Blog For Arizona

Sen. Jon McCain's statement on President Obama's terrorism speech

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I have to admit, I am surprised by Sen. John McCain's fairly gracious response to President Obama's terrorism speech on Thursday.

Here is Sen. John McCain's statement:

STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN ON
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S SPEECH ON TERRORISM TODAY

May 23, 2013

Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement on President Obama’s speech on terrorism today at the National Defense University in Washington, DC: 

“There is much that I support in President Obama's speech today. Though I continue to have questions and concerns about specific details of how he plans to achieve the goals he laid out today, I believe there is common ground to work with the President to advance both our counterterrorism objectives and our highest values as a nation of laws.

“I support the President’s plan to consolidate the use of armed drones in the Department of Defense. That is the appropriate department of our government to conduct military operations against our enemies. Assigning this role to the Department would enable our other government agencies to focus their precious time and resources on furthering their own essential core missions. 

“I also support the President’s reaffirmation of the goal of closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That is a goal I have long shared. More than four years ago, the President said he would close Guantanamo but did not put forward a concrete plan to do so. I look forward to seeing the specifics of the plan the President outlined today.

“As the President suggested, closing Guantanamo will require bringing some detainees inside the United States to stand trial in civilian courts or military commissions, as appropriate. It will also require transferring other detainees back to their home countries or to other foreign locations in a way that limits the risk of recidivism as much as possible. And, for those detainees who unfortunately cannot be brought to trial but who are too dangerous to release, closing Guantanamo will require those individuals to be held indefinitely in the United States. This long-term detention should include periodic review and additional due process safeguards. I encourage the President to work with Congress on what additional authorities may be needed to establish a legal framework to meet this goal that is consistent with our national security and principles of justice. 

Sen. John McCain takes on the Tea Party 'Wacko Birds' holding the Senate hostage Day 2

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It looks like Arizona's angry old man Sen. McNasty, John McCain, has had enough of those Tea Party punks hanging out on his lawn. For the second day in a row, McCain took to the well of the Senate to criticize a Tea Party senator as too effin' ignorant to be in the Senate. This time it was Tea Party darlin' Mike Lee (R-UT).

Greg Sargent has the play-by-play. Tea Party Senators jump the shark:

In a key moment on the Senate floor this morning, John McCain came very close to stating outright that Tea Party Republican Senators are in the grip of what some of us have been describing as a kind of ”post policy nihilism” that has taken over the GOP. This should be a real clarifying moment: Tea Party Senators have pushed their disregard for basic governing norms so far that even fellow Republicans are calling them out for it.

Far right Senators Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul have been insisting that Democrats and Republicans should not enter into conference negotiations over the budget unless Democrats agree in advance not to push for a rise in the debt ceiling as part of the talks. McCain took to the Senate floor today and laid into Senator Lee very hard over this (video below the fold):

The GOP wants to have it both ways on national security leaks to the media

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Let's set Mr. Peabody's WABAC time machine to a little less than a year ago, to June of 2012 when this was the GOP position on national security leaks to the media. Republicans demand (again) special investigator to investigate leaks - CNN:

A group of Republican senators continued to fire away Tuesday at the Obama administration for its failure to appoint a special counsel to investigate leaks of classified information.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, once again led the charge at a Capitol Hill news conference, criticizing Attorney General Eric Holder for his decision to appoint two Justice Department prosecutors to investigate the recent leaks to the media.

"To think that two people appointed prosecutors from Mr. Holder's office, overseen by Mr. Holder, is also offensive," McCain said. "We need a special counsel. We need someone who the American people can trust and we need to stop the leaks that are endangering the lives of those men and women who are serving our country."

Man up McCain, and apologize to Susan Rice

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

This morning I posted:

The worst purveyors of this "Benghazi! Benghazi!! Benghazi!!!" faux scandal have been the new Three Stooges, Sens. John McCain, his puppet boy Little Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte as "Shemp." They have perpetrated a fraud for purely partisan political retaliation. They besmirched the reputation of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who has been vindicated by the emails released this week.

The new Three Stooges owe Susan Rice and the American people an apology. They have demonstrated their utter lack of character and judgment to serve in the U.S. Senate. If they had any honor, they would submit their resignations from the U.S. Senate for their indefensible actions.

Others are making the same point. Steve Benen writes today in Rice's rehabilitated reputation:

When Time's Michael Crowley reported this week on what we learned from the disclosure of internal administration emails on Benghazi, it noted three larger takeaways, one of which was "Susan Rice got hosed."

'Benghazi!' faux scandal: Stick a fork in it, it's done

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Major Garrett, who used to work for FAUX News Fraudcasting for years, left the GOPropaganda machine to go to work for CBS News. Last night on CBS Evening News, Major Garrett put a definitive end to the conservative media entertainment complex cult's "Benghazi! Benghazi!! Benghazi!!!" faux scandal, with this report (transcript by) Josh Marshall: CBS Calls Out GOP For Doctoring Benghazi Emails:

MAJOR GARRETT: Scott, Republicans have claimed that the State Department under Hillary Clinton was trying to protect itself from criticism. The White House released the real e-mails late yesterday and here’s what we found when we compared them to the quotes that had been provided by Republicans. One e-mail was written by Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. On Friday, Republicans leaked what they said was a quote from Rhodes. “We must make sure that the talking points reflect all agency equities, including those of the State Department, and we don’t want to undermine the FBI investigation.” But it turns out, in the actual e-mail Rhodes did not mention the State Department. It read “We need to resolve this in a way that respects all the relevant equities, particularly the investigation.” Republicans also provided what they said was a quote from an e-mail written by State Department Spokesman Victoria Nuland. The Republican version notes Nuland discussing: “The penultimate point is a paragraph talking about all the previous warnings provided by the Agency (CIA) about al-Qaeda’s presence and activities of al-Qaeda.” The actual e-mail from Nuland says: the “…penultimate point could be abused by Members to beat the State Department for not paying attention to Agency warnings…” The C.I.A. agreed with the concerns raised by the State Department and revised the talking points to make them less specific than the C.I.A.’s original version, eliminating references to al-Qaeda and affiliates and earlier security warnings. There is no evidence, Scott, the White House orchestrated these changes.

Video below the fold.

Some Amazing Flakery on Background Checks

Yesterday I called the Tucson office of Senator Jeff Flake. I told the staffer, I wanted to let y’all know that even though it’s been almost four weeks, people still remember that Senator Flake filibustered the most basic gun reform bill. She immediately interrupted me, saying:

"I’d just like to clarify one point: He did vote for cloture."

I said, Look, on the vote that mattered, Senator Flake supported the filibuster. Again she interrupted:

"I’d just like to clarify one point: He did vote for cloture."

I said, Stop lying to me. That’s not a clarification, that’s a deception. I am aware that there were preliminary votes where he did not bother to filibuster, and I am aware he promised a group of Sandy Hook survivors that he would not filibuster ... but on April 17th, on the last vote the Senate took, on the vote that derailed the effort, he filibustered. It’s a matter of public record. He didn’t just vote against it. He didn’t just vote to water it down. He blocked it from coming up for a majority vote. Background checks are supported by more than 90% of the citizens. Without the filibuster, the bill would have passed. Senator McCain voted one way, and Senator Flake voted the other way. He even talked about it on his facebook page ... so why do you object when I say the same thing?

"But he did vote for cloture."

I said, Look, lady, you must think the voters are really stupid. You must think I’m too stupid to remember how things went down ... but I do remember, and I’m going to make sure all my friends remember. At first I thought Jeff Flake was incompetent, doing ridiculous things by accident. Now it’s obvious y’all know exactly what you’re doing. It’s selfish, it’s corrupt, it’s evil, and it’s shameful. He’s been in office less than a year, but he’s already managed to become the #1 most unpopular member in the US Senate. That’s not easy to do, but he earned it.

John McCain makes a complete ass of himself over 'Benghazi!' Part 2

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Oh dear lord, the new Three Stooges (John McCain, his puppet boy Little Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte as "Shemp") are back at it again today. It appears that the "Benghazi! Benghazi!! Benghazi!!!" faux scandal is really just about semantics, or diction. "You didn't say the magic words!"

Talking Points Memo reports, McCain, Graham And Ayotte Dismiss Obama’s ‘Generic’ Terror Reference:

Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) on Monday issued a statement dismissing President Barack Obama's insistence that he attributed the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya to terrorism.

Speaking in the Rose Garden the day following the Sept. 11, 2012 attack that left four Americans dead in Benghazi, Obama made reference to "acts of terror" — a "generic reference," as the three Republican senators put it. McCain, Graham and Ayotte cited subsequent interviews that Obama gave in which he stopped short of describing the attack as terrorism. The three senators also called for the creation of a Joint Select Committee " to resolve these contradictions and answer the many other unanswered questions about this tragedy."

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) on Monday also pushed back Obama's characterization of the attack, arguing during an appearance on Fox News that "an act of terror is different than a terrorist attack."

Seriously, Dude? That's all you got?

John McCain makes a complete ass of himself over 'Benghazi!'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Once again, "If it's Sunday, it's John McCain" on the Sunday morning bobble-head shows. The Beltway media are his political base, and nothing is more irresponsible.

