John ‘08 McCain is Full of It

The Straight Talk Express bypass honesty to hackville.

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) last month, recounting a conversation with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ):

The day before we begin the debate on the Iraq bills, he pulled me aside on the Senate floor and said, Jim, we do not want the situation we had in the Vietnam War. We do not want one side impugning the patriotism of the other side.

McCain today:

I was very disappointed to see Senator Obama and Senator Clinton embrace the policy of surrender by voting against funds to support our brave men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This vote may win favor with MoveOn and liberal primary voters, but it’s the equivalent of waving a white flag to al Qaeda.

While in hackville, Senator McCain decides to misinform the American people about this Democratic opponents.

Which of these comes closest to your opinion? 1. Congress should block all funding for the war in Iraq no matter what; 2. Congress should allow funding, but only on the condition that the U.S. sets benchmarks for progress and the Iraqi government are meeting those goals; OR 3. Congress should allow all funding for the war without any benchmark conditions.

Block all 13%
Fund with benchmarks 69%
Allow all 15%

Does the Senator believe nearly 70% of the American public supports waving white flag?

Quote of the Day

Senator Jim Webb of Virginia:

"I worked very hard to try to persuade the Democratic leadership to include clear, restrictive language in this Supplemental. I did not succeed, and was disappointed in many of the provisions that remained. However, we are working under the reality that, on the issue of Iraq, this Senate does not have a Democratic majority. From the outset, we are a minority of 49, given Senator Lieberman’s position on the war. This reality dictates our conduct. On the one hand, I find myself unable to vote against a measure that is necessary to fund our troops who are now in harm’s way. On the other, I will not relent from my continuing efforts to bring this occupation to an end."

The Senator does make a good point. The Democratic Party is actually in the minority in the Senate because Senator Joe Lieberman is just a Democrat in name only. But, the Senator still should have voted ‘No’.

Top Five

A quick rundown of the posts I have read during my travels around the series of tubes.

- Think Progress: House Minority Leader John Boehner has a breakdown on the House floor. If you don’t want to see a grown man cry, don’t click on the link.

- Election Central: Senator McCain takes a break from the campaign trail to show up at this day job.

- Political Wire: In the CBS News/New York Times poll, 72% of the Americans people believe the country is on the wrong track.

- MyDD: Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton vote "No" on the Iraq supplemental bill.

- Sportbale: This man was truly a fanatic of the Oakland Raiders. Its one thing to be a diehard fan of a team, but this deranged person took it to a whole new level.

The Horror, The Horror.

It is becoming a sad reply. President Bush plays the fear card and Democrats running scared. During this morning press conference, President Bush basically told reporters if you don’t support me and my policies your kids will die.

Asked by MSNBC's David Gregory why anyone should view him as credible on the war, Bush gave an answer that included this about the terrorists:

"They are a threat to your children, David."

And in response to The New York Times's Jim Rutenberg, who asked why Bin Laden is still at large, Bush gave an answer that included this about terrorism:

"It's a danger to your children, Jim."

President Bush has no creditability left. The Iraq war lead by President Bush and supported by Republican in Congress, along with weak-kneed Democrats, has been disastrous. It is time to start bringing our troops home.

But, what do the Democrats do?

Democrats said they did not relish the prospect of leaving Washington for a Memorial Day break — the second recess since the financing fight began — and leaving themselves vulnerable to White House attacks that they were again on vacation while the troops were wanting. That criticism seemed more politically threatening to them than the anger Democrats knew they would draw from the left by bowing to Mr. Bush.

Oh wait, it gets worst.

“The problem is that we have to provide money for the troops, and if we don’t, the Democrats will be blamed,” added Rep. James P. Moran, D-Va., a war opponent. “Bush has the bully pulpit, so he will define who is responsible.”

Oh my goodness, lets not stand up for the American people and the troops because the formidable Republicans and President Bush will attacks us. Pathetic. What the Democrats in Congress fail to understand is that people hate Bush and hate the Iraq war. Every single time the President Bush open is mouth his poll ratings decrease. They are going to attack the Democratic Party no matter what Iraq funding bill becomes law. Any Democrat who thinks that voting for this bill will save themselves criticism and being called “weak on defense" or "soft on terrorism" or accuse of "not supporting the troops" is delusional. The GOP only has fear left.

In 2006, the American people voted for change and Congressional Democrats just fail to give it to them.

Quote of the Day

Former Sen. John Edwards:

"Congress should send the president the same bill he vetoed again and again until he realizes he has no choice but to start bringing our troops home,"

I just made the same exact point the other day.

Illinois House Approves Teen Driving Bill

Chicago Tribue:

Without a single dissenting vote, the Illinois House on Wednesday sent to the governor one of the nation's toughest sets of teen driving restrictions -- including a tripling of the duration of the learner's permit phase -- in a package experts say should reduce the heartbreaking No. 1 killer of teens.

"This bill is about the safety of 16-year-old drivers everywhere in the state of Illinois," said Rep. John D'Amico (D-Chicago), the House sponsor. He added that the bill "has been long overdue. I think ... we're going to see a lot of states throughout our country duplicate what we've done." [..]

It also would double the length of time for passenger limits on 16- and 17-year-old drivers and extend night driving restrictions on them. Parents would be required to attend certain traffic court hearings with their teen driver. Currently, there are about 300,000 Illinois teens whom the law could affect.

What do you think is this legislation to relax, strict or not needed?

IL-14: Rep. Hastert may call it Quits

Rep. Dennis Hastert will decide soon if he going to retire.

Hastert, 65, is considering retiring, said chief of staff Mike Stokke. "I think that is a possibility," Stokke said.

Stokke said Hastert "believes he needs to let people know by the next recess," referring to a congressional break in August.

According to Wurfwhile, his former Democratic opponent in 2006 John Laesch will make another run. Are we going to have a rematch?

My guess would be no. Illinois 14th Congressional District mostly like would be an open seat in 2008, the Republican incumbent Hastert will not run and Democrats are already lining up to make a run at the seat. It’s going to be a contested Democratic primary, John Laesch would not go in as the early favored or with a big campaign war chest. It’s still early, but as of right now I would vote for State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia in the Democratic primary.