All Posts Tagged With: "senator"

I‘ll admit right up front that I’m no fan of John McCain. In fact, I find him to be a pretty repugnant character and not very impressive presidential material.

I know. He’s a war hero. However, even on this point he has his detractors. There are those who served with him in Viet Nam who call him ‘Songbird.’ Some accuse him of giving up information pretty quickly. There are others who tell a story about how he received preferential treatment because of his high-ranking Navy father. Then, there’s the issue of his disability payment of some $58,358 per year, tax free, because he can’t raise his arms above his shoulders. Really? I think I’ve seen him do that a few times. We could focus on the bush-league anti-Obama ads (no pun intended) he’s been running. First, there was the Britney Spears/Paris Hilton ad. Then, for lack of a better description, there’s “The One.” One would think that the American people would need something bit more substantive from McCain than what these ads provide. Both of these are pathetic and juvenile attacks. However, it could very well be that I’m overestimating the needs of the American people. It doesn’t end here. There are other concerns.

I’d be concerned about anybody who wants to be the ruler of the free world who just can’t seem to get his information straight. I’ve been reading a lot of articles. Some people are questioning his age. Some people are wondering if it’s Alzheimers. I’m just plain concerned because I don’t think it’s either of those things. I think it’s lack of knowledge. I think he just doesn’t get it and I’m doubtful that he cares about getting it. What he cares about is getting to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and, in some cases, the twisted facts help him make his case. Here are the things the media should be focusing on, rather than the trivia they are so fond of analyzing, such as what candidate doesn’t wear an American flag lapel pin.

It goes without saying that McCain’s famous confusion between Sunni and Shia is now treated quite lightheartedly. This is serious misinformation, given the circumstances in Iraq. This isn’t an isolated incident. He continually refers to the country of Czechoslovakia, which hasn’t existed since 1993. As documented by Media Matters for America, McCain made an errant claim that Iranian operatives were training al Qaeda members for fighting in Iraq three or four times over the course of two days - once on March 17 while speaking with radio host Hugh Hewitt and twice on March 18 while speaking to reporters to Amman, Jordan. It took yet another out-of-touch politician, Joe Lieberman (I-CT), whispering the correct information in McCain’s ear before he got it right. McCain corrected himself in Amman saying, “I’m sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al Qaeda.”

Still, other gaffes by McCain border on falsehoods. In defense of Bush’s Iraq escalation (called a “surge” for political expediency), McCain claimed that the Anbar Awakening was a direct result.The fact is that the Anbar Awakening began months before the surge in troops was even announced. This fact is confirmed by Colonel Sean McFarland and Major Neil Smith, who co-wrote a published article stating that most of the progress in Anbar province occurred between June 2006 and February 2007, months before the first troops ever arrived in Iraq. Misinformation such as this should be a concern when Mr. McCain boasts superior judgment to Barack Obama on all issues Iraq. McCain also embellished facts in response to the Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. Constitution’s habeus corpus protection extended to all persons being held in U.S. prisons, including those at Guantanamo Bay.

On June 17 of this year, McCain spoke at a Pemberton, New Jersey, town hall meeting: “By the way, thirty of the people that have already been released from Guantanamo Bay have already tried to attack America again; one of them just a couple of weeks ago as a suicide bomber in Iraq.” However, according to the Pentagon, only 13 former Guantanamo prisoners participated in some form of terrorist activity since being released. None have been confirmed to have attacked an American target. The Pentagon report went on to state that a handful of these former detainees have attacked “coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of the 13, were three Chechens who were transferred to Russia, where they were rearrested for terrorist activities.” That’s quite a bit different than what McCain was implying in his statement.

Okay, so let’s not call McCain a liar. Let’s assume these are mistakes that were come by honestly. Frankly, it doesn’t make me feel much better about his being elected president.

I first learned about Georgia State Senator Regina Thomas when I received a communication from Democrats.com. In their email, they targeted Democratic Congressman John Barrow, of Georgia’s 12^th District (whom they call a ‘Bush Democrat’), for removal and endorsed current State Senator Regina Thomas, an ‘Aggressive Progressive,’ as his replacement. Out of 17 substantive bills, Barrow has voted with his Republican counterparts 12 times, including “yes” votes on continuing to fund the war in Iraq ($163 billion to Bush), the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which granted retroactive immunity to the telecom companies and significantly broadened George Bush’s spying powers, and habeas corpus. In a district that is 45% black, Barrow votes like a southern right-wing Republican.

Regina Thomas was elected state senator via special election on January 11, 2000. She has served in that capacity since that time and is known as ‘a voice for the voiceless,’ and a tireless champion for those in need. She is committed to moving Georgia forward in education, health care, the environment, energy and security. Prior to serving as state senator, Regina served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1995 through 1998, where her efforts were focused on education, children’s issues and welfare reform. She also served as assistant majority whip in 1997-1998. I recently caught up with Regina for a quick interview.

D: So, Regina, I know you’ve been busy. It’s nice to finally catch up with you.

R: Nice to finally speak with you also! Well, I’ve been on the road. I’m sorry you couldn’t reach me the other day when we planned to talk , but I was traveling and I guess I didn’t hear the phone!

