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A very reliable source overheard Republican spokesperson McHugh Pierre state TODAY that he had spoken to the McCain Campaign. They are coming to Alaska tomorrow to check out the "Troopergate" investigation.
As she points out, this rather suggests that the campaign didn't vet her properly. Troopergage has been ongoing for some time, even a cursory Google search would have told them they had a problem.
So much for either "judgement" or, given McCain's inability to use the web, his staff choices. Who does he have advising him, and is it they who are incompetent, or did they warn him and he ignored them? Either way it's not so much Palin whose fitness is in question, it's the man who made the decision to make her his running mate: John McCain
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Ha Ha Ha. It seems the returdlicans stepped in it once again.
Wowsers!
They can’t really be that dumb, can they?
morning Ian,
what a screw-up McCain is
rash, reckless and May God help us if this man gets elected.
Even without Troopergate–though if it’s true that the jerk hit my sister and tasered my niece or nephew, I might have abused some power to get him off the streets–McCain must be waking up in a haze of regret this morning.
Even the C-SPAN Washington Journal callers think he made a dimwitted move.
It is hard to imagine just what these people were thinking when the picked her. Were they so desperate for a women on the ticket, a young person on the ticket, a governor not a senator, or did they think that by picking a “clean” gooper from Alaska they could claim to be the anti Stevens corruption king or maybe they were so panicked by obama’s positive press that they pulled a name out of the hat just to get some MSM time? What ever reason they had it was the wrong decision. As you said Ian it was easy to “vet” her. When I first heard about her name I “wikied” her and found all about her scandals. MY wife thinks it is a rovian plot to try and “steal” the women vote but that will not work. As bad as it is that she is anti-choice she is also a bloody creationist. Holy fuck.
There are legal ways to deal with such issues. And breaking the law is only making matters worse.
Sorry to go OT but this story is very disturbing
“suggests” she wasn’t properly vetted? Gosh, it was in every story about this lightweight. If they didn’t get to the bottom of that, they hardly vetted her at all. If he picked his running mate and only met her once, leaving the details to aides (after all, they keep track of his houses very well) and they fucked this up, that doesn’t speak very well of a future McCain presidency. I know that’s one of our talking points, but it’s true. Even if “troopergate” turns out to have no legs. His decision making process should scare everybody.
McCain is so imbued with his ambition to be president that he has lost whatever common sense he ever had to begin with. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ignored the entire vetting process and took no advice from his staff on this selection.
I honestly believe he may be getting senile.
Were they so desperate for a women on the ticket, a young person on the ticket.. ?
Yes.
did they think that by picking a “clean” gooper from Alaska they could claim to be the anti Stevens corruption king
yup.
maybe they were so panicked by obama’s positive press that they pulled a name out of the hat just to get some MSM time?
three for three
three for three is pretty good. I think I will have a second cup of tea now.
How many houses does she own?
OT
Washington Journal this morning
7:30-8:00 AMANDA RIPLEY
Author, “The Unthinkable: Who Survives
When Disaster Strikes - and Why”
www.amandaripley.com
GOAL: Discuss disaster relief in light of Hurricane Gustav heading toward the Gulf Coast. Guest covered disaster response as a writer for Time Magazine.
8:00-8:30 Newspaper Articles/Phones
8:30-9:00 MITCH PEARLSTEIN
Center of the American
Experiment-President
www.americanexperiment.org
Locator: St. Paul, Minnesota
GOAL: Discuss if there is a change in what it means to be a “conservative”, especially in light of GOP Presidential nominee John McCain and his Vice-Presidential running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The center, a think-tank promoting free market ideas, has also conducted several events this year looking at “rethinking” conservatism.
9:00-9:30 DONNA CASSUTT
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-
Labor Party-Associate Chair
Topic: Minnesota’s Democrats react to having the Republican national convention in their back yard, while attempting to keep the Land of 10,000 Lakes in the so-called blue states column. A state party official also responds to the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin, over their own Governor Tim Pawlenty, as Senator McCain’s running mate.
