Framing for the presidency: TV Movie is pure pro-McCain propaganda

[Nothing Without Hope]

“Faith of My Fathers,” a made-for-TV movie glorifying John McCain’s life and especially his VietNam experience as a prisoner of war airs today – Happy Memorial Day. Of course this is no coincidence, nor is the glowing NY Times review on it. I feel this is significant both because of this huge free boost being given by the corporate media in the movie itself (who paid for it, I wonder?) and also the choice of framing virtues used - and I do believe this is the intention - to set up McCain as “what the country needs.”

Be sure to note what is said about Bush and about Max Cleland in this NYT review of the McCain movie. Apparently the movie gives the full Great American Hero treatment to McCain as if he were dead and this was a glowing memorial – but of course, he is very much alive and aiming for the GOP nomination for the presidency. It lingers on his “formative years,” especially his mythological-sounding relationship with his manly, salt-of-the-earth father before reaching his time as a Viet Nam prisoner of war. The portrayal of McCain emphasizes his difference from Bush both in his wartime activities but in his supposed honesty and willingness to sacrifice all for honor. He’s portrayed as a virtuous, patriotic hero who suffered grievously "in the heat of battle. Readers of the review are pointedly reminded that Max Cleland had to defend his war record as a hero defis because his injuries were "merely" accidental. The movie assures us that McCain is a tough, seasoned and mega-honorable warriro, someone you can trust to lead the way to safety. An action-hero.

I imagine Frist and Condi, both lusting after the presidency, won’t appreciate this movie as much as the NYT reviewer professed to.

I see this as timely propaganda to shore up his evolving position. Note the title, prominently featuring the word “faith.” McCain hasn’t loudly courted the Fristian fanatics, but he’s nothing loathe to have them vote for him. Based on his actions, I believe that he realizes that the majority of American voters are alarmed by the Fristian fanatics and the growing intrusion of their pseudo-Christian cult into our life, so he is taking a tack that praises his virtues while not being in-your-face religious. And just in case you didn’t get the point from the text, the title of the review also emphasizes his magnificent, manly patriotism and his close, respectful, non-Bushian relationship with his dad.

McCain did indeed suffer during the VietNam war – I don’t want to denigrate that – but timing and the smarmy emphasis in this on all his “manly virtues” are screaming “PROPAGANDA!” to me. Will be interesting to see what the reviews in other media venues are.

Just to be sure I’m clear here, whatever McCain was like as a younger man, I see him now as a man with no honor who would sell out anyone and anything – and has – to further his ambition. He is cunning and untrustworthy, and he is a lot smarter than Bush is. He knows very well how to manipulate the media image of himself and is perceptive enough to know that a lot of people are craving a hero to fix the scary situation we are in. He’s ready to strike the pose – and this TV movie is a great help to his self-framing campaign.

He is definitely on the move, as if that were in doubt. Just recently he was the big winner in the Senate filibuster “deal,” wherein Frist was made to look like what he is – a fool in the pockets of the pseudo-Christian maniacs. McCain gave nothing away and got a promise to let some truly horrific judges onto the court.

What a choice for Memorial Day. The troops and veterans need someone to stand for them, but McCain is only interested in standing for himself. And wouldn’t it be interesting to know who paid for this made-for-TV McCain propaganda piece and how it came to be showcased on this day?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/arts/television/30stan.html?th&emc=th
TELEVISION REVIEW | 'FAITH OF MY FATHERS'

Like Father, Like Son, Like Patriots

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: May 30, 2005

(snip)

Senator McCain, the Arizona Republican, spent five and half years in captivity, most of it in solitary confinement, and was repeatedly tortured by his North Vietnamese guards. His is a harrowing, almost incomprehensible story of endurance, and one that would be far less known had he not gone into politics and run for president in 2000. But because Senator McCain has said he may run again in 2008, the film, like the memoir he published in 1999, is also a powerful campaign spot - a reminder that this potential presidential candidate comes with a wallop of a résumé.

(snip)

President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard, and rumors that he received special treatment to get into the guard and avoid combat duty in Vietnam, dogged him throughout two presidential campaigns. Senator John Kerry had a "good war," in that he was decorated for heroism in battle, but as a candidate in 2004 he was more reticent about his antiwar activities, and confusion about that helped cost him the election. Former Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska also had a "good war" as a Navy Seal, even though he lost a leg in battle. His record came under suspicion and scrutiny in 2001, when former comrades said he and his men killed women and children during a 1969 nighttime raid.

