McCain, the most absentee senator in the 110th Congress,
will lie about anything to get your vote!
Photo: Getty Images

Unlike most people, I won’t start out with “McCain, our greatest patriotic hero,” and place him on this pedestal above the rest of us. Yes, he was shot down, captured and tortured, but does that make him any better than than the rest of us “normal” people? Does that make him infallible? Or, how about … does it make him presidential? No, it doesn’t. It makes him a person that has been through a lot of shit. A person that has seen the nastiest of human nature and made it out alive. But, he did it because his other choice was death, and he obviously wasn’t ready for that choice.

You may think I am amazingly brash, rude, unpatriotic or just plain mean, but I am none of those labels. What I am is rational, logical and objective. I respect those that respect others, and John McCain does not respect many. He lies, panders and does not follow through with his word, even when the word is about torturing POW’s. Yes, he said he would never support torture (I even wrote about it in this article months ago). I thought, “There is a man with principles and honor.” Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

McCain went back on his word when he supported Bush’s veto on limiting the CIA’s use of physical and mental force to extract information from detainees. Here is a Time magazine article on McCain’s flip-flopping on this controversial topic:

Tom Malinowski, the advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, who has worked closely with McCain and his staff on these issues. “I think McCain just reached a point where he didn’t want any more confrontations with the White House. He wanted to win the White House.”

It could be perceived as though McCain will do anything to get into the White House. One could argue that there were extenuating circumstances that lead McCain to make such a blasphemous decision, and I would agree, but let’s fast forward to McCain’s Straight Talk Express campaign trail and see if he “straightened” himself up.

Well, according to the most recent news, the answer is NO! It seems McCain is in another messy situation in part because his amazingly awesome energy plans. You know, the one he is lying about to get your vote. The one where he lies and says that we will reap the benefits of drilling for oil in the Gulf in a year or two. (Truth is, it will take about a decade or more to see any kind of benefit from the drilling — see this article.)

Anyways, this messy situation was during his meeting with T. Boone Pickens where he started bragging about his amazingly long record for voting on ALL the important alternative energy policies while in the senate. Does anyone other than the educated few know that McCain holds the record for being the most absentee senator in 110th Congress? All those senate votes that we pay him with our tax money to go to and represent the American people for, he decides to not show up and just collect our hard earned money. Why not?! We don’t hold anyone accountable for stealing, right?

Here is what McCain said during his meeting with the oil tycoon, T. Boone Pickens:

I have a long record of that support of alternate energy … I’ve always been for all of those and I have not missed any crucial vote. But my citizens in Arizona know that when I’m running for the President of the United States I have to be out campaigning.

Okay, let’s look at this record. Here is a Huffington Post article that pretty much says it all and cites great sources if you don’t believe us:

Let us just take a moment to consider two votes relevant to “alternate energy,” from December 2007 and February 2008. Were these “crucial votes”?

On 13 December 2007, the Senate voted on a measure to provide $13 billion for renewable power over the coming five years. And, that bill had provisions to pay for this: recouping unjustified tax subsidies to the big five oil companies. The vote for cloture (to allow a simple majority vote on the measure) required 60 votes and failed with a vote of 59 for, 40 against, and 1 Senator absent. What is that “1″? John McCain, who couldn’t be bothered to show up to vote on a measure critical for setting a path forward for “alternate energy”. A crucial vote?

In early February, the Senate version of the Stimulus package had provisions for roughly $5 billion in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green jobs. That $5.7 billion package included:

1-year extension of the Production Tax Credit-$3 billion
Solar, fuel cell, and micro turbine investment credits-$130 million
Clean Renewable Energy Bonds-$400 million
High-efficiency appliance credits-$323 million
Energy efficiency credits for new homes-$61 million
Energy efficiency credits for home retrofits-$1.5 billion
Energy efficiency credits for commercial buildings-$153 million

When the vote for cloture came up on the Stimulus Package including this funding for green technologies: 59-40-1. Do I need to tell you who was the one Senator Missing in Action and Absent WithOut Leave?

So, are you going to let that slide just because he was a POW? Can he just keep continuing without any accountability? Are we not suffering right now because of a man that thinks he can do no wrong? A president that can commit all kinds of autrocities without any consequences, accountability? I just don’t get all you people out there that keep creating excuses for a man that has been using his military service and unfortunate life to pull the wool over your eyes. I don’t even know why I try anymore. Just don’t say you weren’t warned.

Just because I can; here is the video of him lying: