Congressman John Sweeney has been a busy guy. Many folks on the blogosphere know him from his infamous drunken photo-op at a frat house in New York. Then there’s Sweeney’s lobbyist skiing trips and defense of Tom DeLay. When his opponent, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand stood up and called Sweeney on his nonsense, Sweeney responded with patronizing sexism.

So, what does this have to do with John McCain? You guessed it, the Senator from Liberty is swinging by New York for a fundraiser with Sweeney. Let me get this straight: McCain’s shilling for a corrupt Congressman who parties with frat boys, goes on skiing retreats with lobbyists, votes the party line, and refers to his female opponent as “a pretty face”? Yep, looks like “The Straight-Talk Express” has left the station.

From the Washington Post, Senator John McCain describes his voting record and political ideology:

He says liberals need to understand that he’s not a man of the left, or even the center. “I haven’t changed. My record is the same on all issues, which is that of a conservative Republican. Not a liberal Republican, not a moderate Republican.”

Time for some strategy.  This quote should be the first words out of a Democrat’s mouth whenever someone mentions McCain is a moderate.

Bob Geiger over at Democrats.com has a great post ripping apart the myth of John McCain as a maverick. Go check it out ASAP.

Seems Steven Colbert agrees with us that John McCain is no maverick.  Speaking at the Correspondent’s Dinner in Washington DC, Colbert had this to say about Senator McCain:

John McCain is here. John McCain, John McCain, what a maverick. Somebody find out what fork he used on his salad, because I guarantee you it wasn’t a salad fork. He could have used a spoon! There’s no predicting him. So wonderful to see you coming back into the Republican fold. I have a summer house in South Carolina; look me up when you go to speak at Bob Jones University. So glad you’ve seen the light.

Truth hurts.

Today’s “Far-Right Friend” should be familiar. It’s Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, otherwise known as “Liar McTheocon.” This blog has previously mentioned Santorum’s sleaze, but Rick is really an endless source of wignuttery. First of all, there’s Santorum’s shameful record on the environment. Then there’s this little gem: 

The Beaver County Times tells us about Lloyd “Skip” Haswell, a Marine Corps veteran who was recently listed as a member of a group of “Veterans for Santorum.” It seems that Rick’s recent vote against an amendment to provide “an assured stream of funding for veterans health care,” and his failure to respond to Mr. Haswell’s inquiries about that vote, have caused Mr. Haswell to reconsider his support for Rick…Haswell said he’s been trying to get an answer from Santorum’s people on why the senator rejected the amendment, but his calls have been ignored. Consequently, he pulled out of the Veterans for Santorum, saying he can’t campaign for someone who “votes against veterans” then can’t take the time to explain himself. “The veterans deserve answers,” Haswell said,” and that’s all I’m asking for.”

By the way, if you want more on how ridiculously out of touch Santorum is, just stop by Santorum Exposed.

So, just to recap, McCain is endorsing and campaigning for a man who:

• Uses a “charity” as an illegal campaign slush fund
• Votes against the environment 95% of the time
• Votes against veterans benefits
• Has repeatedly resorted to bigoted hate speech

Meanwhile, McCain claims to be:

• A reformer
• An environmentalist
• An advocate for veterans
• Opposed to homophobic GOP activism

So, forgive me if I’m not exactly clear where McCain stands on…well…..anything.

This is part one of what I envision as an ongoing series on the candidates John McCain has endorsed and campaigned for. Contrary to his image as a “moderate maverick”, McCain has shown that he’s a party hack, willing to to anything it takes to placate the far-right base.

The first candidate: Michael Steele, running for Senate from Maryland. This is a guy who has compared stem cell research to the Holocaust. Meanwhile, most Americans support stem cell research. McCain himself has called for expanded stem cell research. So, for those Americans who support federal funding for stem cell research, is a vote for John McCain a vote for science? If McCain has his way, the Congress will have at least one more Senator opposed to saving the lives of countless Americans.

Also, it’s important to mention that Karl Rove has played a huge supporting role in Steele’s campaign. Apparently, “Turdblossom” is the one who talked him into running. Then, in the midst of the Plame allegations and investigation, Steele took Rove’s dirty money. Yeah, Steele seems like a far-right, Bush crazy. So why is the “moderate maverick” endorsing him?

By now, we all know how warm and fuzzy John McCain gets when he talks about Jerry Falwell. Now, it seems the good Reverend is reciprocating:

“By five minutes in, we’d gotten all the old stuff behind us and the air all cleared,” Falwell said. “And, you know, John McCain is a strong conservative. He’s pro-life. He’s strong national defense. He’s a national hero. His view on family is just where most conservative Christians’ views are.”

Well, folks, there you have it. John McCain and Jerry Falwell are in lockstep now. Gosh, politics is a lot easier without those pesky principles. 

Can’t believe I missed this. Seems that McCain promised to never back down from his criticism of Falwell:

Back in 2000, when McCain was asked whether he stood by his description of Falwell, he said, “I must not and will not retract anything that I said in that speech at Virginia Beach. It was carefully crafted, it was carefully thought out.” (Hardball, 3/1/00)

In other words, after promising not to retract his statements, McCain did exactly that and bowed to pressure from the far right.

This morning’s appearance on “Meet the Press” was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Viewers got to see John McCain actually remove his soul and hand it to Satan. Amazing:

RUSSERT: Do you believe that Jerry Falwell is still an agent of intolerance?

MCCAIN: No, I don’t. I think that Jerry Falwell can explain to you his views on this program when you have him on.

Unbelievable. The DNC has a new memo detailing McCain’s recent flip-flops:

WHAT MCCAIN STANDS FOR: THEN AND NOW

Abortion

THEN: McCain Opposed Overturning Roe: It Would Force Women To Seek Illegal Abortions. (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/20/99)

NOW: McCain Wouldn’t Be Bothered By Supreme Court Ban On Abortion, Would Sign South Dakota’s Abortion Ban. (CBS News, 1/25/06; ABC News, 3/29/06; ABC News, 2/26/06; NationalJournal.com, 2/28/06)

Evil

THEN: McCain Called Falwell “Evil Influence” on GOP. (Kansas City Star, 5/28/05)

NOW: McCain Met With Falwell To Lay Groundwork for 2008 Run And Agreed To Speak At Falwell’s Liberty University. (US News and World Report, 11/14/05; Lynchburg News & Advance, 3/28/06)

Tax Cuts

THEN: McCain Opposed Bush Tax Cuts. (Baltimore Sun, 5/27/01; Statement, 3/18/03)

NOW: McCain Voted For Bush Tax Cuts. (New York Times, 2/21/06)

Gay Marriage

THEN: McCain Opposed Federal Gay Marriage Ban. (Los Angeles Times, 1/25/05 3/8

NOW: McCain Said He’s Willing To Support A Federal Marriage Amendment. 1/8Meet the Press, 4/2/06)

Standing Up to Racism

THEN: McCain Condemned Bush For Failing to Denounce Racist Beliefs At Bob Jones University. (Fox, 2/24/00)

NOW: McCain Endorsed George Wallace Jr., Keynote Speaker at White Supremacist Group Gathering. (AP, 11/17/05; 6/6/05)

Creationism / Intelligent Design

THEN: McCain: Local Schools Should Decide on Teaching Creationism. (Times Union, 8/28/99)

NOW: McCain: “Young People Have the Right to Be Told” About Intelligent Design, Refused To Exclude It From Science Classes. (Courier Journal, 12/20/05; Arizona Daily Star, 8/28/05; NPR, 11/7/05)

Campaign Finance

THEN: McCain Was A Champion For Campaign Finance Reform. (New York Times, 10/22/01)

NOW: McCain Laying the Groundwork To Opt Out Of Campaign Finance System For ‘08 Campaign. (National Journal, 12/17/05; Hotline On Call, 12/16/05)

AND LET’S NOT FORGET LOBBYING REFORM

McCain Said He Voted Against Lobbying Reform Bill Because It Was “Weak”… “Senator John McCain… who has long pressed for tougher laws on lobbying, called the 1/8recently passed 3/8 bill ‘very, very weak.’” (New York Times, 3/30/06) But He Previously Rejected More Robust Lobbying Reform Bill. Previously when Feingold pushed a bill with “more robust disclosure of lobbyists’ activities,” McCain “had considered the idea, but viewed it as ‘too onerous’ on the lobbying community.” (The Hill, 3/8/06; San Francisco Chronicle, 1/18/06)

That memo, by the way, is really great at laying out why McCain is a two-faced liar. Americans are catching on to his little shell game, and my guess is that they won’t buy it in 2008.

Remember in 2000, when McCain declared himself independent of the Religious Right? He chastised the religious extremists that dominate the Republican party:

I am a pro-life, pro-family fiscal conservative, an advocate of a strong defense, and yet Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and a few Washington leaders of the pro-life movement call me an unacceptable presidential candidate. They distort my pro- life positions and smear the reputations of my supporters. Why? Because I don’t pander to them, because I don’t ascribe to their failed philosophy that money is our message…They are corrupting influences on religion and politics, and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America shame our faith, our party and our country…Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right…We are the party of Ronald Reagan, not Pat Robertson. (emphasis mine -DS)

Well, now it seems Ol’ Two-Face has changed his mind about all that. Yeah, he’s going to deliver the commencement address at Falwell’s Liberty Univery. Over at DailyKos, Georgia, from whom I’ve pretty much lifted this story, has some questions for McCain:

• Senator McCain, do you agree with Jerry Falwell that Muhammed, the prophet is Islam, is a “terrorist”?
• Senator McCain, do you agree with Jerry Falwell’s statement that “If you’re not a born-again Christian, you’re a failure as a human being”?
• Senator McCain, do you agree with Jerry Falwell’s statement tht “Blacks, Hispanics, women, etc. are God-ordained minorities who do indeed deserve minority status”?
• Senator McCain, do you agree with Jerry Falwell’s statement that “Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home”?
• Senator McCain, do you agree with Jerry Falwell’s statement that if the Antichrist did exist and were alive today, “of course he’ll be Jewish”?

So it’s official: John McCain, has sold his soul.