DNC News

Today John McCain will speak to Hispanic veterans at the American GI Forum's 60th National Conference in Denver. McCain's remarks come on the heels of a new Pew poll that shows him lagging far behind Obama among Hispanics. McCain trails Senator Obama by a margin of 43 points, 66 to 23 percent, among Hispanic voters. McCain is a full 18 points behind President Bush's level of support among Hispanic voters in 2004.

McCain also faces problems on veterans' issues. Just this week, he suggested he would be willing to ration veterans' access to VA health care to "concentrate our efforts to handle those wounds and disabilities that are directly the result of combat." He has voted against veterans' health care needs 29 times -- including one vote just two days after the US invaded Iraq -- and resisted efforts to pass a 21st Century GI Bill that he thought was "too generous" to the brave men and women who signed up to serve in our armed forces after September 11.

Hispanic Americans have been particularly hard-hit by Bush-McCain economic policies. Since 2001, Hispanic median income has declined by more than $1,000. In June 2008, the unemployment rate for Hispanics was 7.7 percent while the unemployment rate among non-Hispanics was 5.5 percent. McCain's answer to those challenges: voting with President Bush 95 percent of the time and promising four more years of the same failed and flawed policies.

MCCAIN'S RECORD ON VETERANS

McCain: "We Need To Concentrate Our Efforts To Handle Those Wounds And Disabilities That Are Directly The Result Of Combat." During a town hall meeting in Rochester, New Hampshire, McCain spoke about healthcare for veterans and said, "So here's my idea, and it's not originated with me, but I've consulted with so many … others who are here. Look, we need to concentrate our efforts to handle those wounds and those disabilities that are directly the result of combat. We need to expand our ability to treat PTSD. PTSD is going to be tough in this war, you know that. And we need to treat the combat wounds. We need to increase that ability to do so." [CNN Live Feed, Town Hall (Rochester, NH), 7/22/08]

McCain Has Voted 29 Times Against Veterans' Health Care Needs. [HR 4939, Vote #111, 5/4/06][HR 4939, Vote #98, 4/26/06][SCR 83, Vote #70, 3/16/06][SCR 83, Vote #67, 3/16/06][SCR 83, Vote #63, 3/16/06][SCR 83, Vote #41, 3/14/06][HR 4297, Vote #15, 2/13/06][HR 4297, Vote #7, 2/2/06][S 2020, Vote #343, 11/17/05][HR 2863, Vote #251, 10/5/05][HR 2528, Vote #242, 9/22/05][HR 2361, Vote # 165, 6/29/05; HR 2361, Vote # 166, 6/29/05; HR 2361, Vote # 168, 6/29/05][HR 1268, Vote #90, 4/12/05][HR 1268, Vote #89, 4/12/05][SCR 95, Vote #40, 3/10/04][S 1689, Vote #379, 10/14/03][SCR 23, Vote #81, 3/25/03][S 2168, Vote #185, 7/7/98][S 936, Vote #168, 7/10/97][HR 3666, Vote #276, 9/5/96][HR 3666, Vote # 275, 9/5/96][HR 2099, Vote #466, 9/27/95[HR 4624, Vote #256, 8/4/94][HR 1335, Vote #97, 4/1/93][S 2884, Vote #226, 8/4/90][HR 2519, Vote #132, 7/17/91]

• McCain Voted Against Increasing Funding For Veterans Programs By $1 Billion. In 2003, McCain voted against increasing spending on veterans' programs by approximately $1 billion and putting the same amount toward deficit reduction. The amount would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts. The amendment failed 49-51. [SCR 23, Vote #74, 3/21/03]

MCCAIN ON THE GI BILL

Bush and McCain Opposed GI Bill, Then Tried to Take Credit. "The Bush administration, and Sen. John McCain for that matter, initially opposed passage of the legislation, which was supported overwhelmingly by both Democrats and Republicans…McCain, campaigning last week, used language suggesting he supported the bill. In fact, McCain did not even cast a vote on the final measure. For Bush and McCain to try to claim credit now for a bipartisan effort they both opposed is a plain attempt to hoodwink the American voter." [Las Vegas Sun , 7/3/08]

McCain Refused to Endorse Webb's GI Education Bill. "Yet the former Navy pilot and Vietnam POW makes himself a target by refusing to endorse Webb's new GI education bill and instead signing on to a Republican alternative that focuses more on career soldiers than on the great majority who leave after their first four years." [Politico, 4/30/08]

Webb's GI Bill The Top Legislative Priority For Veterans Groups. According to The Hill, "Webb's bill is the top legislative priority for several veterans' groups, including the nonpartisan Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). Its projected cost to the federal treasury is about $4 billion per year.Webb has argued his bill is necessary because the current GI bill cannot pay for today's cost of higher education. [The Hill, 4/22/08]

Current GI Benefit Woefully Inadequate to Meet Educational Needs of GIs. "The most a veteran can receive now is approximately $9,600 per year for four years. Those who served combat tours with the National Guard or Reserves are eligible for even less -- typically just $440 per month, or $5,280 a year. By contrast, the College Board reports that the average four-year public college costs more than $65,000, or about $16,250 a year, for an in-state student. A private university costs on average about $133,000 for four years." [The Hill, 4/22/08]

HISPANICS UNDER THE BUSH-MCCAIN ECONOMY

June 2008: Unemployment Rate for Hispanics Nearly 8% and On the Rise. In June of 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Hispanics in the United States was 7.7% up from 5.7% just a year prior in March of 2007. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Summary, 7/3/2008; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Summary, 7/6/2007]

• January 2001: 6% of Hispanics Unemployed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in January 2001, the unemployment rate among Hispanics in the United States was 6%. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Summary, 2/2/2001]
  

Hispanic Americans' Income Has Declined After Rising In The 1990s. The median income for Hispanic households has declined from $38,834 in 2000 to $37,781 in 2006. Yet from 1990 to 2000, Hispanic median household income rose from $33,394 to $38,834, respectively. [US Census Bureau, Historical Income Tables, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/histinc/h16.html ]

MCCAIN IS SAME AS BUSH ON THE ECONOMY

McCain Claimed Americans Were "Better Off Because We Have Had A Pretty Good Prosperous Time." In the January 2008 Republican debate, McCain commented, "I think you could argue that Americans overall are better off, because we have had a pretty good prosperous time, with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things have happened. A lot of jobs have been created." [CNN GOP Debate, 1/30/08, video]

McCain Said A Lot of Americans' Economic Problems Are "Psychological." When discussing the gas tax holiday, McCain said, "I think, psychologically - and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological - confidence, trust, uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home." McCain said that his gas holiday will give people a psychological boost and that solving the mortgage crisis would be a major psychological step forward. [FOX News, "Your World With Neil Cavuto," 4/16/08, video]

McCain's "Economic Plans Really Are an Extension of the Bush Administration Policies." "McCain doesn't like to hear it, but his economic plans really are an extension of Bush administration policies…When all the economic mumbo-jumbo is removed, that fact remains." [Boston Globe, Editorial, 7/9/08, boston.com]

MEMORANDUM

To: Interested Parties
From: DNC Communications
Date: July 25, 2008

Re: Another Bad Week For McCain - Apparently it CAN Get Worse

================================================================

Another week of bad news, bad reviews and campaign chaos for the McCain campaign. The only change: the campaign's increasingly desperate response.

In what has become a recurring theme, McCain's week was dominated by foreign policy gaffes, misleading attacks, terrible reviews and new polls showing him lagging far behind among key groups of voters. Instead of addressing those challenges, the McCain campaign chose to lash out at the media and launch desperate new attacks. Despite starting his general election campaign by pledging "to conduct a respectful campaign" and run "the most positive kind of campaign," McCain has resorted to the kind of negative attacks that would make even Karl Rove blush--capped off with McCain himself questioning Senator Obama's patriotism.

As observers noted, McCain's new line of attack "smacks of desperation," "undermines his brand" and makes him look "bitter to the point of nasty." Said Howard Fineman: "hard to imagine things looking much bleaker."

