McCain is mocking the fundraiser held in California for Obama:
You knew it was coming, even though it took John McCain all day to get to it.
But in an airplane hanger here, reunited with running mate Sarah Palin and in front of a boisterous crowd, McCain pointed out that Democratic rival Barack Obama’s hard-edged comments about McCain and the economy came “just before he flew off to Hollywood for a fundraiser with Barbra Streisand.”
For his part, McCain said, “Let me tell you, friends, there’s no place I’d rather be than here with the hard-working men and women of Ohio.”
The $5.1 million McCain raised Monday night at a swank Miami hotel is apparently a distant memory.
The cynicism of the Republicans just never stops, does it? While the government is taking over ginormous businesses which are failing in large part due to the efforts of McCain and the Republican party, making taxholders responsible for hundreds of billions, John McCain is on the dole for another $84 million of taxpayer money, which he is using to mock private efforts to finance a political campaign.
That is right, the guy who gets thousands of dollars a month from the government for his disability and his service in the military (money I do not for one second begrudge him, btw), is married into millions of someone elses money, who has the best health care that OUR money can buy, draws a yearly salary that you and I pay, is partially responsible for the hundreds of billions we are now on the hook for regarding the subprime mess, who wants to continue the fiscally irresponsible management of George Bush, and who just took near 100 million more from you and me to finance his campaign, is mocking the private financing of a campaign.
Fiscal conservatism. What a fucking racket.
Incertus
Can someone explain to me the visceral hatred that the right has for Barbara Streisand? Is it just that she’s a woman who refused to accept the role men expected her to take, or is it something deeper? Seems to me that the right makes her more powerful than she probably is in real life–I certainly don’t know of anyone who’s looking to Streisand for political cues.
r€nato
To the right, Streisand is the embodiment of the shrill Hollywood limousine liberal. You don’t hear as much from her these days, but for some time she was quite vocal about her politics.
Personally, I don’t care for her either. She really is a bit ridiculous, Roseanne’s appearance on Real Time reminded me very much of Streisand. Her heart may be in the right place, but she really doesn’t sound very good to those not already in the choir.
Laura W
Yeah well fuck him and the moose he’ll be riding out on.
I just watched the video from Plouffe (he’s so calm and reassuring) in the email solicitation of this hour and made a $50 donation. I usually only do $25, but I do it every time they do the “match a first time donor” deal since I like the email exchange part.
Ass wipe.
flitterbic
For his part, McCain said, “Let me tell you, friends, there’s no place I’d rather be than here with the hard-working men and women of Ohio.’’
Adding, “Unless it’s with the hard-working men and women who made my wife worth over a $100 million. Those people are the ones I’d really rather be with. And, my friends, I mean that figuratively, because I’d never do what they do for what she pays them.”
bago
As said by Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider:
It leads to harder stuff! I can’t afford to get hooked.
Elvis Elvisberg
Yeah, I don’t get the Streisand obsession, whether it’s from McCain/Limbaugh et al on the one hand or Richard Simmons on the other.
I’ve seen someone like Jonah Goldberg say that Democrats are weirdly obsessed with people like Grover Norquist because the Left cares about tactics whereas the Right talks about ideas (or some other nonsensical insult). Meanwhile the right uses Streisand and Jane Fonda as punchlines all the time.
Norquist actually chairs meetings where the GOP and VRWC hammer out their talking points; it’s not clear to me what influence Fonda or Streisand have over anything.
Balconesfault
The campaign finance thing is something that I’ve been bothered by all along.
Barak Obama has campaign donations directed to his Obama 08 campaign, making him ineligable for federal matching funds, and he got criticized.
John McCain has campaign donations directed to the RNC, which is using them almost completely to back McCain’s campaign … and then accepts Federal Matching Funds which he’s only eligible for because donations were directed to the RNC … and Mr. Campaign Finance Reformer takes potshots at Obama from the windows of his Straight Talk Express.
