John McCain goes around claiming he is a maverick. Well, here are some dictionary definitions of a maverick:
1) "A person of independent or unorthodox views"
2) "Being independent in thought and action or exhibiting such independence"
3) "A person who shows independence of thought or action; a non-conformist or rebel."
4) "One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter."
Okay, do any of these describe John McCain? George Carlin was a Maverick. Gandhi was a Maverick. Paul Wellstone was a Maverick. John McCain used to be a somewhat reasonable politician until he ran for President. He is not a Maverick.
How "independent" and "unorthodox" does someone have to be to speak up against government waste? I would assume all American taxpayers are against government waste, unless they are the benefactor of it...like a certain former Mayor of Wasilla.
More below the flip
How is it "non-conformist" to believe we need to act to combat catastrophic climate change? The overwhelming majority of the scientific community already has identified the disasters of climate change. One of the largest hurricanes in the last century is bearing down on the Texas Gulf Coast. All of Western Europe, Japan, and other countries in the civilized world are already spending billions of dollars to do their part. Where does the "non-conformist" enter the picture?
As for immigration reform, McCain's legislation was similar to proposals by John Kerry and George W. Bush! Talk about independent, he agrees with, well, most people.
As for some of his more conservative positions, like refusing to support solar power in his own state of Arizona; Refusing to back a new GI Bill to educate our troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq; and voting against minimum wage increases when there were still people in America living off of $5.15 per hour, well...that's just plain stupid.
So maybe this supposed strength - McCain being a Maverick - is exactly what Obama and his campaign should attack.
A Maverick stands up against the failed drug war that sends tens of thousands of youth to prison rather than reserving the bulk of our criminal justice system on combating violent criminals, instead of continuing down the same road of John Ashcroft when he went after terminally ill patients using medical marijuana.
A Maverick stands up against a failed energy policy, instead of screaming the mantra of "drill, baby, drill".
A Maverick stands up against a flawed health care system where insurers strive to deny coverage rather than increase preventative care, instead of putting more power in their hands.
A Maverick stands up against the failed policy in Iraq that is costing us $10 billion a month, instead of telling us to "hang in there" for the long haul.
And finally, a Maverick chooses the running mate he believes instead of the running mate chosen by his political party. John McCain wanted to have Joe Lieberman on his ticket and the right wing said "No"! Although Lieberman has obviously angered many Democrats, we all know he would be a far superior and experienced Vice President than McCain's current choice. Yet, the "Maverick" McCain chose to "conform", "abide" and "adhere" to the right wing establishment in his Party, instead of choosing to be "independent" and "unorthodox".
John McCain is like most supposed Republican moderates without a spine. He takes moderate positions only when he has political cover. He portrays himself as bipartisan and respectable by letting others do his dirty work. John McCain's campaign fails to live up to its reputation as maverick or moderate or bipartisan. It's almost as if his campaign is being run by a bunch of Republican Party conformists. What kind of leader will John McCain be if he can't even lead his own campaign in the direction he pledged to take it?
Just like the Republicans want to rewrite science textbooks, I suppose they want to rewrite our dictionaries. John McCain cannot be defined as a Maverick. He's about as much of a Maverick as he is a ballerina, a nuclear physicist, or a leprechaun.
Have you noticed the copyright mark that now follows the word "maverick" every time it is uttered? It is now the private property of Mr. McCain. Sort of like Giuliani and his "noun, verb, 9-11," only Rudy never quite got his lunch hooks into that phrase the way McCain has done with maverick. Hasn't a Bush-appointed judge confirmed McCain's ownership?
Every time you say the M word you reinforce it. cut it out.
http://ap.google.com/article/A...
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is defending the nearly $200 million in federal earmarks she has sought as Alaska governor.She also tried to explain why she was for the infamous Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it.
Palin told ABC's Charles Gibson that since she took office, the state had "drastically" reduced its earmark requests.
and later:
McCain looked irked when Behar asked him whether he had jettisoned his independence as a candidate by appearing to be in "lock step" with President Bush's policies."What specific area have I, quote, 'changed?' Nobody can name it," McCain said.
McCain has changed positions on significant issues. For example, he once opposed Bush's tax cuts but now supports making them permanent. He had opposed lifting the ban on additional offshore oil exploration but now calls for drilling off the U.S. coast. He had been against mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions but now favors them.
To the guy who has avoided talking to me for two freaking years! I am trying to deflate the Maverick term. That is the point. I am not using it to support the term.
There is a very interesting post on Daily Kos. http://www.dailykos.com/story/...
Both of them said that this is still Obama's race. Neither said there was cause for panic because of the dynamics.
Yes, we need to stay on our game, but this whole Palin thing is going to play out and go away. I hope they are right and I will wait another week before buying my ticket to Canada.
4 years ago many of us were focusing on Kerry. Most didn't believe that the swift boat ad would have the impact that it had.
Right now, right in the middle of a strong media attack by the McCain campaign when they are presenting Palin, we are asked to step back and, well, just let the McCain campaign get away with all of the lies about her because we may be playing into the hands of conservatives.
My take? Conservatives are not liking the heat that the liberal blogsphere are putting on their candidates, especially on Palin. In no time, the liberal blogsphere has come up with a living dossier on Palin that contradicts all of the memes of the McCain campaign.
Should we talk more about Obama? Absolutely. But we shouldn't let off from McCain or Palin either.
I am actually pleased that the mainstream media is not bowing completely to McCain and co.
This article says it very well http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09...