McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and Struggling Families
April 23, 2008
John McCain wrote just yesterday to supporters that it's important to understand what struggling families are going through because "[b]y understanding the challenges - and they are enormous - that these Americans face today, I will be a far better president." [McCain campaign email, 4/22/08]
But it's clear from McCain's own words that he has no idea what struggling families face. Yesterday in Youngstown, Ohio, a town that has been devastated by the changing economy, McCain compared the low point of his primary campaign to people who literally can't pay their mortgages or put food on the table. In fact, he seemed to blame the people themselves for their hardships, saying that the problem in cities like Youngstown was "our inability to adjust to a new world economy." [USA Today, 4/22/08]
No candidate for president who actually understands the harsh realities facing American families would make this comparison. Looks like it's time for John McCain, the ninth richest member of Congress, to polish his talking points.
McCain Compares His Struggling Primary Campaign to the Economic Situation in Youngstown. During a speech in Youngstown, McCain said that "As I recall, a few pollsters even declared my campaign a hopeless cause, and there was no margin of error to soften the blow. But a person learns along the way that if you hold on -- if you don't quit no matter what the odds -- sometimes life will surprise you. Sometimes you get a second chance, and opportunity turns back your way. And when it does, we are stronger and readier because of all that we had to overcome. I bring up all this because the men and women of Youngstown know what it feels like to be counted out. You've been written off a few times yourselves, in the competition of the market. You know how it feels to hear that good things are happening in the American economy -- they're just not happening to you." [johnmccain.com, accessed 4/22/08]
Meanwhile, Families Are Struggling in Ohio…
Ohio Losing Jobs
- Ohio lost 188,200 jobs from January of 2001 to March of 2008. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 4/18/08]
- 239,800 Manufacturing Jobs Lost in Ohio Under Bush. Ohio lost 239,800 manufacturing jobs from 2001 to 2008. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 4/21/08]
- Unemployment Up 43% in Ohio Under Bush. The unemployment rate has increased from 4.0% in January 2001 to 5.7% in March 2008, a 43% increase. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 4/21/08]
Ohioans Lacking Health Insurance
- Ohio Has Over 1.2 Million People Uninsured. That's 11 percent of Ohioans living without any insurance. [statehealthfacts.org, accessed 4/21/08]
- More than 206,000 kids in Ohio have NO health insurance. [statehealthfacts.org, accessed 4/21/08]
- Ohio Is Being Hit By the Mortgage Crisis. Ohio families are facing foreclosure at troubling rates. In March:
Ohio Facing the Foreclosure Crisis
- 11,273 homes in Ohio received a foreclosure filing. [Realty Trac Press Release, 4/15/08]
- 1 in every 448 Ohio households received a foreclosure filing. [Realty Trac Press Release, 4/15/08]
- Overall, Ohio is 7th in the nation in foreclosure filings. [Realty Trac Press Release, 4/15/08]
- In Youngstown, Over 700 Homes are Bank-Owned. And the problem is continuing - over 630 homes are in pre-foreclosure.
- 777 Homes are bank-owned. [Realty Trac, accessed 4/21/08]
- 634 Homes are in pre-foreclosure. [Realty Trac, accessed 4/21/08]
After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.