MCCAIN'S CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES MORE DESPERATE NEGATIVE ATTACKS

McCain Ad Claiming Obama Is Responsible For Rising Gas Prices Is "Nonsense… Absurd." FactCheck.Org wrote, "A Full Tank of Nonsense: McCain ad says Obama's the guy to thank for emptying our wallets at the filling station. We say that's ridiculous. McCain's new ad accuses Obama of keeping gas prices high, all by himself. That's absurd, and McCain knows it - he has said repeatedly that our current problems were '30 years in the making.' The ad also tells us that gas prices are high because 'some in Washington are still saying no to drilling in America.' Not true. The federal government's estimate is that if the moratorium on offshore drilling were lifted today, it would be 2030 before we'd see a noticeable effect on supply and prices. For the same reason, it's simply not true that drilling more now will 'rescue our family budgets.'" [Fact Check.Org, 7/22/08]

McCain Ad Claiming Obama Voted Against Troop Funding Is "Oversimplified To The Point Of Being Seriously Misleading." FactCheck.Org wrote, "Prior to the sole 2007 vote cited by the McCain campaign as justification for this ad, Obama voted for all war-funding bills that had come before the Senate since 2005, when he was sworn in. So did all other Senate Democrats, except for a few absences. As recently as April 2007, Obama voted in favor of funding U.S. troops again, but this time Democrats added a non-binding call to withdraw them from Iraq. McCain (who was absent for the vote) urged the president to veto that funding measure, because of the withdrawal language. President Bush did veto it, and McCain applauded Bush's veto. Based on those facts, it would be literally true to say that 'McCain urged a veto of funding for our troops.' But that would be oversimplified to the point of being seriously misleading, which is exactly the problem with McCain's ad. Furthermore, by saying that 'John McCain has always supported our troops,' the ad insinuates that Obama doesn't. But funding a war and supporting troops are not necessarily the same thing. If they were, we'd reiterate our point above, that both men expressed a willingness to see a war-funding bill killed unless it met their conditions." [FactCheck.Org, 7/22/08]

McCain Said That "Obama Would Rather Lose A War In Order To Win A Political Campaign"; Time Columnist Joe Klein Wrote That That Is The Most "Scurrilous Statement" He's Ever Seen, "Smacks Of Desperation" And "Renews Questions About Whether McCain Has The Right Temperament For The Presidency." "John McCain said this today in Rochester, New Hampshire: 'This is a clear choice that the American people have. I had the courage and the judgment to say I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.' This is the ninth presidential campaign I've covered. I can't remember a more scurrilous statement by a major party candidate. It smacks of desperation. It renews questions about whether McCain has the right temperament for the presidency. How sad." [Joe Klein, Time Magazine, 7/22/08]

McCain Web Ad Falsely Linked Obama To Castro. The Politico noted that a new McCain web ad displays side-by-side photos of Obama and Fidel Castro, with the caption: "FIDEL CASTRO Thinks he [Obama] is 'the most advanced candidate.'" [Politico, 7/24/08]

McCain Adviser Said That The Obama Campaign's Attempt To Point Out That McCain Had His Facts Wrong On The Anbar Awakening Undermines "The American Troops And Their Sacrifice And Their Effort." According to Talking Points Memo, "Now we have a McCain surrogate explaining away McCain's flubbing of the Anbar Awakening and surge timing by saying that asking for the truth about Iraq undermines the troops." McCain adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer said "Barack Obama and his supporters can try to litigate what came first or what was crucial, but that's really an attempt to undermine the significance and the impact of the American troops and their sacrifice and their effort." [Talking Points Memo, 7/23/08]

The McCain Campaign Implied That Obama's Commitment To Preventing Genocide Was Not Sincere And Attacked Him For His Comments At An Appearance At The Israeli Holocaust Memorial. "The McCain campaign implied on Wednesday that Barack Obama's commitment to preventing a future genocide was not sincere, attacking the Democratic candidate during his appearance at the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. In an early morning press release, entitled Obama on Genocide," McCain aide Tucker Bounds emailed reporters a quote from Obama's appearance in which the Illinois Democrat reiterated the cry "never again." He followed that quote with one taken a year ago from an interview that the Senator gave with the Associated Press in which he said that genocide or humanitarian crises were not a prerequisite for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq." [Huffington Post, 7/23/08; McCain release, 7/23/08]

McCain Said Obama Has The "Most Extreme" Record In The Senate And When Asked If He Though McCain Was A Socialist, Said "I Don't Know." McCain said Obama had the "most extreme" record in the Senate. Asked later if he thought Obama was an extremist, McCain said: "His voting record … is more to the left than the announced socialist in the United States Senate, Bernie Sanders of Vermont." Does McCain think Obama is a socialist? "I don't know. All I know is his voting record, and that's what people usually judge their elected representatives by." [Kansas City Star, 7/18/08]

McCain Aides Said They Have Every Intention Of Continuing Their Attacks On Obama On His Overseas Trip. "Senator John McCain tends to follow the old adage 'politics ends at the water's edge,' but his aides tell CNN they have every intention of continuing their attacks on Obama while the presumptive Democratic nominee is on his overseas trip." [CNN, 7/19/08]

FLASHBACK: MCCAIN PLEDGED TO RUN A POSITIVE AND RESEPCTFUL CAMPAIGN

McCain Said "I Want The Best Kind Of Campaign And Most Positive Kind Of Campaign." McCain, on the NC GOP ads attacking Rev. Wright, said "Voters can take into account any issue they feel Is relevant to themselves; I certainly have no control over that. But I have my agenda, and I think this ad is offensive to some and I would like it taken down. I want the best kind of campaign and most positive kind of campaign. McCain reiterated that he can't control the N.C. GOP, but he can ask them to take it down." [National Review, 4/25/08]

McCain: "I Have Pledged To Conduct A Respectful Campaign." McCain: "I have pledged to conduct a respectful campaign. And I have urged, time after time, various entities within the Republican Party to also do that." [CNN, 4/28/08]

MORE BAD REVIEWS

Klein: McCain Attack "Smacks of Desperation." "This is the ninth presidential campaign I've covered. I can't remember a more scurrilous statement by a major party candidate. It smacks of desperation. It renews questions about whether McCain has the right temperament for the presidency. How sad." [Time, Swampland Blog, 7/22/08]

Slate: McCain's Indiscriminate Attacks Distracting Him From Making His Case. "McCain is attacking too much and indiscriminately. The barrage undermines his brand, takes time away from telling voters what he might do for them, and looks awfully old-timey in a year when voters want a new brand. … The gas-prices ad--and the equally disingenuous one on tax cuts--dismantles [his] reputation. In 2000, McCain said that spinning is lying. By that standard, these claims are what? Double-lying. Super lying?" [Slate, 7/22/08]

Fineman: "Hard to Imagine Things Looking Much Bleaker." "McCain needs all the pluck (and luck) he can muster to win this presidential race. As Barack Obama embarks on his global coronation tour, it's hard to imagine things looking much bleaker for his Republican rival. McCain thought that by baiting Obama into a tour of Iraq, he'd lure the Democratic contender into a trap. Indeed it was a trap -- for McCain." [MSNBC, 7/22/08]

New York Times: McCain is Getting Coverage--Its Just Bad Coverage. "It wasn't a television blackout of John McCain; it was worse: split-screen contrasts that at times made it seem as if Barack Obama was on a state visit while back home his opponent chafed at the perks and privileges of an incumbent commander in chief…McCain aides haven't been nearly as creative on his behalf: their stagecraft has been notably unflattering to the candidate. While Mr. Obama was shown striding across military tarmacs and inspecting troops standing at attention, Mr. McCain on Monday was seen being driven around in a golf cart by former President George Bush in the resort town of Kennebunkport, Me. Later, the two men spoke to reporters side by side at a waterfront, and they looked more like fellow members of a Past Presidents' Club than a party elder passing the torch to his political heir." [New York Times, 7/23/08]

Michael Crowley: McCain Looks "Stiff, Uncomfortable," "Bitter to the Point of Nasty." "I can hardly believe how badly John McCain is getting routed in the television-imagery game. As Obama saunters through the Middle East, looking cool and relaxed, McCain has been holding events where he looks stiff, uncomfortable, and, in his bracing claim today that Obama would lose a war to win an election, sounding bitter to the point of nasty." [New Republic, The Stump blog, 7/22/08]

Yesterday the McCain campaign hit a rough patch as they tried to escape the fallout over McCain's continued gaffes on foreign policy and ongoing coverage of his promise of four more years of failed Bush-McCain policies on Iraq, energy and the economy.

In Ohio today, McCain won't be getting any reprieve from the consequences of his same-as-Bush positions on key issues - especially on the economy. Ohio has lost over 160,000 jobs under Bush, and incomes have decreased by over $3,000. McCain will have to work particularly hard to justify his strong support for free trade. NAFTA alone has cost Ohio almost 50,000 jobs.

Yesterday also brought new numbers on income inequality, confirming what the American people already know - Bush-McCain economic policies help the wealthy and big corporations, not working Americans. The richest 1 percent of Americans now accounts for more than a fifth of total American income - a height of disparity that hasn't been seen in 80 years.

As the McCain campaign struggles to right itself after a particularly rough week, they'll be weighted down by the legacy of failed Bush-McCain economic policies - in Ohio and elsewhere.

MCCAIN IS SAME AS BUSH ON THE ECONOMY

…But McCain Claimed Americans Were "Better Off Because We Have Had A Pretty Good Prosperous Time." In the January 2008 Republican debate, McCain commented, "I think you could argue that Americans overall are better off, because we have had a pretty good prosperous time, with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things have happened. A lot of jobs have been created." [CNN GOP Debate, 1/30/08, video ]

McCain Said A Lot of Americans' Economic Problems Are "Psychological." When discussing the gas tax holiday, McCain said, "I think, psychologically - and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological - confidence, trust, uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home." McCain said that his gas holiday will give people a psychological boost and that solving the mortgage crisis would be a major psychological step forward. [FOX News, "Your World With Neil Cavuto," 4/16/08, video ]

NAFTA: "Great Thing for America." At a business roundtable in California, McCain was asked about NAFTA and said "I believe that NAFTA has been a great thing for America." [CNN Live Feed (Santa Ana, CA), 3/25/08]

• NAFTA Creates Jobs. "So I believe when you look at the overall benefits, as far as jobs are concerned, as far as quality of jobs are concerned, as far as a broad range of measurements, I believe that NAFTA has been a benefit in creating jobs throughout our country." [CNN Live Feed (Santa Ana, CA), 3/25/08]
  

McCain's "Economic Plans Really Are An Extension of the Bush Administration Policies." "McCain doesn't like to hear it, but his economic plans really are an extension of Bush administration policies…When all the economic mumbo-jumbo is removed, that fact remains." [Boston Globe, Editorial, 7/9/08, boston.com ]

MCCAIN BRINGS MORE FAILED MCCAIN-BUSH POLICIES TO OHIO

Income Down $3,255. Median household income in Ohio has decreased from $49,031 in 2000 to $45,776 in 2006, a decrease of $3,255 per household. [Joint Economic Committee Fact Sheet, 8/29/07, (Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce), jec.senate.gov ]

Unemployment Up 65%. Unemployment is up in Ohio. It was 4.0% in January of 2001, and preliminary figures for June 2008 are 6.6%. The number of unemployed workers has gone up from 230,242 to 393,306, an increase of 163,064 workers. [Local Area Unemployment Statistics, (Seasonally Adjusted), Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 7/21/08, bls.gov ]

Ohio Has Over 1.2 Million People Uninsured. 1,213,049 people in Ohio have no health insurance. That's 11 percent of Ohioans living without any insurance. [statehealthfacts.org, accessed 7/13/08, available here: http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?ind=125&cat=3&rgn=37 ]

• More than 206,000 kids in Ohio have NO health insurance. 206,268 kids in Ohio have no health insurance. [statehealthfacts.org, accessed 7/13/08, available here: http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?ind=127&cat=3&rgn=37 ]
  

Ohio Is Being Hit By the Mortgage Crisis. Ohio families are facing foreclosure at troubling rates. In June, Ohio had the THIRD highest foreclosure total in the nation and the SIXTH highest foreclosure rate:

• 13,194 homes in Ohio received a foreclosure filing. [Realty Trac Press Release, 7/10/08]
• 1 in every 382 Ohio households received a foreclosure filing. [Realty Trac Press Release, 7/10/08]
• Overall, Ohio is 9th in the nation in foreclosure filings. [Realty Trac Press Release, 6/13/08]

NAFTA Caused Net Job Loss of Nearly 50,000 in Ohio. A 2006 Economic Policy Institute study found that NAFTA had displaced just over 1 million jobs in this country, and net job loss of nearly 50,000 in Ohio. [Scott, Salas & Campbell, Revisiting NAFTA, 9/28/2006; http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/bp173 ]

This week the McCain campaign is spinning furiously, trying to place the blame for rising gas prices anywhere but where it belongs - on Washington insiders like McCain. But McCain can't distract from the fact that he's offering more of the same failed Bush-McCain policies responsible for the economic crisis Americans face today.

In Pennsylvania today, McCain will be hard-pressed to explain away his same-as-Bush economic policies. Since Bush took office, Pennsylvania has lost nearly 70,000 jobs and incomes have stagnated. Now McCain's hitting the trail with more of Bush's failed and flawed policies. McCain is putting tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and big corporations - $4 billion for the top five Big Oil companies and $2 billion for the top ten health insurance companies - ahead of economic relief for working Americans.

Today McCain will also have to face the consequences of resurrecting Bush's risky scheme to privatize Social Security. McCain campaigned with Bush to sell the plan in 2005, and now he's back at it. As Americans struggle economically, McCain wants to turn Social Security from a guarantee into a gamble at a cost of $1 trillion -- and that's just for transition costs.

Americans can't afford another term of McCain-Bush economic policies.


MCCAIN IS SAME AS BUSH ON THE ECONOMY

McCain Claimed Americans Were "Better Off Because We Have Had A Pretty Good Prosperous Time." In the January 2008 Republican debate, McCain commented, "I think you could argue that Americans overall are better off, because we have had a pretty good prosperous time, with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things have happened. A lot of jobs have been created." [CNN GOP Debate, 1/30/08, video]

McCain Said A Lot of Americans' Economic Problems Are "Psychological." When discussing the gas tax holiday, McCain said, "I think, psychologically - and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological - confidence, trust, uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home." McCain said that his gas holiday will give people a psychological boost and that solving the mortgage crisis would be a major psychological step forward. [FOX News, "Your World With Neil Cavuto," 4/16/08, video]

McCain's "Economic Plans Really Are An Extension of the Bush Administration Policies." "McCain doesn't like to hear it, but his economic plans really are an extension of Bush administration policies…When all the economic mumbo-jumbo is removed, that fact remains." [Boston Globe, Editorial, 7/9/08, boston.com ]

John McCain Promises Help For Working Americans, But His Proposals Reveal More Aid For Corporations. According to the Washington Post, revealing his economic agenda, McCain "offered sweeping rhetoric about the economic plight of working-class Americans, promising immediate assistance even as he spelled out a tax and spending agenda whose benefits are aimed squarely at spurring corporate growth." [Washington Post, 4/16/2008]

MCCAIN OFFERS MORE OF THE SAME FAILED BUSH-MCCAIN POLICIES IN PENNSYLVANIA

Unemployed Up 26% in Pennsylvania. The number of unemployed workers in Pennsylvania has increased by 26% under President Bush. The number of unemployed has gone up from 262,572 in January of 2001 and preliminary figures for June of 2008 are 332,113, an increase of 69,541 workers, or 26%. [Local Area Unemployed Statistics, (Seasonally Adjusted), Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 7/20/08, data.bls.gov ]

Income Stagnant. Median household income in Pennsylvania has increased only slightly from $47,524 in 2000 to $ 48,148 in 2006, an increase of $624 per household--a 1.3% increase that is not statistically different from zero. [Joint Economic Committee Fact Sheet, 8/29/07, (Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce), jec.senate.gov ]

Pennsylvania Has Over 1.2 Million People Uninsured. 1,216,260 people have no health insurance. That's 10 percent of Pennsylvanians living without any insurance. [statehealthfacts.org, accessed 7/20/08, available here: http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?ind=125&cat=3&rgn=40 ]

More than 217,000 kids in Pennsylvania have NO health insurance. 217,171 kids in Pennsylvania have no health insurance. [statehealthfacts.org, accessed 7/20/08, available here: http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?ind=127&cat=3&rgn=40 ]

In the First Quarter of 2008, Over 5,900 Homes in Pennsylvania Received a Foreclosure Filing.

• 5,901 homes received a foreclosure filing in the first quarter. [Realty Trac Press Release, 4/29/08]
• That's 1 out of every 924 homes. [Realty Trac Press Release, 4/29/08]

It's only Tuesday, but John McCain is already off to yet another bad week. After spending yesterday explaining how he confused Iraq and Afghanistan and watching the Iraqi leadership reject his vision for the future of Iraq, McCain today is traveling to two states that highlight the economic impact of his decision to march in lockstep with the Bush Administration on the war in Iraq and on the economy.

Like President Bush, John McCain is out of touch with the impact the Bush-McCain strategy in Iraq has had on our ability to invest in confronting the challenges facing working families here at home. Not only has Senator McCain said he would be willing to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years, his willingness to continue spending $10 billion a month there would mean fewer resources to invest in confronting soaring gas prices, making health insurance more affordable, and addressing a mortgage crisis that has left thousands of Americans struggling to keep their homes.

While taxpayers in the Maryland and New Hampshire have paid more than $12 billion and $2 billion respectively for their share of the cost of the war in Iraq, both states have been hit hard by the failed and flawed Bush-McCain economic policies. Since 2001, New Hampshire has lost nearly 10,000 jobs, while Maryland has lost more than 20,000. Incomes are stagnant in New Hampshire and have actually fallen in Maryland -- even as the cost of living has gone through the roof.

McCain's plan to continue the Bush Administration's Iraq policy comes at a steep cost to Americans already struggling economically. Just the cost of war to the people of Maryland, $12.8 billion so far, could have gone toward health care for about 4.9 million sick children for one year. In New Hampshire, the cost of war for that state could have provided 14,000 affordable housing units. McCain's misguided priorities would mean continuing the war in Iraq indefinitely at the expense of American families who need assistance right now.

When it comes to the economy and Iraq, McCain is out of touch with Americans and in lock-step with Bush.

MCCAIN INACTION TOUR BRINGS BUSH-MCCAIN ECONOMIC POLICIES TO NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MARYLAND

…But McCain Claimed Americans Were Better Off Because We Have Had A Pretty Good Prosperous Time. In the January 2008 Republican debate, McCain commented, I think you could argue that Americans overall are better off, because we have had a pretty good prosperous time, with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things have happened. A lot of jobs have been created. [CNN GOP Debate, 1/30/08, video]

McCain's Economic Plans Really Are An Extension of the Bush Administration Policies.
McCain doesn't like to hear it, but his economic plans really are an extension of Bush administration policies…When all the economic mumbo-jumbo is removed, that fact remains. [Boston Globe, Editorial, 7/9/08, boston.com ]

McCain Said A Lot of Americans Economic Problems Are Psychological. When discussing the gas tax holiday, McCain said, I think, psychologically - and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological - confidence, trust, uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home. McCain said that his gas holiday will give people a psychological boost and that solving the mortgage crisis would be a major psychological step forward. [FOX News, Your World With Neil Cavuto, 4/16/08, video]

COST OF WAR IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MARYLAND

Maryland's Share Of The Cost Of Iraq War Funding Approved To Date Is $12,816,932,105 [The President's War Request: Local Costs Updated, National Priorities Project, accessed 7/21/08, http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar0508 ]

New Hampshire's Share Of The Cost Of Iraq War Funding Approved To Date Is $2,703,990,910 [The President's War Request: Local Costs Updated, National Priorities Project, accessed 7/21/08, http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar0508 ]

MCCAIN OFFERS MORE OF THE SAME FAILED BUSH ECONOMIC POLICIES FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE…

Unemployment Up 50%. Unemployment is up in New Hampshire. It was 2.8% in January of 2001, and preliminary figures for March 2008 are 4.0%. The number of unemployed has gone up from 19,653 to 29,579, an increase of almost 9,926 workers. [Local Area Unemployment Statistics, (Seasonally Adjusted), Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 7/17/08, bls.gov ]

Incomes Stagnant. Median household income in New Hampshire has increased from $57,664 in 2000 to $60,411 in 2006, a increase of only $2,747 per household-a difference that is not statistically different from zero. [Joint Economic Committee Fact Sheet, (Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce), 8/29/07, jec.senate.gov ]

…AND MORE OF THE SAME FAILED BUSH ECONOMIC POLICIES IN MARYLAND

Unemployment Up 21%. The unemployment rate in Maryland was 3.6% in January of 2001, and preliminary figures for June 2008 are 4.0%. The number of unemployed has gone up from 100,853 to 121,723, an increase of 20,870 workers. [Local Area Unemployment Statistics, (Seasonally Adjusted), Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 7/20/08, data.bls.gov ]

Incomes Down 0.7%. Median household income in Maryland has decreased from $63,496 in 2000 to $63,082 in 2006, a decrease of $414 per household. [Joint Economic Committee Fact Sheet, (Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce), 8/29/07, jec.senate.gov ]

After a week in which John McCain received more criticism for his ties to top economic advisor Phil Gramm, who echoed Senator McCain's sentiments that America's economic problems were "psychological" by saying we are in a "mental recession," McCain is in Maine today, where his out of touch positions and attitude on the economy will be on full display. Today, McCain will raise campaign cash in Maine with former President George H.W. Bush and his wealthy friends (if McCain was really trying to erase his reputation as being out of touch with Americans and their economic concerns - he might have thought twice about appearing with the elder Bush who himself didn't understand the economy as president.) John McCain is not only taking help from the Bush family to raise money, he's calling for the continuation of the Bush-Republican economic policies that have been a disaster for America's families.

In Maine, where Senator McCain will campaign today, rising oil prices have not only hurt families at the gas pump, but many families are already bracing for home heating prices that are expected to set records this winter. John McCain has repeatedly voted against LIHEAP funding to help many of those families heat their homes in the winter. In addition, McCain's opposition to expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, his proposal to make Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations permanent and his health care plan that would undermine employer provided health care would only make matters worse for the people of Maine and America.

Maine families depend on LIHEAP…

Maine Received Over $26 Million in LIHEAP Funding In 2008. In 2008, Maine received $26,815,321 in LIHEAP funds. [US Department of Health and Human Services, LIHEAP Clearinghouse, accessed 7/17/08, available here: http://www.liheap.ncat.org/profiles/Maine.htm]

46,000 Households In Maine Depend On LIHEAP. In 2007, it's estimated that 46,000 households in Maine received LIHEAP funds. [US Department of Health and Human Services, LIHEAP Clearinghouse, accessed 7/17/08, available here: http://www.liheap.ncat.org/profiles/Maine.htm]

The Average Maine Family On LIHEAP Get Over $500. In 2007 New Hampshire families getting LIHEAP assistance received $588. [US Department of Health and Human Services, LIHEAP Clearinghouse, accessed 7/17/08, available here: http://www.liheap.ncat.org/profiles/Maine.htm]

McCain has opposed heating assistance for low income Americans…

McCain Voted Against $500 Million Energy Assistance Package For Low-Income Families. McCain voted against an amendment provided an additional $500 million for LIHEAP and $3.5 billion for other energy programs. [2006 Senate Vote #42, 3/14/2006]

McCain Repeatedly Opposed Heating Assistance For Those Who Could Not Afford It. Throughout his Senate career, McCain has frequently opposed increasing funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. [2006 Senate Vote #57, 3/16/2006; 2005 Senate Vote #349, 11/18/2005; 2005 Senate Vote #261, 10/20/2005; 1995 Senate Vote #319, 7/21/1995]

McCain Voted To Significantly Cut Funding To The Energy Assistance Program. McCain voted to reduce spending for LIHEAP by $633 million over six years and freezing the program at $819 thereafter. LIHEAP is a vital program for the elderly and low-income families who are otherwise forced to choose between buying food or heating their homes. The program has already been cut in recent years and any more cuts would seriously undermine its ability to assist the nation's most vulnerable citizens. [1996 Senate Vote #129, 5/22/1996]

Two weeks into the latest "relaunch" of his campaign and it's more of the same for John McCain: more of the same bad news, bad reviews and campaign chaos. While the elevation of Steve Schmidt was supposed to tighten McCain's message and organization, McCain was under fire from all sides this week - taking hits on everything from his incoherent foreign policy agenda and the lack of an economic plan, to his double talk on transparency and accountability, to the lack of enthusiasm for his campaign among key constituencies. Even his sense of humor became a liability for McCain.

With less than 110 days left until the election, is it time to start wondering how many more weeks like this McCain can afford?

Three Town Hall Ticket Holders Wearing NARAL T-Shirts Barred From Event.

McCain All Over the Map on Troop Levels in Afghanistan--in the Same Day.