Someone should do a statistical assessment of the dollar value of each individual earmark last year, and start talking about what percentage of those earmarks McCain’s Federal Matching Fund exceeds in value at the same time the RNC is spending tens of millions on his behalf.
namekarB
You have overlooked the fact that McCain has not one, but two government health care plans. Not only does he have Congressional Health Care Benefits, but due to his service related injuries he has full coverage under the Veteran’s Administration. Thus the candidate who has two government provided health care plans is against the rest of America from having any government provided health care plan.
As an aside, I wonder which health care plan he uses and which he avoids?
gbear
I’m still waiting for the story about the hardships that Cindy McCain is facing due to the economic downturn. Her investment portfolio must be losing millions. Even gazillionairs can get hurt by these times and it’s about time someone from the McCain campaign focused on how rough it’s been for the former POW and his family.
Not My Fault
Yentl
No. I’m sorry. That’s why I hate her. I have no idea why the right hates her.
Gay Veteran
gee, maybe McSame should be talking about the $millions that Bush is raising for him
"Fair and Balanced" dave
Of course “Maverick” John McCain would NEVER attend a fundraiser in Hollywood
Seitz
Oh really? How many of his 12 homes are in Ohio?
Brachiator
The GOP has perfected a certain form of political smear. They need merely mention certain names, Streisand, Alec Baldiwn, Michael Moore, the Dixie Chicks, and the base will reflexively foam at the mouth and think bad thoughts about the Democratic Party, no matter the issue, and even (in this case) if Streisand does nothing more than host a fund raiser.
And it is not that these people are “limousine liberals,” it’s that they strongly criticized either the GOP or a Republican president. Thus, they automatically become enemies.
jrg
And you know what? The Republicans in the crowd will be dumb enough to believe it. These are the same people who think that Carly Fiorina’s presence on the McCain campaign gives him credibility on fiscal responsibility.
These people also believe Lynn Forester de Rothschild and Mitt Romney are just regular folks, who are leading a culture war against the “elite”.
Fiscal conservatives are people (like Palin), who incessantly complain about the IRS, while feasting from the public trough. “Fiscal conservatives” genuinely believe that needless wars and giveaways to poor red states are free. We need to cut these people off.
We also need to stop subsidizing the Republican noise machine by giving churches tax breaks, despite their blatant electioneering efforts.
Rick Taylor
Nope.
Yup.
The Grand Panjandrum
In a previous thread you wrote that you thought former POW John McCain might just be dumb. This is an indication that maybe he thinks you, me, and the rest of the taxpayers ARE dumb. Lucky for me–I can haz intertrons!
Maybe we could start our own offshoot of I Can Haz Cheezburger. What? LOLPols sounds about rigth, eh?
SGEW
I’ve been saying this for years, but for other reasons.
28 Percent
You do not understand it is because they do not understand that they are ACTORS they should keep thyere opinions to themselves and just do there jobs. When they are on camera in an interview they should do there jobs and not talk about politics because that is none of they’re business. If they want to be politicians then they can talk about politics. But if they talk about it when they are not politicians and they are not ordinary REAL AMERICANS who only get put on camera when they are saying things REAL AMERICANS believe and wearing a $30,000 watch like REAL AMERICANS not hollyweird celebs then they are not doing there jobs and should be fired.
That would be too bad for Streisand though and I am sorry that I can not watch her movies any more because of her politics. She puts the Y in Yeshiva.
SGEW
My goodness! Are you really unfamiliar with punditkitchen?
Recent keeper: Guns don’t kill people
And, of course, there’s Yes We Can Has Cheezburger.
magisterludi
Just think of all the former POW’s who went on to live their lives like the rest of us, knowing that, in the end, survival was their greatest gift and and a nation’s gratitude was sincerely, but humbly accepted.
I don’t recall any other career POWs.
Laura W
Hey. Did St. Angelina de Jolie choose a candidate yet? Last I heard she was “undecided”.
Normally this is not a woman I would mock. However, not being able to choose b/n the candidates demands my mockery.
Hard to fathom, really.
croatoan
It’s closet-case self-loathing. Barbra’s a gay icon, many Republicans are closet cases, and Barbra makes them confront their inner friend of Dorothy.
