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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2008 / The Reverse Kerry

The Reverse Kerry

by | 23 Comments

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John McCain, talking about the virtues of the new GI Bill that just passed:

One problem- John McCain vocally opposed the GI Bill and voted against it:

By a vote of 75-22, the Senate approved an expanded version of the GI bill today. Proposed by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., it’s the biggest expansion of the bill in the past quarter-century, according to the New York Times. But it has also been opposed by, among others, President Bush and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

Not only did he vote against it, but he blasted Obama for even questioning him:

Republican John McCain said Thursday that Democrat Barack Obama had no right to criticize McCain’s position on military scholarships because the Illinois senator did not serve in uniform.

“And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did,” the Arizona senator said in a harshly worded statement issued Thursday.

In other words, it would be accurate to state that John McCain opposed the GI Bill before he supported it- the reverse Kerry, I suppose. I guess that makes him a flop-flipper, if you will, and some observers might note that John McCain doesn’t really understand the internet era and youtube.

*** Update ***

From the comments:

Just to be fair, what McCain is supporting is the House Republicans’ version not the Senate version. I loath McCain, but we’re not served by hanging BS around his neck.

So it may be that I am completely full of shit.

Reader Interactions

23Comments

  1. 1.

    les

    some observers might note that John McCain doesn’t really understand the internet era and youtube.

    Unfortunately, none of them occupy a position speaking to the broad public. Have they mentioned he’s a war hero, but he never talks about it?

  2. 2.

    nightjar

    One problem- John McCain vocally opposed the GI Bill and voted against it

    Maybe he was talking about the first GiI bill, The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944— which I believe he voted for, didn’t he.

  4. 4.

    Warren Terra

    Don’t worry. I’m sure this seems inconsistent to you. Maybe even sub-Maverick. But I’m sure that it will get precisely no traction in the media.

    Meanwhile, it’s very troubling that Obama is now in favor of permitting the death penalty for child rapists, a clear shift from his earlier position of permitting the death penalty for those who rape and murder a child. I know it’s a problem because I saw it in a letter to Andrew Sullivan. And it’ll likely get as much attention in the news as McCain taking credit for the Democrats’ ability to stop him from hurting the veterans.

  5. 5.

    Redleg

    The “Reverse Kerry” my ass. Kerry supported and then later opposed a spending bill because he decided it was time to hold the administration more accountable for its spending. Kerry explained this, albeit perhaps not as well as he should have, and was unfairly ridiculed as a flip-flopper.

    Here we have McCain trying to take credit for a bill he voted against so that he can maintain his appearance as a gung-ho “pro-troops” candidate. Now that is fucking straight-forward deception.

  7. 7.

    NR

    Yeah, but if John McCain flip-flops in a town hall, and the media doesn’t report it, does it make a sound?

    One of those great philosophical questions….

  8. 8.

    Duros Hussein 62

    I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed it looked like he was actually taking credit for this.
    Even his captors think he’s a liar.

  9. 9.

    Crusty Dem

    Exactly right TZ, this is NOT flip-flopping. It’s lying. Which you’d think might be a problem for Senator straight-talk, but only if you’re assuming someone in the media will report this, and that is your mistake. My friend.

  10. 10.

    Michael D.

    I respect every single person who has served this country, but I am fucking sick and tired of people who hold it up as some benchmark of patriotism. My friend, Cris, has done three tours in Iraq, and if you ever suggested to him that he should run for office, he would laugh at you and ask you how the fuck he is qualified.

    McCain, and others like him, dishonor the military when they demonstrate this kind of hubris.

    Fuck him.

  11. 11.

    Michael D.

    Kerry explained this, albeit perhaps not as well as he should have, and was unfairly ridiculed as a flip-flopper.

    And I was so blinded by partisanship that I took part in every bit of it. I would give ANYTHING right now to have Kerry in office.

  12. 12.

    nightjar

    Even his captors think he’s a liar

    His captors are lying as they always do about the torture they inflict. MCCain does lie, but not about POW torture at the Hanoi Hilton. Don’t go there.

  13. 13.

    Ickabod

    He’ll get away with it. Didn’t Bush take credit in 2000 for an education bill that passed in Texas? But that was enacted only because his veto of that same bill was over-ridden? But claiming that Al Gore claimed to have invented the internet was more fun to talk about, i guess.

  14. 14.

    UnkyT

    McCain didn’t vote against the bill, he didn’t vote at all

    Roll call

    Saw somewhere that he hasn’t been anywhere near the Senate since early April

  15. 15.

    Brachiator

    Now that is fucking straight-forward deception.

    Win.

    Unfortunately, a number of citizens automatically believe that a Republican, especially a veteran, is automatically more patriotic than any Democrat. Even if he lies to them right to their faces.

    And when the lie is reported, some of these people will automatically dismiss it because it is coming from the mainstream media. Their preferred sources of disinformation, Limbaugh and Fox news, will never mention McCain’s inconsistency, and so the GOP true believers will be isolated from an inconvenient truth.

  16. 16.

    Helena Montana

    A dandy campaign ad could be made on this McCain 9.99 flip-flop while claiming responsibility for something he didn’t vote for and opposed loudly.

    Unfortunately, the Obama campaign seems to have aligned itself with the usual dimitted Dem campaign consultants who don’t share even one viable brain cell among the pack of them so that ad will never be made.

  17. 17.

    RSA

    Republican John McCain said Thursday that Democrat Barack Obama had no right to criticize McCain’s position on military scholarships because the Illinois senator did not serve in uniform.

    Similarly, no one can criticize McCain on his immigration policies who hasn’t either been a border patrol guard or an illegal immigrant, on his economic policies (well, okay, he doesn’t really have any) who hasn’t been poor, etc.

  18. 18.

    Chuck Butcher

    Just to be fair, what McCain is supporting is the House Republicans’ version not the Senate version. I loath McCain, but we’re not served by hanging BS around his neck.

  19. 19.

    Chuck Butcher

    John,
    what I’ve admired about this blog, beyond the crazy comments section, is your honesty for the past couple years.

    So it may be that I am completely full of shit.

    I don’t know about completely, since McCain hasn’t bothered to vote for awhile, he’s still an asshole.

    I have no problem kicking his sacred horse of war hero, War and John McCain and that one has been playing on Reuters.com since I wrote it 6/7/08. Over all the headline appeared 7K times. I don’t mind taking the gloves off, not a bit.

  20. 20.

    abiodun

    Whatever version of the GI Bill McCain supported, it was not the Webb-Hagel Bill.
    So John, you are right as always. He was taking credit for a bill that passed and he did not support.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. […] The central point of which is that McCain opposed and voted against (first time) Sen. Jim Webb’s GI Bill.  Now he is taken credit for the bill (which has passed but the president has threatened a veto).  The sorry details here. John Cole correctly calls McCain the reverse Kerry. […]