Presidential candidate John McCain (R-AZ) is a Vietnam veteran who spent 5 1/2 years in a prisoner-of-war camp in Vietnam after refusing an out-of-sequence repatriation offer, which was extended because his father was Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command (CINCPAC) of all Vietnamese forces.
Photo:PaisleyPitbull, Creative Commons, Flickr
McCain received the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, a few Bronze Star Medals, two Purple Hearts and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Many have challenged the validity of these medals, saying they were given to all returning veterans and are not proof of heroism. Notable among them is Karl Rove, who in 2001 said McCain’s combat experience didn’t exceed 20 hours. This, at a time when McCain looked like a serious contender for the 2004 presidential election. According to some reports, McCain was actually a traitor, giving valuable tactical information to his captors in exchange for hospital admittance. If so, McCain is not the only Vietnam veteran broken by the tactics of the Vietnamese, and his years in a prison camp are – if not presidential credentials – certainly proof of his commitment to his country.
It’s hard not to admire the man, but his politics are a different story. In terms of reproductive rights, McCain believes that rape, incest, and the life of the mother are the only legitimate reasons for an abortion, and insists Roe vs. Wade should be overturned. I would agree if I didn’t consider abortion to be a moral issue, not a political one, and best left to women, their doctors, and any biological father willing to assume the financial burden of raising an unwanted child.
McCain voted to extend the PATRIOT Act and its wiretap provision in 2005. This vote, in effect, made PATRIOT Act provisions a permanent part American law, and sent a clear message to the world that the Bill of Rights had become a paper tiger. McCain voted no on preserving habeas corpus (the right to trial under a judge) for Guantanamo detainees, which was an authorization to conduct trials under a military tribunal. One year later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that the tribunals were both unfair and illegal (a decision applauded by both the ACLU and concerned citizens).
McCain also voted not to require CIA reporting on detainees and interrogation methods. Yet in 2006 McCain, interviewed by Fortune Magazine, said he would close Guantanamo. McCain’s primary reason for closure was the possibility that American soldiers in enemy hands might be treated with equal disregard for human rights. Apparently, it’s only wrong when it hits home.
In 2006, before information about waterboarding hit the Internet, McCain expressed astonishment at the idea that anyone in America would use that form of torture to extract information.
"I am astonished that you would think such a torture [waterboarding] would be inflicting on anyone we have held captive and anyone could believe that’s not torture, it’s in violation of the Geneva Conventions…let me tell you, if we’re going to get the highground in this world, and we are going to be the America we have cherished and loved for over 200 years, we’re not going to torture people."
He, and others, can perhaps be excused for not knowing the gory details, but his adamant denial is either a symptom of naivete or denial. The provisions of the PATRIOT Act, and President Bush’s own admissions, make it clear that torture was implied as an information gathering technique as far back as 2003. McCain also voted no to the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2008, which provided for the establishment of a single interrogation standard across the board, namely the Army Field Manual (which bans waterboarding).
McCain continues to push for laws that criminalize possession of marijuana. When asked how he reconciles alcohol abuse with this stance, he simply reiterates that marijuana is a "gateway" drug (i.e., leading to use of other drugs). In 1999, McCain introduced S. 423, which prohibits using treatment funds for any program that relies on methadone or other detoxification agents. Under the program, addicts were expected to be "cured" in six months.
Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York, had already tried a similar program a year earlier and admitted failure. McCain, undeterred, pushed for passage of S.423. Fortunately, there were no takers. McCain continues to advocate capital punishment for convicted international drug traffickers and to push for stronger penalties for non-controlled substances, including inhalants and commercially available pills. To his credit, McCain has said that first-time offenders should be rehabilitated rather than imprisoned.
McCain’s stand on education seems to be a curious mix of individual rights and outright confusion. On one hand, he proposes sending the money directly to classrooms rather than funneling it through state or federal agencies, where it is "diluted by many hands." On the other hand, if those classrooms fail to educate, he argues that the states should have the authority to pass the funds to students’ parents, who can use it for programs that better meet their child’s academic needs. In other conversations, McCain appears to advocate charter schools, tax breaks, and even voucher programs (that he says would not come out of education funds). The result is so garbled it is difficult to ascertain where he stands.
In 2007, during a debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, McCain said he would continue the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program if he became president, and would leave it intact except for advanced testing for disabled and ESL (English as a Second Language) students. He favors across-the-board raises in teacher’s pay, and merit-based pay for exceptional teachers. He supports the use of standardized testing to measure a school’s performance, but would not tie funding to test results, instead leaving it to the states to spend the money ($500 million) as they see fit. Since this is a direct contradiction to previous remarks, his stand on education may still be evolving.
