March 6, 2008

John McCain Promises Alaska Families a Third Bush Term

From an Alaska Democratic Party press release

One-time "maverick" John McCain completed his transformation into a full-fledged Bush Republican this week with President Bush's formal endorsement, giving Alaskans more evidence that McCain represents more of the same failed policies.

In his desperation to cozy up to the right wing of the Republican Party, McCain has endorsed President Bush's decision to deny health care for 9,800 Alaska children by vetoing SCHIP expansion, threatened the retirement security of Alaska seniors by promising to privatize Social Security, further strained Alaska's reserve and national guard units by promising to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years, and promised more of the same on everything from ethics to the economy. In fact, despite widespread economic anxieties facing working families in Alaska and across America, McCain said he thinks the economy is strong and refuses to say whether he supports President Bush's threat to veto a Democratic bill to help struggling homeowners fighting to avoid foreclosure. Instead, McCain's idea of short-term economic stimulus for working families is making President Bush's tax cuts for the rich permanent...in 2010.

"By rushing to President Bush's side, McCain is showing Alaska's working families that a vote for John McCain is a vote for a third Bush term," said Alaska Democratic Party Chair Patti Higgins. "Alaska's working families already understand that John McCain is out of touch with the issues they are confronting each day. The closer voters look at the real McCain record, the more they will realize he cannot be trusted to deliver the change America wants."

Third Bush Term on the Economy...

McCain's Short-Term Solution For the Economy? Tax Cuts for the Wealthy in Two Years, Of Course. When asked what efforts who have a short-term impact on the economy, McCain responded "In the shorter term, if you somehow told American businesses and families, 'Look, you're not going to experience a tax increase in 2010,' I think that's a pretty good short-term measure. And as far as confidence is concerned, I think if you say, 'Congress is going to cut corporate taxes right away,' if you say that you've got a plan to eliminate the AMT, I think some of those are kind of short-term measures right now." [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]

Republicans Postponing Consideration of Housing Bill So McCain Doesn't Have to Make a Hard Vote. "Consideration of the mortgage package was delayed earlier in the week when a debate over the Iraq War lasted longer than expected. At the time, Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., maintained that Republicans were intentionally delaying consideration of the mortgage package so that Arizona Sen. John McCain -- the presumptive GOP presidential nominee -- would not have to cast a vote on the bill before the March 4 Ohio primary." [Congressional Quarterly Today, 2/27/2008]

Third Bush Term on Iraq...

McCain Would Spend 'a Hundred Years' or a 'Million Years' in Iraq. McCain interrupted a voter during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire telling him we could spend "maybe a hundred" years in Iraq and "that would be fine with me." After the town hall meeting, he told a reporter "that U.S. troops could be in Iraq for 'a thousand years' or 'a million years,' as far as he was concerned." [McCain Derry, NH town hall meeting , 1/3/08; motherjones.com, 1/3/08]

McCain Consistently on Bush Talking Points on Iraq. In 2003, McCain echoed Bush's rosy predictions by claiming that the end was "very much in sight" in Iraq. In 2005, McCain backed Bush, arguing that another year would prove "stay the course" was working. [The Hill, 12/8/05; ABC News, Good Morning America, 4/9/03] In 2006, McCain argued that Iraq was "on the right track" even as it slipped further toward civil war. [MSNBC, Imus in the Morning, 3/1/06] As of late, McCain's campaign insists, "terrorists are on the run," even while half of Afghanistan appears to have fallen back under the control of the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden remains at large. [johnmccain.com, press release, 12/17/07; Time, 12/8/07; Investor's Business Daily, 12/14/07]

Third Bush Term on Health Care...

John McCain Does Not Have a Plan For the Uninsured. According to the Wall Street Journal, McCain's plan does not focus on "reducing the ranks of the uninsured," of which there are about 47 million, or one in seven Americans. [Wall Street Journal, 10/11/07]

McCain Opposed Reauthorizing SCHIP and Providing Insurance For Millions of Uninsured Children. McCain voted against reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program for five years, expanding the program by $35.2 billion. [Senate Vote #307, 8/2/07]

Third Bush Term on Social Security...

2008: McCain "Totally In Favor" of Bush Social Security Plan. "I'm totally in favor of personal savings accounts and I think they are an important opportunity for young workers. I campaigned in support of President Bush's proposal and I campaigned with him, and I did town hall meetings with him." [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]

2005: McCain Campaigned for Bush Social Security Plan. "McCain has been especially supportive of his onetime rival, appearing with Bush at three events over the past two days in trying to prod Democrats into negotiations to include private accounts in a plan to revamp Social Security." [Washington Post, 3/23/05]