Free Republic

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday that he is “angry” and “disappointed” with President Barack Obama for delaying his decision on increasing troop levels in Afghanistan. “The fact is we already have men and women over there, and the longer we delay in sending them the needed resources they need the greater danger they are in,” McCain said during an interview on Fox News’ Fox & Friends program. “That’s just a fundamental fact of warfare and so I’m past being a bit angry.” “I’m disappointed that we haven’t made the decision,” he said.

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Sen. John McCain says Americans are in the toughest times he can remember and that President Barack Obama hasn't brought the change in Washington that he promised. McCain spoke at a town hall Friday to a couple hundred people in a Mesa church, reiterating many of the same points he's made in recent similar events.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says Wednesday on the Senate floor that Republicans should have a say in the crafting of health care reform legislation.

These RINOs are still getting under my skin. Felt like I needed to do another one of these. Send one to McCain and brighten his day. I will be. For the whole series of Zero dollar bills, go here: "Flickr Archive of Zero Bills"

"Blue dogs bark but never bite"

Senator John McCain made clear that he and the Republican Party should send the message that they support whatever President Obama's strategy in Afghanistan ends up being, rather than send messages that the U.S. is "waffling" or "dithering." In response to former Vice President Dick Cheney's recent remarks, in which he said, "signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries," McCain said, "I wouldn't use that language." Speaking Wednesday evening while accepting an award from the conservative Center for Security Policy, Cheney said, "The White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in...

(snip) SCHIEFFER: Let me ask you about health care quickly. It looks like that’s coming finally to a head in the Senate. It looks like that the majority leader, Harry Reid, is going to put the government- run insurance option in there, the so-called public option. Do you think at this point that that will pass the Senate?MCCAIN: I think that the Democrats have the votes. I think that Blue Dogs bark but never bite. So I don’t think they have a problem over in the House side.MCCAIN: In the Senate, I think that the Democrats are very aware that...

WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain said on Wednesday his party needed a positive agenda to better attract those Americans who are disenchanted with Democratic policies. McCain said he sensed "a lot of anger and a lot of frustration" among Americans over taxpayer-backed bailouts of banks and auto companies while they cope with a persistently high U.S. jobless rate of 9.8 percent and see bank executives get "obscene" bonuses. McCain, who was his party's presidential nominee and lost the 2008 election to Democrat Barack Obama, spoke to a Reuters Summit in a roundtable interview with journalists.

VIRGINIA BEACH -- Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, headlined a packed veterans rally for Virginia's Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell on a cold, rainy Saturday morning. About 300 supporters crammed into a Veterans of Foreign Wars post that had been decorated with massive red, white and blue "Veterans for McDonnell" signs. "This is the man who will bring about fiscal discipline, who understands what it means to balance a budget, who understands what pork barrel spending is, who understands that we have an obligation not just to our present citizens and out present veterans but to our...

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime friend and ally of Sen. John McCain, is now going a step further, Democrats say, and actually becoming the new McCain. Senior members of the majority party say the South Carolina Republican has displaced his Arizona mentor as the dealmaker on two big agenda items of the Obama administration: climate change and immigration. As McCain, on the heels of his presidential election defeat, has distanced himself from Democrats, Graham has moved in to fill the vacuum.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has held a series of meetings in Washington with leading Democrats and Republicans on the issue of US immigration reform. Senior Republican Senator John McCain said he was still committed to a comprehensive deal. He said he hoped Congress would address the issue early next year. Senator McCain also said he was particularly anxious to resolve the difficulties facing up to 50,000 undocumented Irish in the US.

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - Efforts by U.S. Senate Democrats to persuade Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to endorse their climate legislation may take a bit longer. Democrats have spent months reaching out to McCain through Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. The outreach appeared likely to step up after McCain's friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., over the weekend became the first Republican this year to sign on to a bipartisan climate-change plan.

This morning, in an interview with CNN's State of the Union, Sen. John McCain (RINO-Ariz.) apparently used some rather choice language to describe the fairly evident future political aspirations of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Ak.): "Will Sarah and I - did we always agree on everything in the past? Will we in the future? No. But let's let a thousand flowers bloom. Let's come up with a winning combination next time."—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2360310/posts With only a cursory glance, it appears from McCain's language that he is merely asking for a second chance -- in 2012? -- with Palin. [And, at first...

