The Truth will prevail, But only if we Demand it from Congress!
9-11 Inside Job and Neocons Hacked 2004
AlterNet
By Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report
Posted on July 10, 2008, Printed on July 10, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/90956/
Editor's Note: Writer Steve Benen has graciously compiled a
comprehensive tally of John McCain's flip-flops on issues ranging
from national security to energy. The following is Benen's list of
61 clear 180-degree switches by McCain on the biggest issues of the
day.
National Security Policy
1. McCain thought Bush's warrantless wiretap program circumvented
the law; now he believes the opposite.
2. McCain insisted that everyone, even "terrible killers," "the
worst kind of scum of humanity," and detainees at Guantanamo Bay,
"deserve to have some adjudication of their cases," even if that
means "releasing some of them." McCain now believes the opposite.
3. He opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the
Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it "one of the
worst decisions in the history of this country."
4. In February, McCain reversed course on prohibiting waterboarding.
5. McCain favored closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay
before he was against it.
6. When Barack Obama talked about going after terrorists in
Pakistani mountains with Predators, McCain criticized him for it.
He's since come to the opposite conclusion.
Foreign Policy
7. McCain was for kicking Russia out of the G8 before he was against
it.
8. McCain supported moving "toward normalization of relations" with
Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.
9. McCain believed the United States should engage in diplomacy with
Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.
10. McCain believed the United States should engage in diplomacy
with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.
11. McCain is both for and against a "rogue state rollback" as a
focus of his foreign policy vision.
12. McCain used to champion the Law of the Sea convention, even
volunteering to testify on the treaty's behalf before a Senate
committee. Now he opposes it.
13. McCain was against divestment from South Africa before he was
for it.
Military Policy
14. McCain recently claimed that he was the "greatest critic" of
Rumsfeld's failed Iraq policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the
same strategy as "a mission accomplished." In March 2004, he said,
"I'm confident we're on the right course." In December 2005, he
said, "Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair
amount of progress if we stay the course."
15. McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military
presence in Iraq on multiple occasions, concluding, on multiple
occasions, that a Korea-like presence is both a good idea and a bad
idea.
16. McCain said before the war in Iraq, "We will win this conflict.
We will win it easily." Four years later, McCain said he knew all
along that the war in Iraq war was "probably going to be long and
hard and tough."
17. McCain has repeatedly said it's a dangerous mistake to tell the
"enemy" when U.S. troops would be out of Iraq. In May, McCain
announced that most American troops would be home from Iraq by 2013.
18. McCain was against expanding the GI Bill before he was for it.
Domestic Policy
19. McCain defended "privatizing" Social Security. Now he says he's
against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)
20. McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect
abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn't.
21. McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in
Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
22. He argued that the NRA should not have a role in the Republican
Party's policy making. Now he believes the opposite.
23. In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs
to cut underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses
and provide resources for public health programs. Now, McCain
opposes a $0.61-per-pack tax increase, won't commit to supporting a
regulation bill he's co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris'
former lobbyist as his senior campaign adviser.
24. McCain is both for and against earmarks for Arizona.
25. McCain's first mortgage plan was premised on the notion that
homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn't be "rewarded" for acting
"irresponsibly." His second mortgage plan took largely the opposite
position.
26. McCain went from saying gay marriage should be allowed, to
saying gay marriage shouldn't be allowed.
27. McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. before
he supported it.
28. McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he's pro-ethanol.
29. McCain was both for and against state promotion of the
Confederate flag.
30. In 2005, McCain endorsed intelligent design creationism, a year
later he said the opposite, and a few months after that, he was both
for and against creationism at the same time.
Economic Policy
31. McCain was against Bush's tax cuts for the very wealthy before
he was for them.
32. John McCain initially argued that economics is not an area of
expertise for him, saying, "I'm going to be honest: I know a lot
less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy
issues; I still need to be educated," and "The issue of economics is
not something I've understood as well as I should." He now falsely
denies ever having made these remarks and insists that he has a
"very strong" understanding of economics.
