Because women no longer die from abortions

before:

I’d love to see a point where it is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. 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.

now:

MCCAIN: I don’t think a constitutional amendment is probably going to take place, but I do believe that it’s very likely or possible that the Supreme Court should — could overturn Roe v. Wade, which would then return these decisions to the states, which I support.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And you’d be for that?

MCCAIN: Yes, because I’m a federalist. Just as I believe that the issue of gay marriage should be decided by the states, so do I believe that we would be better off by having Roe v. Wade return to the states. And I don’t believe the Supreme Court should be legislating in the way that they did on Roe v. Wade.

McCain on Government Bailouts

before:

I have always been committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.

but when asked if the record breaking $30 Billion bear stearns bailout was a bad idea, mccain said:

“It’s a close call, but I don’t think so.”

no word yet if he changed his mind and is now in favor of bailing out homeowners, as well.

but don’t hold your breath.

The War on Condoms

Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

Q: “I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?”

Mr. McCain: (Laughs) “Are we on the Straight Talk express? I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception – I’m sure I’m opposed to government spending on it, I’m sure I support the president’s policies on it.”

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2…iv-prevention/

so apparently john mccain not only trumpets the failed abstinence only education program, but he also does not believe condoms help prevent AIDS.

wonderful.

Waffling on Waterboarding

in a republican presidential debate on Nov. 28 mccain said:

I would hope that we would understand, my friends, that life is not 24 and Jack Bauer. Life is interrogation techniques which are humane and yet effective. And I just came back from visiting a prison in Iraq. The army general there said that techniques under the Army Field Manual are working and working effectively, and he didn’t think they need to do
anything else. My friends, this is what America is all about.

also:

“Anyone who knows what waterboarding is could not be unsure. It is a horrible torture technique used by Pol Pot and being used on Buddhist monks as we speak,” said McCain after a campaign stop at Dordt College here.
“People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and odious practice and should never be condoned in the U.S. We are a better nation than that.

but when the time came to put an end to this horrible practice, john mccain voted against banning water torture.

this was mccain’s excuse after the vote:

“I knew I would be criticized for it,” McCain told reporters Wednesday in Ohio. “I think I can show my record is clear. I said there should be additional techniques allowed to other agencies of government as long as they were not” torture.

compare that once again to his statement before the vote:

“Anyone who knows what waterboarding is could not be unsure. It is a horrible torture technique used by Pol Pot and being used on Buddhist monks as we speak,” said McCain after a campaign stop at Dordt College here.
“People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and odious practice and should never be condoned in the U.S. We are a better nation than that.

after the vote:

“I was on the record as saying that they could use additional techniques as long as they were not cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment,” McCain said. “So the vote was in keeping with my clear record of saying that they could have additional techniques, but those techniques could not violate” international rules against torture.
before the vote:

before:

“Anyone who knows what waterboarding is could not be unsure. It is a horrible torture technique used by Pol Pot and being used on Buddhist monks as we speak,” said McCain after a campaign stop at Dordt College here.
“People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and odious practice and should never be condoned in the U.S. We are a better nation than that.

if mccain had a problem with the specifics of the bill, he should’ve introduced his own version or his own amendments.

he didn’t do that.

instead, he went against his word and his supposed beliefs (yet again) in order to accomodate the far right wing of his party, which has been clamoring for water torture.

On his support for the war

We’ve made mistakes in Iraq, we all know that we have. The result of our withdrawal will be chaos. Do we have to do a lot better? Yes. Does the Iraqi government have to be better and the economy better? Yes. But unless you establish security, you cannot have political and economic development. That’s a lesson of history that’s — there are abundant examples. And so, I believe we need to win this. 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.

the reality:

“Because I know that as successful as I believe we will be, and I believe that the success will be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women.” [CNN, 9/24/02]

“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.” [CNN, 9/29/02]

“But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” [MSNBC, 1/22/03]

“But I believe, Katie, that the Iraqi people will greet us as liberators.” [NBC, 3/20/03]

“It’s clear that the end is very much in sight.” [ABC, 4/9/03]

“There’s not a history of clashes that are violent between Sunnis and Shiahs. So I think they can probably get along.” [MSNBC, 4/23/03]

“This is a mission accomplished. They know how much influence Saddam Hussein had on the Iraqi people, how much more difficult it made to get their cooperation.” [This Week, ABC, 12/14/03]

“I’m confident we’re on the right course.” [ABC News, 3/7/04]

“I do think that progress is being made in a lot of Iraq. Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course. If I thought we weren’t making progress, I’d be despondent.” [The Hill, 12/8/05]

20th Century McCain Hates 21st Century McCain

something switched off in john mcCain’s head at the end of the millenium.

something switched that made him, over the last decade, consistently pander to the far-right, religious conservative wing of the republican party.

something switched and made him break his promises and commitments and values, and utterly derail his straight-talk express.

the 20th century john mccain has been replaced with a man who changes positions on a whim, sometimes within the same interview.

he’s been replaced by a man who rarely if ever admits that he was wrong and instead goes on the attack and claims that reporters are putting words in his mouth.

his one consistency is his support for the iraq war, and yet, he was wrong for the reasons to invade, he was wrong about it being easy, he was wrong about it going well, and he continues to be wrong about his escalation/”surge”.

21st century mccain doesn’t learn from his mistakes, this mccain either denies that he ever made them, or he compounds the mistake by making new ones (i.e. iraq).

the purpose of this blog is to do more than just knock mccain off his pedestal. it is also going to show that this guy is not the john mccain of before. that john mccain would hate this john mccain.

this john mccain is not the mccain independents love, this john mccain is a bush sycophant, and a loathsome panderer of the special interest groups.

so let’s hop on his straight-talk express, and watch it crash and burn….