D: Oh, that’s absolutely no problem. I understand you’re busy. So, tell me about John Barrow’s votes, and why he’s being targeted for removal from office by his own party.

R: Well, you know he voted in favor of continued funding of the Iraq war as well as the new FISA bill, which is an affront to our rights, a violation of the 4^th Amendment to the Constitution. However, it doesn’t end there. Barrow also voted against the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and taxing the oil companies’ windfall profits. As I travel around the state, what I’m hearing is that the 12^th district has been neglected; he is not in touch with his constituents, 45% of whom are black. He will not be going back to Washington in the fall!

D: How is it that Barack Obama came to support Barrow, even to the point of producing a radio ad with him which, I might add, resulted in some outrage against Obama?

R: It’s called politics. Barrow is a superdelegate who threw his support to Barack Obama early on. That’s the way it works.

D: Can you give me some history of how Barrow even got elected in this district to begin with?

R: Well, in 2004, there really wasn’t a choice. Barrow was involved in a run-off against a Republican. At the time, we really didn’t know much about John Barrow, but he was a Democrat, so we voted for him. In 2006, nobody ran against him on the Democratic side, but the Republicans fielded a candidate, so Barrow was supported by the Democrats and was returned to office.

D: Ah, so now there’s a real choice for Democrats, and her name is Regina Thomas.

R: Exactly. I work for the homeless and disadvantaged children. I’ve campaigned for the environment, for an improved school system, all the things that matter to the people in John Barrow’s district. I’ve been there and I’ve heard their concerns and what they want their Congressional representative to champion, and John Barrow is not paying attention to the needs of his constituents.

D: When I spoke with Shirley Golub, who ran against Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco’s 8^th District primary, she was lamenting the fact that the media coverage was dismal, even the progressive media didn’t cover her campaign. How is it going with you?

R: It’s the exact opposite with me. I’m getting a lot of press down here. I’ve been in the local paper almost every day, I’ve been on the radio and on television. The New York Times even called!

D: What does your day look like today? Is this a typical day in your campaign?

R: Well, Comcast has set up a forum for all the 12^th District candidates, Republican and Democrat. However, I received a message from Comcast saying it was postponed.”

D: Better be careful with Comcast.

R: Well, I called some of the other candidates and they say it’s still on. I might just show up.”

D: I would. You know Comcast has been in hot water lately on many issues.

R: Yeah, well since I cannot confirm this and since I have some material to drop off up that way anyway, I’ll just show up.

D: Well, good luck. The next time I speak with you, I hope to hear how the forum went! And I hope to be speaking with you after your victory on July 15th!

R: Thanks very much. Talk to you soon!

Postscript: I spoke with Regina yesterday about the Comcast forum. She told me that John Barrow chose to pass on the forum. Therefore, her participation was cancelled by Comcast. The Republicans running in Georgia’s 12^th District were allowed to go on. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Comcast must give Thomas equal time because she is running in the same Congressional race as the Republicans who participated in the forum. John Barrow, however, has elected not to participate.

The only Senator to hold two Senate seats at the same time, has avoided serious scrutiny of his hypocritical actions because he is popular. I personally have always liked him and his no nonsense charts. But I never saw several hypocrisies on his charts.

So how did Conrad make this unique and devious silent history? After being elected to the Senate in 1986 on a promise not fulfilled, a reduction in the federal budget, he “honorably” agreed to honor his pledge not to stand for re-election.

But when the other seat became vacant due to the death of the incumbent, Conrad ran for and won that seat in a special election, not a re-election, resigning his original seat the day he was sworn in to the new seat. He did not run for re-election to one seat, but ran for election to the same kind of seat, one of only two in all states, because he promised he would not. Confused?

Perhaps Senate seats are not fungible. Who would have thought.

What other honorable things has he done?

Well, more recently he allowed Countrywide Financial Corp to give him two favors you and I would not have gotten. He was referred as a FOA, Friend of Angelo, Founder and Chairman of the company who popularized the “Fast and Easy” money mortgage which fueled the current crisis caused by giving fog a mirror loans to anybody, which drive up prices beyond sustainable levels which are now in the process of normalizing and a process so fundamental to our economic security, one can argue easily that it has harmed our national security.

First he allowed them to treat him to a reduction in fees equal to one percentage point on his 1.2 million dollar loan a VACATION HOME in Bethany Beach, Delaware. How can a lifetime politician afford that kind of vacation home, maybe even not his only one? (Does anyone know?)

He must have married into money. But then why did he need or how did he come to deserve that $12,000 break?

Second, why did he get any kind of loan on his eight (8) unit apartment building in Bismark, N.D.? Countrywide only make loans on one to four family units. But then, he thinks he paid over market for that loan, so he must have done nothing wrong. But if they do not make those kinds of loans, how doe he know what the “market” is and why did he pay so much? Just a garden variety catch 22.

Should popularity make anyone immune from scrutiny, whether it be Senator Conrad or Tim Russert or John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan or George Bush for a short while after 9/11?

Truth is, those who are popular get away with more than those who are not. That flows from public and voter hypocrisy and creates great risks to all of us as a result.