When Ross Perot Calls…

Here's some change you can believe in: the amount of times McCain has changed his values and positions on the issues.

The reason half of the conservative Christian right hates McCain is because they think that they can't trust him. McCain started his career as part of the Christian right (there's a little-known fact). Once he landed in the soup as part of the Keating Five (which almost derailed his career) he positioned himself as a liberal and became a reformer for campaign finance in an effort to resurrect himself. For those of you who don't remember, the Keating scandal had to do with some shim sham corporations pumping money into McCain's coffers. So McCain became a reformer to shine up his tarnished image, and that was his first departure from the right.

Other, more serious betrayals of the right came later, after McCain got swift boated by Bush in 1999. The great Texas Republican political machine laid McCain to waste, and McCain was mad as hell. He started voting against the party line and against Bush. He suddenly supported abortion rights, opposed the Bush tax cuts, co-sponsored a patient's bill of rights with Kennedy and Edwards, and got on the environmental bandwagon with John Kerry. My gosh, he even tried to crack down on gun shows in legislation he put forth with then-Democrat Joe Lieberman. And in 2001, when Senator Jeffords of Vermont switched from Republican to Independent in an effort to counteract Bush's stranglehold on the Senate, McCain announced that he was considering becoming a Democrat, and went into a pow-wow with Senator Tom Daschle at his Sedona ranch. And did you know that John Kerry floated the idea of having McCain as his VP in '04? That was to have cemented his status as a newly-minted Democrat.

But instead of joining Kerry, McCain suddenly switched his affiliation, came out in support of Bush in '04, and jettisoned his liberal image. Suddenly, it was the "old" McCain from the 1980s back in the saddle, the neo-conservative, take no prisoners Creationist. Against abortion. For the war. The SAME man who opposed a Federal amendment banning gay marriage and openly met with gay groups now was pushing a gay marriage ban in Arizona. The SAME man who said in 1999 that he was opposed to overturning Roe vs. Wade, now suddenly in 2007 is promising that he will stack the deck in the Supreme Court with religious right judges and overturn Roe vs. Wade.

But the religious right isn't so sure about him. He's supported so many different opposing positions at so many times, that they are afraid that they are getting played in the name of McCain's political expediency.

Here are videos that show clips of McCain reversing himself on the same issues at different times, to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Don't believe me -- get it straight from the horse's mouth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtZlR3zp4c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajm5JTf7jZs&feature=related

Old men declare war because they have failed to solve complex political and economic problems. ??? Arthur Hoppe

Or because it's an extremely profitable enterprise, even when "we" lose. (Vietnam and Iraq share many similarities, including the enormous, really obscene profits they generated for certain "American interests").

So this is what a mainstream media outlet looks like...could it possibly be any shallower, any fluffier, any more misdirecting? How is it that Perot's POW/MIA experience isn't mentioned in connection with McCain, while all this superficial celebrity "Last time I talked to John...gosh, Ross has these really big ears" crap is the heart of the piece? Let's face it, folks, they're all whores: the politicians, the "journalists"--everyone associated with the political process in America is a lying sack of...well, you know. And you do know this.

And yet you still get sucked into voting for the right wing or the left wing of the Party, arguing the relative merits of "our representatives" when you don't even have a democracy to begin with. We used to laugh about the Soviet Union's one-party elections--are we really so much more sophisticated when we know that the same coffers sponsor both "sides" in our elections? Or did we imagine there were no strings attached?

Here are a few modest suggestions for actual, substantive political discourse in this land of collective make believe (and no, they will never, ever be addressed, a sure sign of their validity):

* the drug war~~why are drugs illegal? what's the cost/benefit analysis? who profits and how from the prohibition, especially on cannabis? (Dr. Melamede's "Harm Reduction: the Cannabis Paradox" http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/2/1/17 is both an eye and a mind-opener, as is any old link to the prison economy http://impiousdigest.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=72 )

* secrecy~~what are the (theoretical) checks & balances on the apparatus of the National Security State? (Okay, it's a trick question because there are none. Zero. Not operationally, not budgetary...nothing. My favorite quote here comes from a senator, but it could just as well describe the conscience of a nation:

In 1956, when Senator Mike Mansfield sought to establish a joint oversight committee on intelligence, Senator Leverett Saltonstall, advocating the ostrich???s position noted, ???It is not a question of reluctance on the part of CIA officials to speak to us. Instead, it is a question of our reluctance, if you will, to seek information and knowledge on subjects which I personally, as a Member of Congress and as a citizen, would rather not have??? (cited in Britt Snider monograph).

Good luck, America! (Oh, one last link to the war hero's other biography: http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8221 )

Lincoln, unfortunately, did not include the Civil War in his platform and I for one would probably not have voted for him if he had. Makes me wonder what Obama could really be planning with an unrepentant terrorist, a bigot pastor and a Mafia connection.

