John McCain, Inheritor of Barry Goldwater’s Legacy: RIP

by Bruce Friedrich

John McCain has lost all touch with reality. First he claimed, to justifiable mockery: “I never considered myself a maverick.”

Now, he uses his still considerable megaphone to spout objective falsehoods, calling violence in Phoenix “the worst I have ever seen.”

Dana Milbank in the Washington Post offers an excellent indictment of McCain and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer for their willingness to tell bald-faced lies to the American people for political gain:

Yet there is McCain — second only to Brewer in wrecking Arizona tourism — telling NBC, ABC and CNN that Phoenix is the “No. 2 kidnapping capital of the world,” behind only Mexico City. “False,” judged Politifact, tracing McCain’s claim to a dubious report by ABC News in February 2009. Law-enforcement agencies generally don’t track foreign kidnapping statistics, but experts said rates are far higher in various Central American, African and Asian countries. Reports of kidnapping in Phoenix, meanwhile, are declining.

Dana Milbank may have overtaken Maureen Dowd as the most engaging, amusing, catty (in a good way), and incisive observer of Washington politics. Give this man a Pulitzer.

By: BruceGFriedrich

Vice President, Policy, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals