McCain wants war with Syria

Of course, he was also for war in Libya until Obama went along with the NATO plan. Then, he was against it. Give it another day and let's see where he stands.

Saying "the time has come for a new policy" in Syria, veteran Republican Senator John McCain called Monday for U.S.-led airstrikes on President Bashar al-Assad's forces in an effort to protect civilians from a bloody year-long crackdown by the regime. "The United States should lead an international effort to protect key population centers in Syria, especially in the north, through airstrikes on Assad's forces," McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a speech on the Senate floor. "To be clear: This will require the United States to suppress enemy air defense in at least part of the country," said McCain, who has repeatedly called in recent weeks and months for a stepped-up U.S. effort to protect Syrian civilians.

Read the rest of this post...

Weekend Thoughts—LightSquared, the telecom industry, and how things work in the Land of the Free

I've known about the LightSquared story for a number of weeks (LightSquared is in a battle with GPS heavyweights; latest here). There's no way to understand it, though, without digging deep. It's complicated — but not too complicated to follow.

And it's a perfect example of how telecom works in the good ol' U.S.A. — a peasant's view of the nobility at their feast. So let's dig in.

The LightSquared story has several aspects:

■ It has a technical side. It's about LTE, a 4G network upgrade to GSM systems for mobile phones and data terminals (like cell phone systems that use SIM cards). LTE can be used for smartphones and wireless modems, and it has a lot of nice features. CDMA carriers (like Verison, whose phones don't use SIM cards) will also be migrating to LTE.

The LightSquared company is developing a 4G-LTE-based broadband offering integrated with its satellite network. It plans to sell wholesale (not retail) broadband services to retailers like Sprint. (Will that change telecom pricing? Probably not.)

■ It has a corp-on-corp violence side. There are interference issues between LightSquared network devices and GPS devices; the two don't play nicely together (see below for why). Thus the GPS companies and LightSquared are duking it out to see who pays for a fix, if any.

(If you didn't know, GPS isn't a government service. It's a group of high-dollar corps, just like the broadband companies are. They have lots of money — Trimble took in $1.3 billion in 2008 — a profit path, CEOs of the usual ilk, industry lobbyists, and their own paid Congress-people, folks like man-of-integrity Chuck Grassley, whom we'll meet shortly.)

■ It has a political side. LightSquared's major investor, Harbinger Capital, has ties to the Democratic party.

■ It also has a "why is broadband ripping us off?" side. As you probably know, the price of broadband in the United States (all of it, new, old, straight, crooked, ancient & just-thought-up) is enormously overpriced relative to, say, all of the rest of the world.

The news side of the story deals with the first three aspects only. You need to add the fourth aspect to understand what's really happening.

What happened so far?

It looks like LightSquared, an old-line satellite services company, is trying to open up new business by selling broadband services using a next-gen technology, satellite delivery, and expanded wavelengths, to retail companies like Sprint. This allows Sprint (and others) to bundle broadband internet into their telecom packages. You'd see "Sprint" (etc.) on the modem, but it would be LightSquared inside.

LightSquared is very close to FCC approval. But in the new part of the spectrum where LightSquared devices operate, there's interference with GPS devices. GPS companies are profitable and established. The key questions are — What are the causes? Who pays for the fix?

Howie Klein summarizes this part well (my reparagraphing):

[B]ig GPS players such as Trimble and John Deere and their friends in the monopolized telecom business ... have decided to just make this go away, even though, "the interference is a result of GPS devices receiving signals from outside of their designated frequencies." So, once again it is GPS' fault, but they don't want to deal with it.

Says The Hill (same link as in the quote above):

[LightSquared], which has invested billions of dollars to launch a wholesale wireless broadband service, has become embroiled in controversy since tests showed its planned network could interfere with GPS devices.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted LightSquared a conditional waiver to move forward last year, but commission officials say the company will not receive final approval to launch its network until it solves the GPS issue. ...

[Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) chairman of Energy and Commerce's technology subcommittee] noted that the interference is a result of GPS devices receiving signals from outside of their designated frequencies — not by LightSquared's signal bleeding into the GPS band. He said he hopes it would be possible for GPS companies to modify their receivers to work in the presence of LightSquared's network.

As I said above, so far this is just a corp-on-corp violence story. Two money machines (one struggling, one firmly planted in the money pool) trying to figure out who is going to pay so the FCC can give final approval.

