Althouse: "Hey?! That old man looks like John McCain."

May 11, 2010

"Hey?! That old man looks like John McCain."

McCain puts a tough-on-illegal-immigration ad on YouTube... and the comments are pretty funny.

61 comments:

AllenS said...: Please, Arizona. Send this man into retirement.; 5/11/10, 1:53 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/11/10, 1:56 PM
Dustin said...: Was Richard Nixon a worse president than Obama? Than Carter?

I think he was worse, but it took enough time for his policies to explode in cost for us to really see it, and he was such a monster in non-policy ways that most people just don't bother arguing about a man very few like.

Richard Nixon was a deeply dishonest man who would manuever all over the place, race baiting, making huge comprimises on spending, etc, to get his way.

I really think John Mccain is much like Nixon. While he has obviously shown much honor as a young man, the idea that Mccain would trot out border control and have his cop buddy assert 'you're one of us', is simply lying and deeply dishonorable.

Mccain is a major reason these problems are as severe as they are. He is pulling the Obama stunt of asserting he's the best at something he's terrible at, like Obama promising to cut the deficit and taxes. It's clever, but it's dishonorable.

Mccain would have been a lot like Nixon. Obama has spent so much and made so many diplomatic gaffes, and the only silver lining is that it's spun the debate to wake up a lot of people to the peril of unsustainable spending. I don't know if we will fix our problems as a result (or even how we possibly could), but I think Mccain would have spent a hell of a lot of money and he would have cemented our problems. There would be no real conservative opposition to him the way there is to Obama.

Was Althouse right to endorse Obama? I don't feel as strongly against the endorsement as I do now, seeing Tricky Dick pretend to be Mr Border Control.; 5/11/10, 1:58 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: McCain must think that everyone has amnesia or short term memory loss and unable to recall the "amnesty" scam he tried to pull.

Now...suddenly.....for some strange reason (cough)teaparty (cough) McCain is suddenly all for controlling immigration.

War hero yes but: what a lying piece of shit.

vw: sailingu

sailing you right off the edge of the earth and into chaos.; 5/11/10, 1:59 PM
Dustin said...: "
McCain must think that everyone has amnesia or short term memory loss and unable to recall the "amnesty" scam he tried to pull."

It will work. Watch and see. Mccain isn't as good at this as Obama, but he's a damn smart and aggressive politician who knows how to win elections.

When you're scratching your head that Mccain won a landslide victory, note that many Americans heard Obama swear to cut spending and taxes and decided to stop paying attention to that particular issue. It was off the table for people who didn't want to analyze the details.

That's a ton of voters. Mccain can simply promise to be a lot like Hayworth, take most issues off the table for all but the well informed, and even win the 'moderates' too.

This kind of things should backfire hugely. I long for the day it does.; 5/11/10, 2:04 PM
michaele said...: I feel it is time that these older senators and congreesman step down or be "assisted" down by the voters. Our political institutions need new and younger blood. Frankly, we need people in these elected positions who are going to be really affected by the mess of our federal deficits and debt. Yes, I know, I know, Obama is a young man but he's adding to the problem. I'm referring to youngish conservatives; 5/11/10, 2:21 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: It will work. Watch and see. Mccain isn't as good at this as Obama, but he's a damn smart and aggressive politician who knows how to win elections.

Maybe we need a McCain is like Obama tag.

I guess this is why I have become apathetic toward the future. Little difference between the parties anymore.; 5/11/10, 2:23 PM
Unknown said...: Junior has gone to the well on this one once too often. After his last sojourn down the garden path with Senator Grahamnesty, I don't think voters in AZ are going to bite again.; 5/11/10, 2:25 PM
chickelit said...: The political survival of McCain in Arizona should depend on who his opponent is shouldn't it?

Who is that exactly?; 5/11/10, 2:26 PM
Anonymous said...: The most interesting thing in this advertisement is what the old man does not say.

