Warning! Quite Graphic; McCain & Racism

[sixdogsmom]

McCain: racist, bigot & homophobe
August 1, 2008 - 7:14am.
By DOUG THOMPSON

John McCain, a member of the House of Representatives in the mid-1980s, often held court at a table near the bar at Bullfeathers, a popular Capitol Hill watering hole, telling jokes and matching hangers-on drink by drink.

As a Capitol Hill chief of staff, I often drank at Bullfeathers and was invited to join the throng at McCain's table one evening. A few minutes listening to the racism, bigotry and homophobia of the Arizona Congressman told me all I needed to know.

McCain loved to tell jokes about lesbians, blacks, Hispanics and the Vietnamese community that occupied a large section of Arlington County, Virginia, just south of the District of Columbia.

Of course, McCain didn't use polite language in the jokes: He used names like "fags" or "queers" or "dykes" or "niggers" or "spics" or "wetbacks" or "gooks."

A typical McCain joke (overheard at Bullfeathers):

Two dykes are talking at a bar and one leaves. As she walks toward the door, the other watches her leave and says out loud: "God, I've love to eat her out."

Two men are standing near by and one turns to the other and says: "I'd like to do the same. Guess that makes me a dyke."

Or another (also overheard at Bullfeathers):

Question: Why does Mexican beer have two "X's" on the label?

Answer: Because wetbacks always need a co-signer.

(McCain has a documented history of lesbian jokes. He's also come under fire for other jokes about rape.)

Exampe:

Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?

Because Janet Reno is her father.


Another example:

Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, 'Where is that marvelous ape?'


When he ran for the Senate, I attended a gathering of GOP operatives at the National Republican Senatorial Committee where McCain outlined his campaign strategy:

I play to win. I do whatever it takes to win. If I have to fuck my opponent to win I'll do it. If I have to destroy my opponent I won't give it a second thought.


McCain's so-called sense of humor has no limits when it comes to simple human decency. Shortly after former President Ronald Reagan announced he had Alzheimer's Disease, McCain told this joke at a GOP Fundraiser:

Do you know the best thing about having Alzheimer's?

You get to hide your own Easter eggs.


Even his wife is not immune. Writes Cliff Schecter in his book, The Real John McCain:

Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain's intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.


This is the man the Republican Party thinks should be the next President of the United States. What else should we expect from a party that promotes racism, homophobia and discrimination against anyone with a different skin color, sexual orientation or ethnic origin?

So we shouldn't be surprised that McCain's campaign strategy seeks to raise racial fear about Barack Obama, the first African-American with a serious shot at the Presidency of the United States.

John McCain is a racist: Always has been, always will be. A retired Naval officer who says he served with McCain in the Navy says he treated black sailors with disrespect and scorn. McCain refuses to release his detailed military record and some sources say that record includes incidents that include issues with black sailors.

Such attitudes are part of his family history. As noted by a black poster in Talking Points Memo:

I can't love America the same way John McCain does. When his daddy was Admiral, my daddy was mopping floors. And when his granddaddy was Admiral, all the Blacks in the entire Navy were mopping floors. But they still volunteered and went to war, even when their commanders didn't think they were brave enough to fight. So who loves America more? The cook on the ship who couldn't vote in 15 states, or the Admiral who dined on the meals he slaved over?


McCain's collection of off-color jokes are riddled with racist words and sentiments. Advisors have toned down the raunchy rhetoric of his early years in Congress but close aides say his attitudes have not changed.

McCain opposed making the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King a national holiday. During his 2000 campaign for President, he told reporters on his "Straight Talk Express: "I hated the gooks (North Vietnamese). I will hate them as long as I live."

Katie Hong of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, who reported the remark, wrote:

It is offensive because by using a racial epithet that has historically been used to demean all Asians to describe his captors, McCain failed to make a distinction between his torturers and an entire racial group.

It is alarming because a major candidate for president publicly used a racial epithet, refused to apologize for doing so and remains a legitimate contender.

For his 2000 campaign for President, McCain hired Richard Quinn, founder and editor in chief of Southern Heritage Magazine, to serve as his spokesman in South Carolina.

Notes Salon.Com:

Quinn's articles have called Nelson Mandela a "terrorist" and King a man "whose role in history was to lead his people into a perpetual dependence on the welfare state, a terrible bondage of body and soul." In another piece, Quinn said of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, "What better way to reject politics as usual than to elect a maverick like David Duke?" though he did condemn Duke's bigotry.

Irwin A. Tank, author of Gook: John McCain's Racism, notes a long and sordid history of racism from the presumptive GOP nominee, including:

McCain's use of the anti-Asian slur "gook" publicly for 27 years before dropping the use for his current Presidential run;
McCain's endorsement of George Wallace Jr., a frequent speaker at white supremacist events;
His vote against establishing a holiday for Martin Luther King's birthday and then another vote to rescind the holiday.
In answering a question about divorced fathers and child support, McCain called the children "tar babies."
The list goes on and on.

What else do you expect from a racist, bigot and homophobe?

(Updated on Aug. 2 & 3, 2008, to include additional material and links)

[srkruzich]

Lets see. since racism is the belief and practice that one is genetically superior to another race, i doubt that any of the above is racist.  Bigoted maybe but not racist. 

Secondly jokes are jokes.  Nothing big.  People today just get offeneded far too easily.  I grew up with all the polock jokes aimed at me and i'm not even polish.  ROTFL. So jokes don't bother me at all. 