Here's where the story gets political

Corps want only money. GPS companies like Trimble and John Deere (yes, them) don't want to pay a dime they don't have to; they own more Congress people than LightSquared; and those Congress people lean right, as in far-right. So they brought out the big guns to make LightSquared go away, and those big guns are serving themselves as well, by using the Solyndra playbook:

Michele Bachmann:

"Sadly, I believe President Obama is willing to overlook the risks the LightSquared 4G network could pose to the American people and national security because he would rather grant political favors to two of his supporters involved in this situation," she wrote, referring to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and billionaire Philip Falcone, who is a top investor in LightSquared. "Our national leadership should be ashamed. The support of LightSquared is crony capitalism at its worst," she wrote."

Chuck Grassley:

I ... asked FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski if he was concerned about these multiple SEC investigations of Mr. Falcone related to market manipulation, especially since the FCC had granted Mr. Falcone's company a $10 billion victory with LightSquared following an unusual, shortened public comment period. ... Now, more than ever, the FCC chairman should [help us find out] how the agency decided to give Mr. Falcone, Harbinger Capital Partners, and LightSquared this multi-billion-dollar grant.

Harbinger Capital is run by Philip Falcone, and Falcone has multiple ties to the Democratic party.

Pretty ugly, yes? The biggest players in a billion-dollar industry (GPS) are going to save some money (the cost fixing technical errors in their own devices) by making a company with a fledgling product go away.

And they do it by buying say-anything Republicans, who get (1) lobbying money; and (2) get one more chance to play the Solyndra card (which is a "nothingburger," by the way).

Looking beyond the news

There's a small story here about "the next Solyndra" and "expanding broadband" in the "interest of the general public" — a story that's both ephemeral and of low importance.

▪ The "next Solyndra" is just a junk attack, a stick for R's to beat the D's with, until another stick shows up.

▪ "Expanding broadband" will happen anyway. The only question is: Will GPS companies have to clean up their devices before the devices die a natural death? (My guess — GPS will win. Why? (1) Obama needs a billion dollars; (2) GPS lobbyists are a well-supplied, equal-opportunity paymaster; and (3) GPS corps can re-engineer the next round of GPS devices and pretend to the FCC that they care. Just my guess, but it won't be the first time things play out this way.)

▪ The "interest of the general public" won't be considered, because it hardly ever is. But pretending that it's being sniffed at will always be in the interest of corporations and their retainers (including those in the media). So you'll hear noises like "public interest" briefly, just before the next headline-blonde goes missing.

You'll know the public interest is actually being considered — on the day broadband prices in the U.S. match those in Europe, and fall by 75%. In the meantime, Sprint (etc.) will charge the going rate, and LightSquared will take as big a cut of that as it can negotiate.

What this does give us, however, is a rather detailed look at how public policy gets decided in the Land of the Free. The big dinos (industry giants like Trimble and Deere) kill off the smaller ones by throwing money at their paid say-anything political retainers.

Us — we're the proto-primates, a few inches tall, eating leaves and picking at the droppings of the dinos for undigested protein.

In the telecom industry, for most jobs all you have to do is buy John McCain, who ran the powerful Senate Commerce Committee:

Senator John McCain raised nearly $90,000 from broadcast and telecommunications companies in four instances shortly before or after he interceded on their behalf with federal regulators in 1998 and 1999, according to campaign records reviewed yesterday.

Aides released about 500 letters that McCain has written as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee since 1997, and it appeared last night that only 15 involved contributors to his campaigns. McCain, who has built his presidential candidacy around denunciations of special-interest money in Washington, said yesterday that his only concern was to protect consumers.

But in several cases, according to federal campaign finance records that were matched against the letters, the correspondence to the Federal Communications Commission, which McCain's committee oversees, coincided with substantial fund-raising efforts by the companies that stood to benefit from his actions.

In one case, officials of BellSouth Corp. donated $16,750 to the Arizona senator at a fund-raiser on May 6, 1998. Four months later, McCain asked the FCC in a letter to give "serious consideration" to allowing BellSouth to enter the long-distance market.

BellSouth isn't the employee; John McCain is the employee, the paid retainer. There's much more at the link, and even more in the google. This is his business, folks, and he's good at it.

And that's telecom in the U.S.A. Bought from top to bottom, big dinos eating little ones, little dinos buying D protection from R hired guns, and vice versa.

When will this change? As soon as Americans actually want their country back. When will that be?