All McCain ever says is these words:

1) "Drug and human smuggling, home invasions, murder ..."

McCain never says he's against these things, or even alleges that these things are bad. He merely says "drug and human smuggling, home invasions, murder." That's it. Never says he wants to fight against those things, or is aghast that they are occurring daily in our cities.

2) "Have we got the right plan?" McCain never says we have the right plan, he merely asks a question. He never says what his plan is. He never says he's for a national ID, or for Arizona's new immigration enforcement. Never says he's for or against the current "plan". He merely asks the question.

3) " ... and complete the danged fence." McCain cleverly never says "we should complete the danged fence." He just says " and complete the danged fence." He can always deny later that he ever said we should complete the fence. He never said that. He also doesn't believe we should complete the fence. Just says, in a discussion of some nebulous plan.

The ad is cleverly designed for John McCain to take no stance on immigration, but leave the impression that he somehow agrees with the person he is talking to.

But he never does.

John McCain is now just a fucking leach. His entire life has been spent suckling from the teat of American taxpayers only to try to take their Constitutional rights away from them.

By his inaction, he is aiding and abetting large agribusiness in Arizona to import slave labor from Mexico. His entire purpose is to prevent the flow of human cargo from stopping.

He's there to keep the border wide open.

Fire. His. Ass.; 5/11/10, 2:33 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Frankly, we need people in these elected positions who are going to be really affected by the mess of our federal deficits and debt.

GFL. What we need is elected officials AND an electorate that is willing to make the tough choices to fix the mess of the deficit and the debt but that isn’t going to happen. It’s like when you take the pacifier out of the baby’s mouth except in the case of the electorate you get mass riots, Molotov cocktails and smashed storefronts. I’m all for reducing ALL spending to get a balanced budget across every single item (yes including defense) and insist that the 48% of the earners who don’t pay income tax start kicking into the kitty as well.; 5/11/10, 2:37 PM
chickelit said...: Fire. His. Ass.

Hayworth, McCain's opponent, sure got Garage Mahal worked up a couple weeks ago. Link

Must be a good sign.; 5/11/10, 2:38 PM
Dustin said...: "El Pollo Real said...

The political survival of McCain in Arizona should depend on who his opponent is shouldn't it?

Who is that exactly?"

Hayworth isn't exactly the best and brightest, by my estimation. There have been some attempts to link him to Indian casino lobbyists, which I think are generally as damaging and fair as the Keating 5 hysteria was against Mccain.

Hayworth relies on more conservative voters than Mccain, so I suppose he will be more reliable to the right in many ways. I think he's the right choice despite his problems, but it's not up to me, and I don't think Mccain is going to lose.; 5/11/10, 2:40 PM
Anonymous said...: "Little difference between the parties anymore."

And this is why Tea Party is taking scalps from both sides in equal proportion.

The Tea Party is after the John McCain's of both the Democrat and Republican Parties because there is no philosophical difference between these two parties. They're one and the same.

After Ronald Reagan ... the parties got together and decided it would be far easier for them to enrich themselves if they worked together than if they worked against each other, so they made an agreement to push a core set of policies both sides could get behind. And they enacted the current filibuster rule to prevent upstarts from being able to change the game.

And they got rich doing it.

And now they're getting filthy rich doing it. Now they know they can borrow $1.2 trillion a year and stick your kids with the tax bill and you won't rise up.

They're testing to see what they can get away with and they think they can get away with $1.2 trillion deficits hauling money out the back door by the armored carload full.

Do you care?

That's what they want to know.; 5/11/10, 2:42 PM
bagoh20 said...: It's amazing that this is the same man who would not crack under daily, near fatal, torture for years. Now just losing a job he doesn't need is scaring the shit out of him. There should be an investigation of the D.C. water supply. Something in there is very debilitating to the character of people.; 5/11/10, 2:45 PM
DKWalser said...: Has McCain changed positions on immigration? Of course he has. What many are missing is the facts on the ground in Arizona have also changed -- and I don't mean politically. Crime in Arizona is much, much worse than it was even a couple of years ago. The coyotes (smugglers of illegals) are much more brazen than they were; they behave more like the armed gangs of the 1930's where they try to shoot it out with our police rather than give up.