In his 30 years in Washington, never has one man been so wrong about so many subjects as John McCain. In fact, John McCain is the perfect cipher. If you want to know what you should do, just ask John McCain what he thinks and then do exactly the opposite. You can't go wrong.

So this past Sunday, the leader of the new Three Stooges (McCain stars with his puppet boy Little Lindsey Graham and, replacing Joe Lieberman, Kelly Ayotte as "Shemp") who has been pushing the "Benghazi! Benghazi!! Benghazi!!!" faux scandal for months, went on ABC's "This Week" for an interview with Martha Raddatz, and accused the White House of a "cover-up." "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." John McCain Goes Wacko Bird and Accuses Hillary Clinton of Benghazi Cover Up:

Transcript from ABC News:

RADDATZ: Would you call this a cover-up?

MCCAIN: I’d call it a cover-up. I — I would call it a cover-up in the extent that there was willful removal of information, which was obvious. It was obvious. Mr. Hicks said in his testimony, his jaw dropped when he saw Susan Rice do that — I was on — I was on another Sunday morning show after Susan Rice, my jaw dropped. I said, look people don’t bring rocket-propelled grenades and mortars to spontaneous demonstrations.

'Fools rush in where angels fear to tread' - Sens. McCain and Graham call for U.S. intervention in Syria

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last week, the Obama administration announced that U.S. Intelligence points to small-scale use of sarin in Syria:

In a letter sent to lawmakers before Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's announcement, the White House said that intelligence analysts have concluded "with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin."

The White House cautioned that the "chain of custody" of the chemicals was not clear and that intelligence analysts could not confirm the circumstances under which the sarin was used, including the role of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

But, the letter said, "we do believe that any use of chemical weapons in Syria would very likely have originated with the Assad regime."

Note the caution and need for further investigation of the evidence in this statement. This is the lesson learned from the fabrication of intelligence and lies told to falsely lead this country into an unnecessary war in Iraq. Contrast this restraint with Neocon war monger Sen. John McCain, who said the evidence is good enough for him, let's intervene in Syria yesterday:

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, urged the administration to work for the establishment of a safe zone for Syrian rebels.

"Everything that the non-interventionists said would happen in Syria if we intervened has happened," he said. "The jihadists are on the ascendency, there is chemical weapons being used, the massacres continue.

Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham: Screw the Constitution

Posted  by AzBlueMeanie:

Remember just a few weeks ago when the right-wing was all in a tizzy about the village idiot Aqua Buddha, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), and his filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan for CIA Director over the use of drones in the U.S.? There was a lot of highfalutin talk from these right-wingers about the constitutional rights of American citizens on American soil -- when they thought they were talking about far-right fringe groups like white supremacists, Christian nationalists, the militia movement, and gun worshipers and fetishists.

Then came the Boston Marathon bombing.

The 19-year old Boston Bomber suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is a naturalized American citizen. He possesses the same constitutional rights as any natural born American citizen. A naturalized American citizen does not lose his constitutional rights any more than a natural born American citizen who is a terrorist, Timothy McVeigh for example, loses his constitutional rights.

But the "war on terror" twins, Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, are once again seeking to redefine the constitutional rights of American citizens under the rubric of their Neocon "war on terror." They would declare criminal actions an "act of war" for convenience sake and to declare American citizens on American soil an "enemy combatant" in order to deprive American citizens of their constitutional rights.

Americans have more to fear from the "war on terror" twins, Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, than any wingnut conspiracy theory about President Obama using drones to kill American citizens on American soil. This pair of assholes actually wrote their bastardization of the Constitution into law, and the U.S. Supreme Court took a pass on its constitutionality. This threat is genuine.

Boston reacts to the capture of the Marathon bomber

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Today's front page of the Boston Globe.

Boston rejoiced after news of the capture of the Marathon bomber. It reminded me of the celebration after their beloved Red Sox won the 2004 World Series and ended the curse of the Bambino after 86 years. It's famously been said that "Boston cares about three things: sports, politics and revenge." These terrorists picked the wrong friggin' city! Video below the fold.

Sen. John McCain questions Aqua Buddha and his 12 Disciples for blind opposition to any and all gun safety regulations

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

According to POLITICO Tiger Beat on the Potomac, 12 Tea-Publicans in the U.S. Senate have now committed to the village idiot Aqua Buddha, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), in a blind filibuster of any and all new gun safety regulations, bill unseen. 12 GOP senators back Rand Paul on gun-control filibuster:

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s threat to filibuster any new gun restrictions is gathering steam, as a dozen of his Republican colleagues have now signed onto his plan.

The Kentucky Republican and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) first wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid late last month to warn him of their intention to try to tie up the Senate if, as planned, Reid moved forward with legislation that would expand background checks and attempt to crack down on interstate gun trafficking.

* * *

In addition to Paul, Lee, Cruz, Rubio and Moran, the Republican who have signed the second letter are Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Jim Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, Dan Coats of Indiana and Pat Roberts of Kansas.

“We will oppose the motion to proceed on any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for any additional gun restrictions,” they write.

Remember when Sen. McCain supported closing the private seller gun show loophole?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

We can never be certain which iteration of Sen. John McCain will appear on any given day, but the sycophant McMedia's favorite "maverick" from back in 2000 supported closing the private seller gun show loophole. Maybe with some regressive memory therapy, that John McCain could reappear again. Greg Sargent writes, Flashback: John McCain’s pro-gun control past:

One of the key GOP Senators that Dems are quietly trying to win the support of on expanded background checks is John McCain.

* * *

McCain previously supported closing the private seller loophole — so much so that he actually cut ads in support of the idea, claiming: “With rights come responsibilities.”

The ad shows that this is a position that even conservative Republicans should theoretically have no ideological difficulties embracing.

In the October 2000 ad, McCain — a reliable ally of the NRA and decorated war veteran who had gained national prominence with his failed insurgent presidential candidacy that year — suggested closing the private seller loophole would significantly reduce gun violence.

Gerrymandered GOP Ghettos

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The gated country club communities of old white people occurs on a larger scale as well, the gerrymandered "GOP ghettos" of old white people in congressional districts. The New York Times' Charles Blow has an interesting commentary on this demographic problem. The G.O.P.’s Diversity Deserts:

Just a week ago, the Republicans issued their much-ballyhooed “autopsy” on why they lost the presidential election last year and how they might remedy their problems.

They concluded that their principles were fine; the problem was how they presented communicated those principles. Their witless wisdom is simply to tone down their rhetoric. They want to turn Teddy Roosevelt’s famous saying on its side: Talk softly but carry a big stigma.

The establishment Republicans’ push for a softer tone, however, is pure political scheming and has nothing to do with what most Republicans seem to fundamentally believe.

And many rank-and-file Republicans are adopting this two-faced tactic. A Pew Research Center report issued Thursday found that although most Republicans say that “illegal immigrants” should be allowed to stay in this country legally, most also believe that immigrants are a burden because they take jobs and health care, and they threaten American values.

There Was a Time When it Wasn't Just Dems Leading the Way on Climate in AZ

by Will Greene

Southern Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva once again schooled his House colleagues on what climate leadership looks like in a floor speech this afternoon.

“Climate change is real.  It is not a problem that will go away.  We cannot ignore it.  We have to face it head on, and not bury our heads in Canadian tar sand.”

Watch the speech:

 

Beltway wisdom that stigmas congressional climate action as improbable, does not exempt every member of Congress from a moral obligation to fight for action until his or her head turns blue.  Rep. Grijalva understands this, as do more and more of his colleagues, such as those in the “Safe Climate Caucus” who made a commitment this year to “talk every day on the House Floor about the urgent need to address climate change.”

'Senator Sunday' and 'wacko birds'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"If it's Sunday, it's John McCain"

I mock the advertising lede for Meet The Press Gregory, where Sen. John McCain has his own green room. McCain is mockingly known as "Senator Sunday." In fact, he is appearing on FAUX News Sunday this weekend (while his puppet boy, Little Lindsey Graham, is over at Face The Nation Schieffer). UPDATE: This was an inaccurate list... don't worry, he'll be back.

McCain has always been a media whore -- the media villagers are his only political base. He would not exist today without the symbiotic relationship between him and the Beltway media villagers who adore him and still believe that he has something relevant to say.

Senate breaks the new 'Three Stooges' filibuster of Chuck Hagel

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The U.S. Senate today broke the filibuster by the new "Three Stooges," John McCain, his puppet boy Little Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte ("Shemp"). The Washington Post reports, Hagel clears filibuster hurdle, is poised for confirmation:

Chuck Hagel’s bid to become the next defense secretary cleared a major hurdle Tuesday, beating back a Republican effort to block his nomination almost two weeks after GOP senators launched a filibuster.

On a 71 to 27 vote, easily clearing the 60-vote threshold, the former Republican senator is poised for confirmation later Tuesday afternoon, overcoming Republican objections to his views on Middle East security.

Eighteen Republicans supported moving to a final vote, joining 53 Democrats. Some of the Republicans who supported ending the Hagel filibuster — including his chief opponents, Sens. John S. McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — are expected to oppose him on the final vote, which will only require a simple majority for his confirmation.

