Tuesday, August 19, 2008

McCain's Flip-Flop Flim Flammery

Thanks to Steve Benen at the Carpetbagger Report for this comprehensive list of McCain's flip-flops. As Steve says:

...there’s nothing offensive about a political figure changing his or her mind once in a while. Policy makers come to one conclusion, they gain more information, and then they reach a different conclusion. That is, to be sure, a good thing — it reflects a politician with an open mind and a healthy intellectual curiosity. Better to have a leader who changes his or her mind based on new information than one who stubbornly sticks to outmoded policy positions, regardless of facts or circumstances.

So why do McCain’s flip-flops matter? Because all available evidence suggests his reversals aren’t sincere, they’re cynically calculated for political gain. This isn’t indicative of an open mind; it’s actually indicative of a character flaw. And given the premise of McCain’s presidential campaign, it’s an area in desperate need of scrutiny.

So here is a list of 74, yes - SEVENTY FOUR - McCain flip-flops put together by Benen complete with researchable links for verification. If you see one he's missed, contact him and let him know.


National Security Policy

1. McCain thought Bush’s warrantless-wiretap program
circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.

2. McCain insisted that everyone, even “terrible killers,” “the worst kind of scum of humanity,” and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, “deserve to have some adjudication of their cases,” even if that means “releasing some of them.” McCain now
believes the opposite.

3. He
opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.”

4. In February 2008, McCain
reversed course on prohibiting waterboarding.

5. McCain was for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay
before he was against it.

6. When Barack Obama talked about going after terrorists in Pakistani mountains with predators, McCain criticized him for it. He’s since come to the
opposite conclusion.

Foreign Policy

7. McCain was for kicking Russia out of the G8
before he was against it. Now, he’s for it again.

8. McCain supported moving “
towards normalization of relations” with Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.

9. McCain believed the U.S. should
engage in diplomacy with Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.

10. McCain believed the U.S. should
engage in diplomacy with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.

11. McCain is both for and against a “
rogue state rollback” as a focus of his foreign policy vision.

12. McCain used to champion the
Law of the Sea convention, even volunteering to testify on the treaty’s behalf before a Senate committee. Now he opposes it.

13. McCain was against
divestment from South Africa before he was for it.

Military Policy

14. McCain recently claimed that he was the “greatest critic” of Rumsfeld’s failed Iraq policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the same strategy as “a mission accomplished.” In March 2004, he said, “I’m confident
we’re on the right course.” In December 2005, he said, “Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.”

15. McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq
on multiple occasions, concluding, on multiple occasions, that a Korea-like presence is both a good and a bad idea.

16. McCain was against additional U.S. forces in Afghanistan
before he was for it.

17. McCain said before the war in Iraq, “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” Four years later, McCain said he
knew all along that the war in Iraq war was “probably going to be long and hard and tough.”

18. McCain has repeatedly said it’s a dangerous mistake to tell the “enemy” when U.S. troops would be out of Iraq. In May, McCain announced that most American troops would be home from Iraq
by 2013.

19. McCain was against expanding the GI Bill
before he was for it.

20. McCain staunchly opposed Obama’s Iraq withdrawal timetable, and even blasted Mitt Romney for having referenced the word during the GOP primaries. In July, after Iraqi officials endorsed Obama’s policy, McCain said a 16-month calendar sounds like “
a pretty good timetable.”

Domestic Policy

21. McCain defended “
privatizing” Social Security. Now he says he’s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)

22. On Social Security, McCain said
he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Soon after, asked about a possible increase in the payroll tax, McCain said there’s “nothing that’s off the table.”

23. McCain
wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn’t.

24. McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel
at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.

25. He argued
the NRA should not have a role in the Republican Party’s policy making. Now he believes the opposite.

26. In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs to cut underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses and provide resources for public health programs. Now,
McCain opposes a $0.61-per-pack tax increase, won’t commit to supporting a regulation bill he’s co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris’ former lobbyist as his senior campaign adviser.

27. McCain is both
for and against earmarks for Arizona.

28. McCain’s first mortgage plan was premised on the notion that homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn’t be “rewarded” for acting “irresponsibly.” His second mortgage plan took largely the
opposite position.

29. McCain went from saying gay marriage should be
allowed, to saying gay marriage shouldn’t be allowed.

30. McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.,
before he supported it.

31. McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he’s
pro-ethanol.

32. McCain was both for and against state promotion of the
Confederate flag.

33.
In 2005, McCain endorsed intelligent design creationism, a year later he said the opposite, and a few months after that, he was both for and against creationism at the same time.

34. And on gay adoption, McCain initially said he’d rather let orphans
go without families, then his campaign reversed course, and soon after, McCain reversed back.

35. In the Senate, McCain opposed a variety of measures on equal pay for women, and endorsed the Supreme Court’s Ledbetter decision. In July, however,
McCain said, “I’m committed to making sure that there’s equal pay for equal work. That …is my record and you can count on it.”

36. McCain was against
fully funding the No Child Left Behind Act before he was for it.

37. McCain was for affirmative action
before he was against it.

Economic Policy

38. McCain was against Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy before he was
for them.

39. John McCain initially argued that economics is not an area of expertise for him, saying, “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues; I still need to be educated,” and “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” He now falsely denies ever having made these remarks and insists that he has a “
very strong” understanding of economics.

40. McCain vowed, if elected, to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term. Soon after, he decided he would
no longer even try to reach that goal. And soon after that, McCain abandoned his second position and went back to his first.

41. McCain said in 2005 that he opposed the tax cuts because they were “
too tilted to the wealthy.” By 2007, he denied ever having said this, and falsely argued that he opposed the cuts because of increased government spending.

42. McCain thought
the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.

43. McCain pledged in February 2008 that he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Specifically, McCain was asked if he is a “‘read my lips’ candidate, no new taxes, no matter what?” referring to George H.W. Bush’s 1988 pledge. “No new taxes,” McCain responded. Two weeks later,
McCain said, “I’m not making a ‘read my lips’ statement, in that I will not raise taxes.”

44. McCain has changed his entire economic worldview
on multiple occasions.

45. McCain believes Americans are both
better and worse off economically than they were before Bush took office.

Energy Policy

46. McCain supported the
moratorium on coastal drilling ; now he’s against it.

47. McCain recently announced his strong opposition to a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was
perfectly comfortable with the idea.

48. McCain endorsed a cap-and-trade policy with a mandatory emissions cap. In mid-June, McCain announced he
wants the caps to voluntary.

49. McCain explained his belief that a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax would provide an immediate economic stimulus. Shortly thereafter, he argued
the exact opposite.

50. McCain supported the
Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn’t.

51. McCain was for
national auto emissions standards before he was against them.

Immigration Policy

52. McCain was a co-sponsor of
the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants’ kids who graduate from high school. In 2007, he announced his opposition to the bill. In 2008, McCain switched back.

53. On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February 2008 that he would
vote against his own bill.

54. In April, McCain promised voters that he would secure the borders “before proceeding to other reform measures.” Two months later, he
abandoned his public pledge, pretended that he’d never made the promise in the first place, and vowed that a comprehensive immigration reform policy has always been, and would always be, his “top priority.”

Judicial Policy and the Rule of Law

55. McCain said he would “not impose
a litmus test on any nominee.” He used to promise the opposite.

56. McCain’s position was that the telecoms should be forced to explain their role in the administration’s warrantless surveillance program
as a condition for retroactive immunity. He used to believe the opposite.

57. McCain went from saying he
would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade to saying the exact opposite.

58. In June, McCain rejected the idea of a trial for Osama bin Laden, and thought Obama’s reference to Nuremberg was a misread of history. A month later, McCain argued
the exact opposite position.

59. In June, McCain described the Supreme Court’s decision in Boumediene v. Bush was “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.” In August, he
reversed course.

Campaign, Ethics, and Lobbying Reform

60. McCain supported
his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997. Now he doesn’t.

61. In 2006, McCain sponsored legislation to require grassroots lobbying coalitions to reveal their financial donors. In 2007, after receiving “feedback” on the proposal, McCain told far-right activist groups that he
opposes his own measure.

62. McCain supported a campaign-finance bill, which bore his name, on strengthening the public-financing system. In June 2007, he
abandoned his own legislation.

63. In May 2008, McCain approved a ban on lobbyists working for his campaign. In July 2008, his campaign
reversed course and said lobbyists could work for his campaign.

Politics and Associations

64. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist
John Hagee. Now he doesn’t. (He also believes his endorsement from Hagee was both a good and bad idea.)

65. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist
Rod Parsley. Now he doesn’t.

66. McCain says he
considered and did not consider joining John Kerry’s Democratic ticket in 2004.

67. McCain is both
for and against attacking Barack Obama over his former pastor at his former church.

68. McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as “an agent of intolerance” in 2002, but then decided to
cozy up to the man who said Americans “deserved” the 9/11 attacks.

69. In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending “dirty money” to help finance Bush’s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April, McCain
reached out to the Wylys for support.

70. McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University
before he was for it.

71. McCain
decided in 2000 that he didn’t want anything to do with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, believing he “would taint the image of the ‘Straight Talk Express.’” Kissinger is now the Honorary Co-Chair for his presidential campaign in New York.

72. McCain believed powerful right-wing activist/lobbyist Grover Norquist was “corrupt, a shill for dictators, and (with just a dose of sarcasm) Jack Abramoff’s gay lover.” McCain now considers Norquist a
key political ally.

73. McCain was for presidential candidates giving speeches in foreign countries
before he was against it.

74. McCain has been both
for and against considering a pro-choice running mate for the Republican presidential ticket.

(H/T Kiko's House for the pic.)

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