Posted on 10/13/2013 11:01:52 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The key bit comes at the very end, in response to a question about who’s responsible for the temporary suspension of death benefits to families of fallen troops. McCain’s answer: Everyone in Congress — but, implicitly, especially the “defund” caucus. You can tell how eager Maverick was to make that point by how quickly he turns a segment about the administration giving short shrift to the military — normally an easy lay-up for a Republican against a Democratic president — into a lament about Cruz et al. I’m not sure a guy who’s positioned himself as the lead Republican opponent of the “wacko birds” should be ruminating on holding people accountable, but if he’s leaning towards not running again in 2016, he’s got nothing to lose. No doubt he’s enjoying sticking it to tea partiers immensely.
If nothing else, this clip illustrates the slightly (but only slightly) exaggerated truth that “there are now two Republican parties.” Case in point:
Tea Party Republicans approve of the job congressional Republicans are doing by a 72%-25% margin. However, a plurality of NON-Tea Party Republicans disapprove by a 49%-42% In addition, 69% of Tea Party Republicans believe the GOP is demonstrating strong leadership and standing up for what they believe in, versus 29% of them who say they’re putting their political agenda ahead of what’s good for the country. But those numbers are reversed among NON-Tea Party Republicans — 53% say they’re putting politics first, while 41% think Republicans are standing up for what they believe in. And then there’s this: Among Tea Party Republicans, Ted Cruz has a 52%-4% fav/unfav rating. But among non-Tea Party it’s 13%-23%.
Either that rift is healed in the next two years or the primary campaign in 2015 is going to be … really something. One question for the “defund” supporters, though: If this really was about trying to build consensus in Congress to stop O-Care, why is Mark Begich claiming that none of the defunders ever met with him to pitch him on joining them in voting no? He’s a red-state Democrat who’s up for reelection next year; it’s unlikely that he’d break ranks with his caucus, but if any Dem is going to, it’s one who’s in Begich’s position. Instead, he claims, “The only time Ted Cruz said something to me was when I was literally coming to the floor, you know the two tables down by the desk there where you cast your vote. He said, ‘You should vote for this.’ That was it.” Could be that Begich is lying, of course, but if he’s going to lie, there are more self-serving lies he could tell than that one. E.g., “I have grave concerns about ObamaCare, and Senators Cruz and Lee begged to meet with me about them. But once they threatened to shut down the government, I told them ‘Hell, no!’” A lie along those lines would please Alaska GOPers by signaling his alleged “concerns” about O-Care and Alaska Democrats by punching Cruz and Lee. And showing that he was opposed to the shutdown would please both. Instead, he’s making the lesser claim that no one on the defund side ever tried to meet with him. That makes me think it’s true, and if it’s true, why is it true? What did defunders have to lose by feeling him out to see what he’d need to conceivably vote with Republicans against Reid’s amendment stripping the “defund” provisions out of the House bill? Remember, Reid could have lost as many as three Democrats on that and still passed it by simple majority, so he might have let Begich cross the aisle in order to protect himself with reddish Alaska voters. Why not try?
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
McCain should be returned to prison to stay forever for that comment. No more compromise or negotiation with those idiots. We can NOT keep going the way we’re going. The healthcare act is NOT going to work.
I’m glad Mccain outed himself as an Obama supporter.
Ofcourse Mccain didn’t vote for the Bush tax cuts but he has no problem voting to fund Obamacare.
FUJM
Amen to that.
There aren’t words to describe haw much I loath this despicable traitor. Although I try not to hate, my feelings for this person are exceeded only by my feelings for zero.
McCain — Go to HELL!!!
Dear Senator McCain, Have you finally lost your mind? I admire your service and respect you for what you endured in a POW camp. I'm concerned though that you have lost sight of your job in the Senate - in case you haven't heard it lately, it's to support Republican/Conservative values and to uphold the Constitution. I run out of fingers and toes trying to count how many times you have maligned other Republicans (actual conservatives) and do not need any fingers to count the times you have said something disparaging about the socialist, would be tyrants, Democrats. I can only assume that, 1. You have lost your mind. 2. That you are a socialist/aspiring tyrant yourself. You ran for President of the United States, so I assume you consider yourself a leader. Let me tell you a secret: bowing down and kissing harry Reid's ring is not leadership. Selling the American People down the stream because being a "maverick" means never having to say you're sorry for betraying your constituents, is not leadership. If you want to understand leadership and patriotism, study Ted Cruz and Mike Lee - they are leaders who love this nation and feel a real sense of responsibility and fealty to the United States Constitution. Please cease and desist your wacko-bird back-stabbing of the American people and do your damn job. Fight until your last breath to defeat the monstrosity called Obama Care. Push to follow the real laws of the land - like keeping illegals out of the country and sealing the border. Resist Harry reid and Barrack Obama with every shred of decency you can muster. If you are not up to it, kindly do the right thing and step down so we have a chance to find a conservative who has his brains all inj one place, to assume your seat. The next time you reach across the aisle, remember who the lying, immoral/amoral, back-stabbing SOBs are and withdraw your hand before the infection gets a better stronghold. Liberalism is a mental disorder and you seem to have caught it. Straighten up and remember what it was like to be a man or put yourself out to pasture. A concerned citizen...
I’ve disliked him since he decided to be a thorn in the Republican’s side in the early Bush years because he took the 2000 primary personally. He is a big part of the 10 year sunset of the Bush tax cuts because he adopted the left’s talking points about tax cuts for the wealthy, and provided the class warfare hammer for Obama to win and get reelected. He did the disastrous campaign reform bill. Now, the past four years, he has taken it to another level as the conservative’s biggest critic while ignoring the abusive actions of Harry Reid.
He has done as much damage to our nation as anyone on the left.
Same here. I found the guy to be unreliable and even unlikable a very long time ago.
I was mortified when he became our nominee in 2008. I remember saying over and over, "John McCain? John McCain?? John McCain???"
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