With this change in behavior, many in Arizona view immigration much differently than they did back when McCain proposed his version of comprehensive immigration reform. Most who supported the proposal back then are now in favor of Arizona's new law. Given all that, McCain would be stupid if he didn't change his position.

I never supported McCain's prior position, but I'll gladly welcome him to my side of the argument. I don't understand those who demand politicians never make mistakes and, at the same time, never change positions.; 5/11/10, 2:49 PM
Daniel12 said...: DBQ is absolutely right. I would like to take this moment to thank the Tea Party for exposing Maverick McCain for the bullshit artist I really had no idea he was. I never thought he had vision, but I thought he had principles.; 5/11/10, 2:51 PM
Daniel12 said...: David, do you think McCain would be acting like this if he weren't threatened politically?; 5/11/10, 2:52 PM
Lance said...: Hayworth is an opportunist. He's no more a conservative than McCain, and much less the statesman.; 5/11/10, 2:55 PM
bagoh20 said...: "I never supported McCain's prior position, but I'll gladly welcome him to my side of the argument. I don't understand those who demand politicians never make mistakes and, at the same time, never change positions."

If he said he was wrong before and why, then maybe, but this is just about getting reelected, he's trying to pretend he was always on this side. It's despicable. If his judgment was so bad just 2 years ago about what was still clear back then about immigration, then he is just another victim of the compassionate conservative disease which has cost this country enough already. A compassionate conservative is better than a liberal, but at great cost.; 5/11/10, 2:57 PM
chickelit said...: David, do you think McCain would be acting like this if he weren't threatened politically?

Boxer is threatened out here and yet she refuses to change her stance on anything. Do you admire that?

wv "quefra" (lol-she knows who she is); 5/11/10, 2:58 PM
Lance said...: I never supported McCain's prior position, but I'll gladly welcome him to my side of the argument. I don't understand those who demand politicians never make mistakes and, at the same time, never change positions.

Do you really believe he's changed his position? I remember he said some pretty harsh things about his anti-"comprehensive reform" opponents. If he's really changed his position, I think it's only fair he publicly eat those statements.; 5/11/10, 3:02 PM
mariner said...: David:

I never supported McCain's prior position, but I'll gladly welcome him to my side of the argument. I don't understand those who demand politicians never make mistakes and, at the same time, never change positions.

That's because you're not looking at context.

People who want to show McCain the door are not upset ONLY at his prior support for amnesty.

We also remember McCain-Feingold -- a blatant and egregious repudiation of the First Amendment.

We remember the Gang of Fourteen.

We remember that for years McCain has been sticking his thumbs in the eyes of conservatives, counting on their support every six years and screwing us the rest of the time.

He has long been the media's favorite Republican, because he can be counted on to eff over other Republicans in public at every opportunity.

If I really believed McCain were on the conservative side I'd welcome him too. I think anyone who actually believes that is pretty gullible.; 5/11/10, 3:05 PM
Borepatch said...: Samuel Pepys, diary entry for 13 October 1660:

"To my Lord's in the morning, where I met with Captain Cuttance, but my Lord not being up I went out to Charing Cross, to see Major-general Harrison hanged, drawn, and quartered; which was done there, he looking as cheerful as any man could do in that condition."

You might prefer Dr. Johnson: "Nothing focuses the mind like a hanging."; 5/11/10, 3:15 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Boxer is threatened out here and yet she refuses to change her stance on anything. Do you admire that?

Actually, yes. I'm out here too (California) and agree with Boxer on nothing. She is an idiot, a big part of the problem and needs to go.

