McCAIN FLIP FLOPS & INHOFE STAYS THE COURSE ON HIS EXTREMIST POSITIONS BUT IN THE END, IT'S ALL THE SAME GOP DISASTER

At 82 McCain claims he still wants to learn about economic stuff

Earlier today we looked at some McCain flip flops. I certainly wasn't trying to imply that these were his only flip flops; there are scores of them and we'll be looking at plenty more as the campaign progresses, believe me. Nor was I trying to imply that McCain is the only politician who changes his mind based on other factors besides principle. Quite the contrary. McCain may be worse than many but it is very rare that you find someone running for office who doesn't flip flop from time to time. The difference with McCain and others is that when the media moves in to rip someone like Hillary to shreds-- even if they just "sense" (incorrectly) a flip flop-- they invariably give McCain the benefit of the doubt or even employ some kind of twisted corporate media logic to lionize him.

Strangely I heard some relatively straight talk today from an unaccustomed source, "Right" on NPR's "Left, Right and Center"-- pompous former Gingrich hypester Tony Blankley. Blankley acknowledged on the show that McCain, who he referred to as sounding terribly like McScrooge when he tried rationalizing why it was ok to bail out big campaign contributors to the tune of $400 billion but not ok to bail out their victims, homeowners, for less than a tenth of that, that he was relieved when McCain changed his tune today, although he said it's too little too late and expects to wake up in January to the sound of President Obama.

Michael Cooper in today's NY Times referred to the flip flop as a pivot. Speaking in Bay Ridge, which is simultaneously the only Republican area of Brooklyn and one also widely acknowledged to be under the control of the Mafia, McCain said “There is nothing more important than keeping alive the American dream to own your home, and priority No. 1 is to keep well-meaning, deserving homeowners who are facing foreclosure in their homes." This contrasts starkly with what he said when he was in a more "Get Those Damned Kids Off My Lawn" mood a few weeks ago. At that time McHerbert Hoover called homeowners who were tricked into imprudent and difficult to understand subprime loans by sharks who are unregulated because of GOP policies-- policies McCain backs wholeheartedly (unless he flip flopped on that in the last hour or so while I was swimming)-- "irresponsible." Instead of agreeing with Senators Obama and Clinton that a plan is needed to keep homes from being foreclosed on, he suggested their moral failings as human beings requires them to get a second job (or a third job if they-- like so many Americans enjoying the Bush Economic Miracle-- already have two jobs).

Although Cooper is ostensibly a news reporter he goes out of his way to push forward the corporate media romance with McCain. "Since then," writes Cooper, "he has gone out of his way to try to signal that he understands that times are tough and that people are hurting." Unless he's signalling Cooper with smoke signals, that is a blatant lie. Until today, McCain had certainly not pulled back from his McScrooge posture. In his unabashed hero worship for McCain, Cooper may actually believe the tripe he wrote. It still doesn't make it true. Nor does Cooper's misleading closing paragraph:

Mr. McCain, who does not always sound comfortable discussing the economy, is also laboring to undo any damage from the Republican primaries, when he was accused by a fellow Republican, Mitt Romney, of not knowing much about the economy.

Romney may well have been one of the millions of people who noticed that McCain is clueless about the economy and impatient when someone talks about it instead of bombing Iraq or North Korea. But what upsets people-- and what has helped doom McCain's already pointless campaign-- was that he said he doesn't know much about the economy. Maybe Cooper missed that when he was putting all his attention on writing McCain another mash note. Although he could check the Wall Street Journal (Nov. 26, 2005: "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.") or he could check the Chicago Tribune (December 18, 2007, just 4 months ago, thinking he may have gotten that education he said he needed back in 2005: "The issue of economics is something that I've really never understood as well as I should. I understand the basics, the fundamentals, the vision, all that kind of stuff." Yes, the vision stuff... that phrase worked well for George Bush I.

Obviously (I hope) the whole mortgage crisis isn't something I'm trying to lay at the feet of John McCain. The fault lies with GOP policy makers ideologically-- even demonically-- obsessed with deregulation of business, as though it were their holy grail. Deregulation extremists are as bad as over-regulation extremists. A crucial role of modern government is to mediate between the powerful corporate forces, who can pay off politicians like McCain to get them to back deregulation so they can expand profits regardless of societal costs (i.e., polluted streams and air) or costs to individuals (i.e., deceptive mortgages and financial ruin) and the powerless individuals in a mass society. Republicans don't see that. And it neither starts nor ends with an economic clod like McCain. Pick any random Republican Neanderthal. Go ahead... name one.

