McCain: "I never considered myself a maverick."
- Thread starter Tonington
- Start date
Exactly.... it's completely ridiculous how the Republicans, including McCain, basically flat out say they're going to disrupt the democratic process in the government and not work with the other half.... why?
Who cares? That's what they're gonna do.... just keep kicking the dirt up in the air and make the whole time Obama's in power look just as bad as the whole Bush era, so that they may stand a chance at getting voted back in again.
I mean, when you flat out admit you're not going to work with any of the other elected officials even before you hear any proposals..... to me, you're not representing the people who voted you in and should be removed from office.
This isn't friggin elementary school anymore..... they.... AND OUR GOVERNMENT TOO.... need to grow the hell up and do their damn jobs.
Juan, this amazes me.
First of all, I don't think McCain was carpet bombing civilian populations........he wasn't flying a B-52.......I would think his targets were legitimate military targets.
Secondly, if I may be so bold as to point it out, you joined an air force voluntarily very soon after that force had engaged (with its allies) in a mass bombing of civilian populations unheard of before or since.
Had we gone to war again, part of your duty, or that of your comrades, undoubtedly would have included bombing civilian populations. And I am sure you understood that.
Are you saying you would have refused those orders????
AND, BTW, McCain is not a hero because he was shot down........he is a hero because of his actions after he was shot down......
He refused early release in solidarity with fellow POWs, thus denying the NVA a propaganda blitz because of who he was.......and he was severely punished for it. To risk severe harm in support of another is the very definition of a hero.
I do not mean that puts him above criticism.....it does not.
It DOES put him above the scorn I saw aimed at him by others earlier on this thread....IMO, anyway.
Agreed... and the fact that he refused to be let go when he was for the enemy to get a political foothold in the war, wasn't anything heroic since soldiers are ordered to let the worst off be freed first and him getting a free ride out of capture because of his ties to daddy would have been totally disrespectful.
He was "Brave" in following orders, but he's no hero in doing what every other soldier is expected to do.
"Such early release was prohibited by the POW's interpretation of the military Code of Conduct: To prevent the enemy from using prisoners for propaganda, officers were to agree to be released in the order in which they were captured."
John McCain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
^ To correct my errors on priorities... but regardless, McCain was following procedure, AKA: Ordered to not take early release.... thus he was doing his job, not being a hero.
If he did take the early release, chances are he'd return home in disgrace, give the NVA the propaganda they needed, and his career would have been probably ruined to boot..... that is if the other POW's didn't decide to gank him before he was released.
When you think about it, there wasn't much for options and he did the only thing he could do.
I submit that the vast, vast majority of men, faced with the choice of freedom or torture, would have opted for the former. And one can not claim they would not, until they have been tested.
McCain WAS tested, and passed with flying colours. He proved himself, as most men never have.
...and "sang like a canary".
Owing to the fact NVA were no more successful in stemming the flow (and he got where he is in politics) if he sang at all, it was disinformation.