Is Senator John McCain qualified to serve?
Recent events surround Senator McCain leads one to wonder. Is he qualified to continue as Senator?
He seems confused in the Comey hearing. His latest comments about Trump vs. Obama have people wondering. What is he thinking? Why is he still in the GOP? Is he suffering from TDS?The only qualifications to be in any political office here in America is to be over the age listed for the job (anywhere from 18 to 35) and enough suckers I mean voters to vote you in. If we asked for people to show they are qualified then both the congress and senate would be very empty.
Wow. If his constituents decided he was qualified after that disastrously bizarre bid for the presidency I doubt an oddity here or there-now-will have any effect on them.
Hi Live to Learn, I certainly agree with you on this one. Both parts, disastrous and bizarre.
With his Sarah Palin choice fitting both descriptors. When I first heard of it, I thought it was a brilliant stroke - until I heard her speak. Bless her heart, she just doesn't have a telegenic voice. (nor do I). But after hearing her speak, her tone and substance, I just couldn't think of more of an "Odd Couple."
To carry the weight of the ticket that McCain couldn't, was just to much to ask of her. And she failed badly trying to do it. Yep, disastrous and bizarre just about covers it.
How in the world did McCain get the nomination? I am just too discouraged to try to remember.
Oh well, at least we have Trump now... *(fill in this blank)*
GAFill in the blank?
'It could have been worse. Hillary could have won the presidency.'... as in *(giggle-giggle)* or *(snicker-snicker)* or *(Amen!)* Take your pick.
GA
He's no more or less erratic than usual. And even as a person on the opposite side of the political spectrum, I have to admit he has flashes of brilliance that more than balance his weird moments. His follow up comments after Trump insulted the Australian PM, for example, were pitch perfect.
Wow, I guess that is why The NYT loved him until they didn't???
- PrettyPantherposted 7 years ago
0This morning, when I saw news reports of his comment that American leadership was stronger under Obama I knew the smear campaign would begin.
If one is a rational person, one could not logically question McCain's fitness to serve without also questioning Trump's fitness to serve, especially with regard to displaying "confusion."So, his performance in the Comey hearing is not an issue with you? It is a sign of a problem with our current political system. A man serving for 30 years and have nothing to show for it except nonsense and grand standing. What has he done for the people elected him? Why do theses people re-elect him again and again? The better question is who supports his campaign and pay for his re-election bids?
I respect John McCain, even though I disagree with him on most policy issues. However, it is worth noting that your sudden disdain for McCain occurred right after he questioned dear leader's ability to lead the U.S. on the world stage. I'm pretty sure if McCain had not made that comment, you would not be criticizing him now. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
He is smearing McCain because he reads Breitbart. Breitbart is smearing McCain because Steve Bannon controls Breitbart.
When McCain attacks Trump, Trump runs to Bannon in the next office and tells him to go after McCain with Breitbart.
Welcome to the new propaganda.
The Song Bird of Saigon John McCain is a Rino. Republican in name only. He has to act the fool, pretending to be what he is not. I have follow this guy's life since the Vietnam War. I have no respect for John McCain, he is a deceiver, a liar. He doesn't have a conservative bone in his body, I don't care what he says, his action have spoken loud and clear.
I agree. H has used his service in Vietnam war as a crutch same as Kerry... He has accomplished little.
I have been saying this for a long time. The GOP is not Conservative. A conservative like me does not support the GOP leadership and they despise the TEA party. They give conservatives a bad name and I am sick of it. We need to drain the swamp of both parties.
Their policies are what a lot of people who call themselves conservative, call conservative. Its become a "some animals are more equal than others" situation. The spectrum is cut roughly in half, so of course there is diversity within each half.
What policies the GOP leadership pushes are conservative?
If anything, they are the party of Democrat lite? They push for more government and support bigger budget year after year...
They are working for donors, not the people who elected them...sad
As a former member of the armed forces, I have infinitely more respect for a war hero like McCain than that of a candy assed cowardly, draft dodging plutocrat like Donald J. Trump.
