Matt Collins
06-02-2008, 06:44 PM
These are questions I had for him in Nashville before he cut the meeting short:
IMMIGRATION:
If elected President will you promise to fully pardon wrongly Imprisoned and falsely convicted former Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean?
A 3-fold question
Is it smart to maintain an economy hinged on exploiting refuges from Mexico at substandard pay and subsidized with government entitlements? If not, how do you plan to stop the current invasion of illegal aliens, and how do you propose that we send the millions of illegals already here back to their country of origin?
Why does the US Congress and Administration continue to legislate and govern against the will of the citizens regarding illegal immigration?
Do you believe that we need immigration reform? And if so, why should we simply not just enforce the laws that have already been enacted?
LIBERALISM:
Would you please define conservatism? Are you a conservative? And other than foreign policy, how are you not a liberal?
What is your plan to overcome considerable lack of support by the conservative base of the GOP?
You claim to be a uniter and able to reach across the aisle much like President Bush claimed when he was running back in 2000. Why is it good that you can reach out to liberal Democrats but on issues of amnesty, illegal immigration, fiscal conservatism, and abortion you have more in common with liberals than you do with conservatives?
Perhaps you can explain why you were a chair to the Reform Institute which according to Dr Jerome Corsi was funded by donors such as Theresa Heinz Kerry, and George Soros, and also why your campaign and the institute employed Juan Hernandez a dual Mexican US citizen and former member of President Vicente Fox’s cabinet who is pro illegal immigration and pro amnesty?
Keeping in mind 68% of Tennessee Republicans participating in the primary voted against you and overall 82% of all Tennessee voters voting in the primary voted against you.. are you confident you don’t need the conservative base of the Republican Party to win in November? And if you do indeed need the conservative base, many of whom are NOT voting for you (especially in Nashville), would you be willing to decline the nomination in lieu of someone who is more conservative and can energize the base?
What , if any, are the key differences between the Bush administration and your administration policies on foreign and domestic policy issues? In other words how would a McCain Presidency differ from what we have seen in the last 7 years of President Bush?
"Senator, as part of the oath of office of the President a person swears to uphold the Constitution. In your opinion how well has President Bush upheld the Constitution and would you do a better job?"
If Congressman Ron Paul is the most honest man in Congress like you have said in the past, then will you work to ensure he gets an equal amount of speaking time at the convention in Minnesota?
Your website says: “the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right that we have a sacred duty to protect” but yet the Gun Owners of America, the second largest gun rights organization in the US (also called the only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington by one of your colleagues), has given you ratings of C’s, F’s, and a second amendment voting record of 27%. Why do you talk about the 2nd Amendment but yet do not have a voting record consistent with it?
Why have you flip-flop’d on Roe v Wade?
ECONOMY:
The Dollar has dropped so low against currencies such as the Euro and others that it's as if all of America is having a Fire Sale - but only for outsiders. People with other currencies are aggressively out-bidding dollar holders in markets from oil to grain and everything inbetween. What is the cause of the dollar’s fall and what will you do about it as President?
You have said "some greedy people" on Wall Street "perhaps need to be punished." Does this mean that you want to make greed a crime? Keep in mind your top 20 contributors include Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Bank of New York Mellon, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia Group, Blackstone Group and Bear Stearns. Are any contributions from these financial institutions so tainted by greed that you are going to return them?
Are the recent rises in gas and food prices related to inflation, and is that inflation because of the money we are printing to pay for the Iraq War? How do you plan to curve the inflation that private research firms estimate conservatively at 9.5%?
In a recent debate you were asked about the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, better known as the Plunge Protection Team. Now that you have had some time to research that organization do you still advocate a policy of full disclosure in it's proceedings, as you stated in that debate?
Regarding the so called mortgage / housing crises… Why don’t you encourage Congress to stop micromanaging the economy? Specifically why force taxpayers, including renters and more frugal homeowners (such as myself), to socialize the losses by those who made poor choices in the housing market? We should we be forced to pay for the mistakes of others.
How are you going to substantially cut spending while fighting the Iraq War? And how will you stop this borrow-and-spend crises without choosing to tax-and-spend?
GLOBAL WARMING:
You propose a "cap and trade" system to limit the carbon dioxide emitted. But is your idea an energy-rationing proposal akin to Bill Clinton's BTU tax? Also what are you personally doing to limit your carbon footprint?
Why should we as a nation spend time and effort on man made global warming, which is unproven, controversial, considered sudo-science by many and will cost us billions of dollars?
Senator McCain, why align yourself with global warming activism, considering all the good reasons we now have to change our policies on energy that do not include unproven sudo-science that is such a staple of Liberal Democratic policy? Those reasons include current gas prices and the instability of the national electrical grid. Why are these not reason enough?
MISC
Senator McCain. Your fellow republican senator Lamar Alexander is introducing an amendment to block RealID implementation. As you may know the Department of Homeland Security has stated that citizens from states like Tennessee will have to have passports to go into federal buildings or even federal parks or else submit to intrusive pat down searches because our state has chosen to assert it's sovereignty against this intrusive and unfunded mandate. Are you willing today to take a pledge to support Senator Alexander and fight to block RealID? Better yet how about a pledge to work to have it repealed completely?"
What SPECIFIC, and yes I said SPECIFIC, goals or objectives would signal to you that the troops can be moved out of harm’s way and brought out of Iraq and back to the States?
