Demystifying McCain

Mark Green has this to say about John McCain:

Now that John McCain last week elaborated his economic and foreign policy views in major addresses, the weakness of his candidacy is clear: it's not that he'll be 72 if inaugurated but has a 72 year-old agenda. If you like gunboat diplomacy and pre-Depression laissez-faire economics, McCain is your bridge to the 19th Century.

You can read the rest of this excellent post here. We need to start focussing on the disastrous policy implications of a McCain presidency. The mainstream media prefers to stoke the fires of Obama/Clinton clashes, yet it is still possible to get out the message that McCain would be bad news for this country.

McCain's liability

Senator John McCain has a number of political liabilities as the presumptive Republican nominee. Yet my advice to the Democrats would be to focus sharply on one issue in particular. Sen. McCain has been a tireless and enthusiastic cheerleader for the war in Iraq. He is so far out of touch with American public opinion on this issue it is downright breathtaking. This unpopular war can of course be linked to other issues. The tremendously wasteful spending in Iraq is unquestionably a drain on our domestic economy. This spending also diverts money from homeland security. "Do you like pouring billions down the drain? If you do, thank John McCain!"

Grim milestone

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US military death toll in Iraq hit 4,000 after the slaying of four soldiers in a Baghdad bomb attack which the White House said on Monday had left President George W. Bush grieving.
The four troops died when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb while on patrol in south Baghdad late on Sunday, a US military statement said, adding that another soldier was wounded in the attack....

Vice President Dick Cheney said every casualty was a "loss" to be regretted.
"It may have a psychological effect on the public but it's a tragedy that we live in a kind of world where that happens," Cheney said in Jerusalem, his latest stop on a nine-day regional tour.

Dick Cheney is right to speak in terms of tragedy. The truth is we live in a kind of world where he, and his warmongering cronies, pushed us into an irresponsible military adventure without any proper planning for the aftermath of regime change in Iraq. It's a tragedy that Cheney/Bush look as if they'll run out the clock without answering for their crimes in impeachment hearings. The American people deserve better. We deserve to live in a kind of world in which our leaders honestly and steadfastly do the people's business, and preserve the Constitution.

All of this "grieving", and "regretting losses," would be a lot easier to take if Cheney/Bush weren't so clearly the authors of this very tragedy! I know that about 70% of the American public feel the same way, disgusted with all of this hypocrisy. November can't come soon enough!!

Congress and Retroactive Immunity

Today I feel compelled to point out that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can't be judged solely on her mistaken decision to "take impeachment of the table." On ABC news she told George Stephanopoulos:

"The bill that we had put forth really was based on what we call the McConnell principles, the principles that the director of national intelligence said were essential to keeping America safe. The president has a different view," Pelosi said. "The president knows that he has all the authority he needs to collect from the underlying FISA bill and the orders that are still in place.""Is he lying to the country?" Stephanopoulos asked."The president knows that he has all the authority he needs -- the underlying FISA bill and the orders he already has in place with the Protect America Act that passed earlier," Pelosi responded. "Certainly there needed to be modernizations to the original FISA bill to reflect the changes in technology, and the president knows that Democrats support the collection against these terrorists, wherever the point of collection is, if they fit the bill of who should be collected upon."Pelosi continued, "The president maintains that he has inherent authority to spy on anyone, and our bill is consistent with the law that says that FISA is the authority under which collections may take place. This was recognized in 1978, when President Carter signed a bill, written by Congress, placing the courts in charge of how intelligence is collected in the United States. The president rejects that and says, 'I can do whatever I want.'"

Pelosi and other House leaders deserve our thanks for standing firm on this issue. Now if only they could do the same on winding down the war in Iraq!

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House Judiciary Committee on Monday filed a lawsuit against White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers aimed at forcing them to provide information about the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.

The White House promptly labeled the suit "partisan theater."
The suit follows Attorney General Michael Mukasey's announcement last month that the Justice Department would not pursue criminal contempt charges against Miers and Bolten over their refusal to testify or provide documents to the House Judiciary Committee.

In a 36-page filing, attorneys for the House asked the U.S. District Court in Washington to compel Miers "forthwith to appear and testify before the committee" and to "enjoin Ms. Miers and Mr. Bolten forthwith to produce to the committee ... all responsive documents."
The filing said the documents demanded are "critical to the investigation" of White House political involvement in the firings.

The democrats involved in this are to be commended for their courage. Trying to restore the rule of law is far more than just "partisan theater." Indeed the patience shown, over many months, before taking this extraordinary step has been remarkable. I'm not optimistic this new action will bring the desired results, but it's certainly worth a shot.

It's too bad that more democrats aren't willing to entertain the possibility of impeachment proceedings against this unlawful regime in the White House. Now that's some partisan theater I'd be happy to watch!

Time to stand up!

Faust, over at the Daily Kos, has a good question for us:

Bush and Cheney want retroactive immunity for every crime they've committed, before they leave office. They will do whatever it takes to ensure their ass is covered and to keep precedent for future generations of maniac Conservatives. Is this Democratic Congress going to fiddle as the United States of America burns? Are we going to let it?

Many Congressional Democrats have expressed outrage over Bush's veto of a measure that would ban waterboarding. Yet they have to do more. Congress shouldn't just act as if this sort of disgraceful behavior is business as usual. Sadly, I don't see enough will to fight the good fight in Washington. That's why out here in the grassroots we need to hoot and holler all we can!!

Rhode Island Primary

The primary schedule was set up so that by the time those of us in lil' Rhody had our say everything would be settled and turnout would be light. Well turnout has been heavy... we'll have to see if Obama prevails over the establishment choice of Senator Clinton. Both campaigns ran impressive phone and even door-to-door canvassing operations. Neither candidate has the same appeal to me as John Edwards. That being said, I voted for Obama today because he seems the more progressive of the two left in the race.

I know I can't be the only one who wishes the general election would come tomorrow. It's sickening to see the Cheney/Bush regime run out the clock and escape accountability for their crimes. Whoever is our next President, he or she will have an awful mess to clean up!