I guess that says it all?You would like him...
RINO like McCain should be the darling of all democrats.
This TDS is gone way too far.
I asked this before and no one has been able to give a straight answer.
What if Trump delivers on his promises...? what would you Never Trumpers do?
It happened before under Reagan.
To this day, there are some who despises Reagan even after 30 years...
They are the fringe.You would like him...
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Mc Cain is a Republican and naturally I do not share his political views, obviously. But because he is a real man and not a coward, I will give him credit for that.
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RINO like McCain should be the darling of all democrats.
This TDS is gone way too far.
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TDS is just beginning, jacklee. I have given your answer if Trump delivers, I will certainly acknowledge it, but he is not even close. He has turned everything on its head and every thing he touches turns into excrement.
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I asked this before and no one has been able to give a straight answer.
What if Trump delivers on his promises...? what would you Never Trumpers do?
It happened before under Reagan.
To this day, there are some who despises Reagan even after 30 years...
They are the fringe.
--------------------------------
You need to re-research, people who had problems with Reagan and his administration are not just on lunatic fringe as you seem to suggest. I did not care for Reagan or his policies, but he is comparably a better than Trump, but isn't anybody or everybody?Credence2, Trump has delivered on a slew of things already but unfortunately, that is not what the press is reporting. It is Russia 24/7 with them.
1. Appointed Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
2. Remove regulations to help small business.
3. Reduced EPA budget and pull of of Paris Accord. Coal miners are begining to work again...
4. Success oversea trip to Israel, Italy, Saudia Arabia and Nato...
5. Negotiated Billion of dollar deals with the Saudi.
6. Market at all time highs. (leading indicator)
7. Begin the repeal and replace of failed ACA
8. Attacked ISIS and killed many of their leaders - the mother of all bombs dropped
9. job market improving
10. Getting NATO to step up paying for their fair share of their defenses.
I will stop there. There are much more but you will never give him any credits...I have to say this entire list consists of the following items:
1) Actions with little impact on the country (the Mideast trip, alleged reduction in regulations)
2) Downright failures (failure to kill ACA on Day 1 as promised, zero new funds for NATO, other leaders laughing at him during his speeches)
3) Trends that started years ago under Obama (stock market, job market, the Saudi deal, ISIS attacks).
4) Incredibly irresponsible decisions that will kill jobs and damage the environment (Paris Accord)Hello jackclee, you frequently describe your responses as non-partisan conservative positions, which is a nice change from the frequent partisan declarations we see from others, but I think I have seen your list of Pres. Trump accomplishments before, and rather than add to your list, I would question some that you included.
For instance, every president has appointed Supreme Court Justices, some had rebuffed nominees, but followed with successful ones - so why do you consider Pres. Trump's Court nominee a laudable success to be listed?
Although I do commend Pres. Trump's visit to Israel, many other presidents have made successful overseas trips, why is Pres. Trump's a list candidate as a standout achievement?
The $110 Billion dollar Saudi deal is another listed item with more questions. For one; even if accepted as true, it doesn't outrank Pres. Obama's $112 Billion dollars of 'completed' arms sales to the Saudis in his 8 years. But... Pres. Trump's deal is not a 'done' deal. At this point it is only a potential deal.
The DefenseNews site described it like this;
"President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia on May 20 drew headlines for what was billed as a $110 billion arms agreement. However, experts quickly pointed out that much of the deal was speculative, as any arms sale has to go through the process of being cleared by the State Department, then Congress, before going through an often lengthy negotiating period with industry..."
"... The document does, however, reveal the different buckets that make up the $110 billion figure, including “LOAs to be offered at visit,” or letters of agreement that the Kingdom has already requested and the Trump administration supports ..."