If you want to know more about POWs - and possibly why Perot feels as he does - read: "Soldiers of Misfortune: Washington's Secret Betrayal of American POWs in the Soviet Union" by James D. Sanders, Mark A. Sauter, and R. Cort Kirkwood and "The Men We Left Behind: Henry Kissinger, the Politics of Deceit and the Tragic Fate of POWs after the Vietnam War" by Mark A. Sauter and James D. Sanders. "The Men We Left Behind" regarding the Senate Select Committee on POWs convinced me that John McCain is not presidential material. This leaves me no one for whom to vote for the first time in my life. I will not be voting for president.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/columnists/mdavis/stories/DN-markdavis_1121edi.ART.State.Edition1.36d835b.html

i was a state elector for ross perot.he was right on.looking forward to his charts.they educated us all last time he did them.go ross,You're "THE MAN".THIS ELECTION I AM BACKING OBAMA,HE IS THE ONE THAT CAN GET THE LOBBYISTS OUT OF WASHINGTON.GOD BLESS AMERICA

i was fired up when ross was running 4 the prez he's a straight talking man willnever see another one like him running. and now there's so many in the big club that were not invited to.

I voted for Ross Perot and I am proud I did. The sucking sound was and is still being heard. Why could the American people not see this then. I believe he was just a man ahead of the times. If only we had him NOW.

I sure wish Uncle Ross would show up this time, I'd sure vote for him!!!! This sure is a sad bunch of candidates we've got to vote for. I also have a problem with the Wal-Mart crowd and the foreign car drivers complaining how George Bush has ruined the economy!!

I agree with the statement by the True Texan "There's only "a dime's worth of difference" between the Republican and Democratic parties, and they're fighting over that dime! " The leaders of both the Republican and Democratic Parties are moving us closer and closer to Socialism, away from our Constitution (the true Test of American Patriotism).
Both major parties pushed through the Patriot Act (a direct violation of our civil liberties) allowing the Federal government (and the law makers) greater access into our personal lives. We have welfare, medicare, and medicaid, all basically federal government subsidies for Americans as a socialist distribution of wealth and commodities. Then, we have the continuation of an undeclared War policy (a direct violation of our Constitution), allowing the President (or socialist leader) the ability to unilaterally decide whether our country (our Americans) go fight in another country using military resources and costing voluntary military lives. Combined with the new Pre-emptive war doctorine, the U.S. Federal government now decides when and where we (the American people) go to war based on their own justification.
The very core values of America that the founding fathers of our country laid out for us are being destroyed, and our nation is moving in a perilous direction. The American people need to Wake up from their Slumber, and start helping educate their fellow Americans that we are not Socialists, but in fact we are a Nation of Patriots (people who live by and die for civil liberty as well as individual rights).
Our country sorely needs a third party that will rejuvinate and unify the 40% of Americans that usually don't vote, to overcome the two party system of the Socialist Democrats and Socialist Republicans. Individuals always care for other individuals through charity and good deeds, the Federal government steals from individuals to line the pockets of the Corporations and maintain power for itself.

I agree with the statement by the True Texan "There's only "a dime's worth of difference" between the Republican and Democratic parties, and they're fighting over that dime! " The leaders of both the Republican and Democratic Parties are moving us closer and closer to Socialism, away from our Constitution (the true Test of American Patriotism). Both major parties pushed through the Patriot Act (a direct violation of our civil liberties) allowing the Federal government (and the law makers) greater access in to our personal lives. We have welfare, medicare, and medicaid, all basically federal government subsidies for Americans as a socialist distribution of wealth and commodities. Then, we have the continuation of undeclared War (a direct violation of our Constitution), allowing the President (or socialist leader) the ability to unilaterally decide whether our country (our Americans) go fight in another country using military resources and costing voluntary military lives.
The very core values of America that the founding fathers of our country laid out for us are being destroyed, and our nation is moving in a perilous direction. The American people need to Wake up from their Slumber, and start helping educate their fellow Americans that we are not Socialists, but in fact we are a Nation of Patriots (people who live by and die for civil liberty as well as individual rights).
Our country sorely needs a third party that will rejuvinate and unify the 40% of Americans that usually don't vote, to overcome the two party system of the Socialist Democrats and Socialist Republicans. Individuals always care for other individuals through charity and good deeds, the Federal government steals from individuals to line the pockets of the Corporations and maintain power for itself.

I read a great deal of race baiting in the title of the article and therefore suspect that Plame Gate has served the myths that were advanced about the Obama campaign prior to his entrance into national view insightful.

It saddens me to see that our polotics are run by the media and real truth never gets out about the candidates. Senator McCain has a terrible temper that is well known on the hill and they refer to it as his being a "maverick". Do you want a president that flies off the handle during meetings? Or do you want someone that can listen to all input and then make a rational decision? McCain has taken his temper out on the families of the POW/MIAs. Why does he treat the families like they are the enemy? As a former POW why doesn't have any compassion for those that may still be alive in Southeast Asia and the families search for the truth?

Pretty amazing that no one here has thought to question why this writer -- and the Newsweek editors -- aren't acting out the "liberal media" stereotype. What makes Ross Perot's opinion worth reporting the moment he offers it, without any balancing views? Following the accusations already made, this should mean that Newsweek has a conservative bias, and is attempting to influence the outcome of the Republican primary Super Tuesday.

Then again, it's dissapointing that someone who sees himself as an opinion maker (and Newsweek clearly agrees...) hasn't bothered to educate himself on ALL the candidates. I guess that means Perot will vote for WHOEVER the Republicans nominate, since his comments show he know little to nothing about anyone but McCain v. Romney.

Normalizing relations with Vietnam benefitted big business. It's not a Republican or Democratic thing, it's a money thing, and the POWs were left in favor of the mighty dollar. Same for NAFTA. I'm in Texas, and it was and still is a stupid idea. Only big business benefits. Small businesses have been destroyed because they cannot compete with the cheap labor and the lack of regulatory oversight Mexico offers. Meanwhile, Mexico's [unsafe] trucks run on our highways, transporting hazardous materials, and dumping them illegally, leaving it up to the U.S. to clean up the mess.

Most of the first generation Vietnamese refugees that came here because their country was lost became Republicans -- it was a matter of loyalty for them. They believed it was the Republicans who saved them and their families. They tried to show their loyalty by sharing what they knew about our POWs and were thanked and ignored. When normalization was proposed, they fought it tooth and nail. Normalizing relations with people who had murdered their families? NOT. Then they saw who was supporting normalization, and were shocked and disillusioned that those good solid businesspeople they'd admired, looked up to, and tried to emulate weren't about justice, just dollars.

And how does that work? We normalize relations with Vietnam, we give most favored nation status to China, and work on North Korea, but we won't talk to Cuba? We've had wars against the first three, directly and indirectly, within the not-too-distant past. We haven't been in Cuba since Teddy Roosevelt. But Cuba is the smallest, the poorest on the list, so I guess it's still a money thing, not a political thing.

There's only "a dime's worth of difference" between the Republican and Democratic parties, and they're fighting over that dime!

Read. Listen. Learn from our history and that of other nations. We don't have the time or resources to make all our own mistakes, so we really need to get on the stick and learn from others' mistakes when we can! If we are willing to listen and learn, maybe we can pull ourselves out of this mess yet. I sure hope so.

I am disgusted that our two-party system blocked Mr. Perot's candidacy when he stood for president, and has colluded with the media to block Ron Paul, pretending he isn't even there. I had to go to the internet to find out if he had withdrawn or not! Also to get Mr. Perot's take on McCain, the media's choice for the Republican candidate. Why has Mr. Perot not publicly endorsed Romney, since he sees McCain's flaws more clearly than anyone else? Or has he made such endorsement, and the press has suppressed the news?

I am disgusted that our two-party system blocked Mr. Perot's candidacy when he stood for president, and has colluded with the media to block Ron Paul, pretending he isn't even there. I had to go to the internet to find out if he had withdrawn or not! Also to get Mr. Perot's take on McCain, the media's choice for the Republican candidate. Why has Mr. Perot not publicly endorsed Romney, since he sees McCain's flaws more clearly than anyone else? Or has he made such endorsement, and the press has suppressed the news?

I sincerely hope Mr. Perot will get behind Mitt Romney financially and publically. I don't think the liberals really care whose elected as long as it isn't Romney. I think they're afraid Romney might upset their "pork cart".

Everything that ails this country can be brought into perspective and tied to one single item. The 16th Amendment to The U.S. Constitution. I'm 48 years old and I have lived my entire life in slavery, how so?
Our precious God given rights, liberties and freedoms and were sold in the middle of the night when our once participatory government decided to become the tyrant. In an act that was so criminal and so underhanded that it set the corner stone of the suedo, shadow government we have today instead of the peoples government. With income tax, the all powerful enslaving US Government gave itself the means to enslave the public economically by growing itself and stealing from the working class.
The 16th Amendment to the Constitution was never fully or properly ratified and by 3/4 of the States. For example Pennsylvania ignored it. Many State legislatures illegally went against their own state constitutions and illegally ratified it.
Now today you have a overbloated tax and spend hog that is incapable of balancing anything and is out of control and little by little squeezing the rights and freedoms out of the American SHEEPLE thats right sheeple, It is no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It is a government of the government, by the government and for the government.
In 1913 in the middle of the night the United States ceased to exist. it was replaced by a self serving, tyrannical and out of control PIG.
Repeal the 16th Amendment and th egovernment will shrink back to a proper size and unable to squander out income. If any company (Eron for example) conducted business and misshandled finances like our government does, then th ecompany woudl be out of business and its executive officers in prison.
Throw out the two party system and repeal the 16th amendment and watch how quickly freedoms torch burns again.
Jack Baum
Alliance, Ohio