My old Uncle Straight Talk puts the over-under as "two weeks after it will do any good." What a card; he also thinks the Super Bowl is next week. (Shh; we still have a bet on.)

GP Read the rest of this post...

McCain’s entire oppo book on Romney from 2008 found online

Oh my, this is going to be fun. (H/t Buzzfeed) Feel free to find your favorite part of the book, below, and post a quote in the comments.

McCain 2008 Oppo File Read the rest of this post...

GOP says Occupy Iraq, not Wall Street

Don't hold your breath waiting for the GOP to congratulate Obama on his handling of the wars in Libya or Iraq. They don't like Occupy Wall Street but they love Occupy Iraq so much they don't ever want to see the end of it.

According to GOP mythology it was 'the surge' that reduced the violence in Iraq. Nonsense. What really ended the violence was the US public voting for Democrats in the 2006 mid terms. It was the GOP losses in the mid terms that forced Bush to finally sack Rumsfeld and other incompetents and to at last start running the Iraq war in the way that the professional military had advised from the start. And it was that same GOP defeat in the mid-terms that started to convince the Iraqi insurgents fighting against the US occupation that the invaders might actually leave of their own accord.

Make no mistake about it, as Glenn Greenwald points out, the agreement to withdraw US forces from Iraq is merely fulfilling the commitment made by the Bush administration. Factions within the government were attempting to negotiate an extension of the occupation up to the last minute. But even the idea that the US must abide by its commitments to other countries has become a point of distinction between Republicans and Democrats. Democrats think that the US should honor its obligations and Republicans think it should ignore any that they consider inconvenient.

John McCain had hoped that the US would stay in Iraq for '100 years' and slammed today's announcement:

Today marks a harmful and sad setback for the United States in the world. I respectfully disagree with the President: this decision will be viewed as a strategic victory for our enemies in the Middle East, especially the Iranian regime, which has worked relentlessly to ensure a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. It is a consequential failure of both the Obama Administration — which has been more focused on withdrawing from Iraq than succeeding in Iraq since it came into office — as well as the Iraqi government.

What I would like to see is a journalist asking McCain what he proposes Obama should have done instead. Should he have ignored the Iraqi parliament and kept the troops anyway? Should he have allowed the troops to be stationed in Iraq without immunity from Iraqi laws? How is it possible to build democracy in a country by ignoring the results of the elections that take place? But no, the establishment media never seem to ask such questions of McCain, to expose the fact that he is full of it might appear partisan.

Of course Iran is going to be a bigger influence on Iraq after the US withdrawal. Iran has been the biggest influence in Iraq since the 2005 elections. Unlike the neo-con clique that plotted the US invasion, the Iranian regime realized that their country would benefit from a second US-Iraq war regardless of the outcome. Chalabai's Iraqi National Congress was known in intelligence circles as an Iranian front throughout the 1990s.

Iran will have a greater influence in Iraq than the US regardless of how many US troops are stationed there because of the simple fact that the two countries are next to each other and both have majority Shi'ia populations. The US is an English speaking country with a largely Christian population and a capital 6200 miles from Baghdad.

The best way for the US to counter Iran's growing influence is to support the emergence of strong democratic Islamic powers that can protect legitimate US interests without the need for US occupation. As the operation in Libya has proved, the US can achieve results that further US interests without feeling the need to lead the fighting in every war that comes along.

Contrary to what McCain and the other Republicans imagine, the rising powers in the Middle East are Turkey and Egypt. Iran's influence grew under Bush but is now shrinking under Obama. The US withdrawal will actually reduce the Iranian influence in Iraq as factions that previously attempted to play one foreign power off against another seek to eliminate foreign interference completely. Meanwhile Iranian influence in Syria is only as strong as the embattled Syrian regime. Should Assad fall, the Iranian regime will be too busy fighting for its own survival to worry much about regional power status.
Read the rest of this post...

Republicans enter bill to open Grand Canyon area to uranium mining (foreign companies own significant interests)

And in yet other news you haven't heard, there's a Republican reaction to something the Department of Interior did, that's a reaction to something someone found out a while ago. (See what happens when you turn over your free press to corporate stooges? You get last weekend's football scores — only.)

Short and sweet:

    ■ There's a big pile of yellowcake uranium in the Grand Canyon park area.

    ■ The mining rights are claimed by a bunch of companies, including big foreign ones from Canada and Korea (lots of info in this link).

    ■ Ken Salazar and the Dept of Interior put a moratorium on mining there.