McCain Takes Heat from Left and Right on Gay Adoption Flip-Flop

McCain References a Country That Doesn't Exist--For the Second Day In A Row

McCain Misled on Education Funding During NAACP Speech

Shady McCain Bundlers Omitted From List

Plan for Iraq & Afghanistan Panned

Economic Plan (or Lack Thereof) Panned

Linked to Jack Abramoff

McCain Bundlers Linked to Jack Abramoff. "Now, as Mr. McCain releases the names of hundreds of 'bundlers' -- his top money collectors -- one person who popped up is Juan Carlos Benitez, a lawyer and lobbyist whom Mr. Abramoff had championed for a Bush administration post. According to a 2006 report of the House Committee on Government Reform, Mr. Abramoff had urged the appointment of Mr. Benitez as special counsel for immigration-related unfair employment practices. He was named to the position in 2001. The committee's report said Mr. Benitez's job at the Justice Department 'gave Benitez authority' to conduct investigations into unfair labor practices that were 'issues of importance to Abramoff clients.' After leaving the administration, Mr. Benitez joined the K Street lobbying firm Cassidy & Associates, whose Web site says he "has exceptionally close ties to the White House." [New York Times, 7/17/08]

Takes Heat from Evangelicals AND Catholics

Catholic Activists Ask McCain to Boot Faith Adviser. "Tensions are heating up among politically-minded Catholic activists after a group of left-leaning Catholics today publicly asked Sen. John McCain to boot a faith adviser who resigned from the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 because of allegations he sexually harassed a college student. 'Deal Hudson is not the type of Catholic leader you want publicly associated with your campaign,' read the letter from Catholics United to McCain. The allegations against Deal Hudson are not new and their reappearance reflects the nasty back-and-forth among Catholic activists as the election draws closer. Hudson, a member of the Catholics for McCain National Steering Committee, resigned as publisher of the conservative Catholic magazine Crisis after the allegations first surfaced in 2004 in the pages of the National Catholic Reporter." [Washington Post, 7/17/08]

AP: McCain Hasn't Ignited The Passions Of Evangelicals. "In the ongoing AP-Yahoo News Poll, only 10 percent of white evangelical Christians say they are excited by this election, compared with 20 percent of Americans overall. A third of these evangelicals said they were interested in the election, but half said they were frustrated by it." [AP, 7/17/08]

Sense of Humor Panned

Last week, John McCain's top economic advisor, Phil Gramm, echoed McCain's comments that America's economic problems were "psychological" by saying Americans are in a "mental recession" and that America had become a "nation of whiners." While McCain distanced himself from Gramm at the time, Gramm is now back on board as McCain's top economic adviser. Now, John McCain is in Michigan, a state that has been devastated by the Bush-McCain economy. Instead of offering a plan for how to create more and better jobs here at home and keep the ones we have, John McCain, with the help of out of touch campaign advisers like Phil Gramm, promises four more years of failed Bush economic policies that have hurt America including more unfair trade deals that will ship jobs overseas. [Washington Post, 7/11/08; Delmarvalive.com, 7/18/08]

The Bush-McCain policies have been particularly disastrous for working families, who have suffered from declining wages and a 76 percent increase in unemployment. And with GM having announced deep job cuts this week, McCain's more-of-the-same rhetoric on the economy is the last thing Michigan--and America--needs.

Bush Economy Has Hurt Michigan…

Unemployment Up 76%. The unemployment rate in Michigan was 4.7% in January of 2001, and preliminary figures for May 2008 are 8.5%. The number of unemployed has gone up from 243,604 to 428,095, an increase of 184,491 workers. [Local Area Unemployment Statistics, (Seasonally Adjusted), Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 7/15/08, bls.gov]

Income Down 11.5%. Median household income in Michigan has decreased from $54,516 in 2000 to $48,043 in 2006, a decrease of $6,473 per household--one of the highest decreases of any state. [Joint Economic Committee Fact Sheet, (Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce), 8/29/07, jec.senate.gov]

Poverty Up 30%. The number of people living in poverty in Michigan has increased by 287,000 people from 972,000 to 1,259,000, or by 30%, from 2000 to 2006--one of the highest increases of any other state. [Joint Economic Committee Fact Sheet, (Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce), 8/29/07, jec.senate.gov]

McCain Wrong on the Economy…

Cost of "Four More Years" Placed At $6.3 TRILLION. The CBO "January Budget and Economic Outlook" showed continued deterioration in the budget outlook with the projected 2008 deficit growing to $219 billion. But as bad as the budget situation has become under the current Republican Administration, continuation of the Republican policies will only make things worse. The majority staff of the Senate Budget Committee estimates that funding Republican priorities like making the Bush tax cuts permanent and funding ongoing - and perhaps permanent - operations in Iraq will add $6.3 trillion to the CBO's already dismal ten-year predictions. http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/documents/2008/cbojanupdatefactsheet2008.pdf

McCain only middle-class tax cut proposal completely leaves out 101 million households - including those working and middle-class Americans hardest hit by this downturn. In contrast, Senator Obama's plan benefits 95 percent of workers and their families. The principal middle class tax cut proposed by John McCain is an increase in the dependent exemption that will not be fully in effect until 2016. Most households without children would see nothing under the plan - a total of 101 million households, including 67 million households currently paying income taxes but who would not benefit because they have no dependents, and 34 million low-income households with no income tax liability but generally paying payroll taxes. Nearly all seniors (37 million out of 38 million) would be left out. Even for families with children, the increase in the dependent exemption provides only a modest tax cut. In the first year of the plan, it would be worth about $125 to a middle-class family with two children. That same family would eventually see their taxes increase under the McCain plan, because his health care plan would raise taxes on middle-class families over time. This is completely inadequate, and will not help the very people whose reduced spending is contributing to our slowing economy. The Obama plan offers more generous tax relief for middle class families, including a "Making Work Pay Credit" that would benefit 95 percent of workers and their families, providing $1,000 for a typical working family. Obama's plan would also expand tax credits to help families save, send a child to college, pay for childcare, and afford their mortgage, while eliminating income taxes for all seniors making less than $50,000. [Obama for America memo, The McCain Economic Plan: Four More Years?, 7/7/08]

Last week the Democratic National Committee and Obama for America unveiled Listening to America: The Democratic Platform for Change, a bold new initiative to involve the American people in the development of the Democratic National Platform, giving Americans the opportunity to organize and engage in Platform Meetings in all 50 states. Just a week after the launch of this ambitious platform program, interest is through the roof and in the last eight days alone, 1,300 platform meetings in all 50 states--including town hall-style meetings, radio call-ins, and web chats--have been scheduled.

Under the leadership of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, Democrats are engaging in a 50-state strategy, showing up in every state, listening to voters, and asking for their votes. In the same spirit, the DNC is about to launch a "Register for Change" bus tour with Dean to involve as many Americans as possible in the political process and register them to vote.

"Barack Obama's message of change, the 50-state strategy, and these Platform Meetings are all components of the same goals of unity, transparency and change," said Michael Yaki, National Platform Director. "Americans' immediate and enthusiastic response demonstrates how thirsty Americans are for change, and how eager they are to be heard after seven years of an administration that has ignored people's wishes. People are no longer interested in my-way-or-the-highway politics. The renewal of America begins with listening to the hopes, fears, and dreams of the American people."

The Platform Meetings will take place in all 50 states from July 18th to July 27th. Americans nationwide are invited to attend these meetings. To further the open exchange of ideas, policy representatives from the Obama campaign and the DNC will be on hand in as many meetings as possible. Each Platform Meeting will produce a written summary, which will be reviewed as part of the drafting process.

Information about locations of platform meetings can be found at http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/listening/.

Today, more McCain surrogates and a web video attacking Barack Obama which could have been produced on "Fantasy Island," will be trotted out in an effort to distract attention from John McCain's real record on Iraq--a record of being inconsistent and being wrong, just like President Bush. What you won't hear today: that Senator McCain was part of the propaganda machine that misled us into war, that he predicted that we'd be greeted as liberators, that he parroted the Bush talking points from the start, that he praised President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld's conduct of the war and that he echoed the Bush Administration's rosy rhetoric even as the reality indicated otherwise.

The McCain-Bush Iraq strategy has failed to pressure Iraqis to take responsibility for their future, stretched our military to the breaking point, sacrificed investments in critical domestic priorities here at home and has distracted us from tracking down the terrorists who attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001. Because McCain and Bush insisted on launching a war that should have never been waged, and then doubling down on a failed strategy, the war in Afghanistan has been ignored and the Taliban and al-Qaeda are as strong now as any time since just after the U.S. invasion in 2001. Senator McCain has supported a strategy in Iraq that has compromised our security and made us less safe at home and abroad.

When it comes to bringing our brave troops home, McCain has also been wrong and inconsistent--offering at least 11 different answers on when he thinks the war will end. And now Senator McCain has absolutely no plan to deal with Iraq but to leave our troops there for 100 years.

After seven years of failed leadership on Iraq and Afghanistan, John McCain is the last thing our country needs. See here the ongoing DNC web series "McCain on Iraq, Wrong from the Start."