Even Max Cleland, a former Democratic senator from Georgia, who left Vietnam a triple amputee, had to defend his record in 2004 when some conservatives argued that he was not technically a war hero because he was wounded in a grenade accident on base, and not in the heat of battle.

John McCain had one of the worst Vietnam experiences of any elected official, yet he unquestionably had a "good war." He felt honor-bound to turn down offers of an early amnesty because it violated the rule that prisoners of war must be released according to time served in captivity; he did not want to dishonor his father by using his father's rank to jump ahead of fellow prisoners. At one point, after being beaten and hanged, Mr. McCain gave in and taped a confession, admitting that he was a "black criminal" and an "air pirate." The film shows him, newly released, apologizing to his father for that disgrace. "You were in your hellhole for 1,968 days," the four-star admiral replies. "You didn't leave anything back there that you have to regret."

(snip)

ed;typos

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I decided not to watch it -- I'm watching "Apocalypse Now" instead.

Although I have the greatest respect for McCain's Vietnam experiences, I'm not buying into the hagiography. If the movie pisses off Frist and Shrubby, that's fine. I hope McCain continues to drive them crazy. But I don't think McCain is the same man he was 30 years ago -- or even five years ago. I suspect he got a whiff of the scent of the Presidency, and he can't get over it. And he's become pretty powerful in the Senate -- powerful enough to stir the pot and mess up the White House's plans from time to time. But power corrupts, and, sadly, my impression is that McCain has become thoroughly corrupted by the power he already has and the power he wants. I enjoy it when he pokes Frist and Bush and the Fundies with sharp sticks, but I'm not buying the lie that he's a sensible, honorable moderate. Not any more.

[Nothing Without Hope]

6. Well said. That sums up the way I feel. Plus, he's a cunning politician

who well knows how to manipulate his image and fine-tume it to what the public wants.

It's very interesting to me that there must be some big hitters behind this movie and its huge push in top newspapers and who knows where else.

We'll be seeing a LOT of this movie. How long before it's on the networks?

[babylonsister]

8. I can no longer trust this man either,

so I'm not watching. McCain agrees there were massive intelligence failures prior to the US starting an illegal war, but supports Bolton? I can't get past this latest decision by him. And to snuggle up to the blivet after he insulted McCain terribly doesn't say much about McCain's character.

[Nothing Without Hope]

16. And he supported all that terrible neocon legislation too.

No wonder the corporate world seems to be backing him - if that is what this media hype means. Bush and the Fristians have been bad for business - the instability and bankruptcy only help the direct looters in the administration.

[Skwmom]

2. Great post.

You sure hit the nail on the head - " I see him now as a man with no honor who would sell out anyone and anything – and has – to further his ambition."

[tsuki]

9. Keating and the S&L scandal. He sold the US taxpayer out on that

one. He was white washed by the Senate Ethics Committee, but he used his influence to stop any investigation. He used it for contributions and vacations.

It has cost the US taxpayer millions.

[rocktivity]

3. It's mainly meant to be pro-torture propaganda

After seeing what McCain went through, how can Mr. and Mrs. Front Porch continue to take sides against the Bush empire in the current prisoner abuse scandals?

As for McCain's presidential ambitions, that won't happen unless he can position himself as a "super-moderate" who "purges" the GOP of the Bush/Fristian extreme right. Embarassing Frist by brokering the nuclear option compromise was first step. Embarassing Bush and Co. by brokering impeachment proceedings would be the last.

:headbang:
rocknation

[EVDebs]

4. Going Upriver never got this kind of publicity ... wonder why ?

Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry
http://www.goingupriver.com/

This movie of Stanley Karnow's Vietnam: A History (PBS has it on sale) book was the best history I've seen and read. Also, check out The Politics of Heroin by Alfred McCoy.

McCain is still one of the Keating Five S&L fiasco enablers IMHO. I wouldn't vote for him for President. Adm Stockdale maybe, but not McCain.