Now where actions become racist is when you hang a fellow from a tree because of his skin color, and thats not really racism, thats murder pure and simple. 

I would say that if  you can't laugh about your particular difference in life, your going to suffer from a serious fatal lack of humor.  I mean that one about chelsea clinton was funny!!!!  You can't help but laugh about that one.
And the one about the double X's was funny too.  A lot of truth in it you know. 

The rest weren't racist, they were crude!, and maybe bigoted,  i'll give ya that one, but racist???

As far as his opinion on King, i'll have to totally agree with him on that one.  King was a registered communist.  Had not use for him.  I grew up around him and his ilk.  Jesse jackson, king, hosea williams all were exploiters of their own race.  Hosea at least allowed poor whites to come eat at his feed the hungry events every year around thanksgiving.

You go to atlanta today, you will see multimillions of dollars in King estates paid for on the backs of blacks.   Jesse's millions was made off of the suffering of blacks. Still is made off their suffering. Look at the NO during katrina.  While the "whiteys" as he put it were out there taking care of folks, feeding them, rescuing them, providing water, ect he was out there accusing bush and white establishment of killing off the black man.  Sheesh

I grew up IN ATLANTA during the 60's during all the civilrights events there, was there when king was killed and had to be sent out of state to the country where it was safe while the folks there rioted over it.  Had to live my life there having it shoved down my throat that i should be ashamed of my southern heritage because my ancestors might have owned a slave or two.  I remember what real racism was!
One of the towns i lived in was a town called blue ridge.  The city limit sign welcome to blueridge had another sign below that one that said "Nigg** don't let the sun set while your in town"
It's not up anymore.   I remember Jimmy Veneble marching up stone mountain every 4th of july with the local klan. I remember many crosses being burned on black n whites properties alike. 

Soooo Lets call racism racism and bigotry bigotry. There is a difference.
The sad thing about Racism is that yes the whites were racist long ago.  Now racism just  swapped races.
Now it shows up in affirmative action (Racist to the core), Another one is the negro college fund, (racist to the core), and any organization that bases its services on the genetic superiority or inferiority of another race.

[srkruzich]

Oh BTW if i had been held POW as many years as Mccaine had, and had been tortured like he was, i think i would call them gooks too.  Put yourself in his shoes.

[sixdogsmom]

Sorry, but none of these things are the qualitys that I want to see in the potus. And BTW, if John McCain can not distinguish between the enemy (his captors) and people of other nationalities then he most certainly has no business being potus.

[frawin]

Your article probably came from "Digg.com" which is known for inaccurate and articles that are unsupported and written by people of questionable character. In fact at the top of the page for the very article you put out it says"Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate Readers have reported that this story contains information that may not be accurate.
There are several other comments pointing the fact that there is no evidence whatsoever to support that any of this ever took place. If one wants  to talk about racism among the two candidates, I think ther is far more evidence of Obama's racism than John McCains. Obama's mentor, minister, Idol, the man that got him into politics, the man that got him elected was the Most Well Known Racist  the Rev Jeremiah A. Wright. I am a little surprised that you would even put trash like this on the forum when it is not supported as being the truth. I know we have exchanged lots of barbs and none that were friendly but in most cases you have tried to put out material that was researched and reported to be the truth. I am assuming that you put this post out in retaliation to Jo's barnyard post, if that is the case it was a pretty low trade. I vowed that I was not going to read anymore posts from some people on the forum, there are 4 people's post that I don't even open and I didn't open this one until someone e-mailed me  and asked me if I thought it was true. I am putting my confidence in the voters in this country that they are not ready to turn this country over to someone that has an agenda that looks, smells and sounds like a little Communism and a whole lot of Socialism. I think the Christian Right will go along way to keep this man from being elected.

[srkruzich]

Your article probably came from "Digg.com" which is known for inaccurate and articles that are unsupported and written by people of questionable character. In fact at the top of the page for the very article you put out it says"Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate Readers have reported that this story contains information that may not be accurate.
There are several other comments pointing the fact that there is no evidence whatsoever to support that any of this ever took place. If one wants  to talk about racism among the two candidates, I think ther is far more evidence of Obama's racism than John McCains. Obama's mentor, minister, Idol, the man that got him into politics, the man that got him elected was the Most Well Known Racist  the Rev Jeremiah A. Wright. I am a little surprised that you would even put trash like this on the forum when it is not supported as being the truth. I know we have exchanged lots of barbs and none that were friendly but in most cases you have tried to put out material that was researched and reported to be the truth. I am assuming that you put this post out in retaliation to Jo's barnyard post, if that is the case it was a pretty low trade. I vowed that I was not going to read anymore posts from some people on the forum, there are 4 people's post that I don't even open and I didn't open this one until someone e-mailed me  and asked me if I thought it was true. I am putting my confidence in the voters in this country that they are not ready to turn this country over to someone that has an agenda that looks, smells and sounds like a little Communism and a whole lot of Socialism. I think the Christian Right will go along way to keep this man from being elected.

Amen there!!!!

[sixdogsmom]

Frank, the article was written by Doug Thompson an award winning Washington journalist, and came from Capitolhillblue.com a non partisan news site. I have never heard of Digg.com but will look into it. I believe that Mr. Thompson was a press secretary when he personally witnessed the things described. Sorry, I knew that you would not like it, neither did I and was astounded that a United States senator would conduct himself in that manner. But then we have seen some pretty outrageous behavior from United States senators, bathroom romance and two story vacation homes. Some people just seem to lose all integrity on the hill, but maybe they didn't have any to begin with.