"The largest pot of money involves the “MOIs to be offered at visit” section, totaling $84.8 billion. That section represents potential sales, or memos of intent, that the Trump team offered to the Saudis while in Riyadh. "
.You will find that those "buckets" that they refer to are potential arms sales that were initiated, but not yet fulfilled, during Pres. Obama's terms. And you should note that those "buckets that came from the Trump visit were in the form of MOIs, (Memos of Intent), LOOs, (Letters of Offer), and LOAs, (Letters of Agreement), but none are 'done deal' contracts.
The Brookings Institute, (yes, a Liberal bastion*), describes the specific components of the deal as;
"There is no $110 billion deal. Instead, there are a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts. Many are offers that the defense industry thinks the Saudis will be interested in someday. So far nothing has been notified to the Senate for review. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the arms sales wing of the Pentagon, calls them “intended sales.” None of the deals identified so far are new, all began in the Obama administration."
*Yes, I did read with an expectation of Liberal bias, but facts are facts - no matter the spin of their presentation.
So why is Pres. Trump's deal such a success as to make your list?
*And the record high market? Yep, it broke all previous records under the Obama tenure too. The Dow-Jones Average - up from around $6500 to over $20,000? Up over 200% under Pres. Obama. So why does its continued rise meet your list standards for a Pres. Trump success?
*I do not believe the DJA, or the market in general is a realistic indicator of Middle America's economic condition. I would not have included it for any president, I am just addressing your point.
As you say, "I will stop there." But I am interested in what you think about these expansions on your list points.
GAGA, I will be happy to explain them. There is a lot in your points and they may require a hub to details everything.
Let me just give a few responses.
1. On Supreme court appointments, we conservatives felt some of Obama's picks have been too political and have not abide by our Constitution in their rulings. We want an originalist in the court and Gorsuch is such a person. Our Constitution has been perverted by the left in interpreting rights and laws that does not belong to the court but belongs to Congress and the people. The Amendment process is the correct way to go instead of rulings by 9 Justices in some cases 5-4.
2. With regard to economy, true Obama has produced good results on wall street however, here is the major difference. Obama created a false economy by keeping interested rate near 0 percent. This has the effect of forcing many fix income investors into the stock market thereby driving it upwards.
The problem with Obama's economy is that it was a weak recovery where no one benefited and we had lost jobs and wages that were not replaced. More people dropped out of the work force and into disability... you can place the blame mainly on the ACA. The requirement of health coverage of 50 full time employees is what has been keeping the recovery anemic. Many companies opted to create part time workers to get around this requirement.
3. Foreign policy - Obama's doctrine of leading from behind was a total failure. We lost respect ad a country and the world was made more dangerous. He was cuddling our enemies and keeping our ally at bay. The Iran nuclear deal was a disaster and we got very little out of it. Trump's trip changed all that around. We will lead and he is making some of our allies follow wherher they like it or not.
4. In the area of jobs, he has stopped the corporations from out sourcing American jobs. Some have already reversed course and bring manufacturing jobs back to USA...
I can write a whole Hub on differences between the two administrations so far in only 6 months...Hi jackclee,
To be clear, my use of Pres. Obama comparisons weren't intended to be Pres. Obama kudos. I pretty much agree with your point about his economic recovery, not completely, but close enough.
And I liked Gorsuch's confirmation. He is the kind of Justice I want to see on the bench, I just don't think appointing a Justice deserves to make a list of presidential accomplishments - in the vein of touting them as successes to be applauded.
I mentioned my thought that the financial market is not a true indicator of the average American's economic condition, so that, (combined with Pres. Obama's market performance), is why I also didn't think that should be on your list.
To the successful overseas trip... well, considering the symbolic perspective you note, and since I do agree with that aspect of the trip, maybe I should bend a little on that one.
But the one you left out, the $110 Billion Saudi deal, I am glad you skipped it, because I can see no defense for that claim. I am sure you can find a replacement for it on your list.
Jobs... I think it is a little early to call that one. It seems some of those corporate about-faces may not be what they seem, or the numbers as high as proclaimed, but... the policy direction is clear, and that very well may have a future impact. I think we need to wait and see if that is a valid list candidate.
GAFair enough. Let's give him at least 2 years to receive a grade.
With regard to manufacturing jobs, and outsourcing, it does take time for a new factory to be build.
The turn around in direction is what Trump brought so far. We were told by Obama to kiss those jobs goddbye. Guess what, they are coming back with a supportive administration offering the right incentives.
I am a big climate change skeptic. The Paris Accord was a joke. Even some climate change scientists thought it was a weak deal. Why not renegotiate for a stronger and better deal?Checkout this image of Fed. reserve fund rate over the Obama years...
Jackclee, your graph does appear to make your point, but consider the purpose of the Fed's control of interest rates, and then consider the state our economy would be in if rates had been raised to typical historical levels.
That consideration wouldn't completely counter your perspective, but it would add a dimension that I don't think you are considering.
Perhaps a look at Pres. Hoover's perspective and actions, in dealing with the Great Depression, might cast a light on what effect keeping the interest rates at normal levels throughout the 2008 recession might have looked like. I think that the single-mindedness of declaring the low rates the perpetrator of a "hollow recovery" might not look so compelling.
As for tagging that low-rate period, "the Obama years" - that's not fair. Pres. Obama didn't cause the recession. I would also note that the Fed is not controlled by any president. The Fed's maintenance of those low rates wasn't at the direction of Pres. Obama.
But to be clear, I didn't say my perspective was that your "hollow recovery" was completely wrong, I just think that laying the blame on the Fed's interest rates falls short of the whole picture. There were other Fed actions that I have much more of a problem with, like their "Quantitative easing" program
GAYour explanation does not take into account of why the rate was kept at near zero percent. It was kept there because we have borrowed so much - rising to 20 trillion dollars, that if the interest rate would to rise to traditional rates, we would be broke just paying back the interest on the debt. Just do the math.
Even though the Federal reserve is suppose to be independent and yet they do not act like it. That is why Ron Paul has called for auditing the Federal Reserve for quite a while.
The problem with our economy and our lack of jobs and our healthcare and world terrorism and illegal immigration is directly tied to Obama's policies. As I said, I could write a hub on all this and maybe someday I will. You can argue we had those issues before Obama but the point being he didn't solve anything but made things much worse.Now you are just being stubborn jackclee. And I know stubborn when I see it. You can get more than a few witnesses from this forum that I am the king of stubborn, worse than a dog with a bone, when it comes to changing my perspective when I think I am right.
If the math you want me to do concerns the increased cost of bond interest for the government, then you are looking at the wrong math.
If you check out the investor's Treasury Bond market, you will see that Treasuries aren't bought and held like most citizens do when they buy U.S. savings Bonds. Interest Rate Risk is a big deal in the bond market, so if the Fed was keeping rates artificially low for bond purposes, then it would be to benefit the Bond market stability, not the government's borrowing costs. Not that I agree that they did do that.
That sounds less contradictory if you remind yourself that ours is a FIAT currency, (technically we can't go "broke"). Our government can just print more money, (just selling more Treasuries is one way, or a Quantitative easing-type program would be another), when it needs it.
Considering the above, and the already mentioned fact that the Fed is independent of government control, and the fact that colluding with an administration would be a legal violation of its charter - I think your point about increased borrowing costs being a factor of Pres. Obama's control is misguided.
I think interest rates were kept low in order to help the economy recover, (whether it worked or not is another question), and had nothing, (or at least very little), to do with government borrowing interest costs.
You speak of Ron Paul's audit calls, (I don't disagree with them), but have you looked into the "whys" behind those calls? Why do you think the Fed should be audited?