Lie baby, lie!
John, don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh on St. McCain? He’s just workin’ the system. It’s what Republicans do best.
Got to go. Just got myself a shinny new soup bowl and I’m heading down to the line for something to eat. Hey, if welfare’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me too.
JGabriel
Does McCain really want to go there?
I mean, Palin is such an extreme caricature of a combined Mean Girl/Alaska Pioneer Woman that I expect the gay/camp subculture to raise Palin to Streisand-like levels of mimicry and adulation any day now.
Mark my words: Palin imitators will be winning drag queen contests across the country within a month.
.
Beej
I’m with you Laura W. Can anyone, anyone at all give me 2 good reasons why anyone, anyone at all, should vote for John McCain? I’ve racked my brain trying to think of even 1 good reason. Nothing.
JGabriel
Laura W.:
It’s politics. Because of the work Jolie is doing for the UN, she’s maintaining a public veneer of indecision/neutrality.
I have no idea what Jolie’s politics are, or who she’ll vote for – but I strongly suspect that, protestations to the contrary, she does.
.
LiberalTarian
The people buying McCain’s crap were washed out to sea by Ike last weekend. I just don’t see the draw–he’s ugly and his mother dresses him funny. Besides, his politics really are to blame for the mess we’re in. How people can get behind that is really a mystery.
zuzu's petals
Ruth Marcus weighs in on the general lying thing:
True Whoppers
I wonder if someone’s keeping a tally/putting up a webpage with all the “McCain is a liar” columns out there?
JGabriel
Incertus:
The GOP thinks “Send In The Clowns” is about them.
Ok, seriously, Croatan is close to correct. Streisand, as a gay icon, no doubt stirs up confusion in many of the GOP’s closet cases. More importantly though, her name alone serves as code within the party to associate Democrats with gay/camp subculture.
So, it’s not really so much that the GOP hates Streisand (though they may; I can’t say I’m fond of her music either), as that she provides a euphemism for calling all liberals and Democrats “fags”.
.
Laura W
I can certainly understand that, and if it’s the case, she should say that. It sounds fair and intelligent and bigger than partisan crap.
Perhaps she didn’t put out the “undecided” line, but that’s what I heard on the tee vee a few times; the most accurate depository of knowledge EVER. It sounds ignorant and moronic. If I were her (and I’ve seen her on Actor’s Studio so I very well could be her), I’d work hard to make the difference between the two positioins very clear.
This site has eaten two of my posts today. A new PR.
I would definitely leave you if not for the kids.
OH nooooooooze. My new favorite love to despise McShame surrogate is on: Nancy Pfotenhauer. She is just scary.
Goseph Gerbils
Maybe we could start our own offshoot of I Can Haz Cheezburger. What? LOLPols sounds about rigth, eh?
Among others, there’s http://lolitics.livejournal.com.
Grandjester
You forgot to include that McCain is also collecting SOCIAL SECURITY.
Jason means
Joe Bageant aptly states in his book Deer Hunting With Jesus, that he believes the GOP emits a special pheromone that attracts fools and money… I think this recent showing by McCain and his associates brings this statement to life.
Hedley Lamarr
“(money I do not for one second begrudge him, btw)”
Hmmmm. I wonder just how many pots he dips from, however. He gets around $60K on 100% disability for his several aircraft crashes, about $24K Social Security (twice the national average), and there is a $169,300 paycheck from the Senate. It would not surprise me to learn there is also a regular Navy pension. When he leaves the Senate another generous pension will kick in.
mds
See, this keeps coming up, and I still don’t get it. If he’s on 100% disability, how can he be fit to be President? For that matter, how is he keeping up the grueling campaign?
Sheesh. Iraq war vets are discovered to be occupying cockroach-infested accommodations at Walter Reed*, and have to claw furiously for dribs and drabs of benefits, but John Sidney McCain III gets 100% disability coverage while holding down a six-figure job and cavorting with a beer baroness. The arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward injustice.
*The hospital, not the middle school, for any confused McCain supporters out there.