Sitting on the floor in my room, folding clothes while I watch John McCain give his speech, the CNN camera pans the audience, lo and behold, I see John Stirrup cheering and waving his sign around. Within several mintues I see him again, only this a much closer shot! Now, what I am wondering, does he react with such demonstrative support when John McCain addresses the plight of immigrants or the story of hispanic migrant workers and their families, and ultimately the bond that ties us all together, our common bond of humanity.
I found this most recent article from Fox news on John McCains immigration plan, his new focus on securing the border and the tight rope he walks in appealing to Hispanics while not alienating his base.
ST. PAUL — For most voters, immigration reform has taken a backseat to the economy and the war in Iraq.
But the controversial issue could re-emerge in the fall as John McCain and Barack Obama court Hispanic voters, who could make the difference in battleground states such as Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Colorado, where many of Latino voters are concentrated.
McCain vowed this summer that if elected he would prioritize reforming immigration laws to include a pathway to citizenship for illegal residents.
As senator, his immigration reform efforts failed last year when Congress shot down a comprehensive bill he co-sponsored that included a guest worker program. After that, McCain narrowed his position, saying the U.S. must secure its borders before changing the system.
Immigration reform represents a political landmine for Republicans who want to appeal to Hispanics, an increasingly powerful electorate, and hold on to its base supporters, many whose position against illegal immigration is viewed by Hispanics as discriminatory.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/04/mccains-stance-on-immigration-could-help-win-hispanics/
So McCain is now running against the Bush administration? I’m so confused. They switch it on us every other day! Last week experience was important, now it doesn’t matter at all. Last week being a U.S. Senator is a good qualification for being President, this week you have to be a Governor to be a good President and even McCain is not as experienced as Sarah Palin???? How dumb do they think we are?
So yeah, McCain smashed up President Bush pretty bad in his speech tonight. Last week he was running as a Republican, now he’s running as, what, I don’t even know, a Democrat who is against a woman’s right to choose? Okay, well, good for him.
But here’s the weird thing:
Many of the voters McCain needs to win this election are still huge fans of President Bush! That’s why Bush’s approval rating is so incredibly bloated at 25%. Are these same people impressionable enough to love Bush on Thursday and hate him on Friday just because the Republican campaign tells them to? Perhaps we need another term on top of “Low Information” voters, like “Any Information The Republicans Give Me Regardless of What I Was Told To Believe Yesterday” Voters.
Anyway, McCain, like Bush before him, is betting on the Low Information voter outnumbering the rest of us. John Stirrup and the Tanton followers obviously fall into the Low Information category (or whatever you call it). They are strictly partisan. Republican rule comes first, what’s best for the country comes a distant second. He’s got them already, so he is smart not to pander to them.
Yes, I was confused too. McCain is the man of change, change from his own party? The whole week was spent in nastiness and division, and then McCain comes on and talks about how he doesn’t care who you are or what your political affiliation is, he just wants to get the job done. Too bad he couldn’t sell that outstanding philosophy to the rest of his party.
Yes, I saw JS also. Cheering and chanting USA USA. Funny he never shows any animation at all at the BOCS meetings.
I was also wondering why he seemed so excited about about John McCain after what we have seen here in Prince William. Has he had a change of heart? I wonder if the Red Circles will change their ‘we hate McCain’ stance. On the other hand, who do they have to vote for? I don’t believe they are going to vote for Obama for one second. Maybe they will just stay home and then whine and complain after the election and continue to throw out those FAIR and Numbers usa sound bites. It must be tiring repeating Illegal is Illegal. What a mantra.
Would you rather he embraced everything the Bush administration did? McCain’s speech was just the kind of spanking the GOP needed. The fact that John McCain had the most devoted Republicans in America cheering such progressive ideas, implicitly admitting responsibility for the Bush disaster, and ready for sweeping reform is beyond amazing to me.
Two thoughts went through my head over and over again. (1) How on earth did the party choose Bush over this man 8 years ago? And (2), if he is capable of giving a speech like this, why did have to resort to an inexperienced attack dog VP candidate who undermines everything his campaign is supposed to be about? As disappointed as I am in Palin’s speech, I’m pleased with McCain’s. Hopefully Palin won’t be his undoing.
I referenced a 2006 Newsmax article in another thread on John McCain’s temper and reputuation amongst his colleagues. It offers a decent explanation about why it took so long for him to get to this point in his party. While it might seem like he has more universal appeal, and he has the reputation of being a maverick and a good man, he is well-known to be a bear to deal with for Republicans and Democrats alike (as well as the press).