However, the fact that she is not shifting with the wind and scrambling to pretend that she is something that she isn't.....or lying as in the case of McCain to maintain power....is if nothing else showing that she is true to herself (as delusional as that may be); 5/11/10, 3:19 PM
garage mahal said...: If you close your eyes, McCain sounds just like Christian Slater; 5/11/10, 3:23 PM
Anonymous said...: "Has McCain changed positions on immigration? Of course he has."

Oh really?

What exactly is his current position?

He never says what his position is in this ad. It's his 30 seconds to say whatever he wants.

He never says: "Let's secure our borders. No amnesty. Arrest employers. Take away business licenses of people who hire illegals."

He never says what his position is on this the most pressing issue facing his constituency.

If he takes a position, someone might not vote for him. So, he doesn't take a position one way or the other. He's not a man who is willing to state a position and then live with the electoral consequences of taking a position.

Such a man is a coward and we don't need such a man in our Senate.

Fire. His. Ass.; 5/11/10, 3:26 PM
Fred4Pres said...: You missed the outtake where McCain turns into a fast zombie, runs an illegal down on foot, then feasts on his brains. Yum Yum, Mac is hungry, Yum.; 5/11/10, 3:43 PM
Fred4Pres said...: I can pinpoint the moment that McCain became a defender of the border.

April 13, 2010, that is when Rasmussen had Hayworth withn 7 of Mac Daddy.; 5/11/10, 3:45 PM
1775OGG said...: I'm glad that McCain is running in AZ so I don't have to vote for or against him. McCain will win the GOP nod because his GOP opponent is JD Hayworth, who is much more of a swarmy fellow and perhaps even more shallow too!

If the DemoSocialists have a good person running against McCain, that Socialist will win, darn it all.; 5/11/10, 3:45 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Michaele said:

"I feel it is time that these older senators and congreesman step down or be "assisted" down by the voters."

Here in PA, a 30 year senator, Arlen Specter, is running TV ads accusing his opponent [a 30 year Navy vet and former admiral and one term Congress critter] of being nothing but a politician! I think Arlen is as desperate to keep his Senate seat as McCain.; 5/11/10, 3:58 PM
Dustin said...: newham,

you realize we are on the internet, right? So it's dishonest to assert Mccain hasn't taken a position pro securing the border when Johnmccain.com says

"John McCain has always believed that our borders must be secure and that the federal government has utterly failed in its responsibility to do so. The recent outbreak in violence on our southern border increasingly threatens the safety and well-being of the citizens of Arizona and all Americans. Our first priority must be to assure the integrity of our southern border while providing robust assistance to Mexico to stem the threat of drug cartel and human smuggling violence. This is an essential first step in moving forward with a comprehensive solution to our border security and immigration challenges. "

Or

"John McCain does not support amnesty and believes that we should not reward lawbreakers. "

Or

"John McCain is committed to securing our borders. A secure border is an essential element of our national security and the economic well-being of Arizona and its citizens."

Obviously that's the message behind this ad, albeit he basically lets the cop tell him how great John Mccain is rather than actually argue on his own behalf.

That's because John Mccain's entire shtick is that we should be honoring John Mccain for how awesome he is.

Yeah, he's dishonest, no we don't buy his ad. But he is taking a clear policy position that indeed stands his last one on its head.; 5/11/10, 4:00 PM
Dustin said...: Of course, some time ago

"A bipartisan group of senators [Led by John Mccain] voted, 12-6, to approve the sweeping legislation that would allow immigrants who were in the United States before 2004 to become citizens if they pay $2,000 in fines, pass a background check, learn English, and work for six years. New immigrants -- "guest workers" -- would need temporary work visas, and would also be eligible for legal permanent residency after six years. "

Now, John Mccain claims that this isn't amnesty for some reason. Just as Obama probably will claim he hasn't raised taxes.; 5/11/10, 4:04 PM
Eric said...: Has McCain changed positions on immigration? Of course he has. What many are missing is the facts on the ground in Arizona have also changed -- and I don't mean politically. Crime in Arizona is much, much worse than it was even a couple of years ago.

The trend lines have been there for decades, and this was absolutely a predictable outcome of his own open borders views.

In any event, his new found zeal for order at our Southern border is suspect. His pattern has been to tell voters what they want to hear at election time and then forget all about them as soon as he takes office.; 5/11/10, 4:07 PM
Anonymous said...: "I can pinpoint the moment that McCain became a defender of the border."

No, that day was November 4, 2009 when he lost the Presidency because as a Senator he refused to protect our country from the onslaught of drug runners and illegals stealing vital jobs.

That day, he paid the price for his arrogance, stupidity and cowardice.

And this advertisement is the sad denouement to a life of greed, corruption and the betrayal of his countrymen that - at the end - amounts to a taken hill of no consequence.

What a sad, sad failure of such a seemingly promising man.

If I reach the depths of depravity and fecklessness that he's fallen to, I hope someone has the courtesy to fucking push me in front of a bus.; 5/11/10, 4:31 PM
Anonymous said...: "Yeah, he's dishonest, no we don't buy his ad. But he is taking a clear policy position that indeed stands his last one on its head."

I call bullshit.

Saying you think we "have to secure the border" is not a principled policy position. It's a fucking given. John McCain's had 40 years to secure our border. Hasn't done it. Worked against it.

Here are actual policy positions John McCain is against:

1) Illegal aliens should be deported back to their home country when they are found by any law enforcement officer in America.

2) Their employers should have their business licenses revoked if found to be systematically violating our hiring laws.

3) Their employers should pay a $100,000 fine into the Social Security System for every illegal found to be employed by that company. $100,000 for every year that illegal was employed.

4) Employers of illegal aliens should be required to pay for that illegal alien's health insurance premium for five years - as a fine - if they are found to have hired an illegal alien. Even if they're deported.

John McCain supported giving citizenship to illegal alien criminals when he had the opportunity to vote on it. For him to now claim he is against amnesty is an easy claim to make since he's not now required to actually prove that by voting.

He is lying to the people of the state of Arizona and they should fire his ass for lying to them.

John McCain also voted to eliminate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution by restricting the free speech rights of Americans with his support of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act, a law which was struck down as blatantly unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.

He has violated his oath of service the same way a deserter has. And he has violated his oath of office by not working to protect our Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. He became the enemy of the Constitution and the United States Supreme Court had to step in and stop him.

The voters of Arizona now have an opportunity to fire his ass for that. Let's hope they do the right thing.; 5/11/10, 4:43 PM
SteveR said...: McCain can credibly state that things are much worse now than a few years ago, I live in southern New Mexico and that is true. His problem is his long history of not being tough on the issue and how the current problem was forseeable.; 5/11/10, 4:57 PM
Anonymous said...: "McCain can credibly state that things are much worse now than a few years ago ..."

Sure he can, and he's the principle reason why things are much worse.

He pushed a bill to grant amnesty and that encouraged a lot more people to cross the border on the chance they might get included. It's McCain's fault we're overrun.

McCain has been in the United States Senate since January of 1987. It's now May 2010. He's had 23 years to get a fucking fence built and only now does he claim to want it.

When it came up last, he groused "I'll build the goddamned fence if that's what they [the Tea Baggers] want."

He's no more for securing our borders than Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera ... a drug lord on the fucking Forbes's list of billionaires.

John McCain is a doddering senile fool trying to hang on to lost glory and taking the state of Arizona down with him.

Fire.

His.

Ass.; 5/11/10, 5:02 PM
Anonymous said...: The dumb mother fucker voted for TARP to bail out his Wall Street millionaire pals, and then voted against unemployment benefits for the rest of us poor victims.

It's payback time and that mother fucker has it coming to him.; 5/11/10, 5:05 PM
Big Mike said...: What David said is correct. I think that both McCain in the recent past and Dubya had this idea that their states had long ago learned how to accommodate undocumented workers (er, that still is the euphemism isn't it?) and the rest of us could learn how to reach an accommodation, too, if we just tried.

But the facts on the ground have changed both recently and substantially. And I don't imagine that either McCain or Dubya ever had to sit for an hour in an emergency room comforting a child with a broken arm while the ER staff took care of undocumented workers and their families who use ERs in lieu of primary care physicians. I can't imagine MS-13 tagging their fences. I don't think McCain or Dubya were ever nearly run off the road by someone who ignored a traffic sign because he couldn't read English.

The unanswered question is, of course, whether McCain has realized that the facts on the ground have changed, and he's changing his position in response to new realities. [Which I can maybe respect.] Or perhaps he's just a political wh... opportunist who deserves to be retired.; 5/11/10, 5:15 PM
Jeremy said...: The fence is a complete waste of money and time.

The cost for adding 600 miles of new barriers is already over $2.5 billion and it's been breached more than 3,000 times.

And that's according to a government report so you can bet your ass it's probably more like 5,000 times.; 5/11/10, 5:30 PM
Anonymous said...: " ...how to accommodate undocumented workers (er, that still is the euphemism isn't it?) and the rest of us could learn how to reach an accommodation, too, if we just tried. But the facts on the ground have changed both recently and substantially."

At 17.7% unemployment/underemployment, people are no longer willing to reach accomodation with politicians who won't do the right thing by actual taxpaying Americans who are jobless primarily because of illegal aliens.

1) Get the 20 million illegals out
2) Get the unemployment rate back down to under 5%
3) Then we'll talk accommodation.

Till then, it's fucking pink slip time, and John McCain is on the line.

We're losing our jobs.

Fire.

His.

Ass.; 5/11/10, 5:32 PM
Anonymous said...: "The fence is a complete waste of money and time."

That's right.

We need to build a fence around the employers who are hiring illegal aliens and jail them right where they sit.

Put employers out. of. business.

Employers who deliberately hire illegals shouldn't be allowed to continue in business. Confiscate their business licenses. Fine the fuck out of them. Perp walk the executives who are thumbing their noses at our laws so they can make obscene profits and put real Americans on welfare.

Let's build some chain link fences around those mother fuckers and the Mexicans will walk home all on their own.

End the jobs for illegals. Give those jobs back to Americans. And immigration takes care of itself.; 5/11/10, 5:36 PM
Anonymous said...: "The cost for adding 600 miles of new barriers is already over $2.5 billion and it's been breached more than 3,000 times."

So what Jeremy?

Washington has promised Greece $50 billion of my our tax dollars, so they can instead give Greece $47 billion and spend $3 billion on the fucking fence.

At $1.2 trillion a year deficit, I think we can afford a few more billion, don't you? If we can borrow to spend it on providing health insurance to illegals ... we can damn sure spend it on a fence.

You're against any immigration laws Jeremy, so stop complaining about cost. Americans have volunteered to build the fence for free, but the government has instead prevented them from doing that.

The fence costs nothing. We spend more housing illegal aliens in one month than we've spent building that goddamned fence.; 5/11/10, 5:40 PM
Phil 314 said...: OK I'll invite scorn by saying....