[Nothing Without Hope]

5. And ANOTHER glowing review of the McCain movie – a WASH POST 2-pager

Pretty striking that BOTH the NY Times and the Washington Post give so much space for this prime time pro-McCain propaganda. Note that the book on which the movie is based was written by McCain’s chief of staff as he was gearing up for the 2000 election.

So what’s behind this? Who’s paying for it, how did it come to be broadcast prime time on Memorial Day, and why is it getting the very heavy praise from the NYT and WaPo? It will be interesting to see what the other media venues have to say about it.

I believe this reveals the framing that McCain and his supporters believe will give him the presidency.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/29/AR2005052901099.html?referrer=email&referrer=email
TV Preview

'Faith of My Fathers': In Principle, a Noble Effort

By Marcia Davis
Washington Post Staff Writer,?Monday, May 30, 2005; Page C01

(snip)

Tonight at 8, A&E Network premieres "Faith of My Fathers," the cable channel's original movie about McCain's prison ordeal. The film, being released as Memorial Day fare, is based on the senator's much more nuanced 1999 memoir of the same title. That book, co-written by Mark Salter, McCain's chief of staff, was published as McCain was gearing up for his 2000 presidential bid. But McCain's story is a dramatic one and worth knowing, whether it's released in book form just in time for a presidential bid or as a cable network movie just in time for a national holiday.

(snip)

The movie, which stars Shawn Hatosy as McCain and the far better known Scott Glenn as his father, Adm. Jack McCain, hammers two main points: First, that it is the military and the code of honor that matter most. "It's all about character, son, that's what it's always been about in the end," his father says at one point.

And second, that it is this code and faith that help the young McCain endure his trials as a prisoner. He refuses the Vietnamese's offer for early release, which would have betrayed the code that calls for prisoners to be freed in order of capture, though later he is brutally driven to a major breaking point: He signed a confession of war crimes. (McCain knew he was specially prized because of his famous father. Any statement would be useful as propaganda.)

(snip)

But if you're looking to get some working knowledge of the man who remains very much in the news, whether it's in the battle over filibusters in the Senate, POWs or talk of the 2008 presidential race, "Faith of My Fathers" will do. Of course, as is often the case, the book is better.

(snip)

[rooboy]

7. He defended his country, but wouldn't defend his wife.

He won't be president in 2008.

[Mitt Chovick]

10. Which wife?

#1 or the pill popping Budweiser heiress?

[NMDemDist2]

12. that is uncalled for. Cindy is the better one of the two in that marriage

IMHO

she was addicted, recovered, and got smeared for rescuing a starving child from Africa.

McCain on the other hand didn't stand up for his principles and ended up kissing Bush's behind when it looked like he might be able to get the nod in '08

Screw him....

[Mr_King]

11. Kerry's Story

We should make a rebutal movie.


"COURAGE & SACRIFICE"
The John Kerry Story

[Nothing Without Hope]

13. The Wash Post had TWO DIFFERENT REVIEWS, both long and glowng,

for the email-referred story and the print verson. The print version was by a different author and had a different title. Like the other version, this title focusses on the religious code word "Faith." Excerpt from the print version - which was the FRONT PAGE FEATURE of the TV sectio of the paper:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/24/AR2005052401165.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com.nyud.net:8090/wp-dyn/content/photo/2005/05/27/PH2005052700460.jpg

Living on Faith

Memoir-Based Film Chronicles McCain's Years as Vietnam POW
By Kathy Blumenstock
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 29, 2005; Page Y06

(snip)

McCain's grandfather and father bore enormous responsibilities in two wars, said director-writer Peter Markle. Adm. John S. McCain Sr. was a Navy commander during World War II. John S. McCain Jr., who also rose to the rank of admiral, commanded U.S. forces in the Pacific during the Vietnam War.

"That's a legacy, and that informed how he was going to be, the decisions he made," Markle said.

(snip)

McCain's fortunes as a POW shifted when his captors learned he was the son of an admiral. They offered him early release, but he declined, refusing to compromise the military code mandating that POWs be released in the order in which they were captured. He believed breaking this code would be disloyal to the men with whom he was serving.

"I am very proud that I had the strength to refuse the early release," McCain said.