9:30-10:00 ROBERT BRUININKS
University of Minnesota
President
www.umn.edu
Locator: St. Paul, Minnesota
GOAL: Discuss both Sens. McCain and Obama’s proposals for higher education. Guest will talk about college affordability, improving K-12 education and the federal government’s role in providing research grants to universities.
You know that these “investigators” will come back and pronounce her clean and that will end the subject for the MSM.
I keep hearing the population the town she was mayor of mentioned, but the whole of Alaska only had a population of 670,053 in 2006 which puts it on a par with Memphis TN and Charlotte NC. We should be confident this will blow up in McCain’s face, but…
this smacks of the inept and completely incompetent rove to me
no, he is not a genius. he is a moron responsible for the fall of the republican party
this is the work of that “genius”
here’s what happened. rove suggests pallen expecting mkkkain to vet the suggestion, mkkkain picks palen expecting that rove wouldn’t have suggested her unless he vetted her
there
This ready-fire-aim maneuver speaks to the level of competence that McCain would bring to the role of commander-in-chief of the nation’s military. Voters should think long and hard about voting for someone so prone to going off half-cocked.
they no longer need search warrants. Just ask them. Those days are long gone.
As for Palin, I’m just imagining the looks on the faces of Holy Joe, Willard, Pawlenty, et al when they found out it was Palin. Just imagine. Willard has been auditioning for this part all his life. Holy Joe signed everything he ever owned over to the devil to get there. And what do they get for their labors?
A beauty queen.
Obviously they forgot who McSame is and what he’s about. Just check the bio fellas. Turn to where he came back from Nam and cut loose wife #1 for a beer heiress.
So they didn’t vet her properly. Now they have to go to Alaska and do what they do best. Hide the evidence, pay off the players, manipulate the legal system.
Nothing to see here. Move on.
NOP for the GOP
The repukes continue to demonstrate what utter assholes they are in their views and in their due diligence. Due diligence is simply taking the do re mi from K street and touting faxed talking points that some putz in a “think tank” contrives… staying on message… trickle down economics… racism, sexism and cronyism disguised as the free market at work.
They need to be called for the miscreants they are.
Corruption and scandal is no road block for Republicans. McCain’s cynical choice proves only one thing: Republicans could give a rat’s ass about the United States. They are only concerned with winning elections and then dividing up the spoils amongst themselves, like any good barbarian.
Good morning, pups. It’s Collins and Herbert today. Ms. Collins serves us some of “McCain’s Baked Alaska” today, and says that the idea that women are going to race off to vote for any candidate with the same internal plumbing is both offensive and historically wrong. Mr. Herbert gives us “Champagne and Tears,” and says that for black residents in and around Detroit, Barack Obama’s nomination helped to redeem some of the grief of many years of racial humiliation and oppression.
http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/
The last graf of Collins’ column may leave a scar:
Ouch. The coffee and tea are ready, and I’ve got French toast made with challah. Have a grand day.
I’m telling you, she wasn’t vetted. This was a last-minute pick by McCain that still has his surrogates scratching their heads. The GOP is in for one helluva case of buyer’s remorse.
Now, now, now - why are we getting so upset about this woman. If McCain wins, old Uncle Dick will be safe in his secret underground bunker still running the secret government.
If Obama wins, I hope Uncle will face war crimes.
But watch out as the dems cosy up to corporations and take their cash.
We need to free ourselves from the entire economic paradigm which runs this country and the world and has run it into the ground again… and again… and will continue to in the future.
Unfettered free market capitalism without SEVERE regulation will only exploit workers and the planet, for the benefit of the managers and layabout shareholders. This whole money as debt is a black hole no one escapes from and it is abundantly clear that the wall street wizards of oz have been partying behind the curtain while the working people of the world are swirling down the drain.
http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/
This is a must read blog.
well this is tastey, talk about more of the same mkkkain, check this out, man oh man
this is now flagrant copywrite abuse, he’s been caught and warned a number of times before
this should extract punative damages
best kind of french toast there is.
and that was a must read post sander!
you probably didn’t get the memo. Either the thugs already have it wired, or if the administration changes hands, there will be a bygones handshake with the dems thinking they will begin their agenda while the thugs regroup and get ready their impeachment papers for Obama.
