "Never Be Fully Enforceable Regardless of Every Conceivable Border Security Improvement We Make." "The border security provisions under the leader's bill and the Judiciary Committee's bill provide sound proposals to promote strong enforcement and should be part of any final bill. However, I do not believe the Senate should or will pass an enforcement-only bill. Our experiences with our current immigration system have proven that outdated or unrealistic laws will never be fully enforceable regardless of every conceivable border security improvement we make. Despite an increase in Border Patrol agents from 3,600 to 10,000, despite quintupling the Border Patrol budget, despite the employment of new technologies and tactics, all to enforce current immigration laws, illegal immigration drastically increased during the 1990s." [Congressional Record, 3/30/06]
• 2001: McCain Opposed Federal Funding for Border Security. In 2001, Senator McCain criticized federal funding for projects that would be used by border and law enforcement agencies to increase security measures. McCain blasted the "unrequested" spending as a "further burden to the American taxpayers." McCain listed opposition to earmarks for several projects in Arizona that included a detainee facility in Prescott, a border guard service processing center in Florence, a border patrol sector headquarters in Tucson, and border patrol stations in Yuma and Douglas. [McCain Senate Press Release, 9/13/2001]
• 2003: McCain Opposed $25.6 Million for Tucson Border Control Station. In 2003, Senator McCain criticized $25.6 million for construction of a U.S. Border Patrol station in Tucson, Arizona. McCain deemed the project wasteful spending because it didn't go through proper legislative channels. [Gannett, 4/10/2003]\
• 2005: McCain Opposed Funds for Digital Transition and Public Safety Fund and Tactical Infrastructure At Border. In 2005 McCain opposed "$55 million for the completion of the Tucson tactical infrastructure around the border." McCain also opposed "a provision that directs funds from the Digital Transition and Public Safety Fund that are in excess of $12 billion to be spent on, among other things, the Tucson, Arizona Border Patrol sector;" and "$30 million for Tucson, AZ Border Patrol sector for tactical infrastructure." [Congressional Record 7/14/05; Congressional Record 12/20/05]

The following are excerpts from the interview:

On the DNC's Ads Using John McCain's Own Words

On "100 Years"

"If the Republican National Committee would like to pay for the whole six minutes, I'd be happy to do it. I've said publicly that John McCain said he wants to keep our troops in Iraq for up to 100 years. He himself said some of that could be an occupation like South Korea or Germany, but the fact of the matter is first that anybody who thinks we can keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years without them being victimized by roadside bombs, suicide bombers and militias, I think is wrong and needs...to look carefully at their judgment. Secondly, Americans don't want our troops in Iraq for 100 years no matter what they're doing over there. We can't afford that. We need the money here at home for our jobs...

"What John McCain said is his plan is to deal with Iraq, is to stay there maybe for a hundred years, whether it's an occupational force or whatever the force is. Americans do not want our troops there for a hundred years. Look, we have huge deficits. Iraq is partly responsible for that. We're not investing in health care. We're not investing in our roads. We've got unemployment rising. We need to bring our troops out of Iraq. John McCain wants to stay in Iraq. He has no plan -- he has no plan to bring our troops home. Our guys do have a plan to bring our troops home...

"Our problem is that John McCain...is distorting what he said. The fact of the matter is he began and ended his clip by saying he's willing to stay in Iraq for a hundred years. That is not what the American people want under any circumstances, whether it's like South Korea or whether it's like Germany or whether it's continuing for a hundred years to be sniped at by Shia militia and so forth."

On "Better Off"

"Chris, if you'd gone on to play that thing that you just played, you would have seen him say again at the end, but Americans are 'better off' than they were, and they are not. Gas prices have gone from $1.10 a gallon in december of 2001 to about $3.50 now. The average American income was $49,000 in 2001. 2006 it was $48,000. That is unprecedented. Never have we had a president who came in where the average American income dropped $1,000 bucks in the first six years of their term. And what McCain is offering is four more years of George Bush. He wants to extend the Bush tax cuts, of course he was opposed to that two years ago. He wants to give a tax holiday on gas, that's fine and good and then he wants to pay for it by increasing taxes, or increasing what he called user fees, which he said was a tax increase himself when he was debating that with Mitt Romney. He has no economic plan. He has no plan for getting us out of Iraq. And I don't think our ads misrepresent anything...he concludes by saying, but things are better. They're not better. Americans know it and John Mccain is simply out of touch."

