McCain lies, again, this time about Katrina

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/04/mccain-katrina/

McCain Falsely Claims He Has ‘Supported Every Investigation’ Into Katrina Failures


Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) held one of his town hall meetings in Baton Rouge, LA. During this event, a reporter from the CBS station in New Orleans pressed the senator on his sordid Katrina record, asking him why he “voted twice against the creation of a commission to investigate the levee failures in New Orleans.”

McCain quickly responded that he has supported “every investigation” into the levee failures, even though he then admitted that he wasn’t aware of the votes the reporter referenced:

I’ve supported every investigation and ways of finding out what caused the tragedy. I’ve been here to New Orleans. I’ve met with people on the ground. I’ve met with the governor. I’m not familiar with exactly what you said, but I’ve been as active as anybody in efforts to restore the city.

I also voted against one of the bills that came down that was loaded with pork barrel projects that had nothing to do with New Orleans too. It had billions for projects and programs that had nothing to do with the recovery of the city of New Orleans.

Watch it at link~

In the past, McCain has actually bragged about opposing the levee commission. “{T}here have been many investigations taking place – the causes are well known,” he said in April, adding he thought most people in America know “what caused that mismanagement.” Additionally, he opposed a 2006 spending bill “that would have provided $28 billion in hurricane relief, and legislation that would have extended unemployment and Medicaid benefits to hurricane victims for several months.”

McCain also tried to establish his Katrina record by bragging, “I’ve been here to New Orleans. I’ve met with people on the ground.” But until traveling there one month ago, McCain had “made just one public tour of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina touched down in August 2005.”

Evidently, rebuilding after Katrina is just more unnecessary pork.

Transcript at link~

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. K&R nt

[KamaAina]

2. For the last time, McSatan was NOT in New Orleans

I've been here to New Orleans.

Problem: When he said this, he was actually in Kenner, about ten miles west of the city (it's where the airport is). Until recently, Kenner was the home of the state's new governor, Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, (R-Short-List VP Possibility), who represented the area in Congress. Politically speaking, it might as well be ten thousand miles from New Orleans proper, which gave a larger percentage of its vote to Kerry than any city except Buffalo.

edit: punctuation

[babylonsister]

3. Who said he was? This is about McCain and his voting record on Katrina. nt

[KamaAina]

4. *He* said (or implied) he was -- and it gets better!

He was actually at a town hall meeting in Baton Rouge, 75 miles to the northwest of NOLA!

That's a gaffe worthy of Dan Quayle's "I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."!

[babylonsister]

5. Read the first sentence; it says he was in Baton Rouge. nt

[KamaAina]

6. All the more reason not to say "I've been *here* to New Orleans"

although it appears he was talking to a reporter from WWL-TV in NOLA.

Most Baton Rouge residents (indeed, most other Louisianians) would resent being confused with New Orleans. McSatan just demonstrated his essential cluelessness about the region.

Further confusing things is that he also spoke in Kenner, just close enough to New Orleans that the M$M bought into the "McCain speaks in New Orleans" line. (If he had spoken in Newark, N.J. after 9/11, would they have said "McCain speaks at Ground Zero"?)

[ColbertWatcher]

8. LOL!

And it plays into Obama's theme about how McCain avoids certain American cities.

[spanone]

7. mccain is just all around bad news.

[Gabi Hayes]

9. here's the video of exactly what you quoted

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/mccain_i_forgot_two_of_my_key.php

any way to turn Louisiana blue with the right kind of campaign, centered around this sort of BLATANT mendacity.

I know if I lived down there, I'd be PISSSSSSSSED to see this, and find out how many lies he's told about that.

I hope it would go beyond party lines

they say one of the major reasons for Poppy's loss in 92 was his very bad handling of Hurricane Andrew.

[countryjake]

10. K&R!

[opihimoimoi]

11. K&R...the man is spouting crap....I mean...look at um...analyze what he is saying

he changes his tune to fit the story to make him look good...."I been there...talked to people" what else did he do?

That is the crux...What did he do...and Bush for that matter? Next to ZERO...some band aid shit and thats about it...

McSame is a Bush Clone......

He will go down in FLAMES

[EC]

12. DNC should be showing pictures of what McCain was doing

while NOLA was drowning...His B-day party with GW.