If McSame is elected, imho, you will begin to see a brain drain of a nation that is obviously brain dead. They say a person’s decision for president is rarely, if ever, affected by the VP choice. In this case, however, with an aged candidate with real health issues the choice of a fundamentalist, right wing creationist with no national, let alone international experience should give real pause.
Regardless of everything else, McCain made a conscious decision to give up the experience issue in his campaign against Barack Obama. That issue was the only semi-rational argument which he could make. Democrats should accept that gift and quit harping on Palin’s inexperience. The argument speaks for itself without ever being mentioned. All of the issues listed by Obama in his acceptance speech should be the Democratic focus.
If/when Republicans bring up experience, it should be pointed out that Obama was selected through a primary process with over 36 million people assessing his qualifications. Palin was selected by John McCain. Then, in my opinion, we should leave it at that.
aha, it looks like I am right, this is the work of rove, check out this from think progress
yup, the inept, incompetant work of rove, I am now convinced
It was so predictable how the MSM pay for play bloviators spun this as a smart choice of a “maverick” since Mc’s maverick brand has been tarnished by the intrusion of reality.
The woman is not up to the job and is clearing a dumb choice and her only appeal is to the dumbest of the dumb repukes who think with their limbic brain.
We need to seriously do something about tee vee. It is populated but complete assholes.
Does anyone really think that the corporate media will allow this story to grow ‘any’ legs. Nothing will interfere with Republican fascism if the media can prevent it.
it’s the reason cheney and rumsfeld were able to do this to us again, they were never held to account for their crimes under nixon and here they are at it again in Iraq and now Iran
we must push for accountability but obama has already told us with his immunity bill before he even knew the crimes, accountability aint gonnta happen
Leave McSaim alone. He’s 72 years old. If he wants to pick out his own birthday present, it’s OK with me.
we are, they are no longer the go to source of any information…they are now simply infomercials for the corporations that own them
Pull Up A Chair’s upstairs
It’s hardly surprising that the corporate media would play along to get along. The media conglomerates need to be broken up and a return of the “Fairness Doctrine” is necessary.
You need to correct that statement to I honestly believe he is senile.
Unfortunately, a majority of Americans still get their information from a corrupted, complacent and complicit corporate MSM. American’s are the most entertained and least informed people in the world.
i said as soon as the news was trickling out…she was NOT vetted…..can you say PANDORAS BOX…hey Pandora Palin!!!
Somebody needs to question Palin’s lack of knowledge, not experience, on foreign affairs and the economy. Her belief that global warming is not man made is due to a lack of knowledge.
Agree, I thought the same thing after I posted. He is definitely senile.
You know they’ve got to be working hard to get her the answers to the most likely questions she’ll be asked. I wouldn’t be surprised if they give FOX a list of safe questions for her–to be revised as her list of memorized factoids grows.
Knowledge has never been high in Republican priorities. Making decisions on “gut” instinct seems to be the standard modus operandi, or at least if their gut conflicts with knowledge they go with their gut. We’ve all done that at times and it sure is a hell of a lot easier than changing the way you think.
OK you’ve stated the problem. Any notion about a solution? Is it a matter of electing the right guy and be saved!! Or is the ball in our court? I’ve suggested several times we should talk about this, but get no takers.
Gwen Ifill is doing the veep debate. Don’t expect much.
Color me in, Firepups: Why has Tina Fey been nominated to be Veep?
.
Will Gwen Ifill have a question about the Rapture for the Palin? How about a question on whether or not the world is flat? Imho, Palin will be the first VP candidate to have a spread in Playboy.
Little Miss Pro-life is also pro-death penalty, by the way.
I remember someone asking Caroline Kennedy about the vetting process which led to the choice of Biden, and she blew them off. Has anyone asked the McCain campaign about the vetting process for their VP selection? I found this story from AP, but it seems the process was, how did the electorate react, not whether the candidate had any skeletons or peccadilloes to be concerned about.
God is having a good belly laugh at these Republicans who have mocked and sullied his good name.
Luck,karma or God think of these signs:
Cut the gas tax and a bridge that leads to the republican convention falls down.
Katrina rerun on their big day.
