header_blog.jpg

John McCain Doesn't Know Who He Endorses

Posted by Matt Ortega on March 17, 2008 at 04:45 PM

John McCain appeared on the NPR program, Morning Edition today. In the radio appearance, McCain cited Jim Oberweis' anti-immigrant rhetoric for the Republicans' loss of former Speaker Denny Hastert's seat to Democratic Rep. Bill Foster.

Despite traveling to the district to formally endorse and headline a fundraiser for Oberweis, McCain claims to have not known about the Republican candidate's fiercely anti-immigrant stances.

"We just had a loss of Denny Hastert's seat out in Illinois. The Republican candidate out there, I am told, had very strong anti-immigrant rhetoric also, so I would hope that many of our Republican candidates would understand the political practicalities of this issue." [emphasis added]

Oberweis remains on the November ballot as the general election candidate for the Republicans. Among the anti-immigrant ties of Oberweis: "elimination" of birthright citizenship, cozying up to the Minutemen, and running an infamously anti-immigrant ad.

Early in the primaries, McCain claimed he "got the message" on immigration, a line that he often repeated in front of conservatives and stated in interviews in the run-up to the Republican primaries, signifying his move away from comprehensive immigration reform to "enforcement-first."

Now that he's got the GOP nomination, McCain is putting on the same dog-and-pony show that he always has.

Comments - 9 »

Comments are now closed for this entry.