33. McCain vowed, if elected, to balance the federal budget by the
end of his first term. Soon after, he decided he would no longer
even try to reach that goal. And soon after that, McCain abandoned
his second position and went back to his first.
34. McCain said in 2005 that he opposed the tax cuts because they
were "too tilted to the wealthy." By 2007, he denied ever having
said this, and falsely argued that he opposed the cuts because of
increased government spending.
35. McCain thought the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he
believes the opposite.
36. McCain pledged in February 2008 that he would not, under any
circumstances, raise taxes. Specifically, McCain was asked if he is
a "'read my lips' candidate, no new taxes, no matter what?"
referring to George H.W. Bush's 1988 pledge. "No new taxes," McCain
responded. Two weeks later, McCain said, "I'm not making a 'read my
lips' statement, in that I will not raise taxes."
37. McCain has changed his entire economic worldview on multiple
occasions.
38. McCain believes Americans are both better and worse off
economically than they were before Bush took office.
Energy Policy
39. McCain supported the moratorium on coastal drilling; now he's
against it.
40. McCain recently announced his strong opposition to a windfall
tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was perfectly
comfortable with the idea.
41. McCain endorsed a cap-and-trade policy with a mandatory
emissions cap. In mid-June, McCain announced he wants the caps to be
voluntary.
42. McCain explained his belief that a temporary suspension of the
federal gas tax would provide an immediate economic stimulus.
Shortly thereafter, he argued the exact opposite.
43. McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat
global warming. Now he doesn't.
Immigration Policy
44. McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would grant
legal status to illegal immigrants' kids who graduate from high
school. Now he's against it.
45. On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February
2008 that he would vote against his own bill.
46. In April, McCain promised voters that he would secure the
borders "before proceeding to other reform measures." Two months
later, he abandoned his public pledge, pretended that he'd never
made the promise in the first place, and vowed that a comprehensive
immigration reform policy has always been, and would always be, his
"top priority."
Judicial Policy and the Rule of Law
47. McCain said he would "not impose a litmus test on any nominee."
He used to promise the opposite.
48. McCain believes the telecoms should be forced to explain their
role in the administration's warrantless surveillance program as a
condition for retroactive immunity. He used to believe the opposite.
49. McCain went from saying he would not support repeal of Roe v.
Wade to saying the exact opposite.
Campaign, Ethics, and Lobbying Reform
50. McCain supported his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997.
Now he doesn't.
51. In 2006, McCain sponsored legislation to require grassroots
lobbying coalitions to reveal their financial donors. In 2007, after
receiving "feedback" on the proposal, McCain told far-right activist
groups that he opposes his own measure.
52. McCain supported a campaign-finance bill, which bore his name,
on strengthening the public-financing system. In June 2007, he
abandoned his own legislation.
Politics and Associations
53. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist John
Hagee. Now he doesn't.
54. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist Rod
Parsley. Now he doesn't.
55. McCain says he considered and did not consider joining John
Kerry's Democratic ticket in 2004.
56. McCain is both for and against attacking Barack Obama over his
former pastor at his former church.
57. McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as "an agent of
intolerance" in 2002, but then decided to cozy up to the man who
said Americans "deserved" the 9/11 attacks.
58. In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly
of being corrupt, spending "dirty money" to help finance Bush's
presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the
Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed
out at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for
support.
59. McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob
Jones University before he was for it.
60. McCain decided in 2000 that he didn't want anything to do with
former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, believing he "would taint
the image of the 'Straight Talk Express.'" Kissinger is now the
honorary co-chair for his presidential campaign in New York.
61. McCain believed powerful right-wing activist/lobbyist Grover
Norquist was "corrupt, a shill for dictators, and (with just a dose
of sarcasm) Jack Abramoff's gay lover." McCain now considers
Norquist a key political ally.
And while I realize there are some who believe these constant
flip-flops are irrelevant, I respectfully disagree.
AlterNet is a nonprofit organization and does not make political
endorsements. The opinions expressed by its writers are their own.
Steve Benen is a freelance writer and editor of The Carpetbagger
Report.
© 2008 The Carpetbagger Report All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/90956/