OK, James Inhofe (R-OK). He's even more extreme than McCain. This week, ranked according to votes on substantive issues along a partisan divide, Inhofe is the 11th worst senator in America. McCain is only the 31st worst. Every Democrat and almost every Republican voted for the Foreclosure Prevention Act yesterday. McCain was out catering to special interests and, as usual, didn't vote. Inhofe was one of only a dozen extreme right fanatics who voted no. None of these terrorists, except the crazed Inhofe and the equally fringe loons from Wyoming, Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, is up for re-election. Every other Republican up for re-election voted with the Democrats, knowing it would probably be political suicide to vote no. (The other exception was Elizabeth Dole, who didn't vote at all.) FYI, the other extremists who joined Inhofe, Enzi and Barrasso in opposing the bipartisan legislation to save homeowners were Jim Bunning (KY), Tom Coburn (OK), Bob Corker (TN), Mike Crapo (ID), Jim DeMint (SC), Judd Gregg (NH), Chuck Hagel (NE), Jon Kyl (AZ), and John Warner (VA).

Readers of the Oklahoman aren't used to seeing Inhofe criticized in that staunchly hard right newspaper. Today they may have been shocked to see how Inhofe betrayed them in favor of his corporate donors.

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe on Thursday voted against a bill aimed at addressing the housing crisis, and his Democratic opponent in this year's Senate race criticized him for his position.

...State Sen. Andrew Rice, an Oklahoma City Democrat who is running against Inhofe this year, said the bill was a bipartisan effort to address a major problem in the U.S. economy.

Rice said the bill wasn't perfect but noted that most of the Senate had come together to break a deadlock that stalled the bill earlier this year; but, he noted, Inhofe was one of only six senators who voted Tuesday to block action on the bill.

The bill has been criticized by some as providing more relief to the housing industry than homeowners.

Rice said foreclosures have skyrocketed in Oklahoma and that Inhofe was turning his back on the problem.

Oklahoma's resurgent Democratic Party was far harsher on Inhofe's vote and his cynical excuse that the bill gave away too much to the banks.

Despite the deepening housing crisis, Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe voted yesterday for the second time this year to block the Foreclosure Prevention Act. Inhofe sided with special interests and a tiny faction of Senators in opposing the bill that would help struggling families keep their homes, stem falling home values, assist communities harmed by foreclosures to recover, and help families avoid foreclosures in the future. The cloture vote passed 92 to 6 by an overwhelming bipartisan majority.

"Instead of helping Oklahoma homeowners, Inhofe voted again with the special interests today," Oklahoma Democratic Party chairman Ivan Holmes said. "When an overwhelming bipartisan majority voted to help homeowners, Inhofe turned his back on his colleagues, his own party and the people of Oklahoma," Holmes added.

Oklahoma homeowners are seeing their home equity vanish before their eyes. Home prices nationally are down over 10% from a year ago, and in the last three months have fallen at twice that rate. Ten percent of all homeowners now have mortgages for more than their homes are worth. [Wall Street Journal, 3/26/08; New York Times, 2/22/08]

"As the mortgage crisis costs Oklahoma families, Inhofe votes to do nothing..again," Holmes said. The Foreclosure Prevention Act would give homeowners property tax relief, help responsible homeowners refinance subprime mortgages, and give tax credits to buyers of homes in foreclosure to jumpstart the housing market. It would also help communities turn over foreclosed properties so that they don't sit unoccupied, attracting crime and blight and further hurting homeowners. "Inhofe earlier tried to block the Senate from even debating the merits of the bill, and now he is one of only six Senators to object to the bill," Holmes said. [Vote 93, 4/8/08; Vote 35, 2/28/08]

Without help in the next two years over 20,000 Oklahomans could lose their homes. Because each foreclosure brings the value of the neighboring homes down that means Oklahomans would lose another 427 million in the most important investments they have, their homes.

The modest Senate bill, a compromise between the Democrats who wanted to help more and Republicans who, of course, didn't want to help at all, was summarized in the Oklahoman, something that will cause Inhofe even more discomfort:

•Provide $10 billion in tax-free bonds to allow some buyers to refinance their loans and $4 billion in grants to help communities fix up foreclosed homes in disrepair.
•Provide a $7,000 tax credit, spread over two years, to people who buy homes in foreclosure.
•Allow homebuilders and some other businesses who lose money in 2008 and 2009 to "carry back" those losses four years on their tax returns to offset profits.
•Give homeowners who don't itemize their deductions on their tax returns an additional $500 standard deduction ($1,000 for married couples).
•Provide $100 million for debt counseling.