To view the DNC's videos on McCain's failed leadership on Iraq, click here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TTwqqfS505c and here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eejYoz3Nl0

McCain: Wrong to praise the Bush Administration for their conduct of the war…

McCain Praises Bush Administration on Iraq. QUESTION: Are you proud of the work and the leadership of the Commander in Chief in this war? MCCAIN: Yes I am. I think the President has led with great clarity and I think he's done a great job leading the country [Hardball, 4/23/03] and MCCAIN: We've got to stay the course and speeches like the President's last night, I think, are important. [CBS Early Show, 6/29/05]

McCain Praises Rumsfeld. QUESTION: Is it your view that Donald Rumsfeld can continue to be an effective Secretary of Defense? MCCAIN: Yes, today I do and I believe he's done a fine job. He's an honorable man. [Hannity & Colmes, 5/12/04]

McCain: Wrong to echo Bush talking points on Iraq from the start…

May 1, 2003: Bush Declares War Over. "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended." [Speech by President Bush, 5/1/03]

McCain Proclaimed "Massive Victory" in Iraq and Credited Combat-Readiness for "Our Victory" in Afghanistan and Iraq." Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom demonstrated to the world what we saw just 12 years ago. We went to war as the most combat-ready force in the world. The value of that readiness is clear. We won a massive victory in a few weeks, and we did so with very limited loss of American and allied lives. We were able to end aggression with minimum overall loss of life, and we were even able to greatly reduce the civilian casualties of Afghani and Iraqi citizens. . . . Our technology edge in Afghanistan and Iraq would have been meaningless if we did not have men and women trained to use it. Having the best weapons system platforms in the world would not have given us our victory if we had not had the right command and control facilities, maintenance capabilities, and munitions." [Congressional Record, 5/22/03]

Bush: Surge is Working, Al Qaeda on the Run. "Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among the terrorists there is no doubt," Bush declared in his 2008 State of the Union address. "Al Qaeda is on the run in Iraq, and this enemy will be defeated." [2008 State of the Union, 1/28/08]

McCain: Strategy Succeeding, Al Qaeda on the Run. "We are succeeding," in Iraq, McCain told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. "I've said many times, Al Qaida is on the run," he continued. "This [surge] strategy is succeeding." [Fox News Sunday, 2/3/08]

White House Advocated Long Term Troops Presence in Iraq Like South Korean Model. "President Bush envisions a long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq similar to the one in South Korea where American forces have helped keep an uneasy peace for more than 50 years, the White House said Wednesday." [Associated Press, 5/31/07]

McCain Cited South Korean Model as Defense for Staying in Iraq 100 Years. When McCain was asked a question about George Bush's belief that we will stay in Iraq for fifty years McCain responded, "Make it a hundred… We've been in Japan for 60 years. We've been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me." [McCain Town hall in Derry, NH, 1/3/2008; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf7HYoh9YMM]

McCain: part of Bush propaganda machine...

In 2003, McCain echoed Bush's rosy predictions by claiming that the end was "very much in sight" in Iraq. In 2005, McCain backed Bush, arguing that another year would prove "stay the course" was working. [The Hill, 12/8/05; ABC News, Good Morning America, 4/9/03] In 2006, McCain argued that Iraq was "on the right track" even as it slipped further toward civil war. [MSNBC, Imus in the Morning, 3/1/06]

2003: McCain: "There's no doubt in my mind that once these people are gone that we will be welcomed as liberators." [MSNBC, Hardball, 3/24/03]

McCain: wrong and inconsistent on when our troops can come home…

October 2003: McCain Said Iraq War Would Take "Four Or Five Years." During an appearance on ABC's Nightline, McCain was asked how much more money the war would cost. He replied, "Estimates I hear as much as 50 to $55 billion more." When asked, "Over a course of how many years?" McCain answered, "Four or five years." [ABC, "Nightline," 10/1/03]

February 2004: McCain Said War Would Take Five or Six Years. MCCAIN: "Listen, my friend, we're going to be there for five or six years. A little straight talk." [MSNBC, "Hardball," 2/25/04]

February 2005: McCain Said War Would Take A Year to a Year and a Half. [2006] MCCAIN: "If I had to guess, I would think that it's going to be at least another year to a year and a half, but, hopefully before then we could have our troops out of a lot of the areas where they're vulnerable to casualties." [CBS, "The Early Show," 2/3/05]

June 2005: McCain Would Be Surprised if it Took Two or Three More Years: "And, again, I think we should tell people it's not going to be a short--I'd rather say two or three years, and be surprised a year from now, than say, 'Everything's fine,' and then be disappointed a year or two from now." [NBC, "Meet the Press," 6/19/05]

January 2008: McCain Would Be "Fine" With Our Troops Staying in Iraq 100 Years. MCCAIN: "QUESTION: President Bush is talking about our staying in Iraq for 50 year…" MCCAIN: "Make it a hundred. We've been in South Korea, we've been in Japan for 60 years, we've been in South Korea for 50 years or so." [Town Hall Meeting in Concord, NH, 1/3/08]

May 2008: Most of Our Troops Will Be Home by 2013: "By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq war has been won." [Reuters, 5/15/08]

June 2008: When Troops Can Come Home is "Not Too Important." QUESTION: "Do you know have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?" MCCAIN: "No, but that's not too important." [NBC, "Today Show," 6/11/08]

The Democratic National Committee today released the following statement from Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman in response to John McCain's speech at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People:

"Making education a national priority requires more than campaign speeches, it takes a real commitment to policies that will strengthen and not undermine our schools. What Senator McCain did not say to the NAACP was that he has voted against funding for disadvantaged students at least 12 times in his career; he has voted four times against hiring high-quality teachers to high-needs schools; he has voted against increasing funds for dropout prevention; and he has voted repeatedly against increasing funds for Head Start. Given Senator McCain's record of leaving the money behind for No Child Left Behind and the lack of specifics in his plan, it's difficult to believe that he will deliver in the future. Senator Barack Obama offers a comprehensive plan to fundamentally change the way we recruit, train, and reward teachers in this country and to provide a world-class education to every child from the day they are born."

Governor Howard Dean will lead a national grassroots voter registration effort. The cross country bus tour, "Register for Change," will build on the overwhelming enthusiasm and voter turnout seen during the primaries as Democrats mobilize and organize voters for the fall election.

The tour kicks-off with events in Crawford and Austin, TX on Thursday, July 17th. Dean will also deliver the Opening Keynote Speech at Netroots Nation 2008 in Austin, TX. On Friday, July 18th and Saturday, July 19th the tour will continue with events in Hattiesburg, and Jackson, Mississippi, and New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. All listed times are local.

THURSDAY, JULY 17

Crawford, TX
REGISTER FOR CHANGE KICKOFF EVENT
Crawford Community Center, Parking Lot
999 East 4th Street
Crawford, TX

Event Time: 8:45 AM - 9:45 AM

Chairman Dean will be joined by Rep. Jim Dunnam and McLennan County Chair John Cullar.

* For more information contact Mike Czin at czinm@dnc.org.

Austin, TX
REGISTER FOR CHANGE KICKOFF RALLY
Brush Square
401 Trinity Street
Austin, TX

Event Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Houston City Councilwoman Melissa Noriega, The Django Walker Band and other local officials will join Chairman Dean at the rally.

* For more information contact Mike Czin at czinm@dnc.org.

Austin, TX
NETROOTS NATION 2008 OPENING KEYNOTE
Austin Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 4
500 East Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, TX

Event Time: 8:00 PM - 8:35 PM

* For more information contact Mike Czin at czinm@dnc.org.

FRIDAY, JULY 18

New Orleans, LA
REGISTER FOR CHANGE VOTER REGISTRATION EVENT AND OBAMA FOR AMERICA, COORDINATED CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS OPENING
Louisiana Victory 2008 Headquarters
3604 Canal St.
New Orleans, LA

Event Time: 11:25 AM - 12:40 PM

*For more information contact Mike Czin at czinm@dnc.org.

Hattiesburg, MS
REGISTER FOR CHANGE VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE IN HATTIESBURG
Location: TBA
Event Time: 2:40 PM - 4:00 PM

* For more information contact Mike Czin at czinm@dnc.org.

Jackson, MS
REGISTER FOR CHANGE VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE IN JACKSON
Tougaloo College
500 West Country Line Road
Jackson, MS

Event Time: 6:10 PM - 7:30 PM

* For more information contact Mike Czin at Czinm@dnc.org.

SATURDAY, JULY 19

Shreveport, LA
SHREVEPORT CAMPAIGN FOR CHANGE CANVASS KICKOFF
Galilee Baptist Church Parking Lot
1500 Pierre Ave
Shreveport, LA

Event Time: 8:30 AM - 9:45 AM

* For more information contact Mike Czin at Czinm@dnc.org.

Baton Rouge, LA
REGISTER FOR CHANGE VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE IN BATON ROUGE
New Hope Baptist Church Parking Lot
5856 Greenwell Spring Rd.
Baton Rouge, LA

Event Time: 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM

Today John McCain will speak at the NAACP Convention in Ohio. According to accounts, Senator McCain will focus on education, but the truth is, McCain offers more of the same Bush policies on education that have failed so many of America's children.

From voting against fully funding No Child Left Behind, to voting against teacher training programs, to opposing programs like the school lunch program and dropout prevention initiatives that would have helped disadvantaged students stay in school, to denying struggling students access to federal college aid, McCain's record on education is nothing to brag about. How he tries to spin his dismal history on education remains to be seen.

But with families struggling to get by, college costs soaring, and the cost of living pinching many households' pocketbooks, education is a top priority for families, who want their kids to get ahead or at least keep up. For these people and so many more, John McCain is the wrong choice on education and America's future.

McCain Has Repeatedly Voted Against Fully Funding No Child Left Behind...

2006: McCain Voted Against A Bipartisan Measure Restoring Bush's Cuts To Education. McCain voted against a bipartisan provision sponsored by Sens. Specter and Harkin that would advance $7 billion from FY2008 funding for health, education and labor appropriations into FY2007 in order to restore many of Bush's budget cuts to health care, education and job training programs. [2006 Senate Vote #58, 3/16/2006]

2006: McCain Voted Against Funding For Provision In No Child Left Behind Aimed At Increasing Achievement Among Disadvantages Students In Favor Of A Tax Break. McCain voted against an amendment to increase funding for No Child Left Behind by providing an additional $1 billion in Title I funding. The provision would have been fully offset by eliminating certain corporate tax breaks. [2006 Senate Vote #64, 3/16/2006]

McCain Has Opposed More Funding For Teacher Training Programs…

2001: McCain Voted Against Funding For 100,000 New Teachers. McCain voted against an amendment authorizing $2.4 billion for FY 2002 for a Federal program to assist States and local educational agencies to recruit, hire, and train 100,000 new teachers in order to reduce class sizes in the early grades to a national average of 18 students per classroom; and authorizes such sums as necessary for each of FYs 2003-2008 for the program. [2001 Senate Vote #103, 5/15/2001]

2000: McCain Voted Against $2.2 Billion For Recruitment And Mentoring For Teachers. McCain voted against an amendment that would replace the language of the bill with the text of the Democratic substitute amendment, which would increase the general estate tax exemption for a couple to $4 million, as well as the family-owned business exemption to $8 million per couple by 2010 and uses projected savings to fund various education programs, including $1.3 billion in grants and loans for repairs for schools in high-needs areas, and $2.2 billion for the recruitment, mentoring and professional development of qualified teachers. (CQ) [2000 Senate Vote #184, 7/13/2000]

2000: McCain Voted Against Increasing Funding To Enable Colleges To Train More New Teachers By Over $200 Million. McCain voted against an amendment to increase funding for Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants from $98 million to $300 million in order to enable colleges to train more new teachers. [2000 Senate Vote #153, 6/28/2000]

2000: McCain Voted Against $2 Billion To Recruit And Train Teachers. McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $2 billion to help schools recruit and train teachers. It would provide $1.75 billion to fund President Clinton's proposal to hire 100,000 new teachers to reduce class size and authorize $1.3 billion in grants and loans for emergency school repairs and renovations. (CQ) The underlying bill used block grants. [2000 Senate Vote #90, 5/3/2000]

McCain Also Voted Against Programs Aimed At Helping Disadvantaged Students…

McCain Repeatedly Voted Against Breakfast And Lunch Programs For Low Income Students. McCain voted against several amendments authorizing as much as $5 million for outreach efforts and start-up grants for state school breakfast and lunch programs for low-income children. [1997 Senate Vote #200, 7/24/1997; 1997 Senate Vote #162, 7/9/1997; 1997 Senate Vote #8, 2/11/1997; 1996 Senate Vote #213, 7/23/1996; 1995 Senate Vote #613, 12/22/1995]

2003: McCain Voted Against $20 Million For Dropout Prevention. McCain voted against an amendment increasing funding for various education programs by $210 million including $20 million for dropout prevention. [2003 Senate Vote #322, 9/3/2003]

2001: McCain Voted Against 1,000 Technology Centers In Disadvantaged Communities. McCain voted against an amendment to the 2001 Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization bill authorizing the Office of Education Technology to award competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements in order to create 1,000 community technology centers for disadvantaged residents of distressed urban or rural communities, and authorizing $100.0 million for FY 2002 and such sums as necessary for each of following six FYs. [2001 Senate Vote #96, 5/9/2001]

1983: McCain Voted Against Funding For School Desegregation. In 1983, McCain voted against the Emergency School Aid Act, which authorized grants to local school districts to help them offset the costs of school desegregation. [1983 House Vote #162, 6/7/1983]

And McCain Has Repeatedly Denied Struggling Students Crucial Access To Federal College Aid…

McCain Repeatedly Voted Against Additional Funding For Pell Grants. [2005 Senate Vote #268, 10/25/2005; 2001 Senate Vote #153, 5/22/2001; 2001 Senate Vote #155, 5/22/2001]

2005: McCain Voted For The Final 2005 Budget Reconciliation With Largest Student Loan Cuts in History. Senate Republicans voted for the final version of the 2005 budget reconciliation bill, which passed 50-50 with the Vice President casting the tie-breaking vote. The package cut $12.7 million from college loans, the largest cuts to the student loan program in its history. [2005 Senate Vote #363, 12/21/2005; 12/21/2005; AP, 12/19/05; Washington Post, 12/19/05; Minnesota Budget Project, 1/17/06]

2000: McCain Voted Against A $12,000 Annual College Tuition Tax Credit. McCain voted against an amendment that would increase the general estate tax exemption for a couple to $4 million, as well as the family-owned business exemption to $8 million per couple by 2010, and provide that up to $12,000 per year for college tuition may be tax deductible for taxpayers with a top marginal rate of 28 percent. The college tuition provision would fully phase in by 2002. It also included a tax credit for teachers seeking board certification. [2000 Senate Vote #182, 7/13/2000]

The Democratic National Committee today launched a new web video called "Absolute Disgrace" that shows John McCain calling the current mechanism for funding Social Security an "absolute disgrace" and demonstrates his preferred alternative: President Bush's failed plan to privatize Social Security. The DNC also announced that it will be shipping to state parties thousands of signs that say "Hands Off My Social Security" on one side and "My Social Security Is Not a Disgrace" on the other as part of a nationwide program of activities aimed at highlighting the threat that McCain's position on Social Security poses to the most successful government program in our nation's history. Today's announcement comes on the same day the coalition of organizations that derailed President Bush's effort to privatize Social Security in 2005 is hosting a conference call to discuss their own activities to highlight McCain's support for Bush's most unsuccessful domestic policy proposal of his Presidency.

On the campaign trail, Senator McCain claims he would balance the budget by reigning in entitlement spending, which would mean slashing Social Security benefits for millions of seniors, survivors and people with disabilities. McCain has consistently been one of the strongest supporters of President Bush's risky scheme to privatize Social Security, even hitting the road with the President to sell the plan in 2005. At a time when the stock market is spiraling downward and American families are facing more economic insecurities, McCain is touting a plan that would turn Social Security from a guarantee into a gamble and blow a whole in the national debt with $1 trillion in transition costs.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement:

"John McCain's promise to recycle President Bush's failed plan to privatize Social Security after the American people so clearly rejected it shows both his commitment to a third Bush term and how out of touch he is with the economic and retirement security challenges facing our country. Senator McCain admits that he doesn't understand the economy and is relies on out of touch advisors like Phil Gramm, so its no wonder he doesn't understand how dangerous his plan to slash Social Security benefits for millions of seniors, survivors and people with disabilities truly is. The last thing America needs is four more years of failed and flawed Bush policies."

To view the new video, "Absolute Disgust," click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5UcL2IC7eg

To download the DNC's new "Hands Off My Social Security" and "My Social Security Is Not A Disgrace" signs, click here:
http://democrats.org/page/-/pdf/mccain_socialsec_sign_side2.pdf and http://democrats.org/page/-/pdf/mccain_socialsec_sign.pdf.