This airhead VP pick, W/her self- proclaimed Pastor Rick style religion, not surprising in that Mc Cain only lost five planes, before he was a POW.
Sarah Palin = Thomas Eagleton
They still have a day before the RNC to drop her. I wonder what the chances are?
This is going to sink him!
That was my very first thought as well. We all know what Republicans do when they “investigate” one of their own.
I guess I don’t believe McCain selected Palin. I’m more of the opinion that Palin was selected for McCain. By whom? I don’t know, but Rove (or, the GOP machine) strikes me as more likely. I also suspect her gender has less to do with it than her age. Not that her gender is valueless to the GOP in this race, only that her age is more valuable. I genuinely don’t see Hillary’s die hard supporters identifying with Palin, or Palin’s politics to be co-opted. So, who is being targeted? My inexpert opinion is those who might fall into a Young Republicans category. The GOP is stumping for an Obama’s youth voter equivalent.
As for the taint of corruption, if Keating-gate doesn’t phase the GOP, Troopergate sure won’t. In fact it’s small potatoes. They’re not going to vet; they’re going to concoct a spin (or, perhaps to settle the issue - as in make it go away).
Will they be investigating the pregnancy rumors?
Did these idiots not vet her?
of course they did. her dog’s up to date on it’s shots and despite rumours to the contrary never had rabies
Vetted or not, the important thing here is that her voice instantly jogged my memory. Was it the teacher in some old Cheech & Chong bit or maybe the Church Lady Of SNL fame.I’ll have to hear more to pin it down(gotta play through the pain). The shrill of smug righteousness is a cross we’ll all have to bear for a time I fear. Anita Bryant comes to mind…?
Senator Thomas Eagleton was an honorable man throughout his entire life.
Equating him with that bimbo is a measure of ignorance and a slander of outstanding public service.
Bimbo, now there’s a word. All politician’s have one. Think of it: a minageri troi (spelling terrible but the idea is there) in the White House. One better than the “mile high club” That’s really what this is all about.
They ought to look into “babygate” too…see comment 29 by Boston1775 next door at Marcy’s.
Even if she gets pulled, they will have achieved their primary goal which was to wipe the afterglow of the DNC off the newscycle.
I thought Karen on Will & Grace.
Thanks Ian.
There’s an interesting story floating around and right now it’s in the whisper stage. Palins new born son has downs syndrome and many who knew her say that’s strange because she never appeared pregnant and that in fact her new son is actually the child of her seventeen year old daughter. I wonder how the vetting process really works?
Of course they vetted her, and found her willing to break the rules to get her way.
Perfect GOP (vice) presidential material.
McCain is lazy just like Bush. He is incurious. Look at this academic record and his flight history. He is not a guy that reads the instructions. He just reacts, sometimes with with anger. This pick was made for one reason; to pander to the religous wingnuts on the far right. This is the Dobson-Perkins pick that he felt he needed.
However, the Palin choice has accomplished two things for McCain:
1) It completely replaced the story of the successful Dem convention and Obama’s wonderful speech on the front page and “first stories” of tv; and
2) It is really energizing the Right Wing base.
I was just over at Salon reading Joe Conason’s excellent piece on Palin, and the letter section is full of wingnut praise for her. As Joe points out, we should be highlighting her crazy ideas, not just her lack of qualifications.
Clarence Thomas, meet your female equivalent.
Wait until the MSM gets a hold of Babygate
http://able2know.org/topic/121649-1
Of course they can be that stupid. That matter was settled before the Earth cooled in the prequel to the Book of Genesis. The question is, how many of these disaffected Hillary supporters are clueless enough to vote for McCain because he added the winner of the 1984 Miss Togiak-Taliban Pageant’s Miss Congeniality Award.
Scott Simon and Juan Williams, this morning on NPR, pointed out that Palin has lots more EXECUTIVE experience than Obama. You see, she’s been governor of our most sparsely-populated state for all of 20 months.
We’ll have nothing to worry about when McCain pitches over into his oatmeal.
