Sen. John McCain has provided the perfect example of exactly why so many Americans have been turned off by the Republican Party.
McCain first told reporters, “Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures….He pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked, and there would be attacks on the United States of America,” he said. “It’s a matter of record, so he is directly responsible.”
John McCain was still stuck in 2007. Sen. McCain still believes that if we were “fighting them over there, we wouldn’t have to fight them over here.”
Sen. McCain’s remarks inspired so much immediate backlash that he put out a statement clarifying his remarks that made the same point, “I misspoke. I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obama’s national security decisions, not the President himself. As I have said, President Obama’s decision to completely withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011 led to the rise of ISIL. I and others have long warned that the failure of the President’s policy to deny ISIL safe haven would allow the terrorist organization to inspire, plan, direct or conduct attacks on the United States and Europe as they have done in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino and now Orlando.”
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McCain’s behavior is a textbook example of why so many Americans can’t stand the Republican Party. Republicans are endlessly blaming the President for every single bad thing that happens. The GOP is clinging to the Iraq war, and blaming Obama for their own failed policies.
There would be no ISIS if John McCain, George W. Bush, and their warmongering Republican pals would not have invaded Iraq on false pretenses. Using McCain’s logic, it is the Republicans, not Obama, who are responsible for the Orlando shootings.
Instead of deal the real issue of easy access to deadly assault weapons, Sen. McCain is blaming President Obama, and his remarks are why so many Americans are sick and tired of the Republican Party.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