(snip) Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," the Arizona Republican said: "When we selected, or asked, Sarah Palin to be my running mate, it energized our party. We were ahead in the polls, until the stock market crashed. And she still is a formidable force in the Republican Party. And I have great affection for her. Will Sarah and I - did we always agree on everything in the past? Will we in the future? No. But let's let a thousand flowers bloom. Let's come up with a winning combination next time." (snip)

Link only, per FR copyright rules

(snip) It was just a year ago when Obama and McCain (Ariz.) were trading sharp words, by long distance on the campaign trail and face-to-face in three presidential debates. Obama won those rounds and the presidency. McCain now describes their relationship as "respectful," but respectful as part of "the loyal opposition."They came together to kill the F-22 fighter jet project. They have parted ways on health care and the stimulus package. They are now sparring over Afghanistan. The issue is whether to send 40,000 more troops there, as Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces, has proposed. (snip)

(snip) "Every idea is on the table," said Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.), the lead sponsor of Senate climate legislation. "We're going to work in a bona fide way with everybody to see how to bridge a gap here. We've got to get a 60-vote margin. That means you've got to legislate, which means you have to compromise." Several moderate Senate Republicans, including John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said they are in talks with Kerry and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on the nuclear language, as well as other key issues."A guy like Senator Kerry...

(CNN) — Arizona Sen. John McCain said Friday the Nobel Committee's decision to award President Obama the Peace Prize was likely based on expectations, not accomplishments. "I can't divine all their intentions, but I think part of their decision-making was expectations," McCain told CNN's John King. "And I'm sure the president understands that he now has even more to live up to." But Obama's former rival for the White House said he was happy with the decision.

(NECN: Washington) - The Dalai Lama today is receiving the Lantos Human Rights Prize. The award is in memory of the late Rep. Tom Lantos.Those who advocate for Tibet see the Dalai Lama's White House visits as important messages of support for Tibetans and others struggling for human rights. "We can't replace Tom's voice, but we can help and ensure it is not forgotten...liberty is the right of mankind," said Senator John McCain.

Sen. John McCain will hold a town hall on health care from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Sahuarita school district auditorium, 350 W. Sahuarita Road. Doors open at noon. Parking is available behind the school district administration building, whose driveway is west of the varsity baseball field. Parking also is available off the driveway to the middle school and primary school, which is the first driveway east of Rancho Sahuarita Boulevard. The format and other details will be made available Tuesday, McCain’s office said.

Conservative radio commentator and former Scottsdale congressman J.D. Hayworth is consider a run against U.S. Sen. John McCain in next year’s Republican primary. A source in Arizona who asked not to be identified said Hayworth is pondering the move. The possible challenge also was reported Monday in the Washington Post.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is taking the opposite route of most defeated presidential candidates: rather than quickly bow out of national politics, McCain is working to become a transformative force in the Republican Party, Politico reported Friday. Concerned about the GOP's direction, McCain has been recruiting and raising money for candidates who share his pragmatic center-right style. McCain has been a particularly generous advisor to Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), who he encouraged to run for Senate and threw a $500,000 fundraiser to support.

Fresh from a humbling loss in last year’s presidential election, Sen. John McCain is working behind-the-scenes to reshape the Republican Party in his own center-right image. McCain is recruiting candidates, raising money for them and hitting the campaign trail on their behalf. He’s taken sides in competitive House, Senate and gubernatorial primaries and introduced his preferred candidates to his top donors. When the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy created a vacant Senate seat in Massachusetts, McCain went so far as to solicit former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling to run for the seat. It’s all part of an approach...

Fresh from a humbling loss in last year’s presidential election, Sen. John McCain is working behind-the-scenes to reshape the Republican Party in his own center-right image. McCain is recruiting candidates, raising money for them and hitting the campaign trail on their behalf. He’s taken sides in competitive House, Senate and gubernatorial primaries and introduced his preferred candidates to his top donors. When the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy created a vacant Senate seat in Massachusetts, McCain went so far as to solicit former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling to run for the seat. It’s all part of an approach...

WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney had already sent out invitations for his Phoenix fund-raiser, offering supporters the chance to meet him in a Chase Field luxury box over a $300-per-person lunch or a $3,000 VIP reception. But when former rival John McCain called with an offer to be listed as host for the event in his hometown, Romney happily went back to the printer for a new invitation with McCain’s name emblazoned on it. Yesterday, McCain’s gesture helped Romney’s political action committee raise about $80,000. It also consummated an 18-month rapprochement between two competitors who battled for the 2008 GOP presidential...

