Pitiful is a republican who can't even hold on to his base of moonies. Buried in the coverage of McCain’s latest "flailing campaigns first" gambit is this gem:
Sen. John McCain vows to hold members of Congress accountable for requesting money for pork-barrel projects, but that hasn't stopped him from enlisting fundraising help from several lawmakers who sponsored tens of millions of dollars in "earmarks" in this year's federal spending bills.
Of the seven Republican members of the House who bundled hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations for Mr. McCain's presidential campaign, only two have sworn off earmarks, according to watchdog groups.
Five others - Reps. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, Fred Upton of Michigan, George Radanovich of California, and Joe L. Barton and Pete Sessions, both of Texas - sponsored or co-sponsored more than $50 million in earmarks in fiscal 2008. They also raised $400,000 to $950,000 in political donations to help Mr. McCain secure the Republican nomination.
In an act more surreal than a Dali painting, the Washington Times has officially tossed John McCain under the straight-talk express. As the Times reveals, McCain's gang of pork-seeking goons has no shame:
These elected officials make no apologies for seeking earmarks even as the man they are trying to put in the White House calls such spending measures corrupt and abusive.
Wow. The Washington Times. Who will be the next GOP tool to turn on McCain? Joe Lieberman, perhaps? McSleaze is becoming more toxic than George Bush himself. It’s only a matter of time before Bush is trying to distance himself from John McCain.
A few years ago, McCain lied:
"if we don't stop the earmarking, we're not going to stop the abuses of power here in Washington." He suggested that his own party was largely responsible.
"In 1994, when the Congress was taken over by Republicans, there were 4,000 earmarks on appropriations bills," he told the committee. "Last year there were 15,000. It's disgraceful, this process."
And more recently:
"I promise you I'll take an ink pen, and I will veto every pork-barrel earmark spending bill that comes across my desk," Mr. McCain said to a cheering crowd at a campaign rally in Blaine, Minn., last week. "You will know their names, and I will make them famous."
Ahem. Just words? The Washington Times thinks so.