18 August 2008, 1:24 pm
John McCain recently has been accusing Obama of flip-flopping on the war. Here are a few of McCains flip flops. McCain on Torture McCain 11/16/07: "One of the things that kept us going when I was in prison in North Vietnam was that we knew that if the situation were reversed, that we would not be doing to our captors what they were doing to us" "I want to tell you. Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney all think it is O.K. They have one thing in common. They don’t understand the military and the culture of this nation. If they did, they could never condone such behavior." [NY Times] AFTER McCain votes against a ban on CIA torture. [NY Times] Special Interests BEFORE McCain: "I'm the only one special interests don't give any money to." [YouTube] AFTER McCain's campaign manager and many key campaign officials are telecom lobbyists, who have given at least $765,000 to his campaign (and that's just one special interest) [USA Today] Campaign Finance Laws BEFORE McCain author of McCain Feingold amendment, limiting use of soft money in campaigns. [Wikipedia] AFTER 3/21/08: McCain likely in violation of campaign finance laws. [WashPost] Jerry Falwell BEFORE McCain 2/28/2000: "I am a pro-life, pro-family fiscal conservative, an advocate of a strong defense, and yet Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and a few Washington leaders of the pro-life movement call me an unacceptable presidential candidate. They distort my pro- life positions and smear the reputations of my supporters. Why? Because I don't pander to them, because I don't ascribe to their failed philosophy that money is our message." McCain 2/29/2000: calls Robertson and Falwell "agents of intolerance." [IHT] AFTER McCain gives commencement speech at Falwell's Liberty University, cozies up to Falwell. [ABC] Iraq BEFORE McCain 9/29/02: “We’re not going to get into house-to-house fighting in Baghdad. We may have to take out buildings, but we’re not going to have a bloodletting of trading American bodies for Iraqi bodies.” McCain 1/22/03: “But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” [ThinkProgress] AFTER McCain: 1/4/07: "When I voted to support this war, I knew it was probably going to be long and hard and tough, and those that voted for it and thought that somehow it was going to be some kind of an easy task, then I’m sorry they were mistaken. Maybe they didn’t know what they were voting for." [ThinkProgress] Abortion BEFORE McCain 8/24/99: "But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations." [WashPost] Bush's tax cuts BEFORE McCain 5/26/01: "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief." [McCain's Senate website] AFTER In 2006 McCain votes to extend Bush tax cuts [MediaMatters] Gun control BEFORE In 2001, McCain and Lieberman introduce legislation to regulate gun shows. [HuffPo] AFTER McCain 4/19/07: "I strongly support the Second Amendment and I believe the Second Amendment ought to be preserved, which means no gun control" [WashPost] Offshore drilling BEFORE 1999 campaign: McCain opposes offshore drilling AFTER McCain 6/15/08: ""There are areas off our coasts that should be open to exploration and exploitation, and I hope we can take the first step by lifting the moratoria." Social Security BEFORE McCain 11/28/04: “Without privatization, I don’t see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits.” AFTER McCain 6/12/08: "I’m not for, quote, privatizing Social Security. I never have been. I never will be." NOW WHOSE THE FLOPPER?... read more
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