I don’t want to post too many links, or else I may put myself in moderation. However, if you look back in the Sara Palin – running mate thread, you can find a link to the Newsmax article. When I googled “John McCain temper,” I found all sorts of other articles and video clips. YouTube has a bunch of stuff.
One clip was of a Senate Select Committee hearing in which you can see him becoming so heated after sounding off and then having to listen to someone with an opposing viewpoint testify, that his head started to look as if it would explode. He finally just walked off the Senate floor in the middle of the hearing, leaving everyone else to continue. What I found most interesting about that particular clip is that he actually admonished a woman for speaking against some other guy, who in his words, was “doing the best he could at age 70.” !!!!
The following is a more recent Washington Post article on John McCain’s temper. It contains lots of other examples and other sources. Again, I think it’s a valid cause for concern, considering he is hoping to become the leader of our nation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/19/AR2008041902224_pf.html
Closer. The precipice draws closer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTQXRI_IaEE
After you watch this 3 part series, will you join the next anti-war march? Will you have the courage to help organize it?
This was a culture war but now it’s beyond that. From the cultural battlefield, this conflict has taken a more serious turn and is now being waged on the legal battlefield. With casualties.
Can we stop it here? It’s not about left or right. The Greg Letiecqs, the Duecasters, the Michaels, the Rick Bentleys…
They would throw us all in jail.
FYI – According to this morning’s MJM, the Liberty street billboard has been
taken down.
That needed to happen. The point has been made.
There is also an article on the Liberty St. billboard in this morning’s WaPo metro section.
McCain’s speech did sound somewhat like he wanted to separate himself from Bush and the Republican party. Is he now an Independent?
Off the subject:
Did anyone watch O’Reilly last night? It was hard for me to push the channel on the remote to watch but I wanted to see the Obama/O’Reilly interview. You may want to watch Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Those are the days for the rest of the interview. O’Reilly did say that Obama was tough. I am interested to see how he does.
Mackie,
I guess this make it okay.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/09/04
Red Dawn,
That’s a good article. It’s very scary. Essentially, the police are for hire by political parties now.
McCain-Palin= commitment, strength, leadership/executive experience, dedication, country first., love for America, genuineness, character, integrity, CONNECT with grassroots Americans, change we can TRUST, God FIRST, one Nation UNDER GOD= WINNING team team in November; Sarah Palin, President elect in 2012…..there IS HOPE for America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obama-Biden= let’s see…..huh…..welll, huh…..let me see….AHA…..ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALSO…..that pathetic sign FINALLY came down…..YIPPPEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also, Gov Palin alone can whip Obama-Biden butts……GO McCain -Palin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On the news today, Gov. Palin is decimating Obama regarding the huge success of the Iraq surge. Obama is such a lightweight. From talk shows to speaking with neighbors it is CLEAR that the conservative base is ENERGIZED. I AM SOOOOOO excited! LATINOS for McCain-Palin…….venceremos…..si se puede…..ABAJO con los izquierdistas liberales
I do find it funny that McCain is attempting to portray himself as not of the current party in charge.
Even Romney was stating that our federal sending has increased a substantial amount every year since 1980, what he does not say is that the Replublicans have been in office for 20 of those 28 years, and had the marjority in congress for 12 of those 28.
Marie
That’s what I heard as well. I wish they had to name their cabinet before the election.
Maribel, I guess we were long overdue for a drive-by of insanity from you. You are one sick dude! I don’t suppose it has ever occurred to you than many people on this blog are McCain supporters?
Didn’t think so.
Stirrup cheering at the RNC, imagine that… Is this really worth of a thread or is it just a slow day or something. 🙂
Hello,
It is always neat to see someone from home at a convention. His behavior just seemed so out of character. He seems so stern and quiet at BOCS meetings. And it was a fairly slow day. I think everyone is conventioned out.’
Hi Moon-howler, I suppose your right, it’s pretty neat seeing someone local at a convention. I just think that it’s kind of funny to point out how he was cheering… he’s a republican at the RNC. Why wouldn’t he cheer?
However, I suppose it really freaked out NGL and DiversityGal: (odd and to me a somewhat racist quote from NGL) “Can I ask if others felt a little creeped out by the hoards of sneering cheering white people at that convention?”
To which DiversityGal agreed – odd choice of a name given she agrees with such a statement.
John Stirrup reminds me of Adolph Eichman. These immigrants aren’t human to this man.
Are you high or something Mackie? What an absurd and offensive statement. I thought people here have moved past this kind of talk but I suppose I was wrong.
