More on the Character of John McCain

While this site does have a tendancy to go off the deep end with some truly fringe ideas there are in this mud some true pearls which we must examine about the man who wants to be our next President.

 

McCain, however, does not think so highly of the POW/MIA families and activists who openly challenge the U.S. government's POW/MIA policy, many of whom walked the halls of Congress during the Vietnam War years demanding America's prisoners of war, including POW McCain, not be forgotten.

McCain, as a member of the 1992 Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, took the lead in demanding a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the POW/MIA activists and their organizations. He accused the activists of fraud because in some of their fund-raising literature the activists claimed the U.S. government knowingly left U.S. POWs behind after the Vietnam War and that some remain alive today.

McCain openly attacked the activists telling the press, "The people who have done these things are not zealots in a good cause. They are the most craven, most cynical and most despicable human beings to ever run a scam." The Justice Department did investigate the POW/MIA activists and their organizations and found no reason to charge any POW/MIA activist.

 

John McCain then attacked ordinary Americans for lobbying congress on an issue they believed in. He accused them of committing criminal acts and tried to lean the force of the US government on them. Many of these same people fought for John McCain and his brothers in Hanoi when they were POWs. Did John McCain say "If there were POWS there we would join with you but there is no evidence that there are" if he did we would see a demonstration of character and class from John McCain. Here we see the same John McCain we saw when republicans opposed him on Campaign Finance Reform, Global Warming, And Amnesty for illegal immigrants.

they even paint the picture of John McCain's signature hated issue amongst Republicans (McCain-Feingold) as more crass oppertunism for John McCain

"Republican Sen. John McCain reported a net worth of at least $830,705 but possibly as much as $1.2 million or more, excluding personal residences . . . McCain listed his wife, Cindy, as the source of most of his assets. . . the bulk of McCain's assets consisted of stock in three Glendale firms - Hensley & Co., a beer distributorship headed by his father-in-law; Western Leasing Co., which leases trucks and equipment; and Eagle Enterprises, which invests in real estate and stock." The Phoenix Gazette - May 19, 1987

"So why has Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., gone to unprecedented lengths to block reform of the Senate campaign finance system? Why does he oppose letting this important matter even come to a vote? Perhaps it's because he is a prime beneficiary of the special interest funding of congressional elections. "McCain raised over $2.5 million for his 1986 election . . . more than $760,000 of his campaign funds came from political action committee (PACs) . . . especially disturbing are the contributions to McCain's campaign coffers from PACs outside of Arizona." The Phoenix Gazette - December 8, 1987

"While Sen. John McCain's wife and father-in-law were investing with Charles H. Keating, Jr. in a shopping center, McCain was helping Keating battle federal regulators who questioned his operation of Lincoln Savings and Loan . . . [photo caption] Documents show that Sen. John McCain's wife, Cindy, and father-in-law, James W. Hensley (second from right) are the largest investors in Fountain Square Shopping Center. Their partnership is managed by subsidiaries of American Continental Corp., run by Charles H. Keating, Jr. (right). But John McCain contends there was no conflict in his helping Keating battle federal regulators." The Arizona Republic - October 8, 1989

"Sen. John McCain had more than a constituent relationship with Charles H. Keating, Jr. prior to 1987 . . . the McCains - sometimes with their daughter and baby sitter - made at least nine trips at Keating's expense from August 1984 to August 1986 aboard either Keating's American Continental Corporation's jet or chartered planes and helicopters owned by Resorts International. Three of the trips were for vacations at Keating's luxurious retreat in the Bahamas." The Arizona Republic - October 8, 1989

John McCain when it was to his benefit rolled in the mud. But when he pitched in to help out a major investment partner of his family and got hit on the nose for it he then decided "If I can't play no one else can" this is another aspect of his Character that serves him poorly as a Senator and will serve us poorly if he is a President.

And when Reporters asked that legitimate question, just as when McCain was asked legitimate questions about his Immigration Amnesty Plan John McCain became a bully

"McCain, in a radio talk-show appearance last week condemned disclosures of his family's ties to Keating as "irresponsible journalism." The Arizona Republic - October 17, 1989

" . . . both in telephone conversations with reporters and on a live radio talk show, the Republican senator was far from calm. He was agitated. Angry. And the way he dealt with unpleasant questions was to bully the questioners . . . 'You're a liar,' McCain snapped Sept. 29 when an Arizona Republic reporter asked him about business ties between his wife, Cindy McCain, and Keating . . . 'That's the spouse's involvement, you idiot,' McCain sneered later in the same conversation. 'You do understand English, don't you?' ". . . Not content with just bullying reporters, McCain tried belittling them: 'It's up to you to find that out, kids.' . . . McCain wasn't talking to liars. He wasn't talking to juveniles. The senator was talking to two reporters." The Arizona Republic - October 17, 1989

 

Again 1989 John McCain, to the same John McCain who calls fellow Senators Sailor words and tells people who don't like his plans to make their own or shut up. There isn't a change in his character it is just bad character and bad leadership

Nor is there evidence of John and Cindy McCain showing compassion or a drive to help people who suffered in Vietnam

"As a 100 percent, service-connected, disabled ex-prisoner of war, I sought help from John McCain when he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and I needed help in regard to a claim for back service-connected disability compensation. I did so because I thought that as an ex-POW himself he could relate to my problem. When I could not reach him via letters to his office, I wrote to his home address. That was a very enlightening experience . . . my letter, addressed to the congressman, was opened by his wife, Cindy. She didn't like what she read, so she wrote me a nasty letter. Apparently John McCain isn't even capable of communicating on a one-to-one basis with someone who was a POW and returned from his experience in far worse physical condition than John McCain returned from his experience . . . M. "Shane" Schoenborn." The Phoenix Gazette - November 4, 1989

We also saw back in the 2000 campaign other demonstrations of the temper and lack of character of John McCain

In fact, Major Burch's organization, the National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition, is hardly a "fringe" outfit. Founded in 1983 as the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition expressly to force the federal government to address the Agent Orange fiasco, the Coalition took the lead in writing the legislation and garnering House and Senate co-sponsors. The Coalition was the only non-chartered veterans organization permitted to testify before the United States House of Representatives.

As Burch says, "Our Coalition was then and is now 'cutting edge.' We want results for our veterans 'now' - while they're alive. We don't want or need more phony studies and delays."

Tom Burch is a former Green Beret and a member of the Judge Advocate Corps, who served in Vietnam and received the Bronze Star in 1968. He is a past department commander of the Washington D.C. Veterans of Foreign Wars. The VFW, along with the American Legion, is considered the most "mainstream" veteran's group.

....

1) According to Burch, beginning in 1984 when the coalition sought co-sponsors for the Agent Orange bill, John McCain refused to sign on. When Burch and his men asked other members of the House to co-sponsor, these congressmen would invariably ask, "Has John McCain signed on to this bill?" When told that McCain had not it was believed, as often happens on the Hill in matters like this, that McCain was against the bill.

It was only after more than two hundred congress members expressed their support for the bill and final passage was assured that McCain finally agreed to come on board. But McCain's foot-dragging and initial reluctance made the coalition's work much more difficult and delayed the veterans' final victory.

2) In 1988 the coalition led the charge for "Judicial Review," a new system whereby veterans rejected for benefits by the Veterans Administration would have the same right to appeal as Social Security recipients have. Again, the coalition members working the halls of Congress asking for co-sponsors to the bill found McCain in opposition.

The senator from Arizona never signed on.

3) In 1991 when new evidence of living American servicemen missing in Vietnam surfaced, the coalition - in conjunction with those "mainstream" veterans organizations, the VFW and American Legion - led the charge for a Senate Select Committee to investigate whether or not any American POWs were left behind in Southeast Asia and whether some might still be alive. All these veterans groups wanted a senate panel instead of an executive branch panel because no one believed the executive branch could be trusted to investigate itself.

Senator McCain initially opposed the Senate committee. Later, when the Senate ultimately created the panel, McCain was appointed a member.

4) As a member of the Senate POW Committee, McCain "distinguished himself" by repeatedly insulting wives, mothers and children of POWs and MIAs and accusing many veterans groups fighting for the POW cause of "making a living off this issue." He made similar charges in the South Carolina primary when the National Right to Life Committee endorsed Bush: "It is a shame when they take a cause and turn it into a business."

5) Tom Burch's District of Columbia law partner is Adrian Cronauer, made famous by Robin Williams' portrayal in the movie "Good Morning Vietnam." When the presidential campaign was heating up last month, Cronauer asked for a meeting with McCain to discuss veterans' issues. The answer came back from McCain's office: "The Senator says he will not meet with you."

6) And when word leaked out that Tom Burch and the coalition were going to endorse George W. Bush, McCain campaign operative and fellow former POW, Orson Swindle, called Burch and said, "We will destroy you."

While I am quoting from one source on the Character of John McCain we only need to look at his more recent actions to know that this is the MO he has operated in, and while likely operated on in the future.

So with these prior bad acts in mind why should any republican trust that John McCain has the character to lead us?