On the Democratic Race

"I would like to have a nominee soon, but there are also some very good things going on. 35 million people have voted. We have all those folks in our voter file. Several -- hundreds of thousands of republicans have left their party and come to vote in our primary. We have all those people in our voter file. We are -- I didn't intend this when we started the 50-state strategy, but we're essentially conducting vigorous primaries in all 50 states and in our territories, and that's going to matter in the fall...So there are some good things going on. Yes, it's tough on the party. It's why I think the unpledged delegates need to say who they're for by the end of June so we'll know who our nominee is by the end of June, but there's also enormous merit to everybody in America getting a shot to vote for these candidates in the primary."

McCain failed to mention that he himself touted the "mission accomplished" banner in an interview on Fox News and was one of the leading figures echoing the Bush Administration's rosy rhetoric on Iraq despite the facts on the ground. Even today, McCain and Bush are joined at the hip--while most Americans want our troops to begin to withdraw, both Republicans are proposing a long-term troop presence in Iraq. [Fox News, Your World With Neil Cavuto, 6/11/2003]

If McCain offered Bush some straight talk on Iraq, we're still waiting to find out when.

May 1, 2003: Bush Declares War Over. "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended." [Speech by President Bush, 5/1/03]

McCain Proclaimed "Massive Victory" in Iraq and Credited Combat-Readiness for "Our Victory" in Afghanistan and Iraq." Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom demonstrated to the world what we saw just 12 years ago. We went to war as the most combat-ready force in the world. The value of that readiness is clear. We won a massive victory in a few weeks, and we did so with very limited loss of American and allied lives. We were able to end aggression with minimum overall loss of life, and we were even able to greatly reduce the civilian casualties of Afghani and Iraqi citizens. . . . Our technology edge in Afghanistan and Iraq would have been meaningless if we did not have men and women trained to use it. Having the best weapons system platforms in the world would not have given us our victory if we had not had the right command and control facilities, maintenance capabilities, and munitions." [Congressional Record, 5/22/03]

Bush: Surge is Working, Al Qaeda on the Run. "Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among the terrorists there is no doubt," Bush declared in his 2008 State of the Union address. "Al Qaeda is on the run in Iraq, and this enemy will be defeated." [2008 State of the Union, 1/28/08]

McCain: Strategy Succeeding, Al Qaeda on the Run. "We are succeeding," in Iraq, McCain told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. "I've said many times, Al Qaida is on the run," he continued. "This [surge] strategy is succeeding." [Fox News Sunday, 2/3/08]

White House Advocated Long Term Troops Presence in Iraq Like South Korean Model. "President Bush envisions a long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq similar to the one in South Korea where American forces have helped keep an uneasy peace for more than 50 years, the White House said Wednesday." [Associated Press, 5/31/07]

McCain Cited South Korean Model as Defense for Staying in Iraq 100 Years. When McCain was asked a question about George Bush's belief that we will stay in Iraq for fifty years McCain responded, "Make it a hundred… We've been in Japan for 60 years. We've been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me." [McCain Town hall in Derry, NH, 1/3/2008; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf7HYoh9YMM]

McCain Consistently on Bush Talking Points. In 2003, McCain echoed Bush's rosy predictions by claiming that the end was "very much in sight" in Iraq. In 2005, McCain backed Bush, arguing that another year would prove "stay the course" was working. [The Hill, 12/8/05; ABC News, Good Morning America, 4/9/03] In 2006, McCain argued that Iraq was "on the right track" even as it slipped further toward civil war. [MSNBC, Imus in the Morning, 3/1/06]

After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.

In fact, days after President Bush's speech, McCain himself declared "massive victory" in Iraq. And, as the Democratic National Committee pointed out in its "Day at the Beach" video, McCain echoed the Bush Administration's rhetoric that "the success would be fairly easy," that our troops will be "welcomed as liberators," and that we can "win an overwhelming victory in a short period of time. Now, McCain is talking about keeping our troops in Iraq for 100 years instead of outlining a plan for victory and an exit strategy in Iraq. McCain is calling for a long-term troop presence in Iraq similar to our presence in Germany and South Korea, an approach that he himself admits won't work. [See the DNC's Day at the Beach video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-a5T0HsJpw]

"John McCain's blame games can't hide his own record of echoing President Bush's efforts to mislead us into war and his rosy rhetoric as our troops were stuck policing a civil war in Iraq," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "John McCain can't walk away from his misleading rhetoric supporting President Bush's failed Iraq strategy any more than he can walk away from his comments about keeping our troops in Iraq for 100 years. This November the choice will be very clear: if you want to get out of Iraq responsibly, save lives and invest in America, vote for a Democrat."