John McCain's partisan rage

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Senator McNasty, John McCain, is only relevant to his political base -- the Beltway media. No one else gives a damn what Arizona's angry old man has to say.

This is why i despise the Beltway media: "If it's Sunday, it's John McCain." This Sunday was Meet The Press Gregory, where McCain has his own green room. The Neocon war monger Senator McNasty was engaging in "Benghazi Fever" to give political cover to his puppet boy, Little Lindsey Graham, from a Tea Party challenge for reelection. Politico’s David Rogers reports today why John McCain has so decisively turned against Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense, and confirms that it’s all about Lindsey!

Steve Benen adds, McCain lost in a fog of partisan rage:

Looking back at the tragic and deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last fall, we know quite a bit about what happened. We also know, thanks to an independent investigation, that "Republican charges of a cover-up" were "pure fiction."

But as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) argued yesterday, he can't be bothered with facts -- he has a partisan vendetta to pursue.

Sen. John McCain debases the U.S. Senate, embarrasses Arizona

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

You will recall that during the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing for Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense, Sen. John McCain made a complete ass-hat of himself:

[Iit was disconcerting to watch this Neocon war monger demand that his former senate colleague Chuck Hagel genuflect before him and to praise "Senator Surge" as a demigod (his media sycophants were unavailable?) Chuck Hagel refused, insisting that Iraq was "the most dangerous foreign policy decision since Vietnam." Good for him. Chuck Hagel is right, and John McCain is wrong.

Sen. "McNasty" is still embittered that his old friend, Chuck Hagel, who endorsed him for president in 2000, later endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008. Hagel was also highly critical of the Iraq war and the "surge" for which McCain was a principal cheerleader. This is a personal vendetta by Sen. McNasty against Hagel.

Asymmetrical opposition: Anti-immigrant GOP to engage in gay bashing to kill reforms

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The nativist and racist base of the GOP that is anti-immigrant and opposed to any immigration reforms that would create a pathway to citizenship has settled upon asymmetrical opposition: it will engage in gay bashing to kill any immigration reform legislation. "We're not against immigrants based upon their nationality or race -- but no gays!"

This is a strategy to divide the religious community between those who support humane treatment for immigrants, and those who are fundamentally opposed to marriage equality based upon religious doctrine. These are often one and the same groups, e.g., the Catholic Church, so this asymmetrical strategy forces religious groups to choose between competing values.

Tea-Publicans are on the wrong side of public polling on both issues with majorities of Americans favoring both marriage equality and immigration reforms with a pathway to citizenship.

It remains to be seen whether the U.S. Supreme Court will derail this asymmetrical opposition with a landmark decision on marriage equality this year before the immigration reforms come up for a final vote in Congress.

The Washington Post reports, In immigration debate, same-sex marriage comes to the fore:

President Obama is aiming to grant same-sex couples. . . equal immigration rights as their heterosexual counterparts.

But the measure has inspired fierce pushback from congressional Republicans and some religious groups, who say it could sink hopes for a comprehensive agreement aimed at providing a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Sen. John McCain makes a complete ass-hat of himself at Chuck Hagel confirmation hearing

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Neocon war monger Sen. John McCain is one of the architects of the Iraq war. He was the Washington, D.C. patron of Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress, and was advocating for war with Iraq as early as the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, advocated for by his friends at the Neocon Project for the New American Century. Chalabi and the INC fabricated the intelligence that the Bush-Cheney regime used to justify the unnecessary war in Iraq, at a substantial loss of American lives and treasure, as well as the substantial loss of Iraqi lives. John McCain has blood on his hands for which he should be held to account, but he never will, because the media is "his base" and always treats him as a demigod.

If it were up to John McCain, there would still be more than 160,000 American combat troops in Iraq, and more than 140,000 combat troops in Afghanistan -- and their deployment would be permanent. Recall that McCain tried to instigate a war on the side of Georgia against Russia during his 2008 campaign. He would have ordered U.S. combat troops into Libya and Syria, and to any other hot spot in the world. He is a militarist who believes in PNAC's Pax Americana Empire through U.S. military invasion and occupation. The American people have rejected this Neocon "Bush Doctrine," but McCain believes he he knows better than the American people.

An Exquisite Flip Flop Flip

Posted by Bob Lord

This may be the most exquisite flip flop flip ever executed by a politician. Our very own Senator McLastInHisClass announced today that he supports comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for the 11 million already here.

Today's position is exactly the one he held in 2006. By 2010, however, he had changed his position to "complete the danged fence." 

He may have just out-Romneyed Romney. And he's not even in campaign mode. I changed my mind. I hope he runs for re-election in 2016.   

Aqua Buddha makes a complete ass-hat of himself

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"Tony: It's no use, the man is a complete idiot.

Village Idiot: If only. Now my father, he was a complete idiot. I'm still a half-wit."

- TV Mini-Series "The 10th Kingdom" (2000)

This is the only memorable line I ever remember from this TV show, but I am reminded of it every time I hear that village idiot Aqua Buddha, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) open his mouth and speak. The stupid, it burns.

Aqua Buddha was making a complete ass-hat of himself today during the "show trial" Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya that FAUX News Fraudcasting has hyped into right-wing hysteria. Secretary Clinton maintains diplomatic composure in face of posturing by McCain, Johnson and Paul:

And then there was Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who pretends he is a libertarian when it suits his purposes and something else when it doesn't. No doubt thinking of his stature among tea partiers if he actually seeks the presidency three years from now, he sent out a video of his questioning of Clinton during which he said:

"I'm glad that you're accepting responsibility. I think ultimately with your leaving that you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11. And I really mean that. Had I been president and found you did not read the cables from Benghazi and from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post. I think it's inexcusable."

Secretary Clinton had some help with that one. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut fumed: "If some people on this committee want to call this tragedy the worst since 9/11, it misunderstands the nature of 4,000 plus Americans lost in the War in Iraq under false pretenses."

Not to mention the tens of thousands of Iraqis who were killed as a consequence of that concocted war. Who lost their jobs at the State Department or anywhere else over that?

The Three Stooges' successful smear campaign against Susan Rice

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Three Stooges, Neocon war mongers John McCain and his little puppet boy, Lindsey Graham, along with "Shemp," Kelly Ayotte, have successfully smeared U.N. Secretary Susan Rice over Benghazi, Libya.

Today, the Three Stooges got what they wanted: Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration for Secretary of State.

Talking Points Memo reports, Susan Rice Withdraws From Sec Of State Consideration:

U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, NBC News reports:

“If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly – to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities,” Rice wrote in a letter to President Obama, saying she’s saddened by the partisan politics surrounding her prospects.

The 'new' Three Stooges have new Benghazi talking points

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I was really looking forward to the tiresome act of the Neocon war monger Three Stooges -- John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman -- finally coming to an end now that Lieberman is retiring and leaving the Senate. Frick! I forgot about Shemp! Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) has replaced Lieberman in the "new" Three Stooges.

The "new" Three Stooges have been advancing the FAUX News Fraudcasting conspiracy theory du jour on Benghazi, Libya ever since Willard "Mittens" Romney exited stage right.

It has not gone well for McCain. Michael Tomasky on How John McCain Humiliated Himself on Susan Rice:

We don’t yet really know as a society what a person has to do to completely and utterly cancel out a record of war heroism, but we may be about to find out. If this CBS News report is even close to accurate, John McCain’s arguments of the last few weeks about Susan Rice are thrashingly demolished. He has, or should have, zero credibility now on this issue. It will be fascinating to see if he emerges from the holiday weekend subtly chastened, attempting to shift gears a bit, or whether he keeps the pedal to the paranoid metal.

Bizarre GOP attacks on Susan Rice begin to backfire

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Arizona's angry old man Sen. McNasty, Sen. John McCain, and his puppet boy sidekick Sen. Lindsey Graham, have been leading the bizzare GOP attacks on U.N. Secretary Susan Rice that began when Willard "Mittens" Romney attempted to politicize the attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, even before it was reported that U.N. Ambassador Christopher Stevens had been killed in the attack.

Wild ass conspiracy theories surrounding the attack in Benghazi have become a staple of FAUX News Fraudcasting and other purveyors of conspiracy theories in the right-wing noise machine since the attack.

As more information has become available, the wild ass conspiracy theories of FAUX News Fraudcasting and the right-wing noise machine have been refuted time and again. The whole right-wing conspiracy mongering over Benghazi has now been reduced to one of semantics: "spontaneous" and "al Qaida."

That's because they were local Jihadists, you idiots, NOT al Qaida, as the New York Times reported at the time of the attack, Election-Year Stakes Overshadow Nuances of Benghazi Investigation - NYTimes.com, and confirmed by the Washington Post's national security pundit David ignatius. CIA documents supported Susan Rice’s description of Benghazi attacks.

Women defend Susan Rice against 'sexism and racism' of old white men

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Republican senators' criticism of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice over her initial account of the deadly Sept. 11 attack in Libya smacks of sexism and racism, a dozen female members of the House said Friday. Dozen House Women Defend Rice over Libya Comments:

In unusually personal terms, the Democratic women lashed out at Sens. John McCain and [his puppet boy] Lindsey Graham who earlier this week called Rice unqualified and untrustworthy and promised to scuttle her nomination if President Barack Obama nominates her to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"All of the things they have disliked about things that have gone on in the administration, they have never called a male unqualified, not bright, not trustworthy," said Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, the next chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. "There is a clear sexism and racism that goes with these comments being made by unfortunately Sen. McCain and others."

