The ten items below are followed by a list of more than ten sources. I
used to think McCain was worth about $2 million, but it turns out that his
wife is probably worth more than $100 million. It was after marrying into
her family that McCain started in politics. --Mike
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):
1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's
continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq,
Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make
Cheney look like Gandhi."2
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted
against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for
vetoing that ban.3
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support
Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in
Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last
year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires.
The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet
McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing
foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6 7. Many of
McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in
chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president
sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his
temper and he worries me."7
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign
manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog
group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his
campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent
years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes
America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false
religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John
Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights
and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0--yes,
zero--from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10
Sources:
1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day,"
ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html
"McCain Facts,"
ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/
2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq,"
Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us>
"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'"
ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/
3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of
Anti-Waterboarding Bill,"
ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/
4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned,"
MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/
5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council(R) Nonpartisan
Congressional Scorecard,"
February 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007
"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion,"
CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/
6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady,"
Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80
"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News,
March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home>
7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?,"
Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022
"Famed McCain temper is tamed,"
Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/
8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't
Know What The Criticism Is,'"
ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/
"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man,"
ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam,"
Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html
"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?,"
ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/
"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time
Confrontation With Iran,'"
ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/
10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record,"
Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/
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