Tuesday, October 07, 2008
John McCain as part of the Keating Five
I was just a kid when the SnL collapse at Lincoln Savings stuck the US taxpayer with a $3.4B tab, so I wasn't aware of John McCain's direct involvement with the scandal. Apparently, ol' John took a substantial amount of money, and enjoyed some personal time, with Charles Keating, who most people agree is little more than a piece of shit with legs. I suppose, if McCain-Palin can insinuate that Obama is a terrorist sympathizer, I suppose it's fair that Obama-Biden respond by letting us know that McCain has a certain amount of sympathy for the types of people that destroyed the financial services industry.
I wish it hadn't come to this, but when the McCain campaign made the decision to start using "smear tactics", they left Obama's campaign with little choice. You take the high road and fail to respond, the idiots on TV starts ranting about "weakness". On the other hand, if he goes on full offensive, he gets dragged into the pool of shit McCain and Palin are piling up around themselves, which ultimately does him nothing but harm. This seems to be an attempt at going up the middle, and the statements made are supported by the historical record, which is very important. This is how the Republicans do things, so there are times when a Democrat or Independent has to step up and fight fire with fire. Unlike Palin's accusations, the assertions made in the video are supported by facts, which is always nice...
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ALL of the evidence, from even the MOST “Liberal” of sources, PROVES that this pathetic and unfounded attempt to smear McCain with the crimes of Keating is unmitigated BUNK!
1) Although McCain had dealings with Keating (who was a constituent in McCain’s district), McCain was NOT connected in ANY WAY to the CRIMES committed by Keating.
2) McCain did NOT support, IN ANY WAY, Keating’s request for regulators to ignore his violations. McCain did NOT favor either skirting OR eliminating these regulations. McCain did NOTHING to assist Keating in ANY WAY!
3) In FACT, even the New York Times admits that the Keating scandal ONLY involved Democrats (which is precisely why the Dems were so DESPERATE to lynch the ONLY Republican they could even REMOTELY connect to Keating)!
Quoting the New York Times:
“The special counsel to the Senate Ethics Committee has recommended that the panel clear two of the five Senators under investigation for their links to the savings and loan debacle, Congressional officials said today.
In a confidential report submitted to the committee on Sept. 10, the special counsel, Robert S. Bennett, concluded that there was not adequate evidence to merit a full-scale investigation of John Glenn, an Ohio Democrat, and John McCain, an Arizona Republican, several officials said.”
“If Mr. McCain is dropped from the investigation, the political implications could be significant: He is the only Republican under scrutiny, and Republicans could portray the scandal as a Democratic one.”
4) Quoting the very “Liberal” PBS Online News Hour:
“The Senate Ethics Committee concluded that Glenn and McCain's involvement in the scheme was minimal and dropped the charges against them. In August 1991, the committee ruled that the other three [DEMOCRATIC] senators had acted improperly in interfering with the Federal Home Loan Banking Board's investigation.”
Click here for the UNDENIABLE FACTS on what REALLY caused the current housing mess (AND the Keating related S&L mess).
Click here and learn what Obama does NOT want you to know.
Thanks for the comment man, but we can go back and forth all day on this. If saving myself the time is an admission of your victory, so be it. I was curious about your position until I read the tag line of your blog: "AMERICAN LIBERALISM IS A TOTALITARIAN POLITICAL RELIGION.
IF LYING IS AN ART, OUR MEDIA HAVE MASTERED IT."
Fundies on either side are typically a waste of time and energy. It's pretty clear McCain was involved. The Senate declared that he used "bad judgment". He wasn't found guilty of a crime, but it is a fact that he spent time with, and received significant amounts of money from, Keating.
I never claimed to be unbiased, I am an independent with a special place in my heart for so-called conservatives and religious fundamentalists. McCain has a history of being semi-moderate, but he's abandoned many of those positions in the name of election viability. Hard to blame him after Rove demolished his 2000 hopes. Palin is something akin to a Christian fundamentalist. From taking blessing against witchcraft to referring to Iraq as a task from God (not from the Bush/Cheney admininstration, as it actually was), and there is no place in government for that sort of dogmatic belief.
I published your reply, despite it's appearance of being spam, because some of what you said is viable.
BTW, I can link too:
From the Dallas Morning News.
From the The Seattle Times.
Another quote from the NYT reads like this, "Senator McCain had taken $112,000 in Keating-related campaign donations, trips aboard Mr. Keating's corporate jet and family vacations at the executive's Bahamas hideaway. While legal, these gifts made his attendance at the meetings with federal regulators all the more questionable. (The other four senators had also taken large contributions from Mr. Keating, some of them far more than Mr. McCain.)"
McCain himself admitted, "Going into that room gave a definite appearance of impropriety".
How you view what happened depends very much on where you stand politically.
And I know Obama took huge money from Fannie and Freddie lobbyists, while some of McCain's advisers are former Fannie/Freddie lobbyists. It just goes around and around and that is why I am an independent.
On the off chance that you return and read this, all I would ask is that you post genuine thoughts, questions, and ideas, rather than spamming an obscure blog you have not ever read before with a form reply I am guessing you have used on other blogs, judging by posts on your own. Thanks.
I think it is COMPLETELY fair that Obama bring up McCain's past just as I think it is COMPLETELY fair McCain bring up Obama's.
I don't think it is smear tactics on either side. We as the American peple have a right to know who we are voting for and that includes dredging up their past. I can honestly say I know nothing about the Keating Five and I look forward to reading about it, because I would like to know.
On the other hand, may not be best friends with a terrorst, but he is friendly. He did welcome his help to kick-start his career and that shows bad moral judgement. That is like Me being offered a six-figure job by a known rapist. I could take it, knowing it would help my family or pass it up based on my good morals.
Now, having said that... every politician has someone in their past that they used as a stepping stone that they wished they hadn't so... none of them have any morals.
The problem I have with Obama is that he doesn't learn and move on from them. He only starts to denounce them when he has a chance at the whitehouse. So, just like you said McCain has changed his views for his chance at the whitehouse was wrong, I say that about Obama. My point, they all do it, so they are ALL equally guilty. Bottom line, just vote for who you are more comfortable with and I will vote for who I am more comfortable with.
Either way, whoever takes office, they won't be able to do a damn thing at least not for the forseable future. Bush may not have been the best, but alot of these problems were a long time coming long before he took offict and it will take a lot more than four years to fix it.