He will allow states to decide the issue of teaching creationism, but believes that all Americans should be exposed to all theories. Though if this is true, we should consider teaching the Koran, so that future generations will grasp the vast rift between Eastern and Western thought. In a speech given at St. Anselm College in 2007, McCain stated that religious symbols and prayer were a legitimate part of school campuses and did not violate the First Amendment. He further proposed providing legal assistance to any state government forced to defend itself against opponents of the above. Since the real America includes every religion, including paganism, I hope this right will be extended to all.
In 2001, McCain and Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) launched a national service movement to expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 participants, with homeland security as the primary focus. This proposal for "citizen soldiers" incorporates a short-term military enlistment option. Otherwise, McCain opposes a period of mandatory public service for youth as proposed by both Clinton and Obama. Personally, I fail to see the difference.
McCain agrees, in principle, that human activities are warming the planet, but strongly opposes the Kyoto Protocol. He also opposes government investment in alternative energy.
"When oil is $15 a barrel, ethanol does not make sense. When oil is $60-plus a barrel, then ethanol does make sense." McCain once said. Now that oil is $108 a barrel and climbing, I wonder if he will change his mind. Unfortunately, ethanol is not alternative energy and is proving disastrous to world grain supplies.
McCain voted no to reducing oil usage 40 percent by 2025. In 2005, he voted against a renewable portfolio standard that would have mandated 10 percent of electricity from renewables by 2020. He supports cap and trade carbon programs, and nuclear energy, but is reportedly neutral on forcing auto makers to meet fuel efficiency standards, yet supports S.14, which would put 100,000 hydrogen-powered cars on the road by 2010. He also introduced S. 1926, which would impose fuel efficiency standards after 2010 for light trucks (26.3 mpg). Perhaps McCain only supports energy initiatives which he either introduced or had a hand in crafting.
Theodore Roosevelt is McCain’s hero, and McCain has said that he would increase funding for national parks if he were elected. His stance on other environmental/critical habitat issues is largely negative. He voted no to designate parts of the California Desert as wilderness. When the act passed, McCain nullified it by attaching a rider allowing military flights and missile testing in the area. He was supported in this by Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who had already perverted the bill’s intent by allowing mining claims. If elected, McCain has already admitted he will permit new road construction in 50 million acres of national forest in the Southwest. So much for national parks.
McCain is against gay unions of any kind, and opposed to gays serving openly in the military. He voted to relax license and background checks at gun shows in 1999, and believes in preserving the Second Amendment intact, if not the First. He opposes any nationalized form of health care, and proposes instead installing mini-clinics in – for example – Wal-Mart stores, where the uninsured can see a doctor and fill a prescription. He proposes giving every American a $5,000 refundable tax credit for discretionary health spending, and says:
"We have 11 million children without health insurance. We’ve got to expand the children’s health insurance program."
Yet in 2007, he voted against HR 976, which would have amended title XXI of the Social Security Act to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
McCain proposed immigration reform that would eventually allow illegals to gain citizenship, and strongly supports a Guest Worker program for illegals. He voted to declare English as the national language, yet digresses about the Navajos in his state who maintain their native language. I support the right of every minority to maintain its linguistic ties myself, but I think one ought to be consistent.
McCain opposes a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq, says the surge is working (even when confronted with the evidence of Basra), and maintains we need a "long-term" presence in that country, citing our 50-year presence in S. Korea. McCain approves the current U.S. relationship with Israel, and opposes relations with Iran and N. Korea. He also opposes upping foreign aid for nations like Africa, even for AIDS relief, saying the governments are corrupt and the aid never reaches the people. He may be right, but judging by his attitude we don’t even have an obligation to try.
McCain supports privatizing Social Security and opposes raising the federal minimum wage. He opposes raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans (he and his wife reportedly own eight homes), supports CAFTA, and ascribes NAFTA with creating 300,000 new American jobs since its creation. I sometimes wonder if McCain and I are living in the same country. The man is a war hero and a survivor, but his politics are anti-humanitarian, anti-environmental, and threaten the survival of the American way of life, which has already been severely diluted by Bush policies over the last eight years.
Remember that a candidate’s vote speaks louder than words.
Disclosure: I am registered as an Independent and do not support any specific presidential candidate, however I disagree with most of McCain’s policies and proposals.