While out on my walk just now I was thinking about babygate and that if she is really pro-fetus (won’t say pro-life cuz of the death penalty thing), then what she did was consistent with her philosophy…supporting her daughter’s giving birth to the baby and bringing it up in the family. It’s done allatime. So in that regard the wingnut fundies may not find it objectionable at all…just condemn the daughter for not being chaste or some shit like that. And lying to the public doesn’t seem to bother goopers in the slightest. So bottom line, babygate may be a fizzle.
Vet her? This pick has every indication of a desperation move to pander to the religious right and to women. Who has time to vet? More evidence of the McCain lack of judgment.
TPM Post: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/a.....php”>
The Democrats don’t have to push the inexperience question. It’s “out there”; it’s got a life of its own. It will draw fire unecessarily if they campaign on it directly.
Instead, without going after Palin on her own merits, you can point at the choice as evidence that McCain is an impulsive, reckless gambler. We do not want one of those in the White House. Palin is popular in Alaska, and despite her inexperience she may even be competent. But this is about McCain, and he picked her even though he hardly knows her, and she was not fully vetted (getting sick of that word). This choice shows that he does not have the temperament to be President.
Whoops.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/211597.php
I read or heard somewhere that the st john camp had sent some sharks-lawyers-up to vet her about a week to 10 days ago-but to only vet her on troopergate, nothing else. St john had only met her once before he picked her. I can well believe that the other 2 selectees are really poed at just being used to draw off the MSM. Still didn’t work tho did it. News broke early, just like with the dems, when somebody could not keep his/her mouth shut another minute and just had to tell someone. Understand also that there is more than a little shock expressed by some rep Ak pols. They say that she is still not qualified to be gov, but VP!, no way. Besides, the video of her stating that she did not know just what a VP did, and she would only take it if it would benefit Ak. Where did she learn about govt? Apparently the same place she learned about creationism.
“We need to seriously do something about tee vee. It is populated but complete assholes.”
Stop watching, and be sure to let sponsors/advertisers on each particular channel know about your decision, and the why, on your way out.
Hi Pups. Boyohboy. I can’t leave you guys alone one second!?!
We got a lot done here this week, but I’ll never catch up with the pack, puff puff.
Can anyone here spell, um,
s-e-n-i-l-e d-e-m-e-n-t-i-a
???
I thot u could.
whut th’ hey wuz ‘is staff for? were THEY consulted?
when will they start quitting to spend more time with their families?
O.M.G.
on a silver platter, raw
amen
What does the baby’s birth certificate say? If the baby is Palin’s daughter’s, my heart goes out to the daughter for all the reasons you easily can supply. I can only applaud any family that accepts a baby, particularly one with special needs, under such circumstances.
But if Palin and her husband have knowingly falsified information on an official state document, what does a member of the Alaska bar have to say about possible civil liability or criminal exposure? And, if the baby is in fact the daughter’s, has the attending physician or midwife knowingly executed any false document(s)?
Begging your forgiveness for extending the whole children thing way beyond what should be the end of my own nose:
5 kids? 5????? the smallest with special needs.
vice president?
are we now advocating anti-choice and birth control on one side, and yet condoning the outsourcing of parenting?
this whole story is cockeyed top to bottom, side to side.
Pretending she could effectively juggle this combo is even more offensive and loony than sticking a fake Indian outside a cigar store.
Of course they vetted her. Why Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh both said she was great. And James Dobson and Ralph Reed vouched for her. Would more could the country need?
“It is hard to imagine just what these people were thinking when the picked her… So they didn’t vet her properly. Now they have to go to Alaska and do what they do best. Hide the evidence, pay off the players, manipulate
the legal system…”
The GOP pattern: deny it until plausible deniability disappears. Very Rovian…
Hope some eyes are fixed on this Mr. Branchflower. He needs to watched carefully until the election, the stakes are high. Remember, that as a vice-presidentail candidate, she will be surrounded by secret service personnel. Given Bush/Cneney and McCain’s proclivity for using SS staff to keep dissent away, watch for wavering from this fellow.
Most of us aren’t harping on her inexperience. Most are genuinely frightened that someone with as little self-discipline and judgement could be the presidential nominee of a major pary,with a VP chosen merely because she appeals to the most far-right segment of the electorate on a few issues.
