The Scum Also Rises

I’m back on the USS John McCain floating down the river of shame. There can be no denying that I’m targeting the man in my writings. I’ve decided to simply admit to that because I managed to read something somewhere this weekend where the author admitted to his fantasy of having John McCain in office. He swore he would do whatever he could to help McCain win the presidency. Since then, I’ve decided to do everything in my power to inspire people to keep him out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where the most unpopular president in American history presently resides. I honestly don’t believe that this country could survive a repeat performance of the past eight years, but if McCain is elected we will be getting all that and more. McCain continues to reveal himself in full view of the mainstream media and they, in turn, continue to gloss over his transgressions. Old habits die hard, I guess.

McCain chose Doug Goodyear to manage the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, citing his management experience and expertise. Seems that Goodyear has expertise in other areas as well that could become a bit prickly for a candidate who likes to paint himself as a foe of special interests.

Let’s start with the $3 million CEO Goodyear helped DCI Group (a consulting firm) earn by lobbying for clients like ExxonMobil and General Motors. If that doesn’t bother you, how about the $384,000 that DCI collected in 2002 for representing Burma’s military junta in spite of its dismal human rights records? Regardless of the fact that this regime has been condemned by the State Department, it remains in power today. As has been the case with his entire election campaign entourage, McCain continues to surround himself with big-money lobbyists and many with questionable character.

Reading the writing on the wall, Goodyear has already resigned the position, stating that he does not want the issue to become a distraction. How about the real truth, Doug? You got caught with your ethics down and McCain would probably have fired you anyway because he will allow nothing to get in the way of his drive to the presidency.

McCain has stated his opposition to Senator Jim Webb’s (D-VA) improved and expanded GI Bill. This bill would pay full college benefits for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (cost not to exceed the cost of the most expensive state school in a veteran’s home state). This effectively brings the GI bill into the 21st Century, since the original Montgomery GI Bill pays only a fraction of the cost of today’s bloated tuition expenses.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed some blogs quibbling about what McCain’s exact words were regarding the Webb bill and whether or not he said what was quoted. It was clear that those who support McCain were running interference for him. Here are the facts: John McCain opposes the Webb bill, regardless of his exact words. Echoing the sentiments of the generals and others in the Pentagon, he’s afraid that enlistees will leave the military sooner than they normally would to pursue an education.

McCain is apparently working on his own legislation. On a recent campaign trip he stated, “I want to make sure that we have incentives for people to remain in the military, as well as for people to join the military.” Nowhere does he talk about owing our veterans an education for the sacrifices they’ve made. However, that is the way that Webb, a former Navy secretary and decorated Vietnam combat veteran, views his bill.

Another concern of the Pentagon brass, and the Bush administration, is the cost of this bill – about $2.5 to $4 billion per year. That’s because the country is choking on the $12 billion per month war in Iraq. So, let’s just put this in perspective because the math is very simple. The president didn’t have a problem going to Congress and asking for another big fat bag of money ($178 million through the first quarter of 2009) for his war, but he considers the Webb GI bill too generous (a maximum of $4 billion per year). So you can gain an appreciation for this level of hypocrisy, you do the math. And just so you understand that this is about McCain, not Bush, McCain supports the war in Iraq every time, both ideologically and fiscally.

Back in 2007, our misbegotten Supreme Court voted 5-4 to strip Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of much of its potency. This ruling makes it significantly harder for women (and other workers) to sue their employers for pay discrimination by stating that the worker has only 180 days from the date of the first discriminatory pay check to file a complaint. This resulted in the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Play Act (H.R. 2831), championed by Senator Edward Kennedy.

The bill does not create any new civil rights. It simply restores the potency of Title VII by making the 180-day rule apply after each discriminatory paycheck. Although he simply skipped the vote, McCain was opposed to this bill as well. Instead of legislation to assist women in the fight for equal pay he stated, “They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else.” Did you get that? Not only does he act like George Bush, but he also speaks just as eloquently. Allow me to translate this McCain-ism.

Women aren’t discriminated against in pay. They are just not educated enough to receive equal pay. So, we’ll educate them and then their employers will pay them just like they pay their male counterparts. Whoever McCain’s handlers are should inform him that many institutions of higher education in America presently enroll more women than men. Someone should also tell Mr. McCain that women in the higher echelons of organizations, in spite of being equally as or more educated than their male counterparts, rarely receive the same level of pay. He just needs to educate himself on the issue prior to opening his mouth.

While we are on the subject: Can the Supreme Court get any more conservative than it is? It sure can and McCain is determined to see that it does. He says he will use Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., as models for his own nominees. I address this in particular to women, but it should really go to everyone who cares about real freedom: One more conservative appointment could tip the balance of the court and will endanger reproductive and civil rights. He’s already received a zero from NARAL Pro-Choice America based, not only on his voting record, but also on his publicly-stated desire to overturn Roe v. Wade.

John McCain, although painting himself as an environmentalist of sorts, has been waging a silent war on the environment. He missed all fifteen critical votes on the environment in 2007, including those where a ‘yes’ vote from McCain would have resulted in the bill passing by a single-vote margin.

He finished dead last among his colleagues, earning him a big fat zero from the League of Conservation Voters. Out of 535 members, McCain was the only member to miss every single key environmental vote. That’s not just hypocrisy. That’s cowardice.

After eight years of George W. Bush, a John McCain administration is the last thing America needs. The American people will not get a true picture of McCain via the mainstream media. They have long abandoned telling the truth about him. I urge all Americans to seek alternative news sources for future information about John McCain and his proposed policies.