Hello, JS is usually fairly unanimated and doesn’t say much. I only remember seeing him saying ‘POINT OF ORDER, POINT OF ORDER.’ at John Jenkins. I am sure he has said other things but you have to admit he is not a big talker while serving on the BOCS. He also is rather austere. To see him cheering and appearing to have a good time was just an out of character glimpse at a side of him the average constituent doesn’t get to see.
As to the white remark….a few years ago, around 1997, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the State of the Union Address. It was a fabulous experience. However, as I sat there absorbing all the power in that one room, I had to notice the stark difference in the left side of the aisle vs the right side of the aisle. The left hand side, which was Republican, was very white and very male. I don’t recall seeing a non-white and there were only a few females. I will never forget that stark contrast. It was impossible to ignore. It wasn’t something I was looking for. I was the guest of a Republican congressman so I wasn’t on a warpath.
I think that coming off the Democratic Convention perhaps people were just more cognizant than usual of the difference in diversity between both conventions. Just offereing a suggestion. I actually don’t know and could be full of it. 😉
Moon-howler, you could be correct but the fact the NGL pointed out there were so many white people isn’t what irks me, it’s that see white people “creeped” him/her out (as well as not-so-DiversityGal).
Here’s a vid of an agent provocateur that was planted by the police in one of the protest groups at the RNC. The agent provocateur is wearing the disguise of a protester medic. He attempts to start a riot by pretending to defy the police and get himself arrested. I guess the thuglice was hoping that the rest of the crowd would fight for someone they thought was a medic. Luckily the rest of the crowd immediately figures out that the guy was a plant.
These are the kinds of tactics that a police state uses. It is no different than planting evidence.
And while these innocent people were being subjected to this abuse…that buffoon John Stirrup was just a few feet away, whooping it up in the convention and grinning from ear to ear like the village idiot that he is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC5aiZpqgzI
Just a quick drive-by…
I remember one other time he spoke up – at the massive Citizens Time BOCS meeting. He wanted to get a woman’s remarks struck from the record because his delicate sensibilities had been offended by her use of the word “ass”. He was unoffended by the proposal of a resolution that would split the citizens of the county into warring camps, waste our tax dollars, and give us a reputation beyond being mere “rednecks”. Hmmm. I think his priorities are screwed up.
Mackie,
I don’t think John Stirrup is Adolf Eichman, not even close! I do believe that he has bought into a false belief system, sold to him by Greg and FAIR. What he is, I believe, is an idealogue, only thinking about party alleigance. He truly thought he was going to bring in the next divisive issue to put his party ahead. It failed, and the American people, the republicans and independents who chose John McCain, trampled what he believed was the ticket into the white house……… fear of “illegal” immigrants.
Hello,
I just thought it was interesting that John was there, and seen on T.V. Considering that John McCain’s speech was so POLAR OPPOSITE to how he and Corey have governed in PWC, Johns Stirrups overwhelming enthusiasim struck me as contradictory to his behavior here. Just an observation, food for thought, nothing more than that.
Elena,
John Stirrup wasn’t duped. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He left arlington to escape working class latino immigrants. Now this buffoon wants to forcibly turn PWC into his own personal demographic experiment. Undocumented are kicked out, and for those people of color who remain, a quasi-police state. It’s all the same to John. It’s not his kids who will be stopped on the street by the police and asked if their parents are illegal. He is a sincere in supporting the resolution no matter what the party says. Sincere enemies are always the most dangerous.
And similar to Adolf Eichman, he likewise implemented an efficient and effective policy to ship the undesirables out of the community.
Wow, your out there Mackie, put the bong down for a bit.
I wouldn’t have gone as far with the comparison to Adolf Eichman, but otherwise Mackie’s statement is dead-on. Stirrup wasn’t duped into dealing with FAIR. The quote about his leaving Arlington because of the demographic shift is accurate. According to IRLI, we have been turned into a lab experiment. He was in favor of a plan that would have been very similar to a police state. His blond haired child won’t be asked if her parents are illegal. And he did implement a policy to rid the county of those he perceives to be undesirable. Where exactly do you think Mackie was incorrect in his analysis?
Seriously Alanna? You think that his statement is dead on? Is there any evidence to back it up? If so I would be interested in seeing it.
John Stirrup won’t be cheering wildly when he gets home and sees the state budget cuts come in. It looks likes the financial ax is falling.
According to a item on next Tuesday’s PWC BOCS agenda (which seems to be gone now…hmm) they are cutting police officers due to last year’s state cuts. Granted they are vacant, but this statement in the document seems ominous to me…
I saw where Fairfax was experiencing $400 million or more in local reductions. If this is the response to $1 million in state cuts what is going to happen if PWC has anything like Fairfax in cuts?