(snip)

[Doctor_J]

14. Yeah, Big Media started campigning for Smirk in early 99

they're starting the campign for McCain even earlier. I'm sure they'll follow up with an equally slobbering docudrama about Wes Clark

:sarcasm:

[Nothing Without Hope]

17. A fawning corporate docudrama about Wes Clark or Max Cleland - yeah,

that'll be the day. That "Liberal Media" just can't seem to figure out which ones are the real "liberals" that they should support. :sarcasm:

[Bluebear]

15. Does this mean "A Fly Boy's Story" won't be on CNN 24/7 anymore?

Since the media has a new "bio-pic" to further one of their candidates?

[Hippo_Tron]

46. At least they don't show a documentary about W's military service 24/7

Oh wait, nevermind.

[Nothing Without Hope]

18. Note the emphasis on "faith" in the title of the movie and in the reviews.

This is a religious code word. McCain has not been a Fristian, but he wants the fundies to vote for him. Will be interesting to see how he manages to walk that line - not pissing off the majority of the country by obviously marching with the Fristians but not pissing off the Fristians by coming out against them on their hot-button issues.

[Nothing Without Hope]

19. So, how long do you think it will take for this movie to be broadcast

again? And how long before it's on a major network?

Wondering if this is really a signal tht the Corporate Powers That Be (not counting Halliburton etc.) have transferred their mandate to McCain.

[Mr_King]

20. What I think will happen is....

The media and cable news (minus Faux News Channel) will be pushing for McCain in 2008 and the neo-cons and religious right-wing of the Republican party will push for Frist or George Allen.

I'm telling you the Republican party is going to have a civil war which will start around the Fall of 2007 as they go into the primary season in the winter and spring of 2008. Hell one canidate might not have enough delegates by the time they get around to their convention in the summer of 2008. The moderates/traditional Repugs will win in the midwest and northeast and the neo-cons will win the southern primaries.

I bet you they won't have a nominee by the time they get to the convention. They'll have already torn themselves apart.

[Protagoras]

32. We can hope so.

I also see an upcoming schism between McCainites and Fristies in 08. But there is so much water still flowing under the bridge..a hell of a lot will change before then.

The best (or worst) candidate can implode in a month...so 3 years gives them lots of room for missteps.

[understandinglife]

39. "They'll have already torn themselves apart." It is for us to do ...

... everything we possibly can to make exactly that happen.

An astute "McCain strategy" is one the uses him as dynamite within and against the Republican infrastructure.

Peace.


www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[howmad1]

21. Gee, I sure hope

his illegitimate black daughter and drug stealing wifey watch this movie. May be an eye opener for both of them. }(

"We are a nation of sheep being led by a handful of pigs."

[funflower]

22. Image McCain was a democrat. We'd be hearing about his drinking,

womanizing and how he really didn't have it so bad in the Hanoi Hilton, because some ex-corporal "knew" that he'd made some traitorous deal with the North Vietnamese to get special treatment.

[BlueManDude]

26. and his gambling

recent new yorker profile reported how much he loves casino gambling.

[Nothing Without Hope]

23. Kick n/t

[Bigmack]

24. The freepoids hate him...

My god! You'd think he fed babies to 'gators or something. I'm not much of a believer in "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", but the freeps are over the top.... McCain is a Republican - therefore an asshole by definition, but my god! Freep spelling just gets better and better.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1413510/posts
- - - - -
You mean "Hanoi Jean McCain"........

I feel it in my bones he always been a Manchurian Canidid type......

I don't think McCain lost the use of his arms movement in the Communist Prison.....

I think he got that from a parachute injury that did not heal properly

MaCain is a Phony, Fake Fruad!!!!!! as well as a trader!
- - - -
Johnny McLame's phony medals make John F'n Kerry look like the Audie Murphy of his generation. I wonder if McCain has signed his Form 180?
- - - -
Pro McCain propaganda on the A&E channel...the sodomite channel...

[Nothing Without Hope]

35. Oh, I think he's got plenty of time to win them over. Besides,

they will work for him against the Dem nominee.

[funflower]

43. Between McCain and Frist, it'll be Frist for the nomination in 08.

McCain just won't be able to pull the Dobby supporters, and there aren't enough mods in the Repub party to beat out the RWers.

Or - OMG - it'll be somebody worse.

