The Sunshine Empire

One of the interesting lingering side effects of the 2008 presidential campaign is the campaign emails that I continue to receive now over one year on from the historic race. I was receiving both the Obama and McCain campaign emails during the campaign, and both have continued to use their mailing lists after the election. With President Obama it has transitioned to his campaign arm Organizing For America. With the McCain campaign my address has simply been added to the McCain senatorial campaign arm and to Sarah Palin’s political action committee. As much as Palin used the list mainly to pimp her new book, Senator McCain’s latest email for end of quarter fund raising was particularly interesting.

Now I’ve discussed before my previous respect for Senator McCain, and my probable primary vote for him in 2000 when I was a registered Republican. Now I lost my respect for the man during the 2008 election, not because of what he believed in, but because of what he compromised his values on (i.e torture). Now that Senator McCain finds himself with the prospect of a Republican primary battle for his Arizona senate seat he’s sending out end of year fund raising appeals. The email is standard boilerplate type stuff but a few things stood out to me.

. . . and that government bureaucrats should never make decisions about your family’s health care needs.

I am at my wits end with this moronic, outright, baldfaced lie. There is no “takeover” of health care and saying so would be to characterize the Patriot Act as a takeover of the communications industry. You may disagree with the legislation but to call it a takeover or saying that “government bureaucrats” are going to make decisions about your health care under the bill passed in the senate is to cynically and intentionally deceive the American public.

Whether it’s fighting Medicare cuts, tax increases, earmarks or any other issue, my approach to policy is the same as it’s always been: I call things like I see them.

What he conveniently leaves out, is that during his campaign for president he proposed cutting $1.3 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid over ten years. He also proposed a tax increase on the “Cadillac” health care plans. To be sure he still seems to be concerned with that less than 1 percent of the federal budget that earmarks take up. He may call it like he sees it, but it’s obvious that in his old age his vision is failing. He seems to see it differently during every election year. Also to be honest, as much as President Obama campaigned against both Medicare cuts and the health plan tax he sure seems to be alright with them now.

In the same email he rails against a “$12 trillion” national debt, but the record will show he voted for Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43′s budgets. Hardly the actions of someone that has an issue with debt. The simple fact remains he’s a bitter old loser that has found himself faced with a primary battle for a simple senate seat. He found himself rejected by the American people, and like most Republicans he’s less interested in the American people, and more interested in exacting his revenge on Barack Obama.

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