At a Capitol Hill news conference, the female lawmakers, the majority of them African American like Rice, suggested that the Republicans are bitter about Obama's re-election and taking it out on U.N. ambassador.

"To batter this woman because they don't feel they have the ability to batter President Obama is something we the women are not going to stand by and watch," said Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis. "Their feckless and reckless speculation is unworthy of their offices as senators."

The Democratic women directed particular ire against McCain, who said Rice was "not being very bright" in her comments. The women pointed out that Rice was a Rhodes scholar who graduated tops in her Stanford University class whereas McCain was in the bottom of his class at the U.S. Naval Academy.

In fact, the only reason John McCain ever attended the Naval Academy is because he was "legacy" pick: he received special treatment because his father and grandfather were admirals in the Navy. He thus deprived a far more qualified and deserving candidate an appointment to the Naval Academy. Johnny failed to achieve the rank of admiral because of his record of being a complete fuck-up in the Navy. He only got as far as he did because of nepotism.

Sen. John McCain should listen to his fellow Neocon, Robert Kagan: Stop scapegoating Susan Rice

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Neocon war monger and cheerleader for the Iraq war, Robert Kagan of the Brookings Institution and contributing columnist for the Neocon Washington Post, writes Scapegoating Susan Rice does U.S. no good:

The president should know that there are Republicans willing to work with him in addressing these crises and that he will be stronger overseas if he has broad support at home. But Republicans also need to do their part to show that the partisan sniping of the recent campaign season is over and that they know it is time to get serious again. One place to start would be to back off their promises to oppose the nomination of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice as secretary of state.

I say this not because I carry a particular brief for Rice. Both she and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the two people most often mentioned for the position, are well-qualified. Were the president to choose either of them, the Senate should vote to confirm.

But the idea that Rice should be disqualified because of statements she made on television in the days after the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, strikes me as unfair. It seems pretty clear now that she based her statements on information the CIA provided at the time. That information proved erroneous, and why the CIA was giving faulty information to senior administration officials remains unclear. I haven’t seen persuasive evidence to support the theory that Rice’s statements were part of a coverup to hide a terrorist attack. The fact that Rice was working from information provided by the CIA would seem to undercut such a theory.

Arizonans need to demand the resignation of Sen. John McCain

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Arizonans need to demand the resignation of Sen. John McCain. He has embarrassed us long enough. As I posted the other day, Arizonans to John McCain: 'In the name of God, go!'

Arizona's angry old man, still embittered by his loss to Barack Obama, actually said that the attack on the American consulate office in Benghazi Libya, where four Americans were killed, is “the worst national security failure of my lifetime.” McCain has completely lost his mind if he believes that. He no longer possesses the mental faculties necessary to be competent to continue to serve in office.

His lifetime? There have been many intelligence failures during his lifetime. To name just a few, the Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam War (you'd think he would remember that one since he was a guest in the Hanoi Hilton), the Iranian embassy hostage crisis, Iran-Contra, the Marine barracks terrorist bombing and CIA terrorist bombing in Beirut, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the war in Iraq -- for which McCain was a cheerleader.

According to Sen. McCain, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice restating a CIA briefing on Face The Nation shortly after the Benghazi attacks based on the intelligence available at that time, GOP Rep. Peter King Admits CIA Approved U.N. Ambassador's Talking Points On Libya, that she somehow was "lying" to the American people. McCain asserts this is a cover-up worse than Watergate.  McCain: Obama Response To Libya Attack Is Worse Than Watergate.

Seriously? A classified briefing was held this week for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, of which McCain is a member, but Grampy McCrankypants was too busy working his base, the Beltway media villagers, to complain that he is not getting enough information to actually attend that classified briefing, McCain Skipped A Briefing On Benghazi To Hold A Press Conference, where he would have gotten the information he claims he has not received. Most Republicans skipped the classified briefing, and John McCain threw a tantrum when a CNN reporter called him on it.

Think Progress has The Ultimate Guide To McCain's Smear Campaign Against Susan Rice.

McCain doesn't give a damn about what actually happened in Benghazi. What this is really all about is Sen. McCain trying to remain relevant. He is about to be termed out of his Senate Armed Services Committee position. And thanks to Willard "Mittens" Romney losing the election, this Neocon war monger no longer can look forward to his "four more wars!" that he advocated for at the GOP convention.

So McCain is advocating for a Watergate-style committee that would allow him to cochair a committee to engage in scandal mongering, much like what Darrell Issa does in the House -- that revealed classified information in his haste to politicize Benghazi earlier, the real scandal -- to try to embarrass the Obama administration out of ill will and spite, and his bitterness over losing to Obama. John McCain's Benghazi Committee Plan Would Give Senator New Relevance.

Arizonans to John McCain: 'In the name of God, go!'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!" - Oliver Cromwell Address to the Rump Parliament (20 April 1653)

This is the message Arizonan's should send to their embittered, angry old man, Sen. John McCain, who has been making a complete ass of himself and embarrassing the residents of this state.

"If it's Sunday, it's John McCain," and this past Sunday Arizona's embittered, angry old man was a guest on CBS’ Face the Nation. McCain used his time to politicize the attack in Benghazi, Libya to a new level, engaging in a hyperbolic attack that it was “either cover-up or the worst kind of incompetence,” worse even than the scandal that forced President Nixon to resign. McCain: Obama Response To Libya Attack Is Worse Than Watergate:

MCCAIN: Also, by the way, he said he immediately ordered action to be taken, no action was taken over seven hours. Now we find out the Secretary of Defense decided not to take any action. You know what, somebody the other day said to me that this is as bad as Watergate. Well, nobody died in Watergate. But this is either a massive cover-up or an incompetence that is not acceptable service to the American people.

In April 1983, a suicide bomber rammed into the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Sixty-three people were killed, including 17 Americans, eight of whom were employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, including chief Middle East analyst Robert C. Ames and station chief Kenneth Haas.

In October 1983, a suicide bomber detonated a truck full of explosives at a U.S. Marine barracks located at Beirut International Airport. 241 U.S. Marines were killed and more than 100 others wounded -- the deadliest single attack on Americans overseas since World War II. The attack led President Reagan to withdraw U.S. Peace Keeping Forces from Lebanon.

There were other attacks on U.S. embassy and military personnel during Ronald Reagan's presidency. Terrorist Attacks On Americans, 1979-1988 | Target America - PBS. Not once did John McCain allege “either cover-up or the worst kind of incompetence” by President Reagan. The man is embittered about losing to Barack Obama in 2008, and it has distorted his every thought and action. He is incapable of rationality.

Boehner and the big money machine comes to AZ for McSally, Paton, & Parker

by Pamela Powers Hannley

In case your invitation got lost in the mail, here's a reminder to dust off your "business attire", break out a few thousand greenbacks, and hit the road for a Paradise Valley VIP fundraiser.

Arizona's elite Congressional team will be joined by Speaker of the House John Boehner to raise big bucks for Republican candidates Martha McSally (CD2), Jonathan Paton (CD1), and Vernon Parker (CD9), who are running against Ron Barber, Ann Kirkpatrick, and Kyrsten Sinema, respectively.

I guess the Republicans have really given up on Gabriela Saucedo Mercer (Congressman Raul Grijalva's Teapublican challenger), since she is not listed on the invitation. It is odd that Senate hopeful Jeff Flake-- who is running against Dr. Richard Carmona-- is not listed as a beneficiary. (I guess he's getting plenty of help from the Koch Brothers and their ALEC pals.)

See the rest of the invite after the jump.

Shorter John McCain: 'Four More Wars!'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Americans should thank God every day that Barack Obama was elected president in 2008 and not Arizona's angry old man, John McCain.

This Neocon war monger has never met a war he did not like. He still harbors dreams of his PNAC Pax Americana empire in the world imposed by U.S. military intervention and occupation.

The birthday boy delivered his speech to the GOP convention on Wednesday. Shorter version: "Four more wars!"

• No defense budget cuts
• No withdrawal from Afghanistan
• Back to Iraq!
• War with Iran!
• War with Syria!
• F#%king Russians!
• F#%king Chinese!

Video below the fold.

Senator McCain Does the Right Thing

by Michael Bryan

Sometimes you get the chance to be immensely proud of an elected official with whom you deeply disagree on most subjects. Today is one of those days for me. Senator John McCain stood up on the floor of the Senate and denounced a scurilous and baseless attack on a decent and patriotic American by some of his fellow Republicans. He's had a Murrow moment, and today I could not be more proud to have John McCain as my Senator.

See his denouncement of Representative Bachman's and Franks' attack on Hillary Clinton's aide Huma Abedin (wife of Anthony Weiner) after the click...

Sen. John McCain blasts McCarthyite religious bigots in the GOP (looking at you, Rep. Trent Franks)

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Arizona's angry old man has taken enough crap from the McCarthyite religious bigots in the GOP. "Get off my lawn!"