:scared:

[Vinca]

25. This was the obvious start of the 2008 campaign. nt

[Nothing Without Hope]

29. And his famous "deal" on the filibuster, in which the GOP lost nothing and

got the blocks removed from some of the worst justices ever installed for life, was a major step too. He showed Frust up for a bumbling fool; he's the biggest winner (besides the nutjob judges) in that situation - it showcased him and I believe he will not want to fade from the limelight. He will want to consolidate his power and draw the moderates to him.

The fact is, many Dems will NOT fight as hard against McCain as they would against a more obvious horror like Frist. Many still actually admire him - remember those who pushed for him to be Kerry's running mate?

But he is a fascist with the other fascists, voting for the legislation and the war and the nominations. He's better at getting that program in place because he is cunning and looks to the longer term.

We need to educate people about what he really is. He is NOT clean, and he is NOT a hero that will step in to save the day. He is an active participant in the fascist takeover of this country.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

27. Read the New Yorker article....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3733019

[Nothing Without Hope]

31. Thanks for this - I couldn't find the full article online, but there is a

Q&A segment with the author about it at the New Yorker site which I will link to and excerpt. The full article, "McCain's Party, was in the 5/30 issue (which has been superseded by the more recent one) and was called "McCain's Party," a telling title. Although the full article is no longer available at the New Yorker site, a Q&A segment with the author is:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/articles/050530on_onlineonly01
(snip)

BEN GREENMAN: McCain seems to be that powerful combination of things—a war hero and someone who is perceived as an honest politician. But that doesn’t always win elections. Look at Bob Dole, for example. What makes McCain different?

CONNIE BRUCK: I think what has made McCain different is that he has created a persona that is, in essence, an anti-politician; he has capitalized on the growing popular dislike of Congress and of the ways of Washington. This is, of course, one reason that many of his colleagues resent him—as one told me, “He tears down the institution to benefit himself.” But I think that as he readies himself for 2008, we will be seeing less of that. His persona is already so well established in the public mind that he doesn’t need to be quite so strident. I think the war-hero aspect of his history will be front and center. The person to whom he compared himself, in one of my interviews with him, was Dwight Eisenhower. He said that Eisenhower was someone Americans turned to in a dangerous time—much as, he was suggesting, they will turn to him.

(snip)

{BEN GREENMAN:} Is he now too careful about what he says? In recent weeks he has spoken out on the Downing Street memo, for instance, but without the fervor and critical passion that some people have come to expect. Is this a defanged McCain?

{CONNIE BRUCK:} I will be very surprised if we see him doing anything that strikes a blow at the Bush White House. Polite differences are one thing, but attacks that can do real damage are another. I think he has done too much to build his political capital with the Party and the Republican primary voters who love Bush to throw it away. But he definitely has a fine line to walk. He can’t afford to seem like just another calculating, hypocritical politician—or he loses everything.

(snip)

I believe the 2008 election will be McCain's to lose. He is making his move to start taking over leadership and power now, and the over-the-top movie at prime time on Memorial Day, with media hypiing, is just another planned step.

We MUST educate moderates and Dems on what McCain really is. He is a fascist and a lock-step full participant and leader in the destruction of democracy in this country. He voted for the horrible legislation, the nominees, the war. He knows what is really happening and he is all for it as long as he gets the power. He really hates Bush, and that makes it even sweeter.

Kerry made the mistake of thinking McCain was his friend and he got Roved for his naivete. Let's learn that lesson: McCain is NO ONE's friend but his own. And he is an enemy of democracy and far better at the public relations games than Bush & Rove will ever be. He knows the nation really wants a magic hero to step in and fix things, and he is framing himself to fit that archetype. It will work unless we stop him.

[Toots]

28. Swift Boat LIARS have already said their piece about McCain

They said McCain was the only American POW to actually gain weight while captive. I am sure if he tries running again the slime will regurgitate the same old tripe.

[Neshanic]

30. AZ Republic did a big editorial puff piece on Sunday...yes it's starting.

Whenever the AZ rag does it's big push, for a baseball domed stadium, a football domed stadium, a convention center in a dead downtown, a basketball arena, an expanded basketball arena, or a somewhat popular senator from it's own state, its' time to see the writing on the wall. McCain is the guy that is their man.

I can't wait to see the Vietnam commercials against him from his fellow republicans.

[undeterred]

33. I don't have cable television, and I must have heard 10 ads for this

I wouldn't vote for McCain under any circumstances.