    ■ John McCain and a bunch of other Republicans now want to legislate the moratorium into the ether, because, you know ... jobs. (Or bribes, take your pick.)

    ■ Environmentalists are opposed.

Here's the whole thing in a couple of paragraphs from Pew:

Jane Danowitz, director of the U.S. public lands program for the Pew Environment Group, issued the following statement in response to a bill introduced in the U.S. House and Senate, the Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act of 2011, that would block the Obama administration’s ability to move forward with a plan to protect Grand Canyon National Park from new uranium mining claims.

“It is unfortunate that some in Congress are attempting to prevent the Obama administration from taking action to protect the Grand Canyon from new uranium mining.

“Although proponents of expanded Grand Canyon mining cite American energy independence, a significant percentage of these mining claims and pending operations are controlled by foreign interests, which pay no royalties for the mineral wealth they extract from U.S. public lands. Furthermore, the possible contamination from uranium, which could affect the Grand Canyon and 26 million downstream water users, is a risk many stakeholders have warned against.

“Last month, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar responded to broad support from the public, scientific community, tourism industry, and downstream water users by announcing a 20-year plan to protect the Grand Canyon from growing uranium mining pressures. This legislation makes it all the more critical that the Obama administration move swiftly to fulfill its commitment to give this American treasure the lasting protection it deserves.”

Bet you wish you didn't know that. Watch this space; I'll try to keep you better informed than 1 Live Crew.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Despite McCain's attack, AZ fire not caused by illegal immigrants

John McCain's disgusting attack on immigrants was disputed by the US Forest Department from the beginning. Two American cousins have been charged with the destructive fire. Maybe now would be a good time for McCain to apologize for his unfair attack.

Authorities for months have blamed Arizona's largest known wildfire on an unattended campfire that got out of hand.

On Wednesday, they put names to the campers they say are responsible, charging two cousins from southern Arizona with sparking the Wallow Fire.

Caleb Joshua Malboeuf, 26, of Benson, and David Wayne Malboeuf, 24, of Tucson, were charged with five low-level federal offenses related to the campfire they started in late May and are alleged to have not extinguished properly.

Read the rest of this post...

John McCain, now and then on Libya

John McCain now:

"Americans can be proud of the role our country has played in helping to defeat Qaddafi, but we regret that this success was so long in coming due to the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower."

John McCain then

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — A delegation of U.S. senators led by John McCain met with Libya's leader Friday to discuss the possible delivery of non-lethal defense equipment.

"We discussed the possibility of moving ahead with the provision of non-lethal defense equipment to the government of Libya," McCain said at a news conference. He gave no details on the kind of military equipment Washington is offering.

Some might see this as mere hypocrisy. But militarists like McCain are genuinely saddened by the fact that dispatching Gaddafi was mostly performed by the Libyans themselves with the US playing a junior role to France and the UK. If something like the battle of Tripoli can happen without the US playing the leading role then maybe people will start thinking that the US does not need to spend $700 billion a year on its military and can leave the role of globo-cop to the UN. Read the rest of this post...

Bill Maher’s New Rule: "If you’re a working-class American who still votes Republican ... you’re stupid"

Not pretty, this editorial; but pretty damn good. This is from the New Rules segment at the end of the most recent show.

The nervous laugher in the background is Ann Coulter, who as you can see played an uncharacteristic double role — flirty ex-or-current–girlfriend (of Maher) cum right-wing verbal assassin (of Chris Hayes' publicly-employed mother, earlier in the show).

In case you've lived the last few weeks in a box, Casey Anthony is the latest female media obsession. The verdict in her trial for [allegedly, and I mean that] killing her child was announced earlier that day. (God made google so I don't have to link you.)

With that behind us, here's Maher, asking "Just how stupid are Republican voters?" Enjoy:



"The moneyed elite in this country are dragging a bag filled with your future down the steps, and [the Republican base's] reaction is, 'Hold on there, that looks heavy. Let me give you a hand getting it into your trunk.'"

In 2008, with the economic world crashing around us, 46% of everyone who voted, voted for John McCain. Your Republican fellow-citizens, ladies and gentlemen; here until we're all dead.

GP Read the rest of this post...

US Forest Service disputes McCain's anti-immigrant fire claims

Who really needs facts when you're busy smearing immigrants? Facts just get in the way.

A U.S. Forest Service official said today there is no evidence that illegal immigrants started some of the wildfires in Arizona, as Sen. John McCain had claimed.

