McCain Values – Gambling Man Who Dumped Crippled Wife & First Family – The Christian Right Is Catching On

This is a long post.  I hope that you will read it.  I’ve finally come to terms with who John McCain is and who John McCain has always been.   And tell me, who are today’s men of integrity in the leadership of the Republican party?   Other than Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska, I honestly can’t think of one.  

So actually, it’s not just the Christian right catching on, I’m beginning to catch on too.  I have been shaking my head thinking that this isn’t the John McCain I had admired for years.  Well, maybe John McCain was never the man made by the media.   Reality has slapped me in the face seeing how easily we (including me) can be manipulated into accepting the media’s version of a politician’s history.

John McCain first came to Congress in 1982, not long after my father died.  My father was a hardcore Republican, retired from the Army after 32 years and one of the best fathers ever.  He was honest, hard-working, believed in the American system, made us watch all presidential annoucements (sit still, be quiet, and listen “the president is on”), helped out the neighbors, took time for his kids and he loved my mother dearly.   So I always thought that John McCain was like my dad.  Although I’m a hardcore Democrat – I always thought that if only a guy like McCain would head the Republican ticket . . . maybe . . . ?

My dad loved Barry Goldwater.  Another man that I imagined to be like my father.   You see my father – although a good man was also a bigot.   He had no time for silly topics like homosexuals or civil rights.  People basically needed to fall in line according to his way of thinking.   However, good Republican men like Barry Goldwater provided objective evidence that a good man like my father would also change his bigoted opinions as he gained more facts.   Unfortunately my father died in 1981.   He never said that it was “OK” that I’m a lesbian but before his death I could feel and see the flicker of understanding that was starting to grow.

The photo is is of Sen. Barry Goldwater, on the right, as he poses with his running mate William Miller at the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco.  I was 5 years old.  Miller was one of the prosecuters at the Nuremberg trials. Miller is the only practicing Catholic to have been nominated for national office by the Republican Party.  Mabye McCain picked Sarah Palin because she was baptized a Catholic?  And we thought it was her gender. 

By the mid-1980’s Republican men like Barry Goldwater were getting fed up with the increasing influence of the crazed far-right Christians on the Republican party.   You see my father didn’t have much use for them either.  

Anyway, Goldwater eventually became an outspoken defender of gay rights.  So even though my father didn’t live to make that change – I know that he would have because of men like Barry Goldwater and John McCain.

I’ve been a little shaken by the extreme nature of John McCain’s campaign.  Obviously the man is desperate to be president and that’s why he endangered the country by picking Sarah Palin as his running mate; but in my experience men like Barry Goldwater and my father would have never lowered themselves to this level.

However, when reading a post that I wrote back on September 16 and reading the Times gambling investigation I realized that John McCain was NEVER like Barry Goldwater or my father.  

John McCain has always been a cocky, shoot from the hip, gambling, womanizing, self-centered, power-hungry Republican.  

Today the papers are full of the stories about John McCain’s history of gambling (up to 14 hours a day at times) and his history of working with the casino lobbyists.   Here are a couple of quotes from one of the articles:

“We’ve known for a while of John McCain’s childhood connection to the region, where he lived for a short period when his father was serving a stint here as a Navy submarine commander. But it wasn’t until the results of a New York Times investigation were published earlier this week that we learned the extent of McCain’s involvement with another mainstay of eastern Connecticut culture, our casinos.”

“Of course more troubling than the disclosures in The Times story this week of McCain’s gambling in a Connecticut casino was the suggestion that he used his position as chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee to help lobbyists working to stop a third tribal casino in Connecticut.”

Now the big question is will McCain’s gambling ties hurt him with the Christian right-wingers.  In fact, check out this article from a CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) blog which describes the new Democratic National Committee’s ad featuring McCain’s gambling.    It’s written by David Brody of The Brody File.  Here is how the article ends:

“The DNC knows that McCain’s so called penchant for gambling can hurt him among some social conservatives. It may not play well with other strongly religious voters as well. Indeed, the last thing McCain needs is another problem with the Evangelical base. In this case, the gambling issue could most likely trump the lobbyist issue. I mean it’s not like he’s playing the lottery or bingo or a quick 25 cents slot machine. This is high stakes gambling we’re talking about. Then you throw in the lobbyist angle and you have a dangerous credibility issue. Will voters buy it and will it stick? Does this bother you?”

Here is the DNC video.  A link was provided in the Christian Broadcast Network blog entry:

 

What follows is my post from September 16, 2008.   Let’s just hope that the Christian Right is also waking up to the man we’ve all called an American hero. 

_____________________________

“Suppose Barack Obama had dumped a crippled wife and married a beer heiress one month after the divorce.  Don’t you think he wouldn’t have been tripped up by such a scandalous past?  The Republicans would have had a field day mocking his character. But John McCain’s tawdry personal history is rarely mentioned.”

Quote From CHICAGO SUN-TIMES COLUMN SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 by Mary Mitchell/Sun-Times

John McCain with the family he left

Actually, from the dates that I’ve seen, McCain obtained a marriage license to marry Cindy before the divorce was final . . . heaven forbid we talk about that with the family values crowd.

McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980.   McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license with Cindy on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife.  The divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Cindy “My Outfit Cost $300,000” Hensley in a private ceremony on May 17, 1980.

Friends of the McCains such as Nancy and Ronald Reagan were not happy with what John McCain did to his first wife.  Cleary the Reagans had good reason to feel this way.

Here is what John McCain’s been quoted as saying about meeting Cindy.

