John McCain Should Be Ashamed

Washington, DC -- I have just listened to carefully coached staff members for Senator John McCain lie repeatedly about the Senator's failure to show up and vote on the first Senate economic-stimulus package, which included tax incentives for clean energy. I am in a state of shock not because of the Senator's vote, although that disappointed me, nor over his desire to avoid public accountability for that vote -- that's politics. But to carefully coach your Senate staff (I assume the Chief of Staff, not the Senator, was the author of this shameful performance) in how to mislead callers in such depth is appalling, and surprising, because it was almost certain to be found out.

Here's how it played out:

McCain lands at Dulles two nights ago. He has time to get to the Senate to vote on cloture on the expanded economic-stimulus package, which includes clean-energy incentives. But he doesn't show up, musing on the plane as it landed that  ''I haven't had a chance to talk about it at all, have not had the opportunity to, even … We've just been too busy, focused on other stuff. I don't know if I'm doing that. We've got a couple of meetings scheduled.''  (For the record, fellow candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama did find time to make up their minds).

McCain doesn't vote. The expanded stimulus package gets 59 votes, one short of what is needed for it to proceed to the Senate Floor. The next day a stripped-down version of the stimulus bill, minus clean energy, is brought to a vote. McCain votes for it; the bill passes.

The Sierra Club sends out an alert: "Where was John McCain on clean energy?" and asks people to call the Senator's office.

Immediately, people begin calling and emailing me, saying, "The Senator's office says he voted for clean energy, and that your alert is wrong." We check. He didn't. We call his office. Stunningly, his staff has been coached to mislead callers. "That's not true at all," they say, "he voted for the bill yesterday." Well, he voted, yesterday, but for a different bill. However we phrase the question, we get a lie. "No, if he had voted for the bill, it would not have passed. That was purely procedural." But McCain's staff knows that if cloture had been invoked, passage of the bill would then only require 51 votes, and the bill with clean energy would have passed.

You can actually imagine the careful script McCain's office had to prepare to enable his staff to mislead so consistently. If you push the staff hard enough, you get a commitment -- McCain will vote for clean energy if it comes up as part of another bill. That is, of course, unless there is a procedural wiggle he can squeeze through.

John McCain should be ashamed. Or at least his staff should. I really can't imagine him watching his folks coached in the way they had to be for this performance.

Please encourage the Senator to live up to his commitment to clean energy. It's not too late to call.

Comments

[Sandy Draus]

After receiving an email detailing Senator McCain's missing the vote, I called his office his morning. His office is saying that while he missed the vote on cloture, he did show up and voted at 4:30 to pass the economic stimulus bill. So what's the deal?? I was told I got bad information.

[Eric Smithson]

Thank goodness Hillary Clinton or no other Democrat has ever misled us.

[Truth Seeker]

It's not like the Sierra Club would ever do something so sinister as bending the rules then having to pay a fine for illegal campaign brochures.

[Chris Dudley]

In 2000, I campaigned for John McCain in Virginia. I worked with some great people on the campaign and that was a good thing because calling up republican voters for the Senator was a pretty tough experience. I heard all sorts of bad things about him that I knew were not true. The people I worked with were pretty surprised too. You hear more about what happened in South Carolina, but the same thing was going on in Virginia.

Now, it seems to be a pattern for Senator McCain to not show up for votes on renewable energy. He missed the vote on the Energy Bill that would have kept in RPS and tax provisions for renewable energy, and now he has missed another. What you are saying about the behavior of his staff makes me think that there is a real problem in this area. I'm proud of the effort we made in 2000, but I wonder if what drew so many people to him then is slipping away now. Back then you knew where he stood and could support him even if you didn't always agree with him. Now it seems different.

[yeeaikteoh]

Lets Stop Global warming together start from now,
spread this message to all of your friends,
this is a non profit organization website
www.theforesite.org .
I am the no99 ,how bout you?

[Michael O'Donnell]

I am a Goldwater conservative and until recently I thought McCain acted as though he too, was a Goldwater conservative; I see I am mistaken, based upon his recent flip-flopping on several important
and specific issues. He is a bush/neo-CON based upon his recent antics and I SHALL NOT SUPPORT HIS ELECTION as long as he continues tocal pander to the Rove and the rest of the NEO-CONS.

[Craig Walker]

A few years ago the Senate was having a vote on ANWR.
I sent Senator McCain a petition against oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I received a letter from Senator McCain stating that this area was too fragile for drilling, and that he would vote against it. A week later he voted to allow drilling, much to my surprise. I still have the letter in case anyone is interested.

[Anonymous]

please look up john mccain's leadership role with the international republican institute. thank you.

[Anonymous]

please look up john mccain's leadership role with the international republican institute. thank you.

[senator-mccain-elections]

Mccain wearing a Navy baseball cap?

if the Navy could do it over........

would the Navy take back Senator Mccain as a Navy pilot ? if they knew what they know now He did trashed 5 Navy jets and was finally captured by the enemy.

what this piss, now he's out there now selling himself as a hero, and the media treats with as a war hero.

He may deserve some sympathy for his POW days, but he was captured. but when your daddy and grand daddy an Admiral who's gonna ground him?

do you really want John Mccain in the presidential cockpit?

[Dave]

You morons need to stop interfering in America's search for oil in her own back yard. Ever heard the saying 'those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it'?....or something like that. Anyway,remember what happened back in '73? Yea,that's when Saudi Arabia decided to punish us for our support of Israel by cutting off oil to our country. Those of you morons old enough to remember the gas rationing and long lines,should be careful because it could happen again. In fact,it probably will! What are we supposed to do then? The beautiful polar bear will be sleeping peacefully on some block of ice while the rest of us will be wondering if the trucks will be bringing food to the grocery store. What do you think powers our cars and trucks and other machinery? No,drilling and sucking oil out of the ground is not the ideal way to fuel our country but at the moment,it's the way we live.

[rayne071208]

I personally think that John McCain should not be elected for president because he wants to keep things how they are. He is going to do the same thing that Bush is doing. I honestly think that George Bush is doing a horrible job. Gas prices are higher than ever, he is paying over $60 million a year to keep the troops in Iraq, when they shouldn't have been there in the first place. I recently joined the US. Army and I will not serve for John McCain. Another reason is because he has Sarah Palin for Vice President. She is pro-life, and plans to turn Roe v. Wade, taking away the right for women to choose, even though it could be rape. All women she be able to choose what they want to do with their own bodies, no woman is trying to "play God" and she puts it. They are simply trying to live their lives the best they can, and if they are raped and become pregnant it could ruin their lives, especailly if it was rape by a family member. So therefore, I feel as though McCain and Palin should not be put into office. And I hope that America has enough common sence to see this.

[Joefucious]

This doesn't suprise me at all.