Teamsters Oppose John McCain
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Most people know that John McCain was a prisoner of war for 5-1/2
years during the Vietnam War.
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The Teamsters honor and respect his sacrifice for our country.
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But there are other important things to know about John McCain.
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He is completely out of touch with the problems faced by working
families.
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He said, “the issue of economics is something that I’ve never really
understood as well as I should.”
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At 72 years old, John McCain claims he has the experience to be
President.
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But he has a long record of voting against working people.
o He voted for every disastrous free-trade agreement since
NAFTA.
o He even said “NAFTA was a good idea.”
o He wants to repeal Davis-Bacon.
o He voted against the Employee Free Choice Act.
o He voted for strike replacement workers.
o He voted for tax cuts for corporations that move jobs offshore.
o He voted to outsource federal contracts overseas.
o He led the effort to open the border to dangerous trucks from
Mexico.
o He thinks it’s a good idea to privatize Social Security.
o He wants to tax your health benefits.
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John McCain walks the walk against workers. He crossed a picket line
in January to appear on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
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He had an elite upbringing. Both his father and grandfather were fourstar admirals.
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Senators and Congressmen used to come to parties at his childhood
home on Capitol Hill.
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That childhood home is now the Republican Party’s swanky club.
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Together John and Cindy McCain own nine homes worth more than
$13 million, including two beachfront condos in Coronado, California,
and three ranch houses outside of Sedona, Arizona.
Page 2: Teamsters Oppose John McCain
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In March, McCain suggested that people in danger of losing their
homes should work a second job or skip a vacation.
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McCain campaigns in $520 imported Italian loafers.
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The only private-sector job he ever held was a brief stint doing public
affairs for his father-in-law.
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John McCain is not on our side.
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He earned a reputation as a “straight talker” and a “maverick” during
his run for president in 2000.
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But he was so desperate to win the Republican nomination in 2008
that he groveled to George Bush during his entire presidency.
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McCain voted with Bush 89 percent of the time, and 95 percent of the
time last year.
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In June 2005 he told “Meet the Press,” “on the transcendent issues,
the most important issues of our day, I've been totally in agreement
and support of President Bush.”
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He now wants to distance himself from George Bush’s failures.
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McCain changed his position on tax cuts, offshore oil drilling, torture,
global warming and lobbyist reform.
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He is campaigning on his experience and his knowledge of foreign
affairs.
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But he’s often confused about serious matters facing America.
o He mixes up Afghanistan and Pakistan.
o He can’t tell the difference between the Sunni and Shi’a factions
in the Middle East.
o He can’t keep track of troop levels in Iraq.
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He has trouble controlling his anger.
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Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy once witnessed McCain
lose his temper and told him, “Act like a senator.”
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Former Republican New Hampshire Sen. Bob Smith, said, "His temper
would place this country at risk in international affairs, and the world
perhaps in danger."
Page 3: Teamsters Oppose John McCain
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Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, also a Republican, said, “The thought
of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic.
He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
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Political analysts say he is such a weak candidate that his only chance
of winning is to relentlessly smear Barack Obama.
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McCain promised to run an honorable campaign.
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Instead, he hired Karl Rove’s team to run sleazy, negative ads against
Obama.
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Now he’s engaging in the same kind of dishonest character
assassination that George Bush used against Al Gore in 2000 and
John Kerry in 2004.
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A John McCain presidency would amount to a third term for the Bush
administration – only worse.