Chip's Blog

No, yellow isn't McCain's color at all, I'll agree with you on that. But, I'm betting that he probably did not vote to avoid being chewed in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. He's been getting flak for not being conservative enough, so what if he disagrees with blocking the bill? More fodder for that particular cannon. He's also been getting flak for not caring about the average folks, so what if he agrees with blocking it?

I don't know about you, but even if it's McCain vs the democrats, it still doesn't change how I feel on the subject.

You've got to remember, Chip, this election is turning out to be a different animal than past ones, and that means strategy has to change. If this were a long standing pattern with McCain, then I'd be upset, but since this is rare for him, I'm thinking it has something to do with him trying to adapt his strategy. (I'm willing to give him a "mulligan" on this one.)

I'm disappointed that McCain didn't vote on the question of blocking the stimulus pacakge. Still, barring anything completely unforseen I'm still much more likely to vote for him than Hillary Corleone, er I mean Clinton or Barack Obama. Still when you consider that McCain once said "Political courage in practice is the resolve to do what's right whatever the personal consequences one must suffer", it is disappointing that McCain would skip this vote for seemingly political reasons.

It's not really a potential recession anymore, Chip. It's pretty much fact. And yes, I give him a "mulligan" because I'm sure that if he does get the job in the corner office, he's going to be doing what he can to rectify the situation. Like I said, if it were long standing (see Hillary, Obama, Kennedy, Kerry, etc), then I wouldn't be quite as open-minded. He's out there trying to win an election, and if he'd gone republican and blocked the bill, don't forget, he would have alienated his core block of supporters, veterans. (The bill that was blocked would extend the rebate to retirees and disabled vets, don't forget.) I seriously doubt he's going to do this again, especially if it's not his style, which we both know it's not.

Chip, the bill that the Republicans blocked called for the rebate to be extended to disabled vets and senior citizens, as well as working taxpayers. I'm certainly not excusing McCain's actions, but especially in light of Mitt Romney suspending his campaign, I see his point. With all I know about McCain, I seriously wonder if this is a reverse "campaign" promise, i.e., telling the conservative crowd he's not in favor of extending the rebates to everyone, but then once in office, the rebates go to everyone. (Or, in this case, it looks like a compromise has already been hammered out. Any idea if McCain had anything to do with it?)

LOL, Chip, gee, I wonder why?

Amen DrStrangehose...Amen