[Nothing Without Hope]

34. Very interesting - huge hyping, prime time, big propaganda

And many Dems and even more Repub moderates who are disaffected with Bush would vote for him.

Whatever he was in the past, he is no hero now, he is a prime participant in the fascist takeover of this country. Look at his voting record and his involvement in the S & L scandal. He is one of the enemy, not - as he's framing himself - an honorable, brave hero arriving to save the country.

He will be very hard to defeat in 2008 unless we start an EDUCATION AND DE-KOOL-AID CAMPAIGN now. He would be real poison, even if he is not as stupid-looking as Bush. He is hot-headed and ready to fight, with a raging temper. On top of his fascist record, does that sound llike what this country needs?

[Nothing Without Hope]

36. So, anyone else curious about who paid for this movie and the heavy

advertising for it? (See upthread where undeterred said that they don't have cable but must have heard at least 10 ads for it.) How did it come to be broadcast prime time on Memorial Day - reinforcing the image of the war hero that he is trying to push? Why were there such lavish reviews and coverage in the NYT and WaPo (and doubtless many other newspapers) - including the full front page of the TV listing guide in the WaPo? We know whom it benefitted, and the book on which the movie was written by McCain's chief of staff during the 2000 election run.

How did this movie get made, who pushed it, who paid for it and the hype? This is propaganda, so we know it was a pollitical scheme.

[NYCGirl]

50. It was produced by A&E Television Networks, Inc., as shown in this IMDB

entry:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0444626/companycredits

Here are the entire cast and crew:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0444626/fullcredits

[Nothing Without Hope]

53. Thanks for this info! So it was done under the A&E aegis. I wonder

what the financial backing was and who made the decision. That info may not be available publicly.

[NYCGirl]

55. A&E is a joint venture of The Hearst Corporation, ABC, Inc. and NBC,

according to the Hearst website:

http://www.hearstcorp.com/entertainment/property/ent_cable_ae.html

[Nothing Without Hope]

56. Thank you. So multiple media giants were behind this propaganda

extravaganza. Disturbing. Wonder what conversations there were that sparked the whole thing, what promises were made. Because I bet there were some.

But even this much - that this near-monopoly of corporate media purveyors made that movie, put it up at prime time on Memorial day, and hyped it to the skies - is very revealing of the depth of the forces behind media bias/propaganda.

[NYCGirl]

61. The bottom line, though, pure and simple, is ratings. NT

[Nothing Without Hope]

63. Yes, the real world of politicians and their power games has been fused

with the make-believe world of action heroes and entertainment that doesn't matter because it isn't real.

Orwell was right.

[Lowell]

37. Couldn't watch it - walked the dogs instead

I think John McCain has shown us what he is really made of. He just bent over for Bush and Rove and couldn't seem to even defend himself from their attacks in 2000. He has gone downhill every since.

I won't denigrate his experiences in Vietnam. I know they must have been horrendous, but you would think he would have learned from John Kerry's campaign, war heros don't mean shit. There will be a bunch of dirtbags out there who will dig up crap and heap it on him. Without his Vietnam imprisonment he is not left with much.

Besides, he is just another Republican. The Bush people are grooming Jeb for a run. They will smear McCain in their attempt to keep America a family business. Hopefully the Republicans will suffer complete meltdown in the next couple years.

[noonwitch]

38. I respect McCain, at least he's a free-thinker

He's willing to vote his conscience and not tow the GOP line if he thinks they're wrong. I disagree with him on issues, but I do think that he is a fairly honest guy by political standards. He'd be a better president than Bush, but not as good as Hillary or Bill Richardson.

[Nothing Without Hope]

40. I have to disagree with you on the idea that "He votes his conscience."

I recommend the article in the May 30 New Yorker, "McCain's Party." (That issue should still be in libraries.) The Q&A from it is linked to and excerpted above.

McCain has voted for the worst legislation of the Bush regime fascists and for their most horrible nominees. He is currently in a power move to take a higher-clout position in the GOPP and position himself for the 2008 Presidential election. Perhaps he was a man of honor once - I hope those stories are indeed true - but he will and has sold out everyone for his ambition now.

The idea that he is an independent who will "vote his conscience," the idea that he HAS a conscience, is part of the framing and manipulation, not the truth.

