|
Support AlterNet
Do you value the information you're getting from AlterNet? Please show your support with a tax-deductible donation.
Feedback
Tell us how we're doing.
Why the Media and Independent Voters Need to Break Up with McCain
Share and save this post:
Also by Arianna Huffington
Caught Shilling for the Drug War, Pollster Attacks the Messenger
Pollster Mark Mellman was hired by Lockheed Martin to push for funding for drug tracking planes in Colombia and doesn't like being called on it.
Apr 16, 2008
A McCain Moment: Do You Want Four More Years of This?
It's not just George Bush's war that McCain wants to continue; it's George Bush's approach.
Mar 26, 2008
Microtrends vs. Macrotrends: Why Obama Is Winning
Clinton guru Mark Penn tried to slice the electorate into the "small forces behind tomorrow's big changes," while Obama tried to unify us.
Mar 3, 2008
I hate to be the one to break up a love affair, especially with Valentine's Day just around the corner, but I can no longer stand idly by and watch the media and independent voters continue to throw themselves at the feet of John McCain.
The John McCain they fell in love with in 2000 -- the straight-shooting, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may maverick -- is no more. He's been replaced by a born-again Bushite willing to say or do anything to win the affection of his newfound object of desire, the radical right.
And we've got the money shot of his betrayal on tape: McCain singing the praises of Karl Rove, calling him "one of the smartest political minds in America," and saying, "I'd be glad to get his advice."
So, please, stop pretending that McCain is still the dashing rebel that made knees buckle back in the day -- and stop referring to him, as the New York Times did this weekend, as "moderate" and a "centrist."
What is it going to take for you guys to face reality? McCain verbally stroking Rove should be the equivalent of that great scene at the end of The Godfather where Diane Keaton's Kay watches in horror as Al Pacino transforms, in the kiss of a ring, from her loving husband Michael into the next Don Corleone. This ain't the same man you married.
I know it's hard. I myself was deeply enamored of the old McCain. In 2000, I invited him to give the keynote address at the Shadow Convention I'd helped organize. He spoke with passion about the need to clean up the "iron triangle of lobbyists, big money, and legislation."
And now he'd be "glad to get" advice from one of the preeminent architects of that triangle?
Of course, McCain's embrace of Rove is just the latest proof that the new McCain bears no relation to the old.
The old John McCain once rightly called Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and like-minded religious bigots "agents of intolerance." The new John McCain now slavishly seeks their endorsement.
The old John McCain talked about trying to do something about global warming and encourage renewable energy. The new John McCain didn't show up for a vote last week on a bill that included tax incentives for clean energy, even though he was in DC. And then his staff misled environmentalists who called to protest by telling them that he had voted for it.
The old John McCain once stood tall as a fearless leader on immigration, co-sponsoring a humane, bipartisan reform bill with Ted Kennedy. The new John McCain, when asked during a recent GOP debate whether he would support his own proposal, replied: "No, I would not." In other words, he was for his core beliefs before he was against them.
See more stories tagged with: mccain, media, election08
Find more Arianna at the Huffington Post.
Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »
EMAIL
PRINT
31 COMMENTS