BUSH & MCCAIN:
In Lockstep on Iraq

May 1, 2003: Bush Declares War Over. "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended." [Speech by President Bush, 5/1/03]

McCain Proclaimed "Massive Victory" in Iraq. "Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom demonstrated to the world what we saw just 12 years ago. We went to war as the most combat-ready force in the world. The value of that readiness is clear. We won a massive victory in a few weeks, and we did so with very limited loss of American and allied lives. We were able to end aggression with minimum overall loss of life, and we were even able to greatly reduce the civilian casualties of Afghani and Iraqi citizens. . . . Our technology edge in Afghanistan and Iraq would have been meaningless if we did not have men and women trained to use it. Having the best weapons system platforms in the world would not have given us our victory if we had not had the right command and control facilities, maintenance capabilities, and munitions." [Congressional Record, 5/22/03]

Bush: Surge is Working, Al Qaeda on the Run. "Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among the terrorists there is no doubt," Bush declared in his 2008 State of the Union address. "Al Qaeda is on the run in Iraq, and this enemy will be defeated." [2008 State of the Union, 1/28/08]

McCain: Strategy Succeeding, Al Qaeda on the Run. "We are succeeding," in Iraq, McCain told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. "I've said many times, Al Qaida is on the run," he continued. "This [surge] strategy is succeeding." [Fox News Sunday, 2/3/08]

White House Advocated Long Term Troops Presence in Iraq Like South Korean Model. "President Bush envisions a long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq similar to the one in South Korea where American forces have helped keep an uneasy peace for more than 50 years, the White House said Wednesday." [Associated Press, 5/31/07]

McCain Cited South Korean Model as Defense for Staying in Iraq 100 Years. When McCain was asked a question about George Bush's belief that we will stay in Iraq for fifty years McCain responded, "Make it a hundred… We've been in Japan for 60 years. We've been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me." [McCain Town hall in Derry, NH, 1/3/2008; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf7HYoh9YMM]

John McCain admits that he doesn't understand the economy and that's clear --his numbers just don't add up. With half thought out plans, no details and a "plan" that primarily benefits corporations and the wealthy, Americans must be asking themselves- what ever happened to straight talk?

The following are excerpts of the story:

McCain promises billions in spending
Associated Press
By Libby Quaid
May 1, 2008

"Republican John McCain is making promises that would cost billions of taxpayer dollars, yet he is vague about how he would pay for them…Now McCain is promising ambitious cuts in spending to pay for his ideas. The cuts would not pay for all his promises, but McCain says they needn't."I strongly disagree with the view that just because you reduce the tax burden, just because you let people save and invest more of their money, that therefore there's less money that goes into government," he told reporters last week in Alabama.

"McCain's tax cuts would be double the size of President Bush's…And the cost of his tax breaks could rise even higher. McCain has proposed two business tax breaks, a credit for research and first-year expensing of equipment; his campaign says they essentially would cost nothing, but the Treasury Department has estimated they could cost more than $140 billion annually.

"Yet for all the numbers he has provided, McCain has been reluctant to say exactly which programs he would cut. He criticizes "earmarks," pet projects tucked into spending bills, like the bear study. He said Wednesday that the bridge collapse in Minnesota last year would not have happened if Congress had not wasted so much money on pork-barrel spending, despite the suspicion of federal investigators that the problem may have been design-related, not spending-related. Even the earmarks he rails against include things he supports, such as aid to Israel. Last month, after McCain promised to eliminate all earmarks as part of his economic plan, his campaign said he remains committed to aid for Israel.Thus, the reality of cutting spending may be very different from rhetoric, as McCain has found time and again.

To read the entire article, click here:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080501/D90CMSBG0.html

Both Democratic presidential candidates are co-sponsors of the bill, which would allow countless Americans with disabilities the choice to live and work in their own homes and communities. In addition, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has met with community activists and repeatedly expressed his support for the bill. By contrast, McCain has refused to join the effort to end the persistent institutional bias in America's health care system that forces too many people with disabilities into nursing homes and institutions. The bipartisan bill would amend the Social Security Act to allow people who are eligible for Medicaid coverage of nursing home costs to spend it instead on home-based or community care.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

"At a time when John McCain is on the campaign trail talking about health care choices, he refuses to explain why he opposes a bill that would let Americans with disabilities choose how and where to live, work and receive care. I am proud to lead a Party that supports the fundamental right of every single American to make his or her own choices about where to live and work. Apparently John McCain and his staff would rather let activists get arrested outside his office than explain his position on this critical issue. John McCain is either profoundly out of touch with the needs and challenges confronting Americans with disabilities or just doesn't care. Either way, he's the wrong choice for Americas future."