What A Time It Was
Stephen Moore wrote about John McCain back in the fall of 2005:
[McCain] grandstanded against the Bush capital-gains and dividend tax cuts and even co-sponsored an amendment with Tom Daschle to scuttle the reduction in the highest income-tax rates. Why? “I just thought it was too tilted to the wealthy and I still do. I want to cut the taxes on the middle class.” Even when I confront him with emphatic evidence that those tax cuts have been an economic triumph and have increased revenues, he is unrepentant and defends his “no” vote by falling back on class-warfare type thinking: “We have a wealth gap in this country, and that worries me.”
I find it remarkable how little attention has focused on the fact that the self-styled man of principle in this race has held diametrically opposed views on taxes, growth, and equality within a period of just a few years.
21 Responses to “What A Time It Was”
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September 9th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Anyway, did Andrew Sullivan get fired or something?
September 9th, 2008 at 11:32 am
“I find it remarkable how little attention has focused on the fact that the self-styled man of principle in this race has held diametrically opposed views on taxes, growth, and equality within a period of just a few years.”
Why do you find that remarkable?
Neither side wants to talk about it, so the issue disappears.
Republicans don’t want to bring it up because they don’t agree with it. Democrats don’t want to bring it up because they don’t want to portray McCain as a secret moderate.
It’s similar to the dynamic responsible for no one talking about McCain’s immigration stance during the campaign. If neither side wants to talk about it, it doesn’t get talked about during a general election campaign.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:38 am
“Anyway, did Andrew Sullivan get fired or something?”
Sullivan’s conscience attacked him over his fifteen years of constant lying to attack the left.
After pushing smears that helped destroy universal healthcare in the early 90’s, publishing The Bell Curve saying blacks were stupid in the mid-90’s, and smearing Hillary Clinton to get a weaker and more conservative Democratic nominee in the ’00’s, perhaps Sullivan finally discovered his sense of shame.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Don’t you mean 2002? I think Daschle was out by 2005.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Plenty of attention gets paid to the fact that McCain has been a Senator who could reach across the aisle to work with Democrats. Zero attention gets paid to the fact that he has abandoned every position that allowed him to reach across the aisle.
Change for McCain means becoming an unprincipled liar.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
McCain and the GOP still want to play got-cha politics — Old-time Party Politics, which most Americans are weary and growing tired of. The GOP lead us into a Pretend and Fake war, the Iraq invasion. The Real war was and is in Afghanistan where Bin Ladin is hiding today. That is not change you can believe in. Most Americans want Truth and Authenticity. We don’t want to be led into a fake war for oil! We don’t want our young men and women dying for oil and a fake war that should have never been authorized. John McCain likes to say he is good on national security, yet he voted Yes to authorize the fake war the Iraq War. What we need desperately today is more honesty by our politicians in this nation instead of the politics of Got-cha, Lies and the tearing down of one’s opponent through dishonesty. The debate should be about the real issues, not pretend wars or personal attacks and or empty and false slogans because it does nothing for the day to day lives of American people.
The Republican operatives have belittled and berated Barack Obama as just speeches, however, Barack has over 20 years of experience in public service, plus a Natural Talent to organize and get things done, as evidenced by the successful running of his Campaign. Barack Obama has an innate judgment as evidenced by his speaking out against the Iraq war when it was not popular because he had the intelligence and common sense to know that the real was was in Afghanistan not Iraq. Bin Ladin did and does not live in Iraq. Barack Obama has the ability to inspire people to unite in a common cause to bring about the Necessary Changes we need today. Because if we do not unite for change, for true democracy, together we will all go down with the ship and be united anyway but in a negative way and not a positive way.
We definitely need a change in the way our politicians campaign which as to date, tears down one’s opponent through lies and dishonesty which only tears the country down and puts a bad taste in our mouths, though each candidate has the right to point out true policy differences. We should demand honesty and integrity from our politicians and stop letting them lead us down a yellow brick road of illusion, misstatements, lies and dirty political maneuvering!