The rest of your comment; "... problem with our economy and our lack of jobs and our healthcare and world terrorism and illegal immigration is directly tied to Obama's policies." is another topic in itself. And we have already hijacked your Senator McCain thread in a big way.
ps. but the Fed does offer a lot of fodder for discussion, so if the hijacking hasn't bothered you, I certainly didn't mind ;-)
GAI don't buy your response. If you look at our annual expenses,
There is a portion that is to pay interest on our debt. That number is real. When interest rate is at zero, it is like free money. Yes we can print money but they still need to be paid back somehow. When interest rate rises and they will back to 3 or 4 percent. Watch out...
Orjackclee, I think I understand your perspective. It is real money. And the interest on that borrowed money will have to be paid back. And if our currency was a material, (gold, silver, whatever), backed currency you would be on more firm ground. But our currency is not such. It is backed only by our government's guarantee.
If it seems like I am defending our national debt and its ballooning interest costs, or saying that they don't matter to the prosperity of our nation - I am not. We would be much better off, if, rather than 'printing more money,' we controlled our expenditures and had that interest payment money available for other national uses. My only point is that that rising interest cost will not bankrupt a Fiat currency. Which also means that rising market interest rates will not bankrupt us.
Using your term, I don't "buy" that the Fed, per the Obama administration's wishes, kept interest rates artificially low to control our national debt interest costs.
GAThe only reason we are enjoying this unlimited debt is because the dollar is still the main basis for world commerce. As you know, China is challenging this and in a few years, they will find/establish an alternative to the mighty dollar. When that time comes, the paper dollar will be worthless just as paper currency was worthless after world world 2 Germany. The piper will be paid one way or another...
Qatar is running out of dollars. Arab and Muslim nations put sanctions on them for training and funding terrorist groups. I haven't had time to check what's going on with the banks or see what they are doing, or if they have a plan B. If, they in fact train and support terrorists, they can all jump off the cliff.
Anything is possible jackclee, but looking at China's changing economic picture, and the instability in the Euro, I m not sure the dollar is in danger in the foreseeable future.
GA
You and colorfulone will call a war hero like McCain a liar and a fool, while defending that corrupt, cowardly, incompetent, lying whiny little b!tch. Disgusting.
"The Song Bird of Saigon... " "... act the fool..." "... a deceiver, a liar..."
This is a new low for you Colorfulone. However, I can share in one of your sentiments. Now I too "no longer have respect" for someone.
GA
He is a Republican in many other ways i assure you. But these days a Reagan-style Republican is a centrist.
Seriously? You have a lot of nerve calling McCain, Comey, or credence2 anti-American after writing that adoring missive about murdering dictator Vladimir Putin. Even more disgusting!
"It witnesses to my spirit that Putin is a Christian. You can't believe all the propaganda that gets spread about him. Russia does not have a Rothschild central bank, and the Globalists would like to overthrow Putin and the Russian government and put in a leader that would bow to them, and screw the citizens for all they can.
Putin is a very honest man, he tells the truth, he works for the good of the people and country, and he will protect them with everything he has. He is a true leader!"
http://hubpages.com/politics/forum/1417 … ost2894214
- ahorsebackposted 7 years ago0
Republicans offer Trump no support , for fear of backlash - cowards all.
Democrats , most of them , are in denial of Hilary's demise -Yes , still !
Independents , have little to offer or to gain in the government houses , they simply coast .
The media - tells you what to think and you do it willingly !
Until the voters get off their collective a$$es and get interested in the survival of democracy ,demand term limits , legislative report cards or something similar , John McCain , just as any of them that you mindlessly keep writing in the boxes , deserves to serve as long as his constituents feel he''s effective in office. Otherwise you , him , her or I would be sitting in his chair.
Anybody really care how few voters actually even vote?You are so right. We get the government we deserve. The people voted to keep McCain in office.
However, his performance is open to criticism by all just ad Trump or Obama are open to criticisms...
The fact is he had done very little in the 30 years on the Senate. Please, tell us what major legislation has he proposed and passed? I can't think of any. I voted for him in 2008 and not because I liked him. I voted for the lesser of the 2 party... I thought Romney would have been the better candidate.
Going forward, we need term limits to keep our government from self destuction,
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