Someone needs to get the hook on McCain as well as this lady. I mean, they aren’t running for the County Council here. This is real business.
The first thing that crossed my mind was that her special needs child was an older child. To find out that he is four-months old and that she only took a few days off work is mind-boggling. If she is able to perform her duties as governor, run for VP, take care of a family and give that little guy they type of care he’s going to require, she’s utterly amazing. I wonder how the Pro-Life movement will be able to spin this one.
Some more data about what Alaskans think about this pick….yikes-o-rama….
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/
AND she’s breastfeeding*!!! Truly phenomenal.
*read that somewhere, not sure if true
Is the McCain camp sending the same guys who made the Bush Texas Air Natty Guard information disappear?
I believe McCain chose her impulsively. She’s a terrible choice for all of the reasons people have identified and discussed. McCain’s failure to vet her or spend any time getting to know her before he selected her proves beyond a reasonable doubt that he is not sufficiently curious, or intelligent enough to realize that women are something more than a bunch of dumb broads whose individual worth depends on their measurements and how pretty they are. He assumes that women, particularly HRC supporters, will vote for him rather than Obama because he chose Palin. Because he’s a presumptuous, boring, and unapologetic sexist pig with little or no intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills who doesn’t get it and never will, he assumed that she was the perfect choice.
Meanwhile, his flip-flopping from one day to the next on important issues demonstrates that he lacks substance. He presents himself to others according to what he decides will impress them and everything that he says and does is impulsive. It’s sad to see such shallowness in any person, let alone a 72-year-old candidate for President of the United States. Because of his uncontrolled impulsivity, clueless beliefs, and utter lack of mature and thoughtful judgment, we must not let this former Navy man near the bridge of our ship of state.
No matter how one feels about Palin the fact that John McCain only met with her once before offering her the VP spot is enough to see that his judgement should be questioned. It seems that when he goes with his ‘gut’, does not search out advise and gets mad when someone does not agree with him. Not a good combination for a President (no matter what their Party might be).
found this on a Conservative website:
http://blog.case.edu/conservat.....explosions
John McCain’s top ten temper explosions
1) Defending His Amnesty Bill, Sen. McCain Lost His Temper And “Screamed, ‘F*ck You!’ At Texas Sen. John Cornyn” (R-TX). “Presidential hopeful John McCain - who has been dogged for years by questions about his volcanic temper - erupted in an angry, profanity-laced tirade at a fellow Republican senator, sources told The Post yesterday. In a heated dispute over immigration-law overhaul, McCain screamed, ‘F— you!’ at Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who had been raising concerns about the legislation. ‘This is chickens—stuff,’ McCain snapped at Cornyn, according to several people in the room off the Senate floor Thursday. ‘You’ve always been against this bill, and you’re just trying to derail it.’” (Charles Hurt, “Raising McCain,” New York Post, 5/19/07)
2) In 2000, Sen. McCain Ran An Attack Ad Comparing Then-Gov. George W. Bush To Bill Clinton. SEN. MCCAIN: “I guess it was bound to happen. Governor Bush’s campaign is getting desperate, with a negative ad about me. The fact is, I’ll use the surplus money to fix Social Security, cut your taxes and pay down the debt. Governor Bush uses all of the surplus for tax cuts, with not one new penny for Social Security or the debt. His ad twists the truth like Clinton. We’re all pretty tired of that. As president, I’ll be conservative and always tell you the truth. No matter what.” (McCain 2000, Campaign Ad, 2/9/00; www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHoXkCprdL4)
