The McCain Campaign is doing all it can to portray Barack Obama as a "flip-flopper," taking a page from the playbook of the 2004 campaign against John Kerry ("“I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it”). They stumbled across this tactic a few days ago when Obama made a statement that after he visits Iraq later in the Summer he might "revise" his Iraq timetable.
Truth is, I hope the McCain Campaign uses this tactic. Because an argument could be made that he's the king of the flip-floppers. One writer has produced a whopping 61 policy reversals. Here they are:
This comes from a blog titled:
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16124.html#more-16124"Jukebox John changes his tune every few minutes"
National Security Policy1. 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 Policy7. McCain was for kicking Russia out of the G8
before he was against it.
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 Policy14. 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 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.”
17. 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.
18. McCain was against expanding the GI Bill
before he was for it.
Domestic Policy19. McCain defended “
privatizing” Social Security. Now he says he’s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)
20. McCain
wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn’t.
21. McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel
at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
22. He argued
the NRA should not have a role in the Republican Party’s policy making. Now he believes the opposite.
23. 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.
24. McCain is both
for and against earmarks for Arizona.
25. 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.
26. McCain went from saying gay marriage should be
allowed, to saying gay marriage
shouldn’t be allowed.
27. McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.,
before he supported it.
28. McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he’s
pro-ethanol.
29. McCain was both for and against state promotion of the
Confederate flag.
30.
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.
Economic Policy31. McCain was against Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy before he was
for them.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. McCain thought
the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.
36. 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.”
37. McCain has changed his entire economic worldview
on multiple occasions.
38. McCain believes Americans are both
better and worse off economically than they were before Bush took office.
Energy Policy39. McCain supported the
moratorium on coastal drilling ; now he’s against it.
40. McCain recently announced his strong opposition to a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was
perfectly comfortable with the idea.
41. McCain endorsed a cap-and-trade policy with a mandatory emissions cap. In mid-June, McCain announced he
wants the caps to voluntary.
42. 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.
43. McCain supported the
Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn’t.
Immigration Policy44. McCain was a co-sponsor of
the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants’ kids who graduate from high school. Now he’s against it.
45. On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February 2008 that he would
vote against his own bill.
46. 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 47. McCain said he would “not impose
a litmus test on any nominee.” He used to promise the opposite.
48. McCain believes 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.
49. McCain went from saying he
would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade to saying the
exact opposite.
Campaign, Ethics, and Lobbying Reform50. McCain supported
his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997. Now he doesn’t.
51. 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.
52. McCain supported a campaign-finance bill, which bore his name, on strengthening the public-financing system. In June 2007, he
abandoned his own legislation.
Politics and Associations53. 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.)
54. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist
Rod Parsley. Now he doesn’t.
55. McCain says he
considered and did not consider joining John Kerry’s Democratic ticket in 2004.
56. McCain is both
for and against attacking Barack Obama over his former pastor at his former church.
57. 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.
58. 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.
59. McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University
before he was for it.
60. 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.
61. 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.
So, Republicans, I hope you continue to use this charge against Barack Obama. Like Steve Benen says, "For John McCain to accuse anyone of excessively changing policy positions is a bit like George W. Bush attacking someone's grammar. Or Dick Cheney whining about a political figure being overly secretive."