She was lovely, intelligent and charming, 17 years my junior but poised and confident. I monopolized her attention the entire time, taking care to prevent anyone else from intruding on our conversation. When it came time to leave the party, I persuaded her to join me for drinks at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. By the evening’s end, I was in love.”

But he WAS MARRIED with small children at home at the time of this romantic encounter.  Shorter version of story:   I was a dirty old man (as I still am) husband and father.  One night I got really horny when I saw this girl almost young enough to be my daughter.  So I immediately asked her to go to a hotel with me.  I thought it was the usual one night stand but when I found out she was rich I decided to dump my wife and kids.

I also don’t get why no one speaks of Cindy McCain’s history as a drug addict stealing from a medical charity.   The woman is RICH and well-connected.   She didn’t have to steal.   The fact that she’s a recovering addict really is no big deal – I mean Sarah Palin’s teenage son is apparently a recovering addict – in the scheme of things. 

BUT CINDY MCCAIN IS A RICH THIEF STEALING FROM A CHARITY. 

Some say that Democrats should not talk about Cindy McCain’s history of drug addiction.   Fine.  Can we talk about having the first admitted thief as First Lady?  

My in-laws go on and on with their FOX News induced claim that Michelle Obama doesn’t love America.

Yet, we know very little about the made-up tranny mess Cindy McCain and her history of drug addiction and stealing from A MEDICAL CHARITY!  In fact, I’m not sure that the in-laws even know about Cindy McCain’s past. 

Guess it all comes down to this . . . if you’re the party of family values you can head your ticket with a guy who left his crippled wife for a trophy millionare tranny mess (also a thieving drug addict) and then top off your ticket with the mother of not only a pregnant teenage daughter but of a recovering addict teenage son . . . and your family values crowd won’t even notice  . . .  

Hey, but if you’re a politician who supports a family like mine (2 moms and a boy) .  .  .  the “family values” folks won’t be able to vote for you.   

All I can say is that McCain and Palin are the best advertisement yet for some form of government other than representational democracy.    

Are Civics/Government classes mandatory in any state’s public educational system?

Mrs. John McCain.  Hard working mother dumped for rich girl 17 years younger than John McCain.

John McCain and His Blonde Rich Young Trophy Wife

Latest on Palin “Affair” & Amazing Letter From Someone Who Knows Sarah Palin

Scott Richter divorce file shows NOTHING to suggest an affair but the National Enquirer has now named Brad Hanson as the secret love of Sarah Palin.  The Enquirer story is after the jump.    You can read more about Hanson here:  Brad Hanson New Character onon “As the Palins Turn”

The  98-page divorce file shows that the Palins are only mentioned in Richter’s motion to seal the records.  (Also, see a copy of the motion after the jump.)

According to the motion, Richter wanted the documents deemed confidential to keep reporters/media/press from obtaining details about his address, workplace, and phone numbers because “reporters and news agencies” were using that information to contact him. 

Richter, a 39-year-old contractor, noted that he is “friends and land owners in a remote cabin” with the Palins and, as a result, journalists were intruding on the “cabin life and private life” of him and his 11-year-old son. The petition to dissolve the marriage was filed jointly last July by Richter and his ex-wife, who were not represented by lawyers. A judge granted the dissolution less than two months after the couple filed to end their marriage.

__________________________________________

Debbie Richter says that it wasn’t her ex that had an affair with VP Barbie, Sarah Palin. The ex-wife of a man some have suggested may have had an affair with Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin says it’s “absolutely, completely false” that her ex had an affair with Ms. Sarah.

What's the Difference? Close Enough

“I can tell you this with 1,000 percent certainty, Sarah Palin never had an affair,” said Debbie Richter when reached on Friday afternoon.

The rumor that her now ex-husband, Scott Richter, had an affair with Sarah Palin gained momentum after the National Enquirer reported she had been romantically involved with one of Todd Palin’s former business associates.

The John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign threatened to sue over the story.

The National Enquirer has at least hinted that Palin had an affair with a former business associate of Todd Palin.

It would be easy to dismiss as pure tabloid trash, but this next piece of information makes the latest Palin scandal at least a little intriguing.As we posted yesterday, Debbie’s ex filed an emergency motion on Wed. to have their divorce records sealed. 

“As soon as he realized that there was going to be a barrage of media inquiries, he went to the court house in his little town and requested that our divorce information be sealed,” she told Us.

“The reason he did that is he just doesn’t want his financial information hanging around out there in the wind,” she said. “It caused some speculation that he had something to hide and he doesn’t really have anything to hide except that he’s just a private person.”

When asked how she would describe Palin, Debbie responded by saying she is “driven, committed to public service, determined and not easily swayed from her goal.”

“If she wants something her way and she has an opinion about it, that’s the way it’s going to be for her,” Debbie added.

The Palins and Richters own property on Safari Lake together, according to Matanuska-Susitna Borough property records that we linked to in earlier posts.

Meanwhile, other sources are saying that Palmer High School Hockey Coach and Hockey Mom Lover Brad Hanson is the man who the National Enquirer is going to break as Sarah’s “secret affair” partner.   You can see his photo and infor in our posts from late yesterday evening.

__________________________________________

We snagged this ditty with thanks from “Vantwerp Calling.”

The www.washingtonindependent.com posted a verified reader letter/comment from Anne Kilkenny, a Wasilla, Alaska, woman who has known the honorable governor personally since 1992.

Quote from http://www.washingtonindependent.com/3671/the-reform-candidate#comment-1994895:

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP  (PS – Yes, that’s Tina Faye but what’s the difference?)