First of all I like McCain. Even if that were not so I recognize these realities (as an Arizona resident)

1.IMHO JD Hayworth is worthless. Lots of talk, lots of pork, and lots of spending. We don't need more loud, free spending politicians in AZ, Republican or Democratic
2.As a related issue, McCain has been pretty consistent in his concern for pork and spending. I consider Jeff Flake the reference point for anti-pork, anti-earmark and he supports McCain and refers to him as a fellow politican who fights the fight.
3. I'm pretty liberal on border policy. I don't like the new AZ law but I understand why it was passed and that it has majority support. McCain learned in '05 and '06 that moving to the center on immigration was going nowhere. Yes, his position has changed. As a side issue I've yet to hear him actually support AZ SB 1070
4. There is little likelihood that a Democratic will get elected Senator from AZ in 2010. The decision of McCain vs Hayworth is then the operative choice. There is no doubt in my mind that McCain is the better choice for Arizona.
5. As for the ad: I didn't like it but it will probably work in his favor during the primary.
6. It must be said that a fair amount of what he's presently pushing, our former Governor Napolitano was pushing. Now that she's moved out of AZ her public viewpoints have changed some. (And yes I voted for her in her last re-election for Governor); 5/11/10, 6:42 PM
Michael Haz said...: We need to build a fence around the employers who are hiring illegal aliens and jail them right where they sit.

As a general rule, violent drug gangs, which now saturate American cities, suburbs and rural areas are not conventional employers.

Nor are terrorist cells that import members across the US/Mexican border.

The border must be made secure.; 5/11/10, 7:10 PM
Mick said...: MCCain is not a Natural Born Citizen either (born in Colon, Panama). He allowed Obama to run
(not a Natural Born Citizen because his father wasn't a citizen). What a bunch of TRAITORS. FU McCain, you ruined your hero legacy.I love that every comment is anti the old fool.; 5/11/10, 7:33 PM
bagoh20 said...: Give employers the ability to tell who is legal and who is not and THEN blame them when they hire them. Right now all documents can be faked. You cannot tell if someone is legal, so you have to resort to racial discrimination or accepting fake documents. Take your pick.

National IDs with on line photo verification is the only way. Then decline all government assistance that allows them to stay (welfare, food stamps, etc.) Give them 6 months to get themselves out and then close the handouts down. I have many illegal friends who I like and respect. I would probably do what they did too as long as the government was permitting it like we have here. If it was not so accpeted, they would not have come.

A fence will help, but no where near totally.; 5/11/10, 7:56 PM
LonewackoDotCom said...: It's quite telling that the teapartiers have been largely on the sidelines in this race. For instance, the Tucson group has declined to endorse either. That shouldn't be that surprising since to most of the partiers it's all about the dinero and what's good for business. While some of them might talk a good game about supporting U.S. workers, when the chips are down they end up supporting the cheap labor side of things.

You can even see that in action here, where teapartiers smear me and lie about me (one even suggested harassing me) simply because I point out how weak they are on immigration matters and how weak they are on being actual patriots.

P.S. For a sampling of what I've been covering in thousands of posts since 2002, here's my list of immigration advocacy groups, with each number in parens being the number of posts involving that group. Compare that to those who simply encourage you to go throw tantrums and wave loopy signs.; 5/11/10, 8:12 PM
bagoh20 said...: Wacko,

It's getting sadly pathetic.
Try this: "Love your blog. Me and my friends have photos of a recent slumber party that got a little wild. Follow my link to see for yourself."

I'd leave out the part about wanting to sue people who don't.; 5/11/10, 8:19 PM
chickelit said...: I detect an awful lot of hyperbole being throw around in this thread.

Please try not to be so obvious in your methods.; 5/11/10, 8:26 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Man.... I don't know which is worse right now.

Living in Arizona or Morgan Hill California.

:-P; 5/11/10, 8:35 PM
ken in tx said...: Hasenstab is right. Jailing employers who hire illegals may be just, but it won't stop the invasion. It will not stop the murders, rapes, kidnappings, violent drug-gang wars, vandalism, and general lawlessness growing in some areas.

