John McCain's Sour Grapes Doctrine

The Politics of Hate and Revenge

I've been obsessing about John McCain lately - but only because he's such a vile, little man. You don't have to look very hard to see through McCain's thin skin into his black heart to recognize that holding a grudge is Johnny Maverick's forte.

I mean, seriously, what else is this guy good at? Foreign policy? Hardly. Just because you were a war hero doesn't make you an expert at all things foreign policy. Unless that sole policy position is war escalation no matter the circumstance. Rachel Maddow had a great piece on this earlier in the week, showing McCain's response to foreign affairs over the years. 

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But McCain's biggest flaw, of a myriad of flaws is that he is a sore loser. He ran for President in 2000 and after winning the New Hampshire primary, was attacked with a George W. Bush whisper campaign about fathering an illegitimate black child. That child happened to be McCain's adopted daughter from Bangladesh. After Bush won the nomination and eventually became President, John McCain adopted a policy of revenge. What I call his Sour Grapes Doctrine.

In hindsight, what looked like McCain opposing Bush policies and voting against them for what Democrats at the time assumed were the right reasons, it was all a matter of getting back at the dweeb who beat him in the 2000 primary, especially after those vicious smear tactics.

Steve Kornacki: "...McCain’s various self-reinventions as a politician are best understood as acts of sore loser-dom. A decade ago, for instance, he took up a sudden interest in closing the gun show loophole, enacting a patients’ bill of rights, and stopping tax cuts for the wealthy. Not at all coincidentally, this came just after he’d lost a bruising campaign against George W. Bush. Bush and his team had been rough – very, very rough – on McCain, and McCain had deemed them unworthy victors. His sudden cooperation with Democrats in 2001 was his version of payback, giving the new Bush White House fits."

Of course, that all ended with 9/11 and by 2004, McCain was ignoring the swiftboating of another war hero, John Kerry, while supporting the re-election of Dubya, complete with head-on-shoulder man hugs. And apparently being presented a birthday cake while a major US city drowned is all you need to let bygones be bygones. Sorry about that bastard black baby thing... Here's a cake!

Fast forward four quick years and this time John McCain wins the Republican nomination but botches the general election while singing "Bomb Iran, "picking The Hockey Mom From Wasilla as his unfortunate running mate, suspending his campaign to sit in on a financial Wall Street crisis meeting where he promptly adds nothing by keeping his mouth shut, and referring to his opponent as "that one" in a debate.

But since he's had so much practice at grudge politics, McCain tacks to the right and decides to become a thorn in President Obama's side as he did with Bush, to the point of not just accusing US Ambassador Susan Rice of being incompetent and "not very bright" by repeating intelligence reports given to her by the CIA which happened to be vague and still pending information (intelligence reports that McCain himself probably had a copy of),  but threatening to filibuster not only her possible nomination as the next Secretary of State, but ANY nomination President Obama would propose to succeed Hillary Clinton, because he wants answers on what happened in Benghazi. And he'll even miss classified briefings about what happened in Benghazi to hold a press conference to demand answers on what happened in Benghazi!

John McCain is a vindictive, curmudgeonly, sour little prick who can't get over the fact that he blew his chance. And now he's using his elected office to continue an obstructionist strategy, despite seeming more and more unhinged. If only he'd use his powers for good instead of pettiness.

ADDING... Here's Steve Kornacki's rant on The Cycle. It's worth watching if you can stomach S.E. Cupp... which is not an easy task.

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Douchebag of the Week: Ron Christie

I've always thought Ron Christie was a complete idiot not so much for lack of intelligence, but for the fact that he could spew GOP talking points without a care in the world as to their validity. Yes, I know that's his job, but people should beware of those who can so easily talk bullshit... but I suppose that guys like Christie have to believe what they say to a point, else not be convincing. I do have to admit however, that he has been pretty laid back over the last few weeks while waiting for the inevitable to happen on January 20th. Christie was eating crow and surprisingly taking it like a man.

And then yesterday he couldn't take it anymore and just lost it. On Hardball with Chris Matthews, Christie was defending, or rather rewriting, the Bush legacy and took umbrage at Eric Alterman's characterization of George W. Bush being a liar (6:35 mark).

And then incredibly, after Matthews asked him about the 2004 election and there was crosstalk asking why Bush didn't defend Kerry, a veteran who served with honor unlike Dubya himself, there Christie was in all his lazy-eyed glory defending Bush and separating him from the swiftboating of John Kerry in 2004, when he gave us this little gem:

"You name once instance where the Swift Boaters lied." (10:03 mark)

Alterman does a nice job of giving Christie an instance of a Bush lie, but by that time, Christie is on to the question of the Swift Boaters and refuses the answer, complete with grade schooler comments like "nice try" and "I'll give you an 'E' for Effort."

