McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and Earmarks

April 25, 2008

Central to John McCain's presidential campaign has been his promise to "veto every bill with earmarks" and his inaccurate claim that he has "never voted for a single earmark or pork barrel project." He has also made eliminating earmarks the core of his economic plan--even though the math on his plan doesn't add up. [McCain speech at Carnegie Mellon University, 4/15/08; NBC's First Read, 4/24/08]

But as we've seen time and again with McCain, his rhetoric just can't be trusted. Now, facing questions about whether he would veto earmarks giving aid to Israel or communities in need, McCain has been singing a different tune, telling National Public Radio this week that some earmarks would be acceptable and that "we will judge any expenditure of the American people's tax dollars on the basis of need." [Politico.com, 4/24/08]

Apparently McCain has no problem being on two sides of the same issue. He might think that's how politics is played, but it won't work on the voters. How can McCain expect Americans to trust him when they don't know where he stands?

McCain On 4/15/08: I Will Veto All Earmarks. "The only power of government that could stop them was the power of veto, and it was rarely used. If that authority is entrusted to me, I will use the veto as needed, and as the Founders intended. I will veto every bill with earmarks, until the Congress stops sending bills with earmarks. I will seek a constitutionally valid line-item veto to end the practice once and for all." [McCain speech at Carnegie Mellon University, 4/15/08]

McCain On 4/16/08: Umm, Wait, I Didn't Mean That Earmark. The day after repeating his usual pledge to eliminate all earmarks, McCain was forced to explain what he would do about $2.9 billion in annual aid to Israel, which falls under McCain's definition of earmarks. He said that aid to Israel wouldn't be vetoed or cut. As Politico's Ben Smith pointed out, "That's one thing about spending cuts: Much harder when you get to the details." Ben Smith, Politico.com, 4/16/08 (http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Earmarks_for_Israel.html), 4/16/08]

McCain On 4/23: Some Kinds Of Earmarks Are OK, Criteria Unclear. Challenged by NPR's Robert Siegel about local support for earmarks for vital projects, McCain implied that they would be preserved. He said that "I can assure them that the earmarks that they have received, which have been few and far between because they are not represented by powerful lobbyists and special interests in Washington, that we will judge any expenditure of the American people's tax dollars on the basis of need." [All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 4/23/08]

After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.