Some of McWaffles' Flip Flops:
Jerry Falwell
McCain used to dismiss Jerry Falwell as an "agent of intolerance," but later gave the commencement speech at his university.
Free Speech
McCain, until recently, was pushing for a reform law that would require conservative groups to reveal their financial donors. But, after fielding protests from evangelical Christians and antiabortion activists,
McCain decided last month to strip out the provision.
McCain in 2000 assailed Bush's proposed tax cuts as a sop to the rich, and a year later, with Bush in office, he voted against those cuts, declaring that "the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle-class Americans." But a year ago, he switched sides and voted to extend tax cuts for the wealthy.
McCain in 1999 said that, "even in the long term," he would not support the repeal of Roe v. Wade because "thousands of young American women would be performing illegal and dangerous operations." But last November he said that he now favored repeal because "I don't believe the Supreme Court should be legislating in the way that they did on Roe v. Wade."
McCain in 2000 was incensed when a pair of Texas businessmen, Sam and Charley Wyly, bankrolled some Bush-friendly TV ads that distorted
McCain's record.
McCain declared at the time that their "dirty money" did not belong in national politics. But last year,
McCain decided that their dirty money belonged in his campaign; he took $20,000 and allowed them to chair a
McCain fund-raiser. (McCain later had to give back the money, because, it turns out, his new friends are reportedly under federal investigation.)
McCain, who has long deplored negative politics, defended John Kerry in 2004 when the Democratic candidate's war record was being impugned by the Swift Boaters. But today, one of
McCain's top advisers is GOP hardball specialist Terry Nelson, who has worked as a consultant with one of the principal Swift Boaters. Nelson also produced the notorious '06 TV ad that implied, in the Tennessee Senate race, that the black Democratic candidate cavorted with white women.
McCain has voted against a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, but last fall, regarding his own state, he supported an Arizona referendum that would have banned gay marriage.
McCain in 2006 suggested that creationism was not a fit topic for the schoolroom: "I respect those who think the world was created in seven days. Should it be taught as a science class? Probably not." But he suggested the opposite in 2005 ("all points of view should be presented"), and Friday he is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a confab sponsored by the Discovery Institute, a prominent creationism advocacy group.
The Associated Press broke a story about
McCain’s statement
in Sept 2007 saying that he is in fact a Baptist, despite his past comments that he is an Episcopalian. The news hook is that
McCain made these comments while he was in South Carolina, which happens to have a lot of Baptist voters.
In a June 2007 interview with
McClatchy Newspapers, the senator said his wife and two of their children have been baptized in
North Phoenix Baptist Church, but he had not. “I didn’t find it necessary to do so for my spiritual needs,” he said. He told
McClatchy he found the Baptist church more fulfilling than the Episcopalian church, but still referred to himself as an Episcopalian.
Does this matter? On the campaign trail it seems to matter to the self-described straight-talker:
The Associated Press asked
McCain on Saturday how his Episcopal faith plays a role in his campaign and life.
McCain grew up Episcopalian and attended an Episcopal high school in Alexandria, Va.
“It plays a role in my life. By the way, I’m not Episcopalian. I’m Baptist,”
McCain said. “Do I advertise my faith? Do I talk about it all the time? No.”
McCain does discuss faith on the campaign trail. He regularly tells crowds about a North Vietnamese POW guard who would loosen his bindings while he was a prisoner. One Christmas, the man surreptitiously signaled his Christian faith,
McCain says, by making the sign of a cross with his toe in the dirt.
McCain said Sunday he doesn’t know how his Baptist faith might affect his showing in South Carolina.
The bigger story here is that
McCain is actually talking about his religion.
McCain is known for criticizing others for talking about their faith. But back to the particulars of
McCain’s statements. There is a simple way of proving one is a Baptist: Has
McCain undergone a full-immersion baptism?
As the AP noted,
McCain had not been baptized into the Baptist church as of June. The first question a reporter should ask a person claiming to be Baptist is whether they have been baptized into the church. Anyone know the answer to this? Unfortunately, the AP found the politics of
McCain’s statement more interesting than what most Baptists in South Carolina are probably wondering.
Abortion:
In NH in 1999
McCain told reporters that "in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade." He explained that overturning Roe would force "women in America to
undergo illegal and dangerous operations."
In 2006, campaigning for the GOP nomination as a conservative,
McCain said the opposite.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me ask one question about abortion. Then I want to turn to Iraq. You're for a constitutional amendment banning abortion, with some exceptions for life and rape and incest.
MCCAIN: Rape, incest and the life of the mother. Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So is President Bush, yet that hasn't advanced in the six years he's been in office. What are you going to do to advance a constitutional amendment that President Bush hasn't done?
MCCAIN: I don't think a constitutional amendment is probably going to take place, but I do believe that it's very likely or possible that the Supreme Court should — could overturn Roe v. Wade, which would then return these decisions to the states, which I support…. Just as I believe that the issue of gay marriage should be decided by the states, so do I believe that we would be better off by having Roe v. Wade return to the states.
Bush Tax Cuts:
McCain used to oppose Bush's tax cuts, but supported them in Feb 2006 in the leadup to the GOP race (opportunism!)
'Some folk don't understand that the middle "F" in AFF is the most important ingredient!' -noeticknight
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