In New Orleans today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) partially blamed the poor federal response to Hurricane Katrina on “the Congress of the United States” for funding “pork barrel projects” that were “not as important as some of the projects that were needed” in New Orleans. McCain then claimed that he had “never voted for a single earmark or pork barrel project.” But, as NBC’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy points out, that isn’t true:
While it is true that McCain has never sponsored an earmark — by the strict definition of the word — he has certainly voted for bills with earmarks, including some of the specific projects he criticizes most vocally on the campaign trail.
As ThinkProgress noted earlier today, McCain has a record of making sweeping claims about earmarks that aren’t backed up by reality.

He LIED, TP. Call it what it is.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:45 pmThis lack of nuance really scares me. McCain sees the world in black and white with no regard for the common meanings of words. Sounds like our current President. Every budget, war appropriations bill, and “emergency” spending bill that McCain has voted for has contained earmarks in it. I know that McCain’s attendance record in the Senate is terrible, but surely he has voted for at least some of the appropriations bills which have been passed during his decades in the Senate.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:56 pmWe can count on the corporate media to hold McSame accountable for his lies.
We can count on street hookers to tell us what great lovers we are.
We can count on TV preachers to do good works with the checks we send’em.
Ad nauseum.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:10 pmI can just see it… daily articles of LYING Mcsane, the MSM covering it up while they continue to keep the arguments and hype brewing between the dems in order for US to LOSE.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:42 pmAnyone hear Mike Malloy tonight? He talked about rabid Rush trying to stir up riots in Denver during our convention.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:48 pm5. had enough Says:
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http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/15980105/detail.html
April 25th, 2008 at 12:06 amRush Limbaugh really needs to be silenced. For the good of the country.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:24 amDitto on the Rush business. I always thought that “inciting to riot” is a pretty serious offense.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:33 amHeads up TP. We need to see this latest Limbaugh outrage on the White Pages tomorrow morning.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:34 amOff topic re: Rush: As I just posted over at the Zoo: Did anyone go to the poll on the ABC/Denver Channel site, next to the article? You can vote on whether you think Rush crossed the line or not. I voted ‘yes’, of course. When I clicked for the results, I was astonished: out of 6156 votes, 2214 were ‘yes’, and 3942 were ‘no’. WTF? Nearly 4000 people think it’s okay to incite riots, and to say that Democrats kill babies? I’m sick.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:40 amAnd back on topic: McCain’s so old, he voted for the earmarks and immediately forgot he did.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:42 amOne hundred years (in Iraq) McCain,Dubya,DICK,Rev. Hagee and Bush Bimbaugh in one form or another this is HATERED. Think of all the words these people have spoken and tell me anybody in his right mind why??????????????? What is wrong with these moron`s and their values, morals and ETHICS?????
April 25th, 2008 at 1:28 amJane E. Schneider Says:
Off topic re: Rush: As I just posted over at the Zoo: Did anyone go to the poll on the ABC/Denver Channel site, next to the article? You can vote on whether you think Rush crossed the line or not. I voted ‘yes’, of course. When I clicked for the results, I was astonished: out of 6156 votes, 2214 were ‘yes’, and 3942 were ‘no’. WTF? Nearly 4000 people think it’s okay to incite riots, and to say that Democrats kill babies? I’m sick.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:40 am
I just voted yes and the results are about the same. Absolutely unbelievable! And sickening as well
April 25th, 2008 at 2:39 amvery nice comments up there , shocking thing he never voted :s
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April 25th, 2008 at 6:43 amhttp://widecircles.com
Straight talk from the crooked jowls!?
April 25th, 2008 at 6:50 amThis place is looking more and more like Media Matters.
Voting on an earmark and voting for a bill with earmarks and/or pork are two different animals.
Your spinning and deception in laughable.
April 25th, 2008 at 6:58 amWhat’s wrong with Media Matters rove? Oh, it uses your words to show what lying, unpatriotic scum you and your brethren are.
April 25th, 2008 at 7:02 am“As ThinkProgress noted earlier today, McCain has a record of making sweeping claims about earmarks that aren’t backed up by reality”
Gramps McSame has only a spotty familiarity with reality.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:09 amSure Bobwurst, if you say so.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:16 amYes, I say so. If you disagree, rove, how about some specifics? Instead you expose your bias with what you percieve as a slam by comparing this site to MM. If you had half a brain you would understand that in this world that is a compliment. Go back to redstate.
PS, I’m calling you rove because of your screenname which could mean rove from dc, and, rove is an insult here. so is idiot. idiot.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:36 amI have to say I’m not impressed with the focus and argument of this particular post.
Whilst McCain’s statement is indeed incorrect and a technical lie on its own, but McCain’s words are in support of him never (apparently) having sponsored or written an earmark–which is pretty darned amazing, if true.
Earmarks are placed in many bills and a few have thousands of them. Everyone ends up voting “for” earmarks by default when they vote for a bill that happens to contain them.
HOWEVER…McCain is of course making himself to be a chanmpion of integrity by focussing strictly on earmarks. His recent and wholly original definiton of earmarks, ably shot down by Elizabeth Edwards, illustrated McCain’s pomposity and an unintended hypocrisy.
I think a better counterpoint to McCain’s anti earmark campaign is to tie him to the biggest ‘earmark’ of all–IRAQ.
A year’s worth of domestic earmarks pays for what? Two or three months in Iraq? The Halliburton and Blackwater contracts are effectively earmarks for the select constituents of some of his GOP colleaagues.
And I must say his blaming the KAtrina debacle on “Congress” and its earmarks is thoroughly hypocritical and quite outrageous.
It has been Bush’s and the GOP’s economic strategy of mortgaging the commonwealth to borrow money for their own desires and profit, along with the GOP-only welfare system that Repblicans rely on that enabled recording breaking levels of pork-barrel spending for the entire GOP majority tenure.
The Katrina/NOLA response didn’t lack for money, but for competent management (Republican loyaists all) and the availability of material and qualified human resources. Half the National Guard and it’s equipment was in Iraq. Foreign aid was rejected because of the Bush administration’s arrogance. The failure’s of katrina had NOTHING to do with “earmarks” and EVERYTHING to do with McCain’s own party and his BFF George Bush!
Finally, another vein to mine as a counter to McCain’s propoganda, with the promise of far more substantial complaint, would be his ivovlement in Indian Affairs. I beleive the Muckracker has some very interesting and pertinent info on that.
Yes McCain’s a colossal hypocrite, and every nail in the tyres of the Straight Talk Express will slow his journey to the White House but there are plenty of six-inch spikes that could be used rather than tin tacks like this.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:55 am