I urge you to look more closely at what he actually has been doing and what people who have been watching him say about him. He is no hero now, and he would be poison if elected. He is very much in the pockets of the corporate powers and is far, far more cunning than Bush and the Fristians.

He is DANGEROUS. And like you, many good-hearted people believe he is better than he is. How can we defeat this idealized archetype that so many people are craving? We need to get to work on it.

[Nothing Without Hope]

41. kick n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

42. kick - I believe this is significant and we should pay attention n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

44. kick n/t

[FrenchieCat]

45. Thanks for your public service, NWH!

McCain is on every Sunday....the Corporate Media loves him, after they failed him in 2000.

He kissed George Bush's ass, and now he can kiss mine too.

I will never watch the movie. It's nothing but propaganda for the idiot masses.

McCain is a neocon, no matter what else he might be.
============
McCain is the chairman of New Citizenship Project is a non-profit organization funded by large right-wing foundations. Founded in 1994, NCP initiated the Project for the New American Century, one of the key behind-the-scenes architects of the Bush administration's foreign policy. According to his senate biography, John McCain served as a president of NCP,

www.worldhistory.com/wiki/N/New-Citizenship-Project.htm

It is McCain's organization, part of the AEI, that spawned PNAC. Before Bush picked Cheney as his running mate, the neo-cons were all backing McCain.

====
NCP shares the same address and suite as PNAC.
http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/P/Project-for-the-New-...
According to NCP's listing in The Right Guide, NCP and the Philanthropy Roundtable share the same phone number. The Philanthropy Roundtable's office is on the same floor of the same office building as PNAC and NCP. ((My note: and the whole rotten lot of them on the 5th floor of the American Enterprise's Institute))

Project for the New American Century (PNAC)is an initiative of the New Citizenship Project, a non-profit 501c3 organization that is funded by the Bradley Foundation.

The line is in the middle of a discussion about the military's employment of emerging information technologies, and the report guesses that full transformation to new technologies is likely to be a slow process, absent some "catalyzing" event which would presumably cause the military to upgrade much more quickly.
http://www.factbites.com/topics/New-Citizenship-Project

The John M. Olin Foundation, Inc. listed grants in 1997 show the subtitle for The New Citizenship Project as the "Project for the Next American Century." It clearly appears that the origninal 1994 PNAC concept has become the current Project for the New American Century.

www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=New_Citizenship_P...

"But John's work outside of government is equally admirable. John is currently serving as President of the Philanthropy Roundtable, a national association of charitable donors who are doing great work in our communities. He was previously President of the New Citizenship Project, an organization created to promote greater civic participation in our national life. John also served on the Council on Crime in America, a bipartisan commission on violent crime co-chaired by former Drug Czar Bill Bennett and former Attorney General Griffin Bell.
http://mccain.senate.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=Newscente...

The watchdog group Media Transparency, the Money Behind the Media", reports 47 grants totalling $2,722,900 given to the New Citizenship Project from 1994 through 2001.

Funding sources appear to be exclusively from three far right-wing neo-conservative think tank funders:

1. The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (www.bradleyfdn.org ) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This is the primary sponsor of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which was the recipient of over a million dollars in 2001 alone. "By way of a program known as the New Citizenship Project, Inc., PNAC Project for the New American Century received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.
"http://www.endthewar.org/Downloads/CLIflyer.rtf

2. John M. Olin Foundation, Inc. of New Yorkhttp://www.JMOF.org : This foundation grew out of a family manufacturing business (chemical and munitions) and funds right-wing think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute for Public Policy Change, and the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace.
http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on...

3. Scaife Foundations --
Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation - http://www.scaife.com and Scaife Family Foundation- http://www.Scaife.com -- in New York. These foundations are financed by the Mellon industrial, oil, and banking fortune (http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders/scaife_foundat... )

The John M. Olin Foundation, Inc. listed grants in 1997 show the subtitle for The New Citizenship Project as the "Project for the Next American Century." It clearly appears that the origninal 1994 PNAC concept has become the current Project for the New American Century.http://www.jmof.org/grants/1997n.htm

http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/N/New-Citizenship-Proj...

===
It was founded in the early 1980s, when conservative donors left the Council on Foundations to protest the Council's adoption of The Principles and Practices of Effective Grantmaking, a statement intended to encourage its members toward greater public openness and accountability.

