With a big ol' hearty tip o' the hat to Blah3
The title of this diary is taken directly from an op-ed piece in yesterday's St. Petersburg Times. It was written by Adam Vaulx Boles of Tallahassee. Who the heck is Adam Vaulx Boles? He is the grandson of Huetta Vaulx Boles, who is the sister of Katherine Vaulx McCain. Katherine Vaulx McCain would be the wife of John Sidney McCain I, John "W" McCain's grandfather.
Please join me below the fold to see what John "W" McCain's second cousin has to say . . .
First of all, Mr. Boles starts off by admitting that his line of the Vaulx family are and have been Democrats. He does mention, though, that they always followed JSM III's career, especially from the time he was captive in Vietnam on, and were very proud of him when he was running for president in 2000.
Although neither my father nor I have ever voted for a Republican, when John threw his hat in the ring in 2000, we were both very proud and encouraged, and not just because he's our relative. This was the first Republican who, on a national stage, was saying things like, "If we repeal Roe vs. Wade tomorrow, thousands of young American women will be performing illegal and dangerous operations," and, "Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer-reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance." Wow!
Here was a man who was not abiding by partisan lines, who was, instead, living up to his promise of "straight talk" and commonsense thinking. The right-wing Republican base may not have agreed with everything he said, but the rest of America certainly respected him for speaking his mind honestly.
Obviously they were impressed by "McCain the Maverick." How's that going?
Jump ahead to the campaign Sen. McCain is currently running. Clearly, a lot can change in eight years. Our nation has gone from a time of unparalleled prosperity and peace to one marked by debt in the trillions of dollars, record foreclosures, and a global reputation for warmongering and neo-imperialism.
So, where is the straight-talking, commonsense John McCain of 2000? I'm afraid he is long gone, replaced by a desperate version of himself who seems to contradict nearly everything he once stood for.
What becomes apparent in his ideological about-face is just how out of touch McCain really is with America's working families.
John McCain doesn't know how many homes he owns. Adam Boles doesn't own a home any more. He lost it in a messed up refinance deal, yet another person in the group his Cousin John referred to as "irresponsible."
Without saying it in exact words, Mr. Boles does a good job of pointing out just how much John Sidney McCain III has turned into everything he used to rail against, and embraced what he used to despise in a sad attempt to win the presidency in 2008.
Do please go check out the whole thing here.