Barack Obama’s message has been throughout that all children are Everybody’s Children, and that we must change the “mindset” for going into wars. He tells us that in order for us to make it as a society and solve our problems, that we must stop being divisive: gays against straight, Muslims, Jews, Palestinians, Christians must unite and respect one another’s religions. That will be his greatest gift to humanity at this time — the ability to see each other as ourselves — or together we can go down with the ship. Everyday he risks his life. He is not running because he has a thirst for power. He offers up his life for his love of humanity and to its next stage of evolution. We should embrace this gift and offer up our prayers that he can finish his mission, his high calling. We must stopped being fooled by politicians who only has the best interest of their pocketbooks and big corporations and not the pocket books of everyday average citizens. It should not take 10 years for the minimum wage to be increased, there is no justification for that. That should tell you there that politicians who vote no for an increase care nothing about your day to day struggles. And you have to ask yourself “What has the GOP done for me lately”? The years when the American Dream was thriving, they were years when there was Democratic Presidents and Congress. That is the true party of the people. If we are to get back to the American dream again we must put in office that party who has always been inclusive and the people’s champion. That party is the Democratic Party.
And lastly we must not listen to those who refuse to understand the changing of the old order, and the awakening of humanity to the new possibilities. We need a complete purification of the political and economical arenas which would be of the greatest value in bringing back Americas greatness and strength.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
This has to do with one of those storylines that the press grabs onto. McCain’s storyline is one of being a maverick reformer who reaches across party lines and sometimes angers his party. Never mind that he has backed off all that. What the left hasn’t quite figured out is how to rewrite somebody’s storyline.
Stories which are contrary to the storyline are dismissed or sidelined. Veterans who are unhappy about McCain’s disregard for Veteran’s issues are downplayed since it doesn’t fit in with his POW storyline. The fact that his campaign is being run by some of the lobbyists that he complains about in his stump speech doesn’t fit in with his anti-corruption storyline.
Palin is so new on the national scene that her storyline hasn’t been written yet. So there’s a huge battle on to decide what it is going to be. Luckily, reality can play a part before the storyline is set so it looks like some attention is being paid to the multiple scandals that surround her time as Governor and Mayor.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
i think it’s remarkable that stephen moore still wants to claim that the bush tax cuts were an “economic triumph.”
September 9th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
It’s not just taxes. It’s a lot of crap: Falwell, rebel flags, Roe v. Wade, Iraq tied to 9-11 and invading will be “easy”, etc. Spread the word.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Not to mention that there is no evidence that the tax
cuts increase tax revenues.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Attention should also be paid to McCain’s boilerplate calls for “deregulation” in the face of the subprime/Fannie/Freddie meltdowns.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
The Prodigal nominee – by Njorl (Yeah, I ripped off a guy named Luke for most of it, but he stole it from some other guy anyway.)
And he said, A certain party had two favorite sons:
and the older of them said to his party, “Party, give me the portion of thy press coverage that falleth to me.” And it divided unto him its publicity.
And not many days after, the older son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country; and there he wasted his press coverage with all manner of maverickness.
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty imbalance in the political environment in that country; and he began to be in want of press.
But when he came to himself he said, “How many hired lobbyists of my Party’s have noise machines enough and to spare, and I perish here with low poll numbers!
I will arise and go to my Party, and will say unto it, “Party, I have sinned against Republicanism, and in thy sight:
I am no more worthy to be called your nominee: make me as one of thy hired sycophants.
And he arose, and came to his Party. But while he was yet afar off, his Party saw him, and was moved with expediency, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
And the son said unto him, “Party, I have sinned against Republcanism, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy nominee.”
But the Party said to its lobbyists, “Bring forth quickly the best spin, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and $500 shoes on his feet:
and bring the feted pork queen, and co-nominate her, and let us convene, and make merry:
for this my son was a maverick, and is a party-line hack again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now the party’s younger son was in the White House: and as he came and drew nigh to the convention, he heard music and dancing.
And he called to him one of the servants, and inquired what these things might be.
And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy Party hath co-nominated the feted pork queen, because the Party hath received him safe and sound.
But the younger son was unpopular, and could not go in: and his Party came out, and encouraged him to pay his regards via satellite.
But he answered and said to his Party, “Lo, these eight years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine; and yet thou never gavest me even an intern, that I might make merry with my friends:
but when this thy son came, who hath devoured thy publicity with maverickness, thou co-nominate for him the feted pork queen”.
And the Party said unto him, “W, thou art ever with me, and all that is thine is my doing.
But it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was a maverick, and is a party-line hack again; and was lost, and is found. Now get lost or you’ll screw the whole thing.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Nothing can gain traction against Hero POW!! The corporate media will do anything to protect their tax cuts.
Gore, on the other hand, well, they hated him ’cause he made them feel stupid (rightly so). So they painted HIM as a liar.
September 9th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
We’ve been too cowed by his professions of character. Democrats are too stupid to hit someone at a point of perceived strength.
September 9th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Long ago it must, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they’re all that’s left you.
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