WASHINGTON (AP) - While ceding some ground to President Obama on high-profile weapons cuts, lawmakers are cutting money for training and spare parts to pay for other weapons Obama doesn't want and their own pet projects. The push-and-pull is playing out within a massive, $626 billion funding bill for the Pentagon that is being debated on the Senate floor. All told, the bill denies Obama about $4 billion he sought for operations and maintenance accounts while providing $2.5 billion for C-17 cargo jets and $2.7 billion worth of pet projects sought by lawmakers.

(snip) STEPHANOPOULOS: So you fully expect there will be prisoners in Guantanamo after the deadline? MCCAIN: All I know is, frankly, what I briefed on, and apparently they’re certainly not going to make that deadline. But we should continue to work towards the closure of Guantanamo Bay because of the image that it has in the world of brutality and harms our image very badly.(snip) STEPHANOPOULOS: But it’s going to take more than a decade to succeed, isn’t it? MCCAIN: I think you will see signs of success in a year to 18 months, if we implement the strategy right...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. John McCain is co-hosting a fundraiser for his former 2008 Republican primary rival Mitt Romney next Wednesday in Phoenix. . . . . . The fundraiser will benefit Romney's Free and Strong America PAC...

Link only, per FR copyright and excerpt rules

Link only, per FR copyright and excerpt rules

Saying she was "alarmed about the direction our nation is headed," former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton officially launched her bid today as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. Surrounded by hundreds of supporters in a ballroom at the Marriott Tech Center, Norton, who has been serving as the executive director of the Denver Police Foundation, said she wanted to stop what she saw as an out-of-control government in the nation's capital. "At every turn, Washington's giant hand seems to be grabbing everything in sight," said Norton, who served as lieutenant governor under former Gov. Bill Owens. "Seizing control of...

CHARLESTON (AP) – Republican U.S. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham said Monday that President Barack Obama should act quickly to send additional troops to Afghanistan for the war against the Taliban. McCain, of Arizona, told reporters after a town hall meeting on health care at the military college The Citadel that the president knows what's needed and he should make the decision immediately. "Then we'll work with him to sell it to the American people who are understandably weary of the conflict," McCain said.

The First Amendment, as rewritten under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except if it is funded by a corporation, unless it is a media corporation, or if the speech occurs just prior to an election, unless it is in the form of a book, which, even though the law covers books, too, the Federal Election Commission would never apply that law to books because we say so, though we said something entirely different a couple of months ago." In an apoplexy of righteous indignation over...

As climate change reemerges as an issue in the national policy debate, it may help define the legislative legacies of two men who once vied for the White House: Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.). Both men have championed the issue of global warming for years, including when they served as their party's presidential nominees in 2004 and 2008, respectively. But, for the moment, McCain is barely engaged in the issue beyond criticizing the climate bill passed by the House, while Kerry has emerged as one of the chamber's leading dealmakers. The fact that the two no...

Back in October of 2008, an article was written in the Orlando Sentinel where it was stated that Senator McCain called for an investigation into ACORN... John McCain took aother jab at the left-wing community organizing group ACORN today at a rally in Wisconsin, referencing various complaints that the group has signed up the same would-be voters multiple times in states like Ohio. "There are serious allegations of voter fraud in the battleground states across America. They must be investigated," he said to cheers. Will Senator McCain do the right thing and lead the charge in requesting that every Conyers,...

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and his close ally Sen. John McCain will appear in Charleston at 9 a.m. Monday for a Town Hall meeting at The Citadel. The meeting is open to the public, and both Republican senators will take questions about health care and other topics.

(snip) SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Well, I thought the president is eloquent. I thought he had a lot of passion. (snip) MCCAIN: I hope he gets a bill. I hope we can sit down together and do the things that all of us agree on. And there are a number of things that are -- that we can agree on. And I think the American people, obviously, want that. I don't know what the administration and the Democrats will insist on. Facts are stubborn things. The bills so far have had no bipartisanship associated with it. They were drawn...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Democratic leaders are calling on Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) to apologize for heckling President Obama as a liar. Wilson shouted to the president "you lie" after Obama said illegal immigrants would not benefit from health insurance coverage from the reform bill. Obama glared disgustedly in the direction the remark came from, as did Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Vice President Joe Biden. House Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) called Wilson's outburst "embarrassing," while McCain said it was "totally disrespectful" and that there was "no place for it in that setting or any other." McCain said...

