Flashback Friday: John McCain

Amazing. Truly amazing! The Republican Party is such a psychopathically dishonest organization, you have to wonder if there are any souls in heaven who once voted Republican. It's truly amazing watching Senator McCain's speech and seeing the reaction of the convention delegates. The pro-military theme, particularly the constant "USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!" chanting that interrupted McCain's speech several times (looks like a member of Code Pink managed to disrupt the speech for a half minute), and the constant repetition of his well-known POW story is incredulous. This is a party, after all, that favoured the draft evader and deserter in 2000 instead of the war hero they are now coronating. And just four years ago, they mocked another Vietnam veteran by displaying purple hearts imprinted on band-aids. Swiftboat Veterans continued the Republican hatchet job on the Democratic Vietnam War veteran John Kerry. This from a party where the current administration had only one veteran of that war: Colin Powell. The others got deferments, medical exemptions, plush national guard spots they didn't bother to show up for. So, after eight years of attacking veterans of the Vietnam War, NOW they are willing to praise a veteran and highlight his service there? Incredible.

I watched the speech because I admire McCain. He has been my favourite Republican politician since the mid-1990s when I took notice of his crusade for campaign finance reform. When I say "favourite Republican", let me assure you that I can count the number of Republicans I admire on one hand. The party, however, is a disgrace. There's not a chance in hell I'd ever be a member of that party and I still find it amusing that a lady I knew in my home congregation in Atlanta actually had the audacity to suggest that I join the Republican party when I couldn't find a job in D.C. and moved back home.

Anyhow, I liked most of McCain's speech. He truly is an admirable person, with a lot of integrity and I have no doubt that he will be unlike Bush, who was vindictive, petty, divisive, and incompetent. McCain would be the first president we can all truly be proud to lead us in a long time. What I found most interesting during his speech is that the loudest applause occurred when he mentioned Governor Palin and when he criticized Senator Obama. When he spoke about reaching out to all Americans and working with Democrats, he only got mild applause and from the looks on the faces of people in the convention hall, they did not look enthused about it. That told me a lot. These people truly hate Democrats. Maybe they hate us more than they do al-Qaeda. Considering how many books by O'Reilly, Coulter, Limbaugh, and Hannity are about the evils of liberalism, it shouldn't be surprising. However, it's still alarming because as McCain said in his speech, from the person whose ancestors arrived on the Mayflower to the migrant worker, "we're all Americans." That line didn't get the enthusiastic applause and standing ovation I thought it would. Watching the reaction of the attendees told me all I need to know about these hateful people. I feel sorry for them. Their beloved president brought our nation to ruin and instead of directing their frustrations at him, they continue to hate liberals and Democrats.

The best part of the speech was when he admitted that his party promised to change Washington but was changed by Washington, and instead of looking out for the people it became intoxicated by its own power. It's nice that he acknowledges that, but I don't believe McCain will have the power to change things. With his inability to choose the top two VP candidates he wanted, he has shown in his first decision that he's every bit a hostage to the social/religious conservatives that Bush is. The only difference is that Bush believes the religious right b.s., where McCain is following the Reagan model of hoodwinking them into voting for him. McCain made overtures late last year that he became "evangelical" but at age 71, I find it hard to believe that he had a true "born again experience." He's Episcopalian all the way, which is mainline Christianity not known for radical pentacostalism. McCain's personal history as a Maverick, individualist who likes to stir the pot is probably in his DNA and unlikely to change. That's why I'm comfortable with him, should his party manage to hold on to the White House. He was the best option out of that pathetic band of losers the Republicans paraded to voters this year.

Okay, this photo is obviously photoshopped by someone. I couldn't help it. I thought it was amusing. For my Flashback Friday, I wanted to remind readers about the 2000 Republican Primary fight when Bush played nasty with outright lies. As I watched Bush praise the McCains for being "wonderful adoptive parents" to a girl from Bangladesh a few nights ago, I couldn't help but wonder about the Republicans in South Carolina who voted for Bush because they received the infamous telephone push-poll asking them if they'd be more or less likely to vote for McCain if they knew he had fathered an illegitimate child with a black prostitute. Push-polls are not interested in a person's opinion, but to plant inaccurate information about an opponent in the hopes of destroying their potential support for that victimized candidate.

Rove was brilliant at this. And Republican voters in South Carolina bought it. So, it makes me wonder...those people who believed that and voted for Bush because of it, what do they think now when their beloved president praised McCain for adopting an orphan from Bangladesh? Do they feel like idiots? If not, they should. Are they outraged? I don't know about conservatives, but I hate being lied to. I've ended two friendships this decade because of a pathetic lie. For me, I can forgive some lies but not others. I weigh lies and the unforgiveable ones are those that attempt to sway my opinion about something by using deceitful means. Bush was a lousy liar, but people thought he was honest...so when McCain compared him to Clinton, it was funny to see Bush protest a bit too much. As the past eight years have shown, Bush is a far worse liar than Clinton could ever be. I can forgive a lie about an affair or something personal that's none of our business...but to lie about an opponent's child to sway a vote is unforgiveable.

What else did the Bush team lie about McCain in 2000? Well...they accused him of being gay, of being brainwashed by his Vietnamese captors, of being mentally unstable or even insane as a result of being tortured as a POW, and they even accused him of being a coward who sold out on his country by confessing government secrets under strain of torture. A coward! The Bush team accused McCain of being a coward--not their guy, who avoided Vietnam and failed to show up for Guard duty after they wanted a flight physical. Who's the hero, who's the coward?

So, given this history of a party that rejected a true war hero in 2000 for a war coward and liar of the worst sort...the Republicans want Americans to trust them to lead us for another four years with their track record of the past eight years? That operatives within the party could say those kinds of things about a candidate within their own party and now pretend that everything is great tells me that we would be fools to ever trust this party again. Thanks, but no thanks.

Sorry, John. I admire you a lot. You are a much better man than Bush ever will be. You're far greater than your party. They don't deserve a person like you. You are far too gracious, kind, and forgiving. I have no doubts that you would make a great president, but your party had that chance in 2000 and they blew it. They backed the wrong candidate and now they should pay the price for that decision. Your party deserves nothing less than a forty year exile and investigations into all manner of corruption and improprieties. I hope you will join President Barack Obama in investigating the crimes of the Bush Administration. After what they did to you and your family in 2000, you know you want to!