The GOP convention ended with a whimper tonight as John McCain reminded us that he really just John McBush and we cannot afford four more years of McSame.

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As the red white and blue balloon drop tapered off and blaring music of “Raising McCain” echoed out of earshot, and the lights of thousands of adoring Republicans dimmed, America was left with what they had going in. Four more years of McSame. Give the GOP credit. They tried valiantly to distance themselves from the Bush administration and the disaster that has been the past eight years. From forcing the president away into an eight minute satellite clip and giving everyone “maverick” signs to bringing in a no-name veep candidate and pretending that being a mayor of a village of 6,500 people is akin to running the free world. In the end though, John McCain offered nothing new in his acceptance speech tonight.

 

He spoke familiar themes to the base about not “raising taxes.” The translation of course is that John McCain intends to make the horrific Bush tax cuts permanent. These tax cuts are skewed to benefit the top 2% of American society while forcing the middle class into the working poor. Make no mistake about it America; these tax cuts are at the heart of what is wrong with the economy. We saw the same thing happen when Reagan tried trickle down economics in the 1980s. The result was the great recession of the early 1990s. Now, after eight years of Bush trickle down economics, we are also in a great recession. Embracing these tax cuts will not spur economic growth and will only further the tailspin we are in. John McSame will only continue the same failed economic policies that George Bush employed.

 

He also spoke familiar themes about war. Pretending to not like war, John McCain offers continued war; war without end. Still overplaying the “success” card because of the surge, McCain offers no timetables, no strategy other than the vague “victory” while continuing to insult the troops by saying that if they are pulled out because of failed policy, they will return without “honor.” Purposefully mixing in 911 metaphors, McCain continues the same distortions that George Bush has used to cower the American people for eight years. The difference is that now we know the war was based on lies. We know that Iraq is not the central front on the war on terror. We know and are demanding that the war end. McSame instead will keep our children in that desert; fighting a war they never should have had to sacrifice thousands of Americans for to begin with.

 

McBush also spoke the familiar themes of offshore drilling. Even though the GOP has presented this as something new, it is the same thing that the oil man Bush has tried to push for eight years. It is a complete non-issue of course. Every expert has correctly said that offshore drilling will not effect our economy for another 30 years and even then, it will have no real effect on gas prices; the thing it is constantly linked to. In fact, the only people who stand to benefit from offshore drilling are the same oil companies that are making billions of profits per quarter on our backs.

 

That was pretty much it folks. Some passing words about education without any specifics. The economy barely touched upon other than to promote the Bush tax cuts and the Bush dream of more drilling for his friends’ oil companies. There were the usual faux platitudes cast toward Obama, after his minions had mocked and derided him for days. We heard about the sacrifices McCain made in Viet Nam, something no one has ever questioned. There is no question about the service of John McCain. It is his vision and plan that are the problem. He has no vision and his plan is more the McSame and his choice for vice president makes a mockery of the office. Somewhere, Dan Quayle is vindicated.

 

So the conventions end today and the final stretch of the campaign begins. The choice remains clear. If you truly believe that we are better off today then we were four or even eight years ago, you should vote for John McCain because he represents four more years of the same. If you think it is time that we start concentrating on our country first and our infrastructure, then you should vote for Obama. If you think as McCain does, that the economy is fundamentally strong, then by all means vote for McSame. If you know that the economy is a disaster, wages are down, and healthcare is beyond access, you should vote for Obama. Just please do not fall for the clichés and sound bites. When they say that Sarah Palin has “executive” experience, remember that it was overseeing a city smaller than Nantucket. When you here McCain bellow, “drill here, drill now”; remember that it will have no positive effect for anyone but the oil companies. Those are the same oil companies the GOP protected recently when they filibustered an attempt to tax their windfall profits to ease the burden on the average American.

 

It has been humorous to watch the GOP Convention pretend that the past eight years were somehow, someone else’s fault. They talk about change because they know it is what the American people want but fail to realize THEY are what we need change FROM. They talk about how broken Washington is but fail to admit that they are the ones who broke it. They knew they could not run on the last eight years so they wrap the flag around themselves, drag the abortion football out again and pretend that it was someone else who was in charge for the past eight years. John McSame rants about Congress while failing to realize that HE was part of Congress for the past 26 years. But all the ranting and raving will not change what needs to be changed. All the pretty balloon drops and teleprompter hit-piece speeches will not change what needs to be changed. John McBush needs to be changed. We cannot afford four more years of McSame.

Authors Bio:

Anthony Wade, a contributing writer to opednews.com, is dedicated to educating the populace to the lies and abuses of the government. He is a 53-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive and professional Rehabilitation Counselor working with the poor and disabled, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and excess, regardless of party.


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