(snip) McCain also spoke about the raft of national spending bills over the past year, including the $787 billion financial bailout of 2008, $700 billion for the stimulus plan and the $83 billion rescue of the auto industry. Taken with other measures, the spending would saddle the country with as much as $9 trillion of debt future generations would have to pay, the senator said. "What I'm wary about is that we're committing an act of generational theft," McCain said.(snip) He advocated for reforms of Medicare, saying the system likely would go broke within seven years if Congress and the...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) late Tuesday told reporters on his first day back in the Senate that the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) last month will affect him and the Senate deeply. The 2008 GOP presidential hopeful, who attended Kennedy's funeral in Boston on his Aug. 29 birthday, "I miss him every day," McCain said."We had a very, very congenial and enjoyable relationship. He had a great sense of humor. Obviously there's no one else like him."

(snip) Listening to Sen. McCain's elegy, however, I found myself increasingly bothered. "We disagreed on most issues," McCain said at one point, "but I admired his passion for his convictions ... ." Really? Kennedy was the farthest-left liberal during nearly five decades in the U.S. Senate. McCain, just one year ago, campaigned for president, proclaiming his conservative convictions. And without doubt, Kennedy's wholehearted support of Barack Obama helped to torpedo McCain's campaign. Perhaps one moment disturbed me most: "When we worked together on the immigration issue," McCain recalled, "we had a daily morning meeting with other interested senators. He and...

Sen. John McCain blasted Democrats' plans for a health-care overhaul Friday in Oro Valley at the annual conference of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. In a generally jovial mood at the Hilton El Conquistador Golf and Tennis Resort, before an adoring crowd that gave him two standing ovations, he joked: "Every place I go, everybody says, 'I voted for ya,' 'I voted for ya.' I'm about to demand a recount." . . . . . On whether he would vote for health-care reform if the public option were removed:"It would have to depend on the legislation. There are...

"I have not seen anything like this in the years I have been a member of Congress. It's a peaceful revolution but I think it is a revolution we're seeing," Arizona's senior Senator John McCain says after a series of health care town halls. McCain was in Oro Valley to deliver the final address to the annual conference of Arizona's League of Cities and Towns. When asked what was the one thing that surprised him most about the town halls he replied, "the anger." McCain believes that anger is being displayed not by professional protestors but by people who are...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — An odd couple of Republican senators have hit the road, arguing for a go-slow approach to President Barack Obama's push to revamp health care. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain are headlining the GOP's answer to the raucous town hall meetings of August in which congressional Democrats had to shout over angry constituents about health care, growing deficits and the increasing role of the federal government. . . . . . Political recovery is an issue for McCain, too. . . . . . Health care also offers McCain a...

Link only, per FR copyright and excerpt rules

Sen. Mel Martinez will hold a health care forum tomorrow in Hialeah with Sen. John McCain and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. “This is going to be a frank discussion with health care providers, patients, and other stakeholders to air concerns about the current system and what steps Congress should take to address the problems," the retiring Martinez said in a statement.

KANSAS CITY, MO - Three Republican senators came to Children's Mercy Hospital Monday to meet with health care professionals. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said we should focus on only the problems that need fixing and not revamp the whole thing. Senator McConnell joined Senators John McCain and Kit Bond before an invited crowd of mostly health professionals on Monday. "We have committed an act of generational death by laying on our children, grandchildren these multi-trillions of dollars," Sen. McCain said. "All of it, it strikes me argues once again for a much more targeted, incremental approach to health care...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain is coming to North Carolina to speak about health care alongside two other GOP senators. McCain will join North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell at event in Charlotte on Tuesday morning. McCain and McConnell are traveling around the country to discuss health care and take questions from those involved in the debate.

Republican Senator John McCain has denounced the use of torture on terrorism suspects during the administration of former president George W. Bush. "I think the interrogations were in violation of the Geneva Conventions and the convention against torture that we ratified under President Reagan," said McCain. In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, the Arizona senator said that the enhanced interrogation techniques also helped al Qaeda recruit additional members. "I think these interrogations, once publicized, helped al Qaeda recruit. I got that from an al Qaeda operative in a prison camp in Iraq,” said McCain, who added that he...