Sen. John McCain, struck back hard at unproven accusations Wednesday that a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is part of a conspiracy by the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the top reaches of the U.S. government. John McCain defends Huma Abedin against accusations she’s part of conspiracy:

McCain, often considered the GOP’s leading voice on foreign affairs, said the accusations made by House Republicans against Huma Abedin are “an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”

Abedin is the long-time aide to Clinton who has worked for the former first lady and U.S. senator since the administration of President Bill Clinton. In recent years, she served as Hillary Clinton’s “body man” along the 2008 presidential campaign trail and has traveled the world with the secretary as a senior State Department aide. The perch means Abedin is often photographed standing behind Clinton.

* * *

In a floor speech Wednesday, McCain defended Abedin, calling her “an intelligent, upstanding, hard-working and loyal servant of our country and our government, who has devoted countless days of her life to advancing the ideals of the nation she loves and looking after its most precious interests. That she has done so while maintaining her characteristic decency, warmth and good humor is a testament to her ability to bear even the most arduous duties with poise and confidence.

“Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully,” McCain said. “I am proud to know Huma and to call her my friend.”

* * *

McCain recounted recent accusations by Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) that Abedin, who is a Muslim American, is part of a conspiracy led by the Muslim Brotherhood to influence U.S. foreign policy to advance Islamist causes.

The lawmakers have sent letters to inspectors general at the departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State asking about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, noting that the group calls for “civilization jihad.”

McCain struck back hard at his Republican colleagues.

Three Sonorans joins FOX News Latino and discourages voting

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Local firebrand blogger D.A. Morales (AKA the Three Sonorans), who was ousted from the TucsonCitizen.com for his "reckless disregard for the truth," has joined FOX News Latino. Judging by FOX News' reputation... well, you get the picture.

Except for Republicans Attorney General Tom Horne, Former State Senate President Russell Pearce, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who were regularly (and justifiably) vilified in Morales' column, he generally focused on taking potshots at local and statewide Democrats. His June 1 article on the FOX News Latino website, he encourages Latinos not to vote in the Ron Barber-Jesse Kelly-Charlie Manolakis special election

As a Democrat I got to vote against ALIPAC-endorsed Jesse Kelly twice in the last two years, and will possibly vote a third time if the Tea Party Republican runs in the November election.

I also get the opportunity to not vote for the Democratic candidate to represent me once again.

I did not vote for Giffords after her attack on immigrants in which blame was placed on a Mexican, without any evidence, for the 2010 murder of the white rancher Rob Krentz. This was used to further militarize the international border, pushing even more migrant human beings out into the dangerous deserts southwest of Tucson.

I will also not vote for Ron Barber in the special election being held right now.

I totally agree with Morales' assessment of Kelly, Giffords, and Barber, but I don't agree with him on not voting. Every Democratic non-vote is a vote for Teapublican automaton Kelly. This is how we got a Teapublican US House of Representatives and a Teapublican Arizona Legislature: Democrats stayed home. This is a perfect message for FAUX News to promote to Latinos.  

I lived in Giffords' district as long as she was in office. Despite her Blue Dog credentials, I voted for her many times, but I called or e-mailed her office hundreds of times to encourage her to vote progressively. Sometimes she did; sometimes she didn't. Maybe I'm a Pollyanna, but I always thought she listened. Working with her, I had some hope that she would vote the way I wanted her to. This is in stark contrast to US Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl; there was never a prayer they would ever vote progressively. In fact, they actively worked against issues that I hold dear... universal healthcare, true immigration reform (not militarization), clean elections, sound environmental policy, fair taxation, public education, a living wage, women's rights, and choice. 

Despite his Blue Dog credentials, I voted for Barber. If he gets elected, he can expect to hear from me also.  

Do you want someone you can potentially influence or someone who will totally ignore you? If you want to be ignored, don't vote but don't complain about the results... more for the 1%, less for the rest.

If you live in the old CD8, please vote on or before June 12.

John McCain's flip-flop-flip on the GOP War on Women

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

In an interview on Meet The Press Gregory in March, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) slammed the GOP assault on working women, and even urged his fellow Republicans to finally end their lengthy war on women’s reproductive health. Think Progress reported After Backing Anti-Birth Control Blunt Amendment, McCain Now Says GOP Needs To 'Get Off' War On Women:

GREGORY: Are you concerned at all to see the focus, with certain elements of the Republican Party, on social issues? In your own state of Arizona, there’s this contraception bill that even the governor has said would put women in the uncomfortable position where they had to say to their employers why they wanted contraception, and why it should be covered — is that a bad road?

McCAIN: I am confident that that legislation will not reach the governor’s desk and if it did it would be vetoed. . . . It certainly does not reflect, in my view, the majority view of the people of Arizona.

GREGORY: Do you think that there is something of a war on women among Republicans?

McCAIN: I think we have to fix that. I think that there is a perception out there because of how this whole contraception issue played out — ah, we need to get off of that issue, in my view. I think we ought to respect the right of women to make choices in their lives and make that clear, and get back onto what the American people really care about.

Of course, concern troll John McCain said this after he backed the Blunt Amendment. Since his comment, Tea-Publicans ignored the irrelevant John McCain and went right on with their War on Women. The Arizona version of the "Blunt Amendment", the contraception bill, and the defunding of Planned Parenthood bill, passed the Arizona legislature this week and await Governor Brewer's signature.

In a flip-flop-flip, on Thursday here is what John McCain had to say. John McCain lights into imaginary war on women:

In their ongoing push to close the gender gap, Republicans are dispatching their 2008 presidential nominee to blunt the accusation that they're waging a "war on women." Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) lit into his Democratic colleagues Thursday for lobbing the charge, calling it "imaginary" and "phony."

"My friends, this supposed 'war on women' or the use of similarly outlandish rhetoric by partisan operatives has two purposes, and both are purely political in their purpose and effect," McCain said on the Senate floor, according to prepared remarks. "The first is to distract citizens from real issues that really matter and the second is to give talking heads something to sputter about when they appear on cable television."

The man is a continuing embarrassment to this state. "For the love of God, just go!"

'If it's Sunday, it's John McCain'

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"If it's Sunday, it's John McCain." I am derisively mocking the introduction to Meet The Press Gregory. David Gregory is the worst of the worst among the D.C. media villagers. He is an embarrassment to watch.

UPDATE: Meet the Press Admits Its Irrelevance, Lack of Creativity with Go-To Guest John McCain | Crooks and Liars: "John McCain [has] surpassed Bob Dole with his 64th appearance on the show. Since the beginning of this year (a total of twelve weeks), McCain has been booked eight times, far and away more than any other person, including the actual GOP presidential candidates."

Another man who is embarrassing to watch is Gregory's perpetual guest, Sen. John McCain. Last week, McCain voted for the "Blunt Amendment," the “tell your boss why you’re on the pill bill” that would allow employers to demand proof that their employees are not using birth control for contraceptive purposes before their insurance will cover the pills. (h/t Daily Kos).

The "Blunt Amendment" failed, but the Tea-Publican Arizona legislature took up the "Baby Blunt Amendment" that doubled-down on the crazy, permitting employers to terminate contraception users on "religious or moral objections" to their private life Arizona Senate Committee Endorses 'Tell Your Boss Why You're On The Pill' Bill.  A panel of the Arizona legislature also voted to defund Planned Parenthood, which for many women is the only health care provider for breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening, etc., available in their community. Republican-Controlled Arizona Legislature On Cusp Of Defunding Planned Parenthood. This got lots of bad national press last week.

In his interview on Meet The Press Gregory, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) slammed this assault on working women, and even urged his fellow Republicans to finally end their lengthy war on women’s reproductive health. Think Progress reports After Backing Anti-Birth Control Blunt Amendment, McCain Now Says GOP Needs To 'Get Off' War On Women:

GREGORY: Are you concerned at all to see the focus, with certain elements of the Republican Party, on social issues? In your own state of Arizona, there’s this contraception bill that even the governor has said would put women in the uncomfortable position where they had to say to their employers why they wanted contraception, and why it should be covered — is that a bad road?

McCAIN: I am confident that that legislation will not reach the governor’s desk and if it did it would be vetoed. . . . It certainly does not reflect, in my view, the majority view of the people of Arizona.

GREGORY: Do you think that there is something of a war on women among Republicans?

McCAIN: I think we have to fix that. I think that there is a perception out there because of how this whole contraception issue played out — ah, we need to get off of that issue, in my view. I think we ought to respect the right of women to make choices in their lives and make that clear, and get back onto what the American people really care about.

* * *

McCain’s concern for “the right of women to make choices” is touching, but it is also a very new development. Just this month, McCain backed the Blunt Amendment, a key prong in the GOP war on women that would have allowed employers to veto women’s access to contraception through their health plans.

It's past time to wonder if there is something seriously wrong with John McCain

by David Safier

I'm no John McCain fan for reasons too numerous to mention. And everything I've seen tells me he's grown worse with age. All of his temperamental tics have become more pronounced, and his temper flareups seem to be more frequent.

But this latest incident makes me wonder if the man is still harboring serious psychological hurt from his POW experience that he refuses to acknowledge.

