1% Maverick 99% Bullshit

When it comes right down to it, Senator John McCain knows which side his bread is buttered on.

Mrs. McCain is very wealthy. Mrs. McCain and the McCain family will benefit greatly from the disastrous Republican tax plan.

So, OF COURSE the distinguished gentleman from Arizona is going to vote for that abomination that has absolutely nothing to do with "helping" the middle class.

Listen carefully. The tax cuts will benefit the very rich. That is what they are designed to do. They will damage the Affordable Care Act, they will drain money from Medicare and Medicaid, they will hurt the vast majority of Americans, and they will continue weakening the social safety net, something that gives all good Republicans a nice warm feeling in their shriveled private parts.

In addition, the loss of revenue, and increased deficits will immediately lead to loud cries about "doing something about Social Security". And by "something", the good folks of the GOP mean destroying it.

Of course, none of this means anything to Senator John McCain. He got to play the hero last summer with his thumbs down vote on the last assault on the ACA. People who didn't know better applauded McCain as if he'd done something truly noble. He didn't do it because he gives a rat's ass about saving health care for poor and working class people. He did it because he doesn't like Donald Trump.

But this is different. Even though passing this massive giveaway to the richest Americans may help Trump politically in the short run, that's small potatoes compared to the windfall the McCain family will receive.

Again, and it cannot be repeated often enough, Senator John McCain has never done a goddamn thing for the people of Arizona. The main achievement of his long political career has been the care and feeding of the Legend of John "The Maverick" McCain. That's it. That's all.

Oh, one other salient point about "the Maverick": He's been on the government tit his entire life.

Speaking Of Lowlife Scum

The Arizona Republic did a nice little piece about the Hensley Beverage Company the other day. You know, Hensley as in Senator John McCain's wife Cindy Hensley McCain? They distribute beer and other alcoholic beverages.

And somehow, and I'm sure it was just an oversight, not enough room, tight deadline etc. the piece  managed to not mention how Cindy's dad, Jim Hensley, was buddy pals with old Kemper Marley.

How their "friendship" perhaps resulted in Jimmy getting his Budweiser distributorship. As reward, some say, for taking the rap for Marley in an earlier legal dustup.

Or perhaps it was just part of Budweiser's short lived "Felon to Entrepreneur" rehabilitation program?

Of course, if they mentioned Kemper Marley, they might have to mention Don Bolles, who as you may or may not recall, was a reporter for the Republic, and who was looking into Marley's "business" dealings when he somehow managed to get himself blown to bits back in the mid-70's.

And, since The Arizona Republic exists mainly to deliver advertising, it's probably best to not rock the boat.  In fact, I think that's on their masthead.

So move along, nothing to see here...just old news...

A Few Random Thoughts For A Sunny Winter Day

Gee, for such good, patriotic, freedom loving, true-blue conservative Americans, Barry Goldwater and his brother Bob sure had a lot of mobsters for friends. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I mean, I still enjoy listening to Frank Sinatra, you know? It's just not what you expect from the 'law and order' party. I guess The Conscience of a Conservative had a few blind spots, huh? (I was reminded of this seamier aspect of Arizona's storied history while helping my son do research for a school report about the murder of Don Bolles.)

Speaking of seamy Arizona history, if every convicted felon was given a Budweiser distributorship soon after his release--like Cindy McCain's dad, Jim Hensley, was--I bet the recidivism rate would go way down. But then I guess not every con is lucky enough to take the rap for Kemper Marley...

Based on the crowd reaction at the Republican debates, South Carolina seems like an interesting place, full of fun people. Grab your whitest sheet and book a flight...

When did the Party of Lincoln morph into the Aryan Brotherhood? Or is that just to pander to all the good Christian folks down in Dixie?

Newt Gingrich really is a pig, isn't he? And speaking of Aryans, if Newt The Love God is an exemplar of the "white race", I think I'll start checking the "other" box on my census form.

As for his rival, the inestimable Willard Mitt "That Gordon Gekko Is A Really Cool Guy" Romney, apparently the real scandal isn't that he's only taxed in the 15% bracket. A lot of uber wealthy people only pay the capital gains' tax rate. No, the real scandal is that he is "sheltering" a lot of money offshore. And by "sheltering" I mean hiding. One man's clever accounting method is another man's tax evasion scheme. Some people go to jail for that sort of thing.

Ah, the 2012 Republican Presidential candidates! The gift that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving...