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McCain Record Shows Flaws

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By FRANCES EARL

Call to Patriots

Published: June 18, 2008

John McCain was born Aug. 29, 1936, and will be 72 years old this August. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 near the lower end of his class. He served in Vietnam and was a prisoner of war for five-plus years and was tortured. He now supports torture of those at Gitmo!
Does being a prisoner of war and being tortured make you a military expert? If so, then Gitmo is now packed with military strategy experts, isn't it?
Let's see if we can figure out who this man is and how he got there.
Until about a year and a half ago, McCain did occasionally vote against bills whose passage was applauded by the Bush Administration, earning him the title of "maverick." However, for the past year and a half he has consistently supported bills favored by Dubya — 95 percent of the time! Looking for support for his upcoming candidacy for president, perhaps? So what has McCain been voting for and against?
McCain has voted against bipartisan efforts to modernize the GI Bill, in part to increase health care and disability benefits for wounded soldiers. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave him a D+ with Obama getting a B+.
McCain has admitted he will work to overturn Roe vs. Wade. He voted to shut down the federal family-planning program, which gives millions of women access to health care services from birth control to breast cancer screenings. He supports "abstinence only" policies and said he was "stumped" when asked if contraceptives help curb the spread of HIV. He also voted only for anti-choice judges 100 percent of the time.
One of his prime fundraisers, Clayton Williams, in his 1990 race for Texas governor made this statement about rape: "Rape is like weather, you just have to lay back and enjoy it." Clayton also said of his opponent, Ann Richards, that he would "…head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt." McCain recently canceled an upcoming fundraiser planned for him by Mr. Williams when this information became public, but this had to be known to the McCain vetters and a previous $300,000 raised by Williams for McCain will not be returned.
Tell me McCain gives any respect to women.
Since we have previously seen an attempt at impeachment against Bill Clinton for his sexual "indiscretions," you might want to know that McCain's first wife, Carol McCain, a famous beauty and swimwear model when they married in 1965, mother of his three eldest children and a devoted wife, was victim to a terrible car accident on Christmas Eve of 1969. It left her disfigured and with massive internal injuries, which confined her to a wheelchair and necessitated the use of a catheter.
John McCain divorced her in 1980 and, only one month after the final decree, married Cindy Hensley, an heiress to a multimillion dollar fortune, 18 years his junior, and with a father with political connections.
Since McCain admitted having "girlfriends" while married, was this an affair in progress before the divorce proceedings? Does morality apply to Republicans as well and, if so, what does this say about McCain's view of and respect for women?
McCain, in a March 3 interview with the Wall Street Journal said, "As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it — along the lines that President Bush proposed."
Heads up, folks, although he now denies it, McCain would privatize Social Security, so if you vote for him, you can kiss Social Security goodbye. Maybe you're not eligible yet, but are you prepared to contribute to your parents' support when they cannot survive without it? A bill, Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 S.3101 (Baucus-Snowe bill), failed to get the 60 votes needed to prevent a Republican filibuster from blocking it. It would have made sure doctors were paid adequately to prevent them from dropping all patients on Medicare — everyone you know 65 and older. McCain was against passage; Obama was for it.
McCain has now come out in favor of off-shore drilling, another attempt to get votes from all of us suffering from prices at the pump and the attendant rise in cost of everything else. Gov. Charlie Crist calls this a "brilliant" idea — huh? Hey Charlie, thought you were a green guy! Guess "VP" stands for very (improved) potential? First, it would take years to get this under way, then would not make any real difference at the pump. Remember the summer gas tax scam that McCain pushed? On top of the possible damage to the environment, kiss Florida's tourist economy adieu.
We should not be surprised that McCain advocates proposals that will not help the economy, after all he said he was not "up" on economic matters earlier. Just what we need as we lose our homes.
Next week: The endless "war" and other crimes.

Frances Earl, former vice chairman of the Hernando County Democratic Central Committee, can be contacted at fearl@tampabay.rr.com.

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