With the presidents and trustees of major conservative foundations as officers and members of the board, the Roundtable today expresses ironic concern over the "politicization of philanthropy."
Michael Joyce, (former) president of the Bradley Foundation, formerly chaired the Roundtable's board of directors. James Piereson (Olin Foundation), Joanne B. Beyer (Scaife Family Foundation), David B. Kennedy (Earhart Foundation) and Chris Olander (JM Foundation) served with him.

(snip)

The Roundtable is adding its voice to the growing number of new right grantees aggressively articulating the virtues of a philanthropic paternalism that would in effect place the poor under the direct moral guidance of the rich, or those who have presumably demonstrated their moral superiority through hard work, self-reliance and personal responsiblity. Growing concern over declining "social capital" is used to buttress conservative claims that government expansion stifles the philanthropic impulse and that private philanthropy, not government, is the proper and most effective vehicle for responding to social needs, encouraging civic responsibility and restoring social trust.

--From Moving A Public Policy Agenda: The Strategic Philanthropy of Conservative Foundations, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, July 1997.
http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipients/philanthrop...


go here to verify-- http://www.ncrp.org /

[Nothing Without Hope]

47. Great information, FrenchieCat! And I love your line:

He kissed George Bush's ass, and now he can kiss mine too.

You just increased the value of this thread as a resource a very great deal. I hope people will continue to update this thread a while longer with McCain info and propaganda links - we need to educate ourselves and convince those who still think he's an independent thinker who "votes his conscience."

He would be tough to defeat in 2008, and the media propaganda machine is already starting to roar.

[devinsgram]

48. I saw this advertised and could not watch it.

McCain has lost all my respect, when he had his nose up *'s arse.

[Nothing Without Hope]

49. I believe that defeating John McCain will be a great challenge

and we need to start working on it NOW. Even many DEMS think he's a great guy who "votes his conscieince." We have an uphill fight to keep this fascist out of the Oval Office, and we had better start educating people about what he REALLY is. The propaganda blitz has begun, and we will be fighting against that, too.

[Nothing Without Hope]

51. kick n/t

[theboss]

52. Eh...there was the same worry about John Glenn and "The Right Stuff"

That movie was actually released during the Democratic primaries and portrayed Glenn as the most loyal, clean-cut, and brave Marine ever....and as the perfect husband to boot.

[Nothing Without Hope]

54. I had forgotten about that. This one strikes me as more sinister, though

given that it is coinciding with his big push for brokerage power in the Senate and that it is portraying him as exactly the kind of virtuous hero that no doubt the market surveys show the American people want after the blivet**'s reign of horror.

Too bad that he isn't what the country needs, it's such a pleasant fiction to relax into. But he's a cunning and ambitious politician, and he has supported all the horrible fascist legislation and nominations. He cannot be trusted, but he is portraying himself as a man the public can trust to save the day.

To me, this is sinister, and I am betting the corporate media people and whoever supplied the money for this propaganda campaign are expecting payback when they help him get more power.

[Nothing Without Hope]

57. kick n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

58. Didn't see it or care to but what makes me mad

is when the republicans, like Bob Dole, all got onto Kerry for talking about his war days and then they turn around and do the same thing. :mad: It makes me so freaking angry. When a democrat does it it's like "sit down and shut up, nobody cares" and when a republican does it (the few who did go to war) they're praised and glorified like they're better than someone who has a (d) beside their name. :mad: Where was the John Kerry movie on tv during the election? Assholes.

[paineinthearse]

59. I missed this, but am sure it will be rerun

ad nausium.

[Nothing Without Hope]

60. Yes, that's part of the problem. It's massive free publicity and, really,

compaigning. Upthread someone looked into who was behind the production, and it was Hearst and some major TV networks - and they surely do have more goodies to expect from another GOP administration. Making the rich richer helping them monopolize media coverage witihout being accountable to the citizens for use of the public airwaves - yes, the GOP would be right up their alley. So they are investing heavily in pushing McCain, who is surely the most difficult GOP candidate to defeat in 2008. It also helps his move into power in the Senate in the meantime.

[Nothing Without Hope]

62. Related - I've been noticing how very often TV commentary on an issue

or event is being taken from John McCain - he's become a major spokesperson for the GOP side of a story.

The move to power continues, eagerly abetted by the corporate media.