As everyone knows, or should, suicides are way up in the military, and reservists tend to be in an especially dangerous situation. Because they are neither on active duty nor veterans, their PTSD-related problems receive little attention. Rep. Russ Holt (D-N.J.) put a measure to address the problem into the defense appropriations bill. It passed in the House and was stripped from the final version in the Senate, twice. Holt finally discovered, it was McCain who got rid of the provision.

When Holt confronted McCain about the block, our senator gave the kind of curt, angry response he's famous for. "Don't lecture me about military suicides," McCain snapped.

Even worse, he added, "Maybe you need this in New Jersey. We don't need it in Arizona."

That last statement, frankly, reeks of denial of a problem -- possibly McCain's own problem. "No in Arizona needs help with PTSD or suicide prevention," McCain seems to be saying. "We're strong here. We handle things on our own without all that sissy-boy psychological mumbo jumbo."

Real-man chest thumping like that is always suspicious, and especially so in a man who suffered through much publicized torture and confinement as a POW, attempted suicide while he was imprisoned and came back a wreck. But denying there is even a problem in the state he represents -- criticizing, not the approach or the cost, but the suggestion there is a problem -- speaks of a man who has buried his psychological wounds under a layer of bravado and is afraid to admit them, even if it costs other soldiers the care they need -- and possibly their lives.

MEDIA NOTE: This specific incident has been covered on Huffington Post, on a New Jersey news site, because Holt is from New Jersey (I don't know if it was in the NJ papers), and in a column by a man whose son took his own life when he was a reservist (the bill is named after the young man, Coleman S. Bean). But it hasn't been covered in Arizona, so far as I know, except in this post and one earlier today by AZ Blue Meanie.

This, in my opinion, is more than newsworthy enough to deserve coverage by the Arizona dailies, weeklies and TV news programs. The battle over health care is raging in Arizona right now, and this is yet another instance of an Arizona Republican politician telling people in need of medical help, physical or psychological, that they can go to hell. Arizona Democrats should be expressing their outrage as well.

The ball is in your court, John

by David Safier

As AZ Blue Meanie explained below, all the signs, stars and portents are aligned to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell, including the consent of a large majority of members of the military and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Will McCain ask for a new, ten year, ongoing study of the issue? Will he demand that Ronald Reagan rise from the grave to tell him to support repeal of DADT? Even for I-didn't-really-mean-what-I-just-said McCain, it seems there are only so many times you can change your mind and raise the bar before you finally say, OK.

McCain, lobbying, land swaps and campaign donors

by David Safier

"Character matters." McCain says it over and over. If you read the article in the new Vanity Fair, The Man Who Never Was (read Az Blue Meanie's post here), you'll find a portrait of McCain as a small-minded risk taker who never had much in the character area, ever.

McCain says, No Earmarks!, as a sign of his stellar character. But he's got nothing against throwing in the occasional earmark if it helps a campaign donor. Witness the $14.3 million he threw into the 2003 defense bill which resulted in Pinnacle West/SunCor selling land to the Air Force for 2-4 times its value. Donors connected with Pinnacle gave $224,000 to McCain's campaigns since 1998. They gave $104,100 to his 2008 presidential campaign alone.

And McCain never tires of telling us, he stands up to lobbyists! Except that his 2008 presidential campaign was lousy with lobbyists. And he listens to lobbyists plenty when their salaries are paid by wealthy land owners.

In 2005, McCain was behind a bill creating a land swap of private land for federally owned lands. The owner of the private land lobbied McCain hard for the legislation. According to a 2008 story in the Washington Post, among the lobbyists were old McCain staffers and donor/bundlers.

Initially reluctant to support the swap, the Arizona Republican became a key figure in pushing the deal through Congress after the rancher and his partners hired lobbyists that included McCain's 1992 Senate campaign manager, two of his former Senate staff members (one of whom has returned as his chief of staff), and an Arizona insider who was a major McCain donor and is now bundling campaign checks.

And who was given the contract to build the homes on the land the rancher acquired? SunCor, the same people who benefitted from that 2003 earmark I mentioned earlier.

This was one of those incredibly lopsided trades where the developer gives the government low value land in exchange for prime, federally owned real estate.

A town official opposed to the swap said other Yavapai Ranch land sold nine years ago for about $2,000 per acre, while some of the prime commercial land near a parcel that the developers will get has brought as much as $120,000 per acre.

Even if those figures are exaggerated on both ends, it would still be a case of highway robbery, with McCain supplying the six guns for the wealthy donor/developers who robbed the government.

Another problem with the swap was the environmental value and sensitivity of the federal lands that went to the developers. The legislation McCain created bypassed the process of citizen environmental review.

As McCain positions himself as a champion of environmental causes, observers of the Yavapai Ranch swap say it shows a paradox in the senator's positions. At times, he has fought to protect the delicate desert ecosystem. But when wildlife concerns have thwarted development, his loyalties have shifted.

"When the public trust intersects with private interests, basically, he has favored land development . . . in every case," said Rob Smith, director of the Sierra Club's Arizona affiliate.

A newspaper -- like, oh, say, the Star -- which is interested in covering another Senate candidate's scattered use of a few sentences from another source in a dissertation instead of paraphrasing them, might also be interested in actual deals McCain made that involved earmarks, lobbying and huge profits for his wealthy friends and campaign contributers at the government's expense.

The stories of this land swap and of the $14.3 million earmark have never been covered in the Star. One is from 2003, a year before McCain's recent term as Senator. The other occurred during this term, 2005. They're both recent and very relevant history. Voters who deserve to know about a few sentences in a dissertation also deserve to know about these deals -- and a few others which I'll mention in future posts. (Hint: Don Diamond features prominently in one of them.)

McCain: An earmark is OK if it helps out a campaign donor

by David Safier

The Star's new policy of using material from "a progressive blog" (not this one) gives me hope the following information, which never appeared in the Star, will get some press. If a few sentences which were quoted verbatim in a dissertation instead of being paraphrased are news, certainly an earmark from No-Earmarks McCain is newsworthy as well -- especially if a McCain campaign donor, SunCor, made a bundle.

The story comes from a 2008 USA Today article:

Price of power: McCain action helped Arizona land developer

The short story is this.

McCain, who has made fighting special-interest projects a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, inserted $14.3 million in a 2003 defense bill to buy land around Luke Air Force Base in a provision sought by SunCor Development, the largest of about 50 landowners near the base. SunCor representatives, upset with a state law that restricted development around Luke, met with McCain's staff to lobby for funding, according to John Ogden, SunCor's president at the time.

The first question is, Does inserting a $14.3 million item in a defense bill qualify as an earmark? Taxpayers for Common Sense says Yes in a sidebar for the USA Today article. And in case you think TCS is a liberal group, its 7 person advisory board includes a Republican political consultant and a former Republican congresswoman.

The second question is, Did the earmark help Arizona? The answer, though unclear, is arguably, Yes. But that's not the point. Earmarks almost always help the state they're for, by definition. And McCain is absolutely, adamantly against them. Except in cases where one of his buddies profits, and then he's for them.

Part of the land bought by the Air Force due to McCain's earmark was owned by SunCor, which received something like 2-3 times the assessed value for its 244 acres. To sweeten the deal still more, SunCor sold half the land to the Air Force at more like 4-6 times its value, then "donated" the rest. That "donation" earned the company a tax deduction. So it paid less in taxes on the deal than it would have if it was all part of the sale.

SunCor's parent company, Pinnacle West, is a long time McCain donor and political supporter.

McCain's campaigns have received $224,000 since 1998 from donors connected to Pinnacle West, including $104,100 for his [2008] presidential run.

[snip]

Pinnacle West's Chief Executive Officer Bill Post, vice president and lobbyist Robert Aiken and former president Jack Davis, who retired in March, are fundraisers for McCain's current presidential campaign. SunCor President Steve Betts, who joined the company weeks after the military land deal, is a former campaign lawyer for McCain and has raised more than $100,000 for his current campaign.

Here's a timeline I've put together for the earmark deal:

• 2001: SunCor had been upset about state and municipal restrictions on its land around Luke Air Force Base. SunCor came up with the idea of the Air Force buying the land. It lobbied McCain and other congresspeople. SunCor said its people met with McCain's staff, but not with McCain. [The distinction between meeting with McCain or his staff means little if the staff put a package together and pushed it to McCain.]
• 2003: McCain put $14.3 million in the defense bill to buy land surrounding Luke Air Force Base.
• 2004: The Air Force purchased a 122 acre parcel of land from SunCor for $3 million. The company donated an additional 122 acre parcel. The total per acre price of the 244 acres -- $12,300 -- was almost twice that paid to Sun Health Properties which owned adjacent land and received $6,600 per acre.

McCain denied that he created the land buy for anything other than the most noble of purposes (Here and here). I guess if SunCor made out like bandits on the sale, they were just lucky enough to get more taxpayer money than they should have. Shucks, that's just the way things go sometimes. But in McCain's denials, he never refuted that his insertion of the $14.3 million into the defense bill was an earmark.

Star creates McCain sandwich for Glassman's good news

by David Safier

Why?

If the story is, Glassman's numbers have gone up 6% since the primaries, why make sure to say, first and last, that McCain is doing much better?

In today's Political Briefs in the Star is the item, Glassman gains in poll. Can't leave that by itself, can we? So the head ends, McCain's still well ahead.