At one time I had a favorable impression of the illegal immigrants here in the US and in the local area. I thought they were a benefit to our community. I had seen some Hispanic construction workers—I am pretty sure they were illegal—at a previous job and I was impressed with their work ethic and the quality of their work. However, after the May Day demonstrations and riots of 2006 I changed my mind. When I saw the Mexican flags, the Reconquista posters, claims that parts of the US was Azatlan and belonged to them and the demands for voting rights for people who were not citizens and living here illegally, I was appalled. I then realized that no matter how beneficial they were economically, this was a national security issue and something had to be done about it. That and the growing list of violent crimes by people with Hispanic names being reported in our local news changed my mind. As a result, I support Arizona’s new law and I think other states should follow suit. There is some kind of undue influence going on at the national level and the state level seems to be more responsive on this issue.

People who want to come here should come here legally and respect our laws, language and customs, the same as we have to do in their countries.

At this point, jailing employers won’t stop the invasion.; 5/11/10, 8:41 PM
rcocean said...: McCain's contempt for the Republican Boobs aka "the Base" is well known. Every primary he gives the IMPRESSION he's in favor of border security, enforcing the immigration laws, etc.

Then after nominated, he goes back to pushing amnesty and stonewalling any attempt to stop illegal immigration.

The Conservative boobs always buy it. McCain pees down their back - & conservatives call it Ice Cream.; 5/11/10, 8:47 PM
Fen said...: John McCain,

We were promised a border fence in 1986 in exchange for allowing amnesty for illegals.

You and Bush sold us out. Its why I left the GOP.

Talk is cheap. You should take up a new hobby. In Arizona. Near the border. So you have to directly deal with the consequences of what you forced onto your own people.; 5/11/10, 8:56 PM
Fen said...: But the facts on the ground have changed both recently and substantially.

Meh. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see where the facts on the ground then would lead to today.

Did anyone here NOT expect whats been happening along our southern border?

If you cant control your borders, you don't have a nation.; 5/11/10, 9:07 PM
Dustin said...: "I call bullshit.

Saying you think we "have to secure the border" is not a principled policy position. It's a fucking given."

Hey, you clearly were wrong. You said he hadn't taken a stand because he was too vague, not saying if he supported this stuff.

That wasn't the truth. I don't really give a shit, but you should own up to the fact that you made an error.

I proved Mccain is strongly claiming to support these things, and even claiming he always has. You can quibble around his statements, but basically if you're right, he's lying. That's all. And if he's lying, you're wrong to say he make a claim at all. It's not really complex or anything.

Mccain is taking a very strong stand on this, and no one should believe he's being honest.; 5/11/10, 10:36 PM
Revenant said...: It is time for McCain to go.; 5/12/10, 1:44 AM
Moira Breen said...: David: I never supported McCain's prior position, but I'll gladly welcome him to my side of the argument. I don't understand those who demand politicians never make mistakes and, at the same time, never change positions.

mariner: That's because you're not looking at context.

No, that's because David's a gullible true-believin' dingbat. Or an RNC troll.

shouting thomas: We're helpless before our own brain dead cant.

The epitaph of the age.; 5/12/10, 10:08 AM
Phil 314 said...: Here's a good editorial regarding McCain and immigration by Bob Robb, a long time "straight-shooting" conservative pundit. key points:
1) McCain's immigration position hasn't changed much since 2007. Clearly perception has changed
2) Perceptions of "who McCain is" which has always been key for his re-election campaigns have changed.

Crime in Arizona is much, much worse than it was even a couple of years ago.

Well...
This info and this would suggest otherwise; 5/12/10, 11:02 AM
Bryan C said...: I'm confused about all the fuss. The majority of voters in Arizona obviously were ok with McCain's previous position, or maybe they just didn't care that much.

Now the situation has changed, public opinion has shifted, and Senator McCain, who represents the voters of Arizona, is changing his mind too. That's what Senators are supposed to do, right? McCain's motivations may well be cynical and calculating, but I don't particularly care.

And I don't necessarily see a conflict between amnesty and border security. Yes, I know the possibility of amnesty would probably encourage some number of illegal immigrants to make the trip. It's not like we're ever going to round them all up and deport them. So why pretend?; 5/12/10, 12:06 PM