3) Sen. McCain Repeatedly Called Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) An “A**hole”, Causing A Fellow GOP Senator To Say, “I Didn’t Want This Guy Anywhere Near A Trigger.” “Why can’t McCain win the votes of his own colleagues? To explain, a Republican senator tells this story: at a GOP meeting last fall, McCain erupted out of the blue at the respected Budget Committee chairman, Pete Domenici, saying, ‘Only an a–hole would put together a budget like this.’ Offended, Domenici stood up and gave a dignified, restrained speech about how in all his years in the Senate, through many heated debates, no one had ever called him that. Another senator might have taken the moment to check his temper. But McCain went on: ‘I wouldn’t call you an a–hole unless you really were an a–hole.’ The Republican senator witnessing the scene had considered supporting McCain for president, but changed his mind. ‘I decided,’ the senator told Newsweek, ‘I didn’t want this guy anywhere near a trigger.’” (Evan Thomas, et al., “Senator Hothead,” Newsweek, 2/21/00)
4) Sen. McCain Had A Heated Exchange With Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) And Called Him A “F*cking Jerk.” “Senators are not used to having their intelligence or integrity challenged by another senator. ‘Are you calling me stupid?’ Sen. Chuck Grassley once inquired during a debate with McCain over the fate of the Vietnam MIAs, according to a source who was present. ‘No,’ replied McCain, ‘I’m calling you a f—ing jerk!’ (Grassley and McCain had no comment.)” (Evan Thomas, et al., “Senator Hothead,” Newsweek, 2/21/00)
5) In 1995, Sen. McCain Had A “Scuffle” With 92-Year-Old Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) On The Senate Floor. “In January 1995, McCain was midway through an opening statement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing when chairman Strom Thurmond asked, ‘Is the senator about through?’ McCain glared at Thurmond, thanked him for his ‘courtesy’ (translation: buzz off), and continued on. McCain later confronted Thurmond on the Senate floor. A scuffle ensued, and the two didn’t part friends.” (Harry Jaffe, “Senator Hothead,” The Washingtonian, 2/97)
6) Sen. McCain Accused Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Of The “Most Egregious Incident” Of Corruption He Had Seen In The Senate. “It escalated when McCain reiterated the charges Oct. 10 in a cross-examination, calling McConnell’s actions the ‘most egregious incident’ demonstrating the appearance of corruption he has ever seen in his Senate career.” (Amy Keller, “Attacks Escalate In Depositions,” Roll Call, 10/21/02)
7) Sen. McCain Attacked Christian Leaders And Republicans In A Blistering Speech During The 2000 Campaign. MCCAIN: “Unfortunately, Governor Bush is a Pat Robertson Republican who will lose to Al Gore. … The political tactics of division and slander are not our values… 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.” (Sen. John McCain, Remarks, Virginia Beach, VA, 2/28/00)
8) Sen. McCain Attacked Vice President Cheney. MCCAIN: “The president listened too much to the Vice President . . . Of course, the president bears the ultimate responsibility, but he was very badly served by both the Vice President and, most of all, the Secretary of Defense.” (Roger Simon, “McCain Bashes Cheney Over Iraq Policy,” The Politico, 1/24/07)
9) Celebrating His First Senate Election In 1986, Sen. McCain Screamed At And Harassed A Young Republican Volunteer. “It was election night 1986, and John McCain had just been elected to the U.S. Senate for the first time. Even so, he was not in a good mood. McCain was yelling at the top of his lungs and poking the chest of a young Republican volunteer who had set up a lectern that was too tall for the 5-foot-9 politician to be seen to advantage, according to a witness to the outburst. ‘Here this poor guy is thinking he has done a good job, and he gets a new butt ripped because McCain didn’t look good on television,’ Jon Hinz told a reporter Thursday. At the time, Hinz was executive director of the Arizona Republican Party. … Hinz said McCain’s treatment of the young campaign worker in 1986 troubled him for years. ‘There were an awful lot of people in the room,’ Hinz recalled. ‘You’d have to stick cotton in your ears not to hear it. He (McCain) was screaming at him, and he was red in the face. It wasn’t right, and I was very upset at him.’” (Kris Mayes and Charles Kelly, “Stories Surface On Senator’s Demeanor,” The Arizona Republic, 11/5/99)
10) Sen. McCain “Publicly Abused” Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). “[McCain] noted his propensity for passion but insisted that he doesn’t ‘insult anybody or fly off the handle or anything like that.’ This is, quite simply, hogwash. McCain often insults people and flies off the handle…. There have been the many times McCain has called reporters ‘liars’ and ‘idiots’ when they have had the audacity to ask him unpleasant, but pertinent, questions. McCain once… publicly abused Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama.” (Editorial, “There’s Something About McCain,” The Austin American-Statesman, 1/24/07)