Tom Berglund, spokesman for the federal group managing the Wallow fire that McCain toured Saturday, said the cause of the fire has been determined as "human," specifically an "escaped campfire," meaning the campfire sparked beyond the confines of the rocks containing it.

Two "subjects of interest" have been spoken to, but as of now, no suspect has been named, Berglund said. When asked if there is substantial evidence that some fires were caused by illegal immigrants, as McCain said at a news conference Saturday, Berglund said: "Absolutely not, at this level."

Read the rest of this post...

Santorum doesn't think John McCain understands how torture works

From Political Wire:

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

"He doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works."

-- Rick Santorum, in an interview with Hugh Hewitt, on Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) arguing that there's no evidence "enhanced interrogation" led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

McCain, of course, was tortured while held prisoner during the Vietnam war.

Read the rest of this post...

Now cranky John McCain is objecting to a bill to help prevent suicides in the military

Maybe he was afraid that some of the suicides prevented might be gay ones. Read the rest of this post...

John McCain senility alert - and what was Stephanopoulos thinking?

ABC News - here's John McCain talking to George Stephanopoulos:

But the fact is that this president has not reached out, not one time, on a major issue to Republicans. I hope that he will. We look forward to problem solving with him. But we really need to respond to the anger and frustration that the American people feel today." [emphasis added]

Yeah, like the time President Obama cut the stimulus in half, and then cut another $100bn, and then gave 35% of what was remaining away in near-useless tax cuts in order to appease the Republicans - and pretty much guaranteed we'd lose the House as a result of the weak impact the remaining stimulus would have on the economy - is that what you mean, Senator Magoo?

Or the time Obama left it up to Chuck Grassley, for months and months and month, to come up with a health care reform compromise, and then - surprise! - Grassley and the Republicans apparently were never interested in ever finding any compromise at all!

Or how about the time the President left global warming in the capable hands of Lindsey Graham. How's that going?

I liked John McCain a lot more before he lost his mind.

And, excuse me, but how in the world did George Stephanopoulos let McCain get away with saying this, and then simply respond by saying "Thanks for being on our show"? Read the rest of this post...

When Kerry Eleveld wouldn't let John McCain lie about DADT

Posted earlier at AMERICAblog Gay, but we haven't seen a good meltdown from the man who inflicted Sarah Palin on us.

McCain and his sidekick, Lindsey Graham, held a victory press conference after they won the filibuster vote, which insured no imminent legislative action on DADT repeal. Kerry Eleveld was there -- and she deals in facts. She questioned McCain's flawed interpretation of how DADT works. He was wrong -- and it sure looked like he was was getting ready to explode because someone had the audacity to challenge him.

Igor Volsky just posted this video at Think Progress. The female voice asking McCain the question is Ms. Eleveld:

The male voice at the end asking about Mike Almy belongs to Metro Weekly's Chris Geidner.

Igor adds:

In fact, as Almy explained in testimoney before McCain’s own committee (Senate Armed Services): “In Iraq, during the height of the insurgency, someone in the Air Force ordered a search of my private emails solely to determine if I had violated “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and to gather whatever evidence could be used against me.” “I was relieved of my duties, leading nearly 200 Airmen, my security clearance was suspended and part of my pay was terminated. Even as my commander was relieving me of my duties, he assured me this was in no way a reflection of my performance or my abilities as an officer,” Almy testified.

Now, if I were Lindsey Graham, I might want to find out what the policy really is. Because, what happened to Mike Almy isn't an isolated case.

Jeremy Hooper, of course, has the best headline: Video: Oh Lindsey, don't act like you're not car-singing 'Alejandro' every chance you get Read the rest of this post...

McCain's meltdown over DADT and Hate Crimes

Remember that unstable John McCain we all grew to know during the 2008 campaign. Well, he was back with a vengeance today on the Senate floor screaming "Get off my lawn, you damn gays":

And, he's wrong about hate crimes. There was no secrecy around it. In fact, there were two recent Senate votes amending hate crimes to the Defense Authorization bill. In 2007, the hate crimes amendment broke the filibuster by vote of 60 - 39 (McCain was absent.) In 2009, the hate crimes amendment broke the filibuster by a vote of 63 - 28. McCain was there. The debate lasted a couple hours, not weeks. Clearly, McCain is easily confused, especially when he's being homophobic.

This is just an early indicator of what the battle will be like in the Senate to pass the compromise DADT repeal bill. It's going to get ugly. Read the rest of this post...

