John McCain’s political attacks are getting more subtle.
While the Republican’s campaign previously shouted out against Barack Obama, especially with regard to “domestic terrorist” William Ayers,” those negative attacks eroded some of the Senator’s support.
Now, in an effort to undercut Obama and maintain some resemblance of respectability, McCain’s taking a less heavy-handed angle with two key words “socialism” and “welfare.”
The s-word came up a number of times this weekend as McCain derided his opponent’s economic plans.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Mr. McCain repeatedly cashed in on the October surprise of Joe the Plumber on the campaign trail Saturday, and also used [a] radio address to make the taboo “socialism” charge against Mr. Obama based on his candid admission to the Ohio blue-collar worker that he wants to “spread the wealth around.”
“Joe, in his plainspoken way, said this sounded a lot like socialism. And a lot of Americans are thinking along those same lines. In the best case, ‘spreading the wealth around’ is a familiar idea from the American left. And that kind of class warfare sure doesn’t sound like a ‘new kind of politics,’ ” Mr. McCain said in the weekly address.
“At least in Europe, the socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives,” he said. “We should demand equal candor from Senator Obama.”
Many social conservatives have a knee-jerk reaction to charges of socialism, which, thanks to the cold war, carries with it many unspeakable horrors.
“Welfare,” meanwhile, has come up specifically with regard to Obama’s tax plan. Said McCain at a rally Saturday: “His plan gives away your tax dollars to those who don’t pay taxes. That’s not a tax cut, that’s welfare.” Some astute pundits and journalists are wondering if McCain’s using the word “welfare” to invoke images of the so-called “welfare mother,” a mythical figure once used by Republicans to describe black mothers who had children simply to bilk the government. Even if McCain’s not intentionally drawing on that image, we bet some Americans saw it anyway.
anokie
I believe McCain himself signed the $700 billion bailout, and that lead to the nationalization of banks and he proposed a $300 billion buy of mortages…..yeah, I think by definition thats “socialism”. hmmm am I missing something?
mark
I can’t WAIT until McLoser slinks back to the Senate with his OLD buddies Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham…which reminds me of a joke, stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
A LOSER, a Jew, and a Queer walk into a bar…..
mark
speaking of LOSER pain in the asses…a couple fewer closeted OLD AUNTIES will be heading back to Congress.
Miss Dreier, and Miss McConnell will be wearing matching caftans in some tedious Palm Springs resort….buh bye….b*tches!
tallskin
It always astounds me how people can act against their own economic interests and vote conservative here or republican in the US.
Socialised medicine, for example, in the USA would make the majority of the population much better off, both in terms of health and financially, yet people are totally brainwashed into thinking they’d all be worse off by a press and media that is controlled by the same class who own the medical insurance industry.
Still, as Karl Marx said, The dominant ideas of any society are always those of the ruling class.
marco hussein channing
McCain denies race-baiting, yet is throwing around the term “welfare” about a black candidate in 2008.
John Lewis was exactly right in comparing McCain to George Wallace.
Country First my ass.
fredo777
While I think McPalin have been fear-mongering, I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to call it race-baiting.
They have been using some very divisive + dangerous tactics, though, which I find pathetic.
Nitesurf
It’s race baiting and they know it.
emb
So let’s see what all they’ve trotted out: Obama is a Muslim; Obama is a foreigner; Obama is a terrorist; Obama is a celebrity; Obama is a traitor; and now Obama is a socialist. The repubs are dancing all around what it is they REALLY want to say, which is Obama is Black. (Really?? Ohmygod.)
All the charges they’ve been throwing at him boil down to He’s Different. And funny thing, America doesn’t seem to mind.
The murkier underbelly of the mccain-palin strategy, of course, is that knowing they’re going to lose, they’re willing to try to undermine an Obama Presidency from the very start. Between allegations that he’s stolen the election through Acorn and that he’s a friend to terrorists and a socialist hater of democracy, the wingnuts hope to tarnish a hopeful and historic moment.
Typical republicans: If you can’t win it, say you don’t really want it and throw poop at it.
Ston
The 700 Million dollar bailout that McCain helped push through is the biggest socialist extream to EVER happen in the U.S. So what is the real story? McCain loves socialism until he can use it against an opponent?
Colin Powell
“And now I guess the message this week is we’re going to call him a socialist. Mr. Obama is now a socialist, because he dares to suggest that maybe we ought to look at the tax structure that we have. Taxes are always a redistribution of money. Most of the taxes that are redistributed go back to those who pay them, in roads and airports and hospitals and schools. And taxes are necessary for the common good. And there’s nothing wrong with examining what our tax structure is or who should be paying more or who should be paying less, and for us to say that makes you a socialist is an unfortunate characterization that isn’t accurate.”
zach
Under Obama’s plan, if you make over $250,000, you will see an increase in taxes -but under those “higher taxes” you will still be paying LESS of a percent than what you paid under Ronald Reagan. You can only say Obama is “raising” taxes, because Bush lowered them to the point that the country has not been paying for what it spends. Obama is only arguing that we should RESTORE taxes to the more reasonable, and responsible levels that applied under President Ronald Reagan, the original tax-cutter. A tax-rate that was good enough for President Ronald Reagan should be good enough for any patriotic American.
fdeblauwe
A great cartoon lambasting this phenomenon on the Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 blog…
Jaxson67
Um nothing wrong with being a socialist,
Anthony
I really don’t know what’s wrong with McCain. Being socialist is not a bad thing at all. Look Spain’s chase: the socialist party is now in the power and has been in the power several times and¿? Thanks to them in Spain we have: gay marriage, social insurance, sexual identity law (for transgenred people)… And guess what? we are not starving, in fact we have a more o less solid economy and a good quality of life.
I hope McCain lose, because I think that he is almost a fascist.
Eugene
First of, saying that we should spread the wealth around is Socialism people. That came straight for Obama’s mouth. I don’t agree with McCain on many issues but he is a better candidate for the US. Maybe Obama is a better candidate for Europe, maybe they should take him. Another point, Fascism is a leftist idea. If need be, read your history books. As for gay marriage, that is a state issue, not a federal issue and would trample on state’s rights if a constitutional amendment were to be passed. We should be fighting for it stateside not federally. Socialism and its worse older brother, Communism are responsible for hundreds of millions of dead people in China, Russia, Europe, and the Third World. How can anyone defend the state’s right to impose an ideology for the “betterment of their people” is unscrupulous. The good thing about this is that it is the last time the refuse of the 60’s would have a candidate that embodies all their state sponsored ideals. After the messes up the economy even more, there would be a backlash and perhaps a realization that Socialism-Communism-Fascism and its modern version are all an abhorent and detrimental to fundamental individual rights. I hope we don’t suffer too much under the Obama Reign.
fredo777
Obama is not a socialist + McCain would certainly not be a better president for the US.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-obama-chicago-socialist,0,4048540.story