Organizing for America | B-Norm Barack Blog: Lies, Evasion & Gimmicks: An Open Letter to the Honorable John McCain

Lies, Evasion & Gimmicks: An Open Letter to the Honorable John McCain

By Brian Normoyle - Sep 25th, 2008 at 4:07 am EDT

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Tags: bailout, debates, economic crisis, gimmick, McCain, moose, no talk express, palin, postpone, Straight Talk Express

Dear Senator McCain:

My name is Brian Normoyle and I'm an average, middle-class American. I'm writing with concern because I'm starting to wonder whether or not this whole McCain-Palin campaign is just a colossal three-act farce that the American public is being forced to sit through.

It started with lies--not exaggerations, as politicians are prone to, but outright lies about Obama's economic plan, his vote on sex education and Palin's supposed opposition to earmarks and the bridge to nowhere. Then lies became evasion: refusing to meet with reporters on your plane or take their questions after rallies; Palin's two softball interviews with the national press and still no press conference; and the campaign's patent refusal to allow media access to her. Shortly thereafter, Senator, you tried to pull the wool over our eyes again by attempting to convince us that, all along, you've been a pro-regulation populist who takes on Big Business in America.

Finally, though, the third act of this horrible farce I can't bring myself to laugh at: you're "suspending" your campaign to go to Washington to fix this bailout problem. This is an even more obvious gimmicky political ploy than the rush-to-judgment choice of Sarah Palin--and trust me, that's saying a lot. The really juicy part of the joke? You want to postpone the debate scheduled for Friday and even the Vice-Presidential debate next week.

I've had it. Enough! Let's call this exactly what it is: moose-shit.

No, Senator McCain, you do not get an extension on your homework assignment. You can show up to the University of Mississippi, like the all the other kids, and give the presentation you were assigned months ago. I don't care that you're clearly grossly unprepared and I have little sympathy for your apparent inability to defend your 25+ years of pro-business, anti-regulation policies that helped lead us to where we are today. Like any other person who wants to be President of the United States, you need to be able to handle more than one assignment concurrently and you need to do your homework on time.

Senator, you sold me and America a first-class ticket on your Straight Talk Express, and I've come to learn that I actually hold a coach-class seat on the No-Talk Express, or as I like to call it: Sham-trak. I want off this train and I want answers. I'll even give you the questions in advance so you can study your scripted responses.

1. With Republicans in control of congress for 12 years and Bush at the helm for the last 8, with the SEC Chairman and all its commissioners appointed by a Republican, with the FRB Chairman appointed by a Republican and with a Republican-appointed Secretary of the Treasury, why do you think we should trust you, a Republican, with the levers of economic power and vote for you?

2. When your economic advisor, Phill Gramm, said that our failing economy was all in our head and called struggling Americans "a nation of whiners" what exactly did he mean by that? And since he is the man who in 1999 wrote the law that repealed certain restrictions and regulations on the financial sector, how can we be sure that you're not beholden to his "expert" financial policy advice?

3. In 2005 you stated "I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues, I still need to be educated" and again last December, "the issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should [but] I've got Greenspan's book.” Do you think those statements instill confidence and hope in the American people about your ability to steer us out of this mess? Why do you feel uniquely more qualified to handle something you've admitted you know little about?

4. Why do you continue to deny media access to your fragile flower, Sarah Palin? Why do you not talk to reporters anymore? Why are you avoiding the debate? Why won't you give us the answers we deserve about the issues facing our nation and our everyday lives?

Senator McCain, here's some advice from an average, middle-class American. Think of it as Straight-Talk 101: when you own 13 cars and can't remember that you own 7 homes; when you've consistently been on the wrong side economically of the average working American; when you want to inflict further damage on the few of us who are provided employer-sponsored health insurance by taxing that benefit; when you and your party make it harder for struggling Americans to access bankruptcy but you want to bailout Wall Street with our money; when you want to continue the failed Bush-Republican policies of giving tax breaks to the wealthiest 1% while giving short-shrift to the middle class; when you have all these factors about you pitted against a voter's reason and logic and rational thought--to say nothing of that voter's emotional response to losing a home, a job, and/or life savings--then you shouldn't be running from the the media and the debates, you need to hop in the engineer's compartment of your BS-Express and slam full-throttle towards them so that you can explain yourself and give us one, just ONE reason, why any sentient human being should vote for you.

See you in class on Friday.

Good luck... I think you're gonna need it.

Love,
Brian Normoyle

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