Flip-Flop Series: John McCain

September 23, 1:20 PMCongress ExaminerIgor Derysh

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Photo Courtesy of the Baltimore Sun

Even though the Presidential Candidates believe that no one keeps a written record of their statements and votes, those records do actually exist. This week at the Examiner we present the “Flip Flop Series;” a collection of statements and votes by Senator John McCain, Senator Barack Obama and Governor Sarah Palin that they later “flip flopped” on once the campaign got the best of them.

Today we highlight three key “flip flops” of the man who rides the “Straight Talk Express.” Or at least used to.

Flip Flop #1: I was against the Bush tax cuts before I was for them.

In 2001, McCain voted against the $1.35 trillion Bush tax cuts citing that they did not provide enough relief for the middle class and the need for additional defense spending.

In 2003, McCain voted against an additional $350 billion dollar tax cut citing the unknown amount of money that the Iraq War was going to cost.

Once the Bush tax cuts came up for renewal and the campaign had gotten underway, McCain voted “Yea” citing that the tax cuts that he had previously voted against would continue “contributing to the growth of our economy.”

He also defended his past “Nay” votes by saying that he voted the way he did because the cuts did not cut enough spending to justify themselves.

And so, a man who would inherit two wars with unlimited budgets and an economy which has already seen a federal Wall Street bailout that could cost up to $1 trillion dollars in tax payer dollars now flies around the country stating that he will make the Bush tax cuts, that he voted against twice, permanent.  

Flip Flop #2: I would vote against the Immigration Bill that I wrote.

Everyone remembers the colossal failure that was the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill. A bill that was criticized brutally for being what was called an “amnesty bill.”

Once the campaign got underway and his controversial position on illegal immigration came up, McCain stated that he would not vote for his own bill citing “current conditions” and the lack of public support for the bill.

So one of the most experienced Senators did not do any public opinion polling prior to putting the bill on the floor?

Sometimes being a “maverick” just makes you look silly.

Flip Flop #3: I was for government de-regulation before I was against it.

It is true that throughout his entire career McCain has been a fiscal conservative, always supporting bills that would de-regulate commercial institutions.

In fact, McCain was against government regulation right up until the collapse of AIG.

The day before the government bailout of AIG, McCain stated that “we cannot have the taxpayers bail out AIG or anybody else.” He added later in the day that if he were in charge of the Fed, he would have to let the company fail.

The day after the collapse of AIG and the necessary government bailout that followed, McCain vowed to end the "reckless conduct, corruption and unbridled greed" on Wall Street.  He then added that "In my administration, we're going to hold people on Wall Street responsible. And we're going to enact and enforce reforms to make sure that these outrages never happen in the first place."

So apparently government de-regulation is good until the policies that you supported have led to one of the greatest economic disasters in American history.

Coming up this week in the Flip Flop Series:

Obama against the policies of…Obama.

Palin vs. Palin