DNC Video
"Absolute Disgust"
Script

TEXT: John McCain's Social Security "Disgrace"

McCain: "We are paying present day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace, it's an absolute disgrace and it's got to be fixed." [Denver Townhall, 07/07/08]

TEXT: John McCain's Alternative?

BUSH: "And the best way to reach that goal is through voluntary personal retirement accounts." [State of the Union Address, 02/02/05]

MCCAIN: "We need personal savings accounts." [Fox News Debate, 10/27/07]

MCCAIN: "But I think that the principle of privatization of Social Security is one that I think is absolutely correct." [CNN,Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields, 5/27/00]

MCCAIN: "And the beauty of private accounts is that it does give added return on investments of taxpayers of Social Security members' money." [ABC News Transcripts, March 20, 2005, This Week With George Stephanopoulos]

MCCAIN: "Private savings accounts work. They have been proven to work." [Fox News Network, Fox Special Report With Brit Hume, 3/21/05]

MCCAIN: "Without privatization, I don't see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits." [C-Span Road to the White House, 11/18/2004]

TEXT: The Wrong Choice On Social Security

The Democratic National Committee announced today that Governor Howard Dean will lead a national grassroots voter registration effort. The cross country bus tour, "Register for Change," will build on the overwhelming enthusiasm and voter turnout seen during the primaries as Democrats mobilize and organize voters for the fall election. The bio-diesel bus, flagged in red, white and blue with the Register for Change message, is 45' long, 13'4" high and 8.5' wide and will also serve as a mobile campaign office.

The bus tour also builds on the success of the DNC's 50-state strategy and Senator Obama's commitment to running a 50 state campaign, and the belief that if Democrats show up and ask for people's votes, we can win everywhere. Throughout the tour Governor Dean will engage local leaders and grassroots activists in the effort to register new voters and talk about Barack Obama's strong message of change.

Starting Thursday, you can register to vote, find more information on how to register others to vote and follow the bus tour state-by-state at registerforchange.com.

"After eight years of George Bush and with John McCain promising more of the same on everything from the economy to Iraq to Social Security to health care, America is ready to join Barack Obama and Democrats to Register for Change," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "People are really struggling. They want different leadership, not more of the same failed Bush policies that John McCain will continue. So we'll be going neighborhood by neighborhood, door by door to bring more people into the process to elect Barack Obama and Democrats up-and-down the ticket to bring change that all Americans can believe in."

The Register for Change tour kick-offs of Thursday, July 17, in George W. Bush's backyard in Crawford, Texas - a clear reminder of John McCain's promise of a third Bush term on everything from the economy to Iraq to health care. The tour then heads to Austin, Texas for a Register for Change rally at noon before Dean speaks to the Netroots Nation Convention that night.

From Texas, the tour heads to New Orleans - a city that experienced the failings of Republican leadership in Washington firsthand - and then to Shreveport and Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Hattiesburg and Jackson, Mississippi. The second swing, July 25-26, will make stops in North Carolina and Georgia - two untraditional battleground states where voter registration efforts will help lead Barack Obama to victory in November. The tour will hit states in every part of the country, culminating in a swing through the Midwest on its way to the Democratic Convention in Denver.

Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA) and Eliseo Medina held a conference call today to respond to John McCain's speech at NCLR, and call for straight talk from the GOP candidate on his promise of a third Bush term and contradictions on immigration reform.

To listen to the remarks from the conference call, click on the link below:

http://www.democrats.org/page/-/audio/calls/071408_conferencecall_remarks.mp3

The following are excerpts from the call:

Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA) (0:37)

"In terms of Senator McCain's remarks to the National Council of La Raza, we were hoping to find out which face of John McCain we'd see today, and we learned that we saw both faces. This is an individual politician who has become very good at sending different signals, depending on which audience he's addressing. At the National Council of La Raza I think he left probably more ambivalent feelings than anything else. It sounded like he might be in support of the Dream Act, but we've heard him say he hasn't been for the Dream Act; to try to help young Latino and other immigrant students make it into college.

"We find that he continues to be out of touch on issues relating to the economy, and certainly with regard to Iraq. We know that on immigration he has flip-flopped too many times to count, and at the end of the day this, to me, boils down to an issue of trust. For Latino voters, the issue of who will become the person who can deliver after eight years of seeing the serenades of President Bush and the Republicans, Latinos are very anxious to see someone who will deliver on the commitments to improve their economy, their job prospects, opportunities for good schools for their kids, healthcare, and certainly opportunities to become vibrant Americans, who are former immigrants. And so what we learned today, from John McCain in his presentation to the National Council of La Raza is that we didn't learn anything. We continue to see the two faces of John McCain, and we're trying to figure out which one we can trust, it's hard when you have someone who's flip-flopping on the issues."

Eliseo Medina, SEIU Executive Vice President (2:37)

"It seems to me that Senator McCain has had three opportunities, first with NALEO, second with LULAC, and third with NCLR to make his case of why the Latino community ought to support him for President of the United States. And I think that the Latino community more than anything else was hoping for some straight talk from the Senator, but I actually think after listening to him three times that we got the exact opposite. And it seems to me that the Senator is trying to have it both ways. First he says to our community that he appreciates our contributions to this society and that we are God's children, but at the same time, when it comes down to actually taking action to... match his words with acts, he fails. He walked away from McCain-Kennedy, the bill he helped to introduce, and carried his name. He walked away from the DREAM Act as the Congressman said. And at the same time, while doing all of these things, he wants us to believe that he's on our side and I think he's having a really hard time making it clear which side he's on."

John McCain may be trying to turn the page on the disastrous week he just had, but this week is shaping up to be no better. Today, Senator McCain will walk a tightrope at the National Council of La Raza's annual conference in San Diego. McCain's recent double talk on immigration is proof he will say anything to get elected. That dissonance was on display yesterday on a campaign conference call where one of McCain's advisors touted border security measures in a bill McCain is co-sponsoring with Senator Lindsey Graham. According to the AP, that bill also includes making undocumented status a criminal misdemeanor, something very different from the comprehensive approach the candidate is likely to emphasize at La Raza today. [McCain campaign conference call, 7/13/08; Associated Press, 8/3/07]

MCCAIN'S DOUBLETALK ON IMMIGRATION

2005: McCain Introduced Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation With Senator Kennedy. "Millions of undocumented workers in the United States could come out of the shadows by registering with the government and paying fines or fees of at least $2,000 to begin earning permanent residency under the most sweeping immigration-reform bill in two decades. The bill introduced Thursday was dubbed the 'Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act' by its bipartisan group of sponsors, led by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. It would create a temporary-work visa program for foreigners to fill jobs requiring few or no skills, for up to six years. The legislation was touted as ensuring tougher enforcement of laws at the border and in the workplace while speeding the process of reuniting immigrant families. In addition, Mexico and other countries would be encouraged to enter into agreements to play a more active role in helping prevent illegal immigration into the United States, including promoting more economic opportunity back home. House sponsors Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake, both Arizona Republicans, and Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., joined McCain and Kennedy on Thursday in casting the legislation as a comprehensive approach to immigration reform and national security." [The Arizona Republic, 5/13/05]

2008: McCain Said He Would Oppose the Legislation He Authored With Kennedy. Asked whether he would vote for the immigration legislation he previously sponsored, McCain eventually replied, "No, I would not." [CNN GOP Presidential Debate, 1/30/08]

2006: McCain Said an "Enforcement First" Strategy Focusing Only on Border Security is an "Ineffective And Ill-Advised Approach." "In April [2006], the Senate overwhelmingly passed, in a bipartisan fashion, a comprehensive immigration reform package designed to secure our borders as well as address the economic need for workers in our Nation. In passing this legislation, the Senate rejected the argument for an 'enforcement first' strategy that focuses on border security only, an ineffective and ill-advised approach. Congress cannot take a piecemeal approach to a national security crisis. I believe the only way to truly secure our border and protect our Nation is through the enactment of comprehensive immigration reform. As long as there is a need for workers in the United States and people are willing to cross the desert to make a better life for their families, our border will never be secure." [McCain, Congressional Record, 9/29/06]

2007: Presidential Candidate McCain Touts Securing The Border First. In 2008, McCain said, "And our proposal has got to be securing the borders first. The American people have no trust or confidence in us that we would secure the borders." In November 2007, McCain argued, "I want to assure you that I'll enforce the borders first." [CNN Larry King Live, 2/14/08; CNN/YouTube GOP Presidential Debate, 11/28/07]

2007: McCain Acknowledged His Shift on Immigration Reform During the Republican Primary Campaign.