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Republican Strategist Ron Christie: Douchebag of the Week.

Senator Al Franken!

MINNEAPOLIS (REUTERS) -Democrat Al Franken will be declared the winner of the tight U.S. Senate contest in Minnesota, emerging from a ballot recount with a slim margin over Republican Norm Coleman, state officials said on Sunday.

But the party of smaller government wants the courts to continue to intervene until something falls in their favor. Remember 2000?

But Coleman, the incumbent, has asked Minnesota's supreme court to require that a few hundred additional absentee ballots be included in the recount -- and he could then ask the court to investigate the contest all over again.

...Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, [who's job it was to oversee the recount process] said unless the supreme court acts on Coleman's request and orders more ballots to be counted, he will reconvene the state's Canvassing Board on Monday to certify Franken as the winner of the November 4 contest.

Even so, Coleman's campaign said it will likely challenge the result, which would require the state supreme court's chief justice to appoint three judges to investigate its claims.

Now of course you know that the wingnuts will be calling this a "stolen" election because... well... because every eligible vote was counted! Plus they need a new weekly thing to bitch about. But the fact is that if the Minnesota Supreme Court becomes involved and overturns the hand recount required by the state in an election this close, it will be the exact opposite. Franken will be the one who'll have gotten robbed. It makes you wonder what these last four years would have been like had John Kerry stuck to his "every vote must be counted" rhetoric and become President in 2004.

Franken is supposed to be certified at 2:30pm this afternoon, with Republican Senators vowing they will not seat him and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is asking Coleman to concede.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say, "Congratulations, Senator Franken."

McCain Bashing - Kerry Strikes Back

Here's John Kerry's speech from the Democratic National Convention... no, not 2004's speech, this year's speech, in DENVER! If Kerry had spoken like this in 2004, we'd most likely be re-electing him today.



H/T to Bob Cesca for putting up this video so soon after his awesome liveblogging, which you should partake of tomorrow if you can. Lots of fun and great lines in the comments section.

SMACKDOWN!

JOHN KERRY: “I don’t know if you know this,” joked Kerry, “John McCain is looking for someone for vice president who has more economic expertise than he does. So congratulations to all of you, you’re on the short list.”

UPDATE (6:45pm) - DOUBLE SMACKDOWN!

Obama: Republicans take pride in being ignorant.



This is what is needed. Ridicule the Republican talking heads for their inane statements and turn the table. If only more Democrats and pundits would do this, we'd be much better off. I'm tired of hearing the GOP talking points from talking heads in the media and not hear factual rebuttal from the supposed Democratic representatives.

This was an awesome comeback and in no way should Obama back off this statement when the Republican barage of "Obama thinks Americans are ignorant" meme pops up in response. No, not Americans, just GOP shills and politicians.

UPDATE (8:50pm) - The McCain campaign responds:

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds shot back by criticizing Obama for not calling on Congress to convene an emergency session to discuss energy solutions.
“Instead of calling on his party’s leadership to return to Congress and carve out an ‘all of the above’ approach to America’s energy crisis, Barack Obama would rather tell commuters to inflate their car tires,” Bounds said.

See? They just won't let bullshit arguments go.

I Miss Tim Russert

Watching Meet The Press this week was an eye opening experience as I sat dumbfounded by the lack of moderation by Tom Brokaw. One thing that you could always count on when watching MTP with Russert at the helm was an informed debate, thoughtful questions and a chance for the guest to respond. None of that was on hand this past Sunday.

Joe Lieberman and John Kerry were on as surrogates to their respective political parties; Kerry for Obama and Lieberman for McCain. Yeah, I don't care that Holy Joe has an "ID" after his name - there's no such thing as an "Independent Democrat."

From the second Brokaw asked his first question, "Do you think running a campaign ad in which you feature Britney Spears and Paris Hilton with Barack Obama is respectful?" and Lieberman answered "I do," I was thankful that I didn't have anything in my hand or else I'd be getting a new TV today. I knew I was in for a bucket load of bullshit from then on. An to tell the truth, I expected it from Lieberman; it's become his normal routine. What I didn't expect was that when it was Kerry's turn to speak, he was interrupted by Lieberman more than once with no objection from Brokaw, and in an attempt to get to as many questions as possible, Brokaw would rush along and leave the "debate" unresolved.

It was a piss poor attempt at moderating and made me realize the talent that Russert had when sitting at that table.

9/11 Billboard. Classy.

So what genius thought this was a good idea?

"A controversial billboard in Orange County has a picture of the burning World Trade Center and the message, "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat." The man who paid for the ad says he's trying to help Republicans, but officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate.


...A controversial billboard in Orange County has a picture of the burning World Trade Center and the message, "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat." The man who paid for the ad says he's trying to help Republicans, but officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate."


Awesome. Mike Meehan sells his soul to the devil for $5 CDs. But of course this is what they do, invoking 9/11 to create an atmosphere of fear, sport purple band-aids to disparage a Vietnam war hero, and insist you "know how to win wars" when the only war you were involved in saw you shot down and a prisoner of war for five and a half years.

(H/T C&L)

John Kerry Backs Obama; Attacks Clinton

2004 Democratic Presidential nominee Senator John Kerry endorsed Barack Obama today in Charleston, South Carolina in front of 1000 Obama supporters at an outdoor rally at the College of Charleston.

It didn't take long before the arrows flew at Senator Hillary Clinton.

Asked about Clinton’s argument that talking change is different than producing change, Kerry said,“[Obama] produced one of the most significant ethics reform bills we passed. He has been a legislator longer than Hillary Clinton.” And then this zinger: “Health care didn’t pass in 1994 if I recall.”

John Kerry: Fight Against Disinformation

From Kerry's Huffington Post Blog:

There's a very strange dynamic at play right now. ... I see an America that is sick and tired of politicians in Washington who refuse to change course in Iraq; an America that doesn't believe the words that comes out of Dick Cheney's mouth about everything from escalation in Iraq to global climate change; an America that wants our troops taken care of and knows that George Bush's policy has not just been a failure, but an unmitigated disaster of arrogance and isolation from day one.

We all need to speak up and protect our leaders when they speak their mind. Minutes after [Cheney] let loose with a steady stream of pejoratives about Harry Reid, I hit back at Dick Cheney. And I will continue to do so. It's important ... because if we don't stand up for our leaders no one will. This isn't about policy intricacies or a Democrat's syntax, it's about character - the character of a good man, Harry Reid, and the character of our Party which needs to stand up when one of our own is unfairly attacked.

And the worst part is, the whole attack is based on a completely out-of-context quote. This is what Harry Reid really said, "And as long as we follow the President's path in Iraq, the war is lost. But there is still a chance to change course - and we must change course." Any questions?...

I ask you to join me in hitting back. ...I set up a page on my site defending Harry Reid, and calling attention to Dick Cheney's long run of, yes, misleading and uninformed comments on Iraq. And, most of all, calling out the failure of this administration to make us safe.

Because that's what they're really trying to hide. ...We can't let them get away with it. We need to take the fight to them, and we can start by letting the media know that when it comes to Harry Reid speaking from his heart or Dick Cheney speaking from both sides of his mouth, we'll take Harry Reid's heart any day. Write letters to your local paper, call in to radio shows, write emails to the national media centers. These things make an enormous difference. I'll continue to speak out at every opportunity, and I ask you to join me.

Bush The Deceitful

An abuse of power to the Nth degree.

President Bush has appointed Sam Fox as Ambassador to Belgium. If you don't know who Sam Fox is, he was Chimpy's nominee for said appointment back in January. During his Senate Confirmation Hearing in February however, he hit a bit of a snag when questions arose on why he donated $50,000 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. You remember them, don't you? They're the lying scumbags who smeared John Kerry during his Presidential campaign in 2004.

So there is Sam Fox, sweating in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, answering questions asked by... John Kerry, who is on the committee. Chickens coming back to roost anyone?

Well, knowing Fox didn't have the votes was just a bit too much to take for Curious George and on March 28th (just seven days ago) he withdrew Fox's nomination. So now what does this sneaky, evil, criminal son-of-a-bitch do? He waits for Congress to go on a one week recess and then APPOINTS SAM FOX Ambassador to Belgium!

"We view the recess appointment of Mr. Fox as a clear abuse of the President's recess appointment power," three Democratic senators wrote in a letter to the Government Accountability Office, Congress' auditing agency.

Apparently Bush thinks that this is a dictatorship, not a democracy. Talk about brass balls! The Democratic senators were outraged, and asked the Government Accountability Office Thursday, "If the U.S. Senate defeats the nomination of Mr. Fox, would Mr. Fox's recess appointment continue through the current session of Congress, or would it be terminated?"

But that's a longshot as Bush had done this before with the 2002 blocked nomination of Otto Reich as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Senator Chris Dodd blocked that nomination and the Chimp-Man gave Reich the job as a recess appointment. The GAO then cited the US Constitution in Bush's favor. Ironic isn't it?

And to add insult to injury, of course Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, (The "I" must stand for "imbecile") the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney "hailed the appointment." Why wouldn't they? It's just another end-around to subvert the checks and balances of the Constitution that Bush hides behind when it's in his favor, but disregards when it is not.