The  new Rasmussen number -- Rasmussen, the unbelievably pro-Republican pollster -- has Glassman moving up from 31% to 37%. It has McCain at 51%.

Let's see, how can The Star report that and make sure everyone understands that McCAIN IS STILL IN THE LEAD?

The answer is, begin the story with the words, "Sen. John McCain is still comfortably in the lead," then end by mentioning Nate Silver's analysis that McCain has a 99% chance of winning. (When was the last time you heard Nate Silver's analysis mentioned in the Star?)

Sen. John McCain is still comfortably in the lead in the race to retain his seat, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports poll, but Democrat Rodney Glassman is narrowing the gap.

According to a phone survey of 500 likely voters earlier this week, McCain has 51 percent of the vote to Glassman's 37 percent. The poll, which had Glassman at 31 percent post-primary, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Meanwhile, statistician Nate Silver did a handicapping of the Senate race Thursday in the New York Times and gave McCain a 99 percent chance of retaining his seat.

Question: If McCain has the race completely, totally in the bag, why does The Star feel the need to make the case for McCain so vehemently? This, after all, is a story about Glassman gaining on McCain. Apparently, McCain's numbers haven't moved. [See correction in UPDATE below]

The Star, here was a chance for you to show you could cover the Glassman/McCain race evenly, and you blew it. Again.

UPDATE: The Star blew it more than I realized. I  mistakenly said "McCain's numbers haven't moved." The Rasmussen poll has McCain slipping from 53% to 51% while Glassman went up from 31% to 37%. That makes it an 8% shift. The Star must have missed the fact that their Golden-Oldie Boy slipped a few notches. Or maybe that fact was left out because it interfered with the narrative.

Unsolicited advice for the Glassman campaign

by David Safier

Now that the primaries are over and Glassman has his campaign team together, it's time for him to kick into high gear. The odds are for McCain winning the general by a sizable margin, but those are just the odds. Sometimes, if the underdog does all the right things, the stars align in a way that turns what everyone thought would be an easy romp for the champ into an upset.

No one has asked for my advice on how Glassman should run his campaign, but that's never stopped me before. So here are some thoughts.

1. Find out who created Cathy Eden's TV and radio ads, and hire those people. Her ads were some of the finest I've seen from an Arizona Democrat in terms of both style and substance. Glassman's TV ad had a "Look at me, ma!" quality. It was a bit self indulgent, and not very effective. If you're running ads against McCain, you've got to bring the best.

2. Out-hustle McCain. Give the old man the Scott Brown treatment. Glassman should go everywhere and meet everyone, and let the voters know how hard he's working for their vote. The Glassman bus isn't a pickup, and he favor suits over jeans, but the concept is the same. Glassman is built for comfort and for speed. He should speed around the state and make the voters comfortable enough to vote for him.

3. Attack McCain, hard. It's essential for Glassman to make himself known to the voters, but the election will be won by people whose distaste for McCain convinces them to vote for Glassman.

Don't go after the legend. If you try to convince people McCain's recklessness got him shot down over North Vietnam, or the Keating 5 scandal shows he's corrupt, you'll end up losing votes. Who wants to be told, "You've been wrong about this guy from the start"? You'll just turn them off.

Concentrate on the past few years. Imply McCain was once worthy of your love and respect, but not any more. He's changed. He's lost his bearings, and maybe even some of his senses.

You know that photo they use at the end of McCain's TV ads, the one where he looks so noble and resolute staring off into the distance? That old man is our great uncle who fought in World War II, all dressed up in his old uniform, standing at attention during a Veterans' Day parade. You love the old guy. You respect his service. You think he was probably a hell of a man in his day. But he's no longer capable of running things. You certainly don't ask him for serious advice. In fact, you're trying to decide when is the right time to take away his car keys.

That's McCain, a lovable, grizzled old vet who needs to be set down in a rocking chair somewhere so he can take a nice, long rest.

Combine the old man who has lost his grip with the evidence that shows he's no longer the man he once was. Talk about how weird it is the way he's changed positions on just about everything. Question how a man can run for president on being a Maverick and use the word in the title of a book, then claim a few months ago, he's never called himself a Maverick.

"Um, Mr. McCain, sir, I think you may have, um, forgotten what you used to say about being a Maverick. That's OK, I understand. It's not your fault, really. It's just that . . . what's that? Uh, no, I don't know where your car keys are, but I'd be happy to drive you down to the 7-11 if you want a Slurpy."

And speaking about forgetting things, McCain seems to have forgotten where he came from. We Arizonans sent him to Washington, but we haven't seen him around these parts much since then, except during election season. He's been so busy strutting around on the national stage and going on Meet the Press every chance he gets, he's ignored our roads that are crumbling for lack of federal highway money. He lets other senators pull in grants bringing high tech jobs to their states while our jobless rate climbs.

Glassman has put himself in the glaring, national spotlight. If he wants a political future, and I know he does, he either wins this election or gives McCain a real run for his money.

Go get 'em, Rodney!

The Mystery of the Undecided Voter in the Democratic Senate Primary

By Michael Bryan

 We are already into early voting and less than a month from Primary day and the vast plurality of Democratic voters haven't made up their minds about who should run against (one may safely presume) Senator John McCain (R).

The Democratic campaigns may quibble about the details, but polling from all sides agree on three things: that no Democratic candidate is polling much above 20%, that Rodney Glassman generally tops polling (but often within margins of error), and that from 40% to 50% of likely voters still haven't any idea who they should vote for.

The race is literally wide open to whomever can convince the most undecideds between now the election on September 7th. That level of fluidity in a race in which one candidate has a prohibitive money lead is nearly unheard of.

Glassman is said to have a million bucks in the his campaign chest, yet he has not mounted a significant media campaign to move his numbers to the extent that a million bucks could certainly accomplish. Given the opportunity and means to put the race away decisively, he simply hasn't.

Certainly, Glassman could capitalize on the fluidity of this race as well as Dougherty, Parraz, or Eden might. In fact, he's unarguably in the best position to do so with the treasury he's assembled. But his inaction to date leaves open the possibility that one of the other candidates might be able to mobilize free and online/social media in ways that could negate Glassman's financial advantage.

Will that happen? I can't say, but Dougherty has been very effective with free media (not surprising given his previous career) and Parraz has been investing heavily in online/social media (he's even brought Zephyr Teachout into his campaign, who quarterbacked Dean's remarkable online operation in 2003/2004).

Conventional Wisdom would indicate that Rodney Glassman should have long-since swamped his Democratic rivals with his early start, substantial early fundraising, and significant ability and willingness to self-finance. Yet he hasn't. And now that we approaching the wire, this race may prove far more interesting than Glassman would like.

One interesting exception to the large numbers of undecided voters in this season is the Hispanic vote. According to the Parraz campaign, their polling indicates that the undecided vote among Hispanic voters is roughly half that of the general voting population. And those voters are breaking for Parraz 6 to 1 according to his campaign manager. 

In fact, the Parraz campaign's strategy is work for an unprecedented turnout of Hispanic voters in this primary and to win that demographic overwhelmingly. The Parraz campaign's expectation is not unreasonable given the knock-on effects of SB1070 and the perception among Hispanics that they are being targeted for discrimination by the GOP. Whether that motivation translates into increased Hispanic voter effectiveness in the primary, versus in the general when it would be too late to help Parraz, is a thorny question.

Independent organizations working in Arizona this cycle to register and turn-out Hispanic voters in response to anti-immigrant policies could also have an effect on the race. The money they are spending on that aspect of the ground game will surely assist all Democratic candidates, but it might help some more than others.

The Hispanic vote is another potential wildcard in the primary that might leave Glassman short of a winning hand and wishing that he had gone all in early to force the other Democrats to quit the table.

Is Rodney Glassman having a Sarah Palin Moment?

By Jenn

Like crabs in a barrel, the Democratic candidates competing for a shot at Sen. John McCain's Senate seat seem hellbent on dragging one another into the muck, much to the chagrin of fellow Democrats like myself. 

Last night, Rodney Glassman, former Tucson City Council Member, appeared at Drinking Liberally. This is nothing new -- political hopefuls routinely make a showing at DL during the campaign season in hopes of increasing their public profile, and (since DL has the reputation of hosting one of the most difficult political audiences in Southern Arizona) showing off their mental muscle on the relevant issues. And, since Glassman is a relatively unknown local Tucson politician who has been criticized as being too "wet-behind-the-ears" to hold a U.S. Senate seat, he needs to do both if he hopes to make it out of this year's primary. 

What was surprising about Glassman's appearance last night was the drama surrounding the event.

It turns out that earlier this month, a blogger named Three Sonorans (who writes over at the Tucson Citizen and who volunteers for Glassman's Democratic opponent, Randy Parraz) was planning to broadcast last night's DL event live. Three Sonorans wanted to confront Glassman with "a yes or no question" based on a recent interview with Arizona Illustrated wherein Glassman refused to state whether or not he supported deportation of undocumented immigrants. (You can see the anti-Glassman attack video documenting the relevant parts of the interview on YouTube here.)

