Meet the REAL John McCain

Please feel free to pass this along to as many people as you can. We CANNOT be mislead and duped into another Republican term in the White House.


The media has labeled John McCain a “moderate maverick” and a reformer. That moniker could not be more misrepresentative of the core values of the current Republican candidate running for President. The real John McCain has a history of voting against women, veterans, education and the preservation of our civil liberties, in addition to abstaining completely from voting to safeguard our environment in 2007. McCain stated in January of 2008 at the March of Life in Washington DC, "If I am fortunate enough to be elected as the next President of the United States, I pledge to you to be a loyal and unswerving friend of the right to life movement." McCain also pledged to appoint judges in the mold of conservatives John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who he feels are “jurists of the highest caliber.” And the much revered war hero was 1 of only 13 Republicans to vote against benefits for veterans, preferring to give tax cuts to the rich, rather than provide veterans with adequate healthcare.

In 2000, George W. Bush campaigned as the “compassionate conservative” and pundits praised him as the anti-elite cowboy you’d want to share a beer with. As our country spirals into a recession, as gas prices climb past $4.00 a gallon, as banks foreclose on families’ homes, as the middle class disappears and more Americans become trapped in poverty, five major oil companies reported record breaking profits so far this year, with Exxon-Mobile making a $40.6 billion windfall alone. These last eight years under the ‘compassionate’ Bush Administration, the rich have become richer at the expense of hardworking Americans. In November, the public can’t allow themselves to be duped again. The real John McCain is anything but a “moderate maverick.” Rather, he is just another deeply conservative Republican looking to continue the work of the Bush Administration…and if you want proof, just look at his voting record.

John McCain on Veteran Affairs:
2006 Rating from Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America: D

Veterans Benefits

May 2008: McCain is currently opposed to the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act (S 22), proposed by Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel, to raise GI benefits to a level similar to those received by WWII vets. The maximum benefit would cover tuition for veterans for up to 4 years at the in-state public university level.
Troop Withdrawal

September 2007: McCain voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments.
July 2007: McCain voted against a plan to draw down troop levels in Iraq.
June 2006: McCain voted against a resolution that Bush start withdrawing troops that year, but did not state a deadline to do so.
Veteran Health Care

May 2006: McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for health care facilities.
April 2006: McCain was one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.
March 2006: McCain voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
March 2004: McCain voted against creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive corporate tax loopholes.
Troop Armor

October 2003: McCain voted to table an amendment that called for an additional $322 million for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322 million.
April 2003: McCain urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts and tactical vests.
(From the Veterans for Common Sense)
John McCain on Women’s Issues
In his own words: ““I do not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned.”

Reproductive Rights and Women’s Health Care
2007 Rating from NARAL: Pro Choice America and Planned Parenthood: 0

August 2007: McCain voted to codify a controversial legislation that allows states to make an embryo or fetus—but not a pregnant woman—eligible for healthcare coverage.
October 2003: McCain repeatedly voted for (and co-sponsored) the Federal Abortion ban, a law that criminalizes some abortion services, with no exception to protect a woman’s health, and carries up to a two-year prison sentence for doctors.
May 2003: McCain supported the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, a law that grants separate legal status to an embryo or fetus.
March 2003: Voted against a resolution in support of Roe v. Wade and a woman’s constitutional right to safe and legal abortion services.
(From Naral: Pro-Choice America)

Equal Pay
2006 Rating from NOW: 13%

April 2008: McCain opposed the recent Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Senate bill that sought equal pay for women. It failed to pass in the Senate by a 56-42 vote, with McCain using the excuse that it would make it easier for women to sue their employers for pay discrimination.
John McCain on the Environment
2007 Rating from the League of Conservation Voters: 0

McCain was the only member of Congress to skip every single crucial environmental vote scored by the League of Conservation Voters. When it comes to the environment, good intentions are not enough. A candidate for President needs to have a voting record on one of the most important global issues right now to show that he took a stand.
Below is a list of all the important environmental bills that McCain was absent for in 2007:

Cloture on H.R. 6, the energy bill (6/21, Vote 225)
Passage of H.R. 6, the energy bill (6/21, Vote 226)
Maintaining Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) in H.R. 6 (12/7, Vote 416)
Taking away giveaways to Big Oil to subsidize clean energy (12/13, Vote 425) Loosening public health and environmental regulations on refineries (6/13, Vote 210) Undermining the RES with coal and nuclear energy (6/14, Vote 211)
Offshore drilling in Virginia (6/14, Vote 212)
Liquid coal (6/19, Vote 213)
Environmental safeguards for biofuels (6/20, 219)
Consider global warming for water projects (5/15, Vote 166)
Appropriately prioritizing water projects (5/15, Vote 165)
International family planning (9/6, Vote 320)
Farm Bill subsidy reform (12/11, Vote 417)
Farm Bill subsidy caps (12/13, Vote 424)
Eminent Domain for public parks (12/3, Vote 429)

(From League of Conservation Voters)

John McCain on Education
2007 Rating from the National Education Association: 0

July 2007: McCain voted against a bill that would appropriate $32.9 billion from 2008 through 2017 for Promise grants to low-income and high-need students that are eligible for federal Pell Grants. The bill also proposed an increase in authorized deferments for federally insured student loans, interest subsidies, direct loans and Perkins loans from three years to six years of economic hardship
John McCain on Civil Liberties

February 2008: McCain voted to pass a bill that shields from lawsuits telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on their customers without court permission after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
March 2006: McCain voted to reauthorize the highly flawed Patriot Act, which strips Americans of some of their civil liberites.
December 2005: McCain voted to extend the Patriot Act's wiretap provision which extends the authority of the FBI to conduct "roving wiretaps" and access business records.