The Smoking Argus

OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT (partial) -Sen. John Thune (R-SD) Delivers Weekly Republican Address On Health Care.

Hello, Im Senator John Thune of South Dakota. With summer in full swing, children across the country are enjoying vacations and time off from school. Too many of their parents, however, dont get a vacation from their worries about important issues like the rising costs of health care. Those parents, like many Americans, are looking to us in Washington for help, and for real solutions. (full transcript)

—End OFFICIAL STATEMENT—

Source(s): Office of Senator John Thune • Official Senator John Thune YouTube Channel

The Smoking Argus

Editor’s Note: No official Statement is available from Senator John McCain’s office.

Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona compares the struggle for American Independence to the ongoing protests in Iran. He attempts to oversimplify opposition by stating that those seeking to link the C.I.A. to the current Green Revolution based on the C.I.A.’s 1953 overthrow of then Iranian Prime Minister Mossadeq are both cynical and on the wrong side of history. Finally, Senator McCain admonishes the Iranian regime for conducting brutal torture and spreading fear of a feigned foreign enemy as a means to justify a loss of liberty domestically.

Source(s): Senator John McCain’s Official YouTube Channel

The Smoking Argus

For the June 29th, 2009 edition of Texas Straight Talk, Representative Ron Paul (TX) provides his insight and analysis on HR 2454 “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009″ also known as the Waxman Markey bill. HR 2454 seeks to implement a federal Cap and Trade scheme onto both American business and individuals in the form of “carbon offset credits”. The bill which passed the House on Friday, June 25th, 2009 by a vote of 217 aye 205 nay now moves on to the Senate where some are expecting it to encounter a tougher road to passage.

Other Related Material
	H.R. 2454 American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (PDF) NOTE: This PDF file is extremely large and may crash your browser. If you wish to view, right-click and select ’save as’

Source(s): Office of United States 14th District of Texas, Representative Ron Paul

Rob Obringer

If you think back to the 2000 Presidential election, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) had a real buzz about him as a different kind of Republican. He was one of the first politicians to realize that there is a middle ground in America. He tried to play himself as the person who could cross party lines and appeal to Americans that didn’t see themselves as strictly Republicans or Democrats. As a registered Independent, I even thought of voting for him for those reasons. It didn’t get there, as the Governor Bush and the Republican base pushed Senator McCain out of the primary. However, Senator McCain had something going, and he was the political “rockstar” of the moment back in 2000 because of his new way of looking at traditional party politics.

So we get to 2008, and Senator McCain wins the Republican party nomination. In some part I believe he wins the nomination because he is not a traditional party Republican. Then he selects Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) as his VP. I listened to all of the pundits say that he needed to pick someone like her to “satisfy the Republican base”. My question back to the pundits through the TV was, “Why does he have to pander to them, who else would they vote for?”. Was he not Republican enough for them that they wouldn’t show up on November 4th to vote? Why isn’t he picking someone to appeal to independents?

In the end, I think Senator McCain’s role of the dice on Governor Palin will result in him losing out, and it could be a big loss at that. His campaign changed and his image has changed since the selection. Senator McCain’s campaign has turned so ugly that even the candidate seems uncomfortable at his own rallies! We saw over the weekend that Senator McCain was correcting his supporters on their opinions of Senator Obama (D-IL), and telling them that they should not be scared if Senator Obama were elected President. The only time Senator McCain seems like the person I once considered voting for was when he was correcting his angry supporters. He seems frustrated with the kind of politics he is forced to be playing right now, and you can tell that he is not himself and may not even believe in the state of his current campaign.

Maybe it’s the “Bush Operatives” that are running parts of his campaign, maybe it is Governor Palin’s bulldog influence. Whatever it is, it isn’t working. The supporters at the Senator McCain rallies show that they are more angry at the prospect of Senator Obama than anything else. They should really be angry at the past 8 years. Senator McCain should be angry at the past 8 years, and he should be showing us that. Maybe it is all a political ploy to get the Republican base so angry, fired up, and scared of Senator Obama that they will surely show up and vote Senator McCain.

I think the tone has turned off a lot of Independent voters. Not only that, but Senator McCain’s fusion with the base of the Republican party at a time when the financial crisis caused a perfect storm to point fingers at the party currently in office. Bad move. I believe SenatorMcCain was on to something in 2000 when he made himself into the ultimate open minded politician in terms of crossing the aisle and getting things done. I think he is more comfortable as that kind of politician.

We’re three weeks away and the “Maverick” Senator from Arizona says he’s ready for a comeback. I wonder which version of himself we are going to see now?