According to an email circulating the DL listserv, Glassman's campaign -- fearing a political ambush -- requested that event organizers discourage the use of video cameras at last night's meet-and-greet. This request translated into the owner of The Shanty (where the event was hosted) stipulating that Three Sonorans (and possibly other attendees) leave their cameras in their cars so that the bar didn't become a political warzone.

At this point, I want to note how bizarre it was that cameras were barred last night. DL's mission is to increase politcal participation in part by facilitating access between voters and candidates -- which video recording clearly does. Cameras have always been allowed at every meet-and-greet hosted by DL that I have ever attended, even when event organizers were aware of a potential political ambush. Heck, even Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords -- arguably one of the most high-profile guests DL has had -- was not immune; she was videotaped at a DL event being put through the ringer by a number of anti-war protesters a couple of years ago. So, why was that policy changed for last night's event with Rodney Glassman?

In any event, I tend to agree that staging a political ambush on a fellow Democrat is a questionable tactic, even in a hotly contested primary. True, primaries (sort of by definition) tend to have all the grace and sophistication of a barfight; this is the time when candidates -- who frequently agree with one another on 99% of the issues -- make political hay out of that other 1%. But muck-flinging and ambush tactics benefit no one but incumbents, particularly when the infantile finger-pointing results in the kind of inflammatory he-said-she-said drama exemplified by Three Sonorans' anti-Glassman Tucson Citizen blog post wrapping up the events of last night. If Three Sonorans wanted a straightforward answer to his straightforward question, he shouldn't have asked that question in the context of trying to catch Glassman in a "gotcha" moment. Let's leave such underhanded tactics to the Republican party.

That being said, I'm disappointed by the Glassman campaign's efforts to limit recording of last night's public event. I can appreciate wanting to protect your candidate from being immortalized in embarassing video and audio, but Glassman is putting himself up for a national Senate seat. He has already made headlines by refusing to commit to debates against fellow Democratic primary candidates. That coupled with this latest flaptrap cultivates a perception amongst undecided voters that Glassman can't handle unscripted situations -- or, worse yet, that he isn't interested in publicly interacting with colleagues and opponents who disagree with him.

Rodney Glassman may be campaigning to be the Democratic Party's Scott Brown, but his attempts to control being caught unscripted in a "gotcha" moment is a little less Scott Brown and a little more Sarah Palin, who routinely barred press and pre-screened questions at her campaign events.

As a U.S. Senator, Glassman will have open mics contantly shoved into his face. He will have to debate Republicans and fellow Democrats in a cogent and compelling manner so as to best represent the interests of Arizonans on the Senate floor. Political opponents with greater clout and savvy than Randy Parraz will try to stage political ambushes with more dire consequences. I (honestly) have no opinion on whether or not Glassman is qualified to be our next senator, and as a hardcore Democrat, I support any Democrat over John McCain (or ultra-right-wing J.D. Hayworth). But, from a political strategy standpoint, if Glassman hopes to have a shot at the Senate this year, he can't afford to appear ill-prepared for the rigors -- and the unrelenting spotlight -- of this job. 

Yet, sadly, even if we take nothing else from last night's drama, we learn from his reluctance to be filmed that even Glassman has doubts about his own readiness for the big leagues. How, than, can he hope to convince the rest of us?

Politics, meet Strange Bedfellows

by David Safier

Sonoran Alliance goes after McCain's connection to lobbyists by . . . now that's something you don't see every day . . .

By using a video put together by the very progressive Robert Greenwald, who creates his videos under the BraveNew Films Production banner.

Sonoran Alliance is none too fond of McCain, and when McCain attacked Hayworth as a lobbyist in a recent video, SA decided it was time to show that McCain has a few insider connections himself. Hence the Greenwald video, which I'm pretty sure came out during the 2008 presidential campaign.

SA is also helping the Hayworth cause by beating the drum about McCain's connections with Scott Rothstein and others who have been convicted of participating in ponzi schemes and have given heavily to McCain campaigns. I don't know all the details, so I don't know if SA has it all correct (AZ Blue Meanie covers the story in more detail here, but it's good fun to see the two candidates trashing one another. Keep it up, guys.

Star continues to Speak No Evil about McCain

by David Safier

The Star has an almost perfect record for avoiding stories that might put John McCain in a bad light. If a tree in the political forest falls on McCain's record or his credibility, no one in Southern Arizona hears it from the Star.

Here's the latest example. Yesterday I put together a thorough post about Fred Malek, who just co-hosted a McCain fundraiser in Virginia. The short version about Malek is this: He was a "Jew counter" for the Nixon administration -- the Nixon tapes revealed a strong current of antisemitism in Nixon -- tallying up the number of "ethnics," as they were euphemistically referred to, in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And more recently, he participated in defrauding the Connecticut state pension fund. He and his company paid a $250,000 fine, and someone else in the scheme went to jail.

Malek is a big time Republican fundraiser. He was also chair of McCain's campaign finance committee for his 2008 presidential campaign.

It looks like John Mr. Clean McCain doesn't care too much about the integrity of people who he hangs with and appoints to high positions in his campaign.

Am I simply being a nutty partisan to think this story is important enough to run in the Star? Maybe not, since the Republic saw fit to cover it this morning. The Republic story included a summary of Malek's Nixon connections, a comment from the McCain campaign and another from Democrats. I wish the story had also covered Malek's more recent financial transgressions, but you can't have everything.

But the Speak-No-Evil-about-McCain monkeys at the Star didn't think this story was worth reporting. John will retain his squeaky clean image in Southern Arizona if the Star has anything to say about it.

"Reformed antisemite" co-hosts McCain fundraiser in Virginia

by David Safier

Thanks to the Blue Virginia blog, I found out about tonight's far-from-home private dinner/fundraiser for McCain in Virginia.

I'm sure McCain is more at home in, and familiar with, the D.C. environs than Arizona, so holding a fundraiser in his home away from home is nothing special.

But one of the co-hosts is something of a big deal: Fred Malek. Malek, who headed the campaign finance committee for McCain's 2008 presidential race, was part of the Nixon White House root-out-the-Jews brigade and since then was implicated in a scheme to bilk the Connecticut state pension funds.

He's also a huge Republican donor.

John "Mr. Clean" McCain, who claims he learned his lesson about hanging out with the wrong crowd when he was part of the Keating Five, clearly doesn't choose his friends, funders or finance committee chairs as wisely as he should.

Here are some details about Fred Malek.

Nixon was well known from his antisemitism, and Malek was Nixon's special assistant. From February to December, 1971, Malek was part of the push to identify members of the Jewish "cabal" at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Malek gave Nixon a list of people who had what he thought were Jewish surnames. These suspect people were described euphemistically as "ethnics."

Here's an example of his handiwork.

The memo [to H.R. Haldeman] includes the following annotation: "It is interesting that of the top 17 positions, 10 are ethnics." It was followed by Malek's typed initials: "FVM."

When the "Jew counting" came out in 1988, Malek first ducked and dodged, then partially admitted his involvement (more has come out in the past few weeks) and gave a half apology, which led to his resignation from the Republican National Committee.

But there's nothing like a steady flow of cash to rehabilitate a guy in the eyes of McCain and his fellow Republicans.

Thirteen times in the past decade, [Malek] has written checks to Republicans for more than $20,000 apiece, and his total contributions over the past two decades exceed $1.03 million.

On top of that, Malek is currently "chairman of the American Action Network, which has pledged to spend $25 million this year targeting Democratic members of Congress."

Along with being McCain's 2008 campaign finance committee chair, Malek was a Palin advisor. They love their sugar daddy.

Malek hasn't been exactly squeaky clean since his 1971 Jew-counting and his 1988 half-apology, however. In 2007, he and his firm, Thayer Capital Partners, had to pay $250,000 in a civil fraud lawsuit. Malek got off easy.

[Paul J. Silvester, Connecticut's state treasurer] was later sentenced to four years in jail after pleading guilty to federal charges that included racketeering and conspiracy to launder money, according to the Hartford Courant. Silvester was also working on deals with other investment companies.

Malek's Thayer Capital Partners hired William DiBella, former majority leader of the Connecticut Senate to do . . . nothing except assure that Thayer got a $75 million investment bundle from Connecticut's state pension funds. In return, DiBella got a percentage of the money invested -- about $375,000.

What's a little fraud perpetrated on a state's pension fund between Republican friends? Certainly nothing to get you kicked out of the party's inner circle.

Fred Malek, McCain's buddy, benefactor and fundraiser co-host. Quite a guy.

Conservatives Jumping Ship: Gators for McCain Chairman

by David Safier

This isn't in the Colin Powell/Christopher Buckley category in the growing McCain Mutiny. Josh Simmons is a college student at University of Florida and Chairman of Gators for John McCain, apparently one of the nation's largest pro-McCain student groups. He was at a rally for Joe Biden when this exchange took place:

“I wanted to see the next vice president of the United States,” said Josh Simmons, Gators for McCain chairman.

Simmons said he voted for Obama about two weeks ago.

“I’ve seen a different John McCain than the one I signed up to work for,” he said.

Simmons said he submitted his resignation Sunday night and will no longer be chairman for the group, which has more than 1,000 members.

“I expect them to be incredibly pissed off,” he said.

McCain Ranch: Presented Without Comment

by David Safier

From Americablog