McCain and Palin's Top 20 Lies, Myths and Flip-Flops

By Isaac Fitzgerald and Tana Ganeva, AlterNet. Posted September 12, 2008.

The corporate media won't say it and the Obama campaign isn't saying it enough, so we're saying it loud and clear: John McCain is a liar. And so is the woman he now shares the Republican ticket with. Yes, Sarah Palin is a liar, too. Together they are responsible for one of the most inaccurate and misleading presidential campaigns, in a business known for inaccuracy and misdirection. But even by the standards of American politics, the McCain-Palin ticket seems to be in a race with itself to set new standards of low.

This isn't opinion, this is fact. Time and time again, on the campaign trail, in press briefings and in interviews, McCain and Palin flip-flop on the issues, propagate myths they know to be false, and flat-out lie to the American people.

Unlike the McCain campaign, we have to back up our assertions, so here is a quick, short and cited list of the top 20 lies, myths and flip-flops that have come from the McCain/ Palin ticket so far.

1. The Myth: McCain and Palin claim to be agents of change.

The Truth: In a desperate attempt to revive McCain's "maverick" reputation, the McCain campaign is trying to co-opt Obama's slogan. But "change" is a tough act to pull off when your record almost exactly matches the current president's. According to a study cited by the Huffington Post, John McCain voted in keeping with the president's positions 100 percent of the time in 2008 and 95 percent in 2007.

2. The Lie: To burnish Palin's rep as a down-to-earth, no-nonsense fighter of government waste, the campaign keeps bringing up the state-owned jet Palin put on eBay. Today McCain stated: "You know what I enjoyed the most? She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay -- made a profit."

The Truth: As Politico points out, Palin did put the Alaska-owned plane on eBay. But she failed to sell it. Instead, the state had to go through a private broker to unload the jet and ended up losing money in the transaction. Or, the opposite of profit.

3. Flip-Flop: Offshore Drilling.

Original Position: In 1999, McCain made conservatives very unhappy by supporting a moratorium on offshore drilling.

Politically Expedient Position: McCain can't afford to make conservatives unhappy anymore; his campaign now depends on the rapturous love of a conservative base that is still suspicious of him from when he used to take intelligent positions. So he switched his position on offshore drilling. As Dana Milbank at the Washington Post writes, McCain recently argued that "those very same 'moratoria should be lifted' and proposed incentives for the states 'in the form of tangible financial rewards, if the states decide to lift those moratoriums.'"

4. The Lie: McCain and Palin have said up to 29 times and counting that Palin told Congress "'thanks but no thanks' on that Bridge to Nowhere."

The Truth: Palin strongly supported the Bridge to Nowhere and campaigned on the issue while running for governor of Alaska in 2006. It should also be noted that she never actually got the chance to tell Congress "no thanks," as Congress killed off the project, choosing instead to give a lump sum for all of Alaska's transportation projects, money that Palin gladly accepted.

5. The Lie: McCain keeps repeating, over and over and over again, that Obama's tax proposals will hurt the middle class.

The Truth: Obama's tax policy cuts taxes for people in the middle-income brackets, while his plan would increase taxes only for those with a family income above $250,000 and individuals who make more than $200,000. Not exactly the middle class.

6. The Lie: McCain falsely claims he received every award from every veterans organization.

The Truth: Despite saying it again and again, McCain is flat-out lying when he claims to have received the highest award from every veterans organization. As Think Progress reports:

He received a grade of D from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and a 20 percent vote rating from the Disabled Veterans of America; Vietnam Veterans of America noted McCain had "voted against us" in 15 "key votes."

As for the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars -- with whom McCain claims to have a "perfect voting record" -- both groups vigorously supported Sen. Jim Webb's (D-Va.) GI Bill that McCain tirelessly opposed.

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