MoveOn and John McCain

I rarely read emails from MoveOn.org anymore. I pretty much agree with everything they stand for and am pretty aware of whatever they try to expose. However, they sent an email recently that cited ten things everyone should know about John McCain.

I had ignored this email initially until my friend Mary forwarded it to me this morning. It has some interesting points voters should consider, especially with the Democrats carrying on like they have. NPR has been reporting the disturbing trend of Obama and Clinton supporters considering McCain as an alternative if their candidate doesn't win the nomination. This would be a tragic choice as these ten facts illustrate. I have added my two-cents in italics and have linked the sources of information as well.

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):
1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws. Interesting in the year that race and gender are at the forefront of this election and the Republican candidate has a checkered past in both. Read #4.
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi." And so many people think that he would be the right choice during a time of war. I don't want his temper anywhere near that read phone or nuclear button that's rumored to be in the oval office. Check #7.
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban. I guess some torture is OK. I mean, he did have to live through the Bush years and there's that whole POW thing, but whatever.
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned." This is unacceptable. However, I'm sure some voters will vote for him only for this reason. It's enough for me to never vote for him or any other pro-life Republican.
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill. As someone who has worked with children and is expecting one of his own in the near future, I find this fact despicable. Also, it would have been one thing if he was rated low, but he's the worst. 6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations. Plus, he got all his wealth from Budweiser, one of the worst excuses for beer anywhere. I realize that all of the candidates are rich, but at least Obama and Clinton know what it's like to be marginalized.
7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." This goes along with #2.
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates. Some maverick. This and his wealth make him as bad as any other politician in DC. Of course, most politicians have too many ties to lobbyists, but McCain's supposed to be the "maverick" of Washington.
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult." When will these crazy right-wing Christians go away? I'm tired of such a small number of people having so much say in our government. I wish Jesus would come back and point out the error of their ways. Interesting how Obama had to answer for things his preacher said (which were at least mostly accurate) and McCain gets the free pass. Nice job media.
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year. He's like the anti-Gore. It's a good time to have a president that might actually care less about the environment than Bush.

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps makes him out to be. So forward this email to your personal network! And if you want stay in the loop on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here: http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/

I don't blame you if you choose to forgo the MoveOn link, but they bring up good points. No matter who wins the Democratic nomination we have to support them. We can't let McCain in. Be sure to share this with all your friends who claim to be independent and considering McCain in the fall. If your cousin is Libertarian, tell him to vote for Ron Paul. He is the Ralph Nader of the Right.