IMMIGRATION:
If elected President will you promise to fully pardon wrongly Imprisoned and falsely convicted former Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean?
A 3-fold question
Is it smart to maintain an economy hinged on exploiting refuges from Mexico at substandard pay and subsidized with government entitlements? If not, how do you plan to stop the current invasion of illegal aliens, and how do you propose that we send the millions of illegals already here back to their country of origin?
Why does the US Congress and Administration continue to legislate and govern against the will of the citizens regarding illegal immigration?
Do you believe that we need immigration reform? And if so, why should we simply not just enforce the laws that have already been enacted?
LIBERALISM:
Would you please define conservatism? Are you a conservative? And other than foreign policy, how are you not a liberal?
What is your plan to overcome considerable lack of support by the conservative base of the GOP?
You claim to be a uniter and able to reach across the aisle much like President Bush claimed when he was running back in 2000. Why is it good that you can reach out to liberal Democrats but on issues of amnesty, illegal immigration, fiscal conservatism, and abortion you have more in common with liberals than you do with conservatives?
Perhaps you can explain why you were a chair to the Reform Institute which according to Dr Jerome Corsi was funded by donors such as Theresa Heinz Kerry, and George Soros, and also why your campaign and the institute employed Juan Hernandez a dual Mexican US citizen and former member of President Vicente Fox’s cabinet who is pro illegal immigration and pro amnesty?
Keeping in mind 68% of Tennessee Republicans participating in the primary voted against you and overall 82% of all Tennessee voters voting in the primary voted against you.. are you confident you don’t need the conservative base of the Republican Party to win in November? And if you do indeed need the conservative base, many of whom are NOT voting for you (especially in Nashville), would you be willing to decline the nomination in lieu of someone who is more conservative and can energize the base?
What , if any, are the key differences between the Bush administration and your administration policies on foreign and domestic policy issues? In other words how would a McCain Presidency differ from what we have seen in the last 7 years of President Bush?
"Senator, as part of the oath of office of the President a person swears to uphold the Constitution. In your opinion how well has President Bush upheld the Constitution and would you do a better job?"
If Congressman Ron Paul is the most honest man in Congress like you have said in the past, then will you work to ensure he gets an equal amount of speaking time at the convention in Minnesota?
Your website says: “the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right that we have a sacred duty to protect” but yet the Gun Owners of America, the second largest gun rights organization in the US (also called the only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington by one of your colleagues), has given you ratings of C’s, F’s, and a second amendment voting record of 27%. Why do you talk about the 2nd Amendment but yet do not have a voting record consistent with it?
Why have you flip-flop’d on Roe v Wade?
ECONOMY:
The Dollar has dropped so low against currencies such as the Euro and others that it's as if all of America is having a Fire Sale - but only for outsiders. People with other currencies are aggressively out-bidding dollar holders in markets from oil to grain and everything inbetween. What is the cause of the dollar’s fall and what will you do about it as President?
You have said "some greedy people" on Wall Street "perhaps need to be punished." Does this mean that you want to make greed a crime? Keep in mind your top 20 contributors include Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Bank of New York Mellon, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia Group, Blackstone Group and Bear Stearns. Are any contributions from these financial institutions so tainted by greed that you are going to return them?
Are the recent rises in gas and food prices related to inflation, and is that inflation because of the money we are printing to pay for the Iraq War? How do you plan to curve the inflation that private research firms estimate conservatively at 9.5%?
In a recent debate you were asked about the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, better known as the Plunge Protection Team. Now that you have had some time to research that organization do you still advocate a policy of full disclosure in it's proceedings, as you stated in that debate?
Regarding the so called mortgage / housing crises… Why don’t you encourage Congress to stop micromanaging the economy? Specifically why force taxpayers, including renters and more frugal homeowners (such as myself), to socialize the losses by those who made poor choices in the housing market? We should we be forced to pay for the mistakes of others.
How are you going to substantially cut spending while fighting the Iraq War? And how will you stop this borrow-and-spend crises without choosing to tax-and-spend?
GLOBAL WARMING:
You propose a "cap and trade" system to limit the carbon dioxide emitted. But is your idea an energy-rationing proposal akin to Bill Clinton's BTU tax? Also what are you personally doing to limit your carbon footprint?
Why should we as a nation spend time and effort on man made global warming, which is unproven, controversial, considered sudo-science by many and will cost us billions of dollars?
Senator McCain, why align yourself with global warming activism, considering all the good reasons we now have to change our policies on energy that do not include unproven sudo-science that is such a staple of Liberal Democratic policy? Those reasons include current gas prices and the instability of the national electrical grid. Why are these not reason enough?
MISC
Senator McCain. Your fellow republican senator Lamar Alexander is introducing an amendment to block RealID implementation. As you may know the Department of Homeland Security has stated that citizens from states like Tennessee will have to have passports to go into federal buildings or even federal parks or else submit to intrusive pat down searches because our state has chosen to assert it's sovereignty against this intrusive and unfunded mandate. Are you willing today to take a pledge to support Senator Alexander and fight to block RealID? Better yet how about a pledge to work to have it repealed completely?"
What SPECIFIC, and yes I said SPECIFIC, goals or objectives would signal to you that the troops can be moved out of harm’s way and brought out of Iraq and back to the States?