America For Purchase

Washington politics seem to become more troublesome as the decades go by.  Washington insiders tell a ‘good story’ but never make any real decisions to affect positive changes for the American people.  Washington has become adept at simply ‘telling Americans’ what they want to hear and they know Americans do not hold them accountable, so they continue business in Washington as usual.While I’ve heard many applaud the military service of John McCain, and rightfully so, I as a Viet Nam era veteran, do the same.  However, and I carefully tread here, a prisoner of war does not necessarily qualify anyone to be President, just as never serving in the military as Dick Cheney, or many members of Congress have not done. 

John McCain was once branded as the independent Republican.  However, looking at his position as a Presidential Candidate demonstrates he is as part of the ‘good ole boys club’ just like every other Washington insider – he’s just had much, much more experience at it.  He is a career politician.

 

John McCain’s staff has more lobbyists than Baskin Robbins Ice Cream has flavors.    For example, Randy Scheunemann, founder of Orion Strategies, represented foreign governments between 2003 and 2008 and earned $540,000 from his foreign clients for 2007.  John McCain paid Scheunemann $56,250 over a 5 month period, for consulting fees.  Now this is not illegal, but highly unethical.  In fact McCain has had so many lobbyists on his Presidential election staff, that at least 5 staff members had to leave the McCain campaign because of conflicts of interests to Washington lobbyists.   John McCain is a Washington insider!  He knows better than anyone else how the Washington system works, since he has been and continues to be a recipient of the Washington lobbyists’ establishment.  He is a career politician.

It is not John’s fault – he doesn’t know any other way!  He knows how his friend George Bush lied to Americans, over and over and over again and got away with it.  John knows he does not have to honor any commitments to the American public.  He knows he can flip flop on issues and will still have support of many Americans.  It’s what Washington does.  It is what career politicians do.

Barack Obama does not allow registered lobbyists to work for his campaign but he does have some lobbyists as informal advisors.  The difference is John McCain’s lobbyist work directly for him, and John will have to return the ‘favor’ to all the lobbying groups if he ever sits in the oval office.

John McCain, in March 1996 offered a bill that in John’s words “would ban a candidate or a candidate’s authorized committee from paying registered lobbyists.”  He also added “registered lobbyists who work for campaigns as fundraisers clearly represent a conflict of interest”. “When a campaign employs an individual who also lobbies that Member, that perception of undue and unfair influence is raised.”

 

These are John’s own words, and in 2008 John McCain has several registered lobbyists working for him.  Again, John McCain is a Washington insider and his allegiance will be to the lobbyists not to hard working Americans.

John McCain will continue the war in Iraq.  He first stated Americans would be in Iraq for 50 or even 100 years.  Recently he stated Americans could be home at the end of McCain’s first term.   John McCain will continue this war, he will continue the Bush agenda of borrowing money from foreign governments to fund the war, he will continue the Bush agenda of big government spending, he will continue to award military and war time contracts to his friends at the exclusion to allow Americans to bid on those lucrative contracts.   

John McCain initially opposed the Bush tax cuts, which benefit the wealthiest of Americans, but he NOW supports them.  John McCain is a Washington insider.

John McCain – Less Jobs – MORE WAR

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtZlR3zp4c[/youtube]

McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates, according to the latest finding from government watchdog group Public Citizen.

John McCain’s STRAIGHT TALK:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioy90nF2anI[/youtube]

John McCain’s position on torture is quite curious.  In the past he was against torture but after his courtship with George Bush he changed his mind and now supports torture as reported in the Washington Post:

In federal court yesterday and in legal filings, Justice Department lawyers contended that a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, cannot use legislation drafted by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to challenge treatment that the detainee’s lawyers described as “systematic torture.”

….”Unfortunately, I think the government’s right; it’s a correct reading of the law,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. “The law says you can’t torture detainees at Guantanamo, but it also says you can’t enforce that law in the courts.”

In my opinion, it is time to break the cycle of Washington insiders and career politicians from leading this country.  Although it will likely take decades to undo the tremendous damage caused by George Bush, supported by John McCain, at least Americans have an alternative from someone who is not a Washington Insider.

 

 

Share on Facebook Tags Bush tax breaks Bush tax cuts Career politicians Congress corruption deficit Democrats flip flop funding George W Bush government spending Healthcare Iraq War John McCain national debt national deficit oil companies Republican Social Security tax payers tax subsidies torture U S Budget U S Debt U S Deficit Veteran's Administration Washington insiders

Filed under: John McCain