http://gophypocrites.com/2008/11/hyp08046.htmlWelcome back to the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week.
We didn't want it to happen this way. We're not really one to kick a guy when he's down. And Sen. John McCain has won this award a total of seven times in 2008 alone. But the idea of McCain stumping for Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss is so hypocritical, we had to say something.
Chambliss is ramping up for a run-off election against Democrat Jim Martin. Though Chambliss got more votes than his opponent, he did not receive 50 percent of the vote, and a majority is needed to win in Georgia. So, the two face off again Dec. 2.
(Incidentally, Chambliss said he was unable to get that 50 percent because too many minorities and "not enough of our folks" came out on Election Day.)
But in order to tell this story, we have to go back to the tale of how Chambliss got his Senate seat in the first place. In 2002, Chambliss painted incumbent Sen. Max Cleland, a Vietnam veteran who'd lost three limbs in the war, as being too cowardly to face a post-9/11 world. Chambliss' campaign ad showed Osama bin Laden's face melting into an image of Cleland.
At the time, the ads were denounced by many, even some Republicans. McCain said this in response to the ad:
"Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to a picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield -- it's worse than disgraceful, it's reprehensible."
During Vietnam, Chambliss received five student deferments and one medical deferment (bad knees, apparently), entirely avoiding service. Yet he can often be seen stumping in military gear and on bases around his home state. Chambliss didn't have a record of his own to stand on, so apparently he felt he had to stomp all over Cleland's.
Still, McCain, the nation's favorite POW, has been able to forgive Chambliss for his disgrace. Well, maybe Chambliss has had a big turnaround since then. Let's look at his voting record.
Chambliss voted repeatedly against the new GI Bill as well as funding for necessary armor and equipment for our troops and other measures meant to help out our men and women fighting overseas. In fact, Chambliss voted against our troops at least 23 times in his short tenure in the Senate. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America rated Chambliss as a D- in 2006.
On top of that, Chambliss clearly saw no need to run a clean campaign as an incumbent this year. He used the same fear tactics (though perhaps not as obviously "reprehensible" this time) against Martin that he did against Cleland.
And then, he even went back to the Cleland ad and defended it as "very fair," saying he's do it again if given the chance.
Still, McCain is flying to Georgia in support of this man whose actions he considers "reprehensible."
Chambliss' opponent this year, Jim Martin, spent two years in Vietnam. He's been campaigning with vets that actually support our troops, such as Jim Webb.
But an award for McCain's hypocrisy isn't the real answer to this problem. Sure, McCain's a hypocrite, but Chambliss is a slimy politician who only departed from the Bush Doctrine only so that he could hand over farm subsidies to greedy ranchers and food conglomerates.
In that spirit, allow us a quick aside with the voters in Georgia:
We at BuzzFlash want to take this opportunity to urge everyone who voted for Martin to come back out again in December. Furthermore, all those Libertarians who voted for the third-party candidate on Election Day should take a look at Chambliss' support for the bailout, the PATRIOT Act, and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. We think you'll see the true opportunity for liberty lies with Martin.
Vote for Jim Martin on Dec. 2. Do it for the troops. Do it for the vets. But most of all, do it for McCain.
Remember our motto: So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.
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