McCain, who moved to the far right for his re-election, now claims bipartisanship is dead

Again, the Republicans simply lie. Well, in this case, McCain is basically telling the truth. Bipartisanship was dead from day one. Regardless of how many times, and in how many ways, the White House caved to the Republicans - stimulus and health care reform are the two most obvious, but even on climate change and immigration the Democrats aren't holding particularly firm - it has gotten the Democrats nothing in return, other than claims that the Dems haven't been bipartisan enough. This is going to be the latest GOP lie that sticks, unless Democrats - especially the President - take it on directly. The President's statement the other day on financial reform, targeting the GOP for the blame, was excellent. We need to see more like it. Read the rest of this post...

McCain's numbers are plummeting, with Dems and Indies too

From PPP:

John McCain has had a Charlie Crist like drop in his approval numbers over the last six months, seeing double digit declines in his popularity with Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. As a result a majority of Arizona voters now disapprove of his job performance.

55% of voters disapprove of McCain to just 34% who give him good marks. When PPP polled Arizona in September he was at a positive 48/42 approval spread, so he's dropped 27 points on the margin since that time. McCain's biggest fall in popularity has come with Republicans as he's been more aggressively challenged from the right by J.D. Hayworth. Where 65% gave him good marks last fall now just 48% do, a 17 point decline. He's also gone down 13 points with independents (from 41% to 28%) and 11 points with Democrats (from 32% to 21%.)

McCain has tried to shed his 'maverick' image in order to survive the Republican primary and the numbers indicate that's working, but at the cost of diminished support from Democrats and independents. Just 28% of voters feel that McCain is an 'independent voice for Arizona' while 55% are more inclined to describe him as a 'partisan voice for national Republicans.'

Read the rest of this post...

McCain calls bigoted AZ law 'useful tool,' doesn't know if it's legal or not

ThinkProgress:

On Friday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) signed a draconian immigration bill into law, which gives local police officers the power to detain anyone suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. The law has raised serious concerns about racial profiling and potential violations of Americans’ civil rights.

Before the bill was signed, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) hailed it as “a very important step forward.” His spokeswoman, however, clarified to reporters that McCain’s comments “did not represent an endorsement” of the bill. At town hall meetings in Arizona this weekend, McCain continued to straddle the issue, calling it a “good tool” for law enforcement, but also saying that he didn’t know “whether all of it is legal or not.“

McCain should have learned last year that he's not at his best when he pretends to be a winger. Read the rest of this post...

John McCain is vewy vewy angwy

This is from this morning, but it's still worth posting. As a result of Democrats passing health care reform, John McCain says that Republicans are no longer going to be nice to them. This would be the same Republicans who refused to vote for the stimulus package one month into Obama's presidency, even after he gave them 35% of the bill in tax cuts. The same Republicans who the President told Max Baucus to negotiate with for months on end, only to find out that - surprise - the Republicans weren't actually interested in negotiating because they didn't want any reform to pass. And now John McCain is saying that all of that great bipartisanship, that never existed, is going to go away.

John McCain is either senile or desperately lying in order to save his re-election. Either way, it ain't pretty. Read the rest of this post...

Joe the Plumber blasts McCain and Palin

All you can do is laugh. Read the rest of this post...

McCain has a primary opponent from the angry right

The punditry was obsessed over what the Scott Brown victory meant to Democrats. But, there are implications from the angry electorate for incumbent Republicans, too -- even for Senators who endorsed Brown, like John McCain.

Former GOP congressman, J.D. Hayworth, a truly hard-core right winger, is running in the GOP primary against McCain. And, that's well-received by at least one of the other right-wingers in the House:

A GOP congresman on Sunday backed former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) who announced Saturday he will primary Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) became the first lawmaker to endorse the former radio host Hayworth's upstart bid.

In a Twitter post, Rohrabacher said:

McCain's wrong on too many big issues: #Immigration, #GlobalWarming, #Bailouts. @JDHayworth is better #AZ #tcot #Hayworth

Hayworth informed the Associated Press late Friday that he was stepping down as host of an Arizona talk radio program to run for Senate against the 2008 GOP presidential nominee.

A poll last week showed McCain with a 53% - 31% lead over Hayworth. Those are great numbers for a long-term incumbent, especially for a primary.

Not sure how Cindy McCain's support for same-sex marriage will help in the GOP primary.

The primary is August 24th, so Hayworth has some time. I can't imagine McCain appreciates this challenge. Read the rest of this post...