Comparing John Stirrup to Adolph Eichman is just over the top, even for me.
Alanna and or Mackie – here are a few of the “dead on” comments with your (Mackie) comparison of Stirrup to Adolf Eichman the architect of the Holocaust. Can you please provide me with evidence for them. If you can Ill eat my words.
1.) He left arlington to escape working class latino immigrants.
2.) He wants to forcibly turn PWC into his own personal demographic experiment.
3.) Undocumented are kicked out, and for those people of color who remain, a quasi-police state.
4.) It’s not his kids who will be stopped on the street by the police and asked if their parents are illegal. (looking for evidence of kids currently being stopped on the street by police and asked if their parents are illegal)
5.) He likewise implemented an efficient and effective policy to ship the undesirables out of the community. – this one if more of a question I suppose, are the undesirables illegal immigrants?
hello,
Noticing and being bothered by a lack of diversity doesn’t indicate racism to me, but I am sorry that my mention of it offended you. Personally, I like to be surrounded by all kinds of people, but I know that makes some uncomfortable. When I see a glaring lack of diversity, it stands out, and you bet it bothers me.
Just for the record…I am not a self-hater. Caucasians, in general, are great. However, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER RACE (just wanted to make that clear), there are some I don’t care for…you know, the kind of people who chant “zero” to effectively dismiss and disrespect an honorable person. Also, the kind of people who admitted (in several states) that they voted against Obama in the primaries based solely on race…yeah, that’s yucky. Even more so, I have a problem with the kind of people who told Elliott from Elliott in the Morning recently that “they [African-Americans] were promised forty acres and a mule, not the White House” and acted like it wasn’t an outrageous statement. DEFINITELY have a problem with those people…
Hello,
John isn’t Eichman, but that he worked with Duecaster, FAIR, and IRLI is very troubling to me. In fact, many people I know, most of whom are not in anyway connected to undocumented workers or lantino’s, felt very uncomfortable with the tone of rhetoric they saw people take in regards to the hispanic community. If you want to be truly honest, you cannot simply ignore that many people have felt at odds with the tone of the resolution and the originators of the resolution. After all, FAIR, Greg and Duecaster, influencing anything in this county, should concern us all! It DOES matter that Mike Hethmonn, IRLI, freely admits that we were their lab rats. Doesn’t that make you the least bit uncomfortable?
Hi DiversityGal, I agree with you, and feel the same way about the racism (referring to the Elliott example). Unfortunately your are correct, there are people out there voting based on race – on both sides. When you agreed with NGL’s comment it sounded like you were “creeped” out by white people cheering, not the lack of diversity. I may have misunderstood the comment but that’s the way it looked to me.
Elena, I was not aware that Mike Hethmonn, IRLI, freely admits that we were their lab rats. Ill also admit that I’ve never heard of IRLI or Mike Hethmonn.
I had never heard of any of them until this past year.
Hello,
First of all, this is what I said. I believe I’ve sourced each one of my answers with either news articles or videos.
Agree Elena, the comparison was over the top.
Okay to answer your questions.
1.) He left arlington to escape working class latino immigrants.
source: http://hamptonroads.com/node/423771
2.) He wants to forcibly turn PWC into his own personal demographic experiment.
Again, he worked with IRLI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBbjrk0QWqw
3.) Undocumented are kicked out, and for those people of color who remain, a quasi-police state.
Answer: The quasi-police state was the original suggestion of the resolution that discussed restriction of a wide-range of services and included id’ing everybody. Actually the quote from the County executive interview addessed this initial policy.
I believe it’s in this video that the County Executive talks about what the initial proposed resolution would have meant and it sounds to me like a quasi-police state.
source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRRVWb_aiQ4
4.) It’s not his kids who will be stopped on the street by the police and asked if their parents are illegal. (looking for evidence of kids currently being stopped on the street by police and asked if their parents are illegal)
Hispanic kids are carrying around their birth certificates in their glove boxes. Do you think Stirrup’s blond haired child is doing the same?
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/07/ST2008030702824.html?sid=ST2008030702824
5.) He likewise implemented an efficient and effective policy to ship the undesirables out of the community. – this one if more of a question I suppose, are the undesirables illegal immigrants?
Answer:
1.
source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071002093.html
2. Another article entitled- A Hispanic Population in Decline
source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/09/AR2008070902173.html
Hi Hello,
I think that is what concerns me the most. So many people are unaware of the genesis of the resolution, how it ties to IRLI and FAIR. I had NO idea who these organizations were, but now that I know, it makes their influence in PWC extremely troubling to me.