You’ll have to watch this to believe it...
In a harsh criticism of House Republicans and think tanks critical of Rep. John Boehner’s plan to raise the debt limit, the 2008 Republican Presidential nominee, who chose Tea Party darling Sarah Palin for VP, said about this about a faction of his own party:
Granted, Sen. McCain was quoting a Wall Street Journal opinion piece this morning when he recited this passage:
“The Republican House that failed to raise the debt ceiling would somehow escape all blame. Then Democrats would have no choice but to pass a balanced-budget amendment and reform entitlements, and the tea-party Hobbits could return to Middle Earth having defeated Mordor.This is the kind of crack political thinking that turned Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell into GOP Senate nominees.”
McCain’s eruption was the product of his frustration with “fellow” conservatives who are still holding out for a balanced budget amendment as part of any compromise on the debt ceiling. McCain accused those pushing for the amendment as “deceiving” America into believing such a thing can pass the Senate:
Is this McCain’s strategy to build a coalition with those in his own party to get a plan actually done? Is this how he thinks he can sway support for Boehner’s plan?
Speaking of “hobbits,” I can only imagine McCain using this Lord of the Rings reference the next time he takes to the Senate floor to discuss opposition to a bill:
Sharron Angle slams McCain for ‘Tea Party Hobbits’ comment
Sharron Angle, the former Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Nevada with robust Tea Party support, slammed Arizona Sen. John McCain for his comments criticizing her and other Tea Partiers during the debt ceiling debate.
“It is regrettable that a man seeking dialogue, action and cooperation for votes on the floor of the United States Senate has only one strategy to achieve that effort: name-calling,” Angle said in a statement. “Nice.”
Angle was referencing McCain’s speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, in which the Republican senator quoted a Wall Street Journal op-ed critical of conservatives against raising the debt ceiling. The article called them “Tea Party Hobbits.”
“This is the kind of crack political thinking that turned Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell into GOP Senate nominees,” McCain said, quoting the newspaper.
“Ironically, this man campaigned for Tea Party support in his last re-election,” Angle said in a release titled, “A Statement from a ‘TEA Party Hobbit,’” “but now throws Christine O’Donnell and I into the harbor with Sarah Palin. As in the fable, it is the hobbits who are the heroes and save the land. This Lord of the TARP actually ought to read to the end of the story and join forces with the TEA Party, not criticize it.”
Continuing, Angle said: “It is similarly unfortunate that Senator McCain brings no new ideas to the Senate floor. In fact, so unoriginal is Senator McCain’s effort that he is reduced to borrowing words from an editorial – rather than bringing anything constructive to this debate.”
McCain Defends "Hobbit" Comment to Hannity: "I Actually 'Admire' the Tea Party
(Sorry John, Too Little Too Late!)
John McCain had plenty of explaining to do last night when he joined Sean Hannity on Fox to try and assuage the anger of many conservatives after he read a Wall Street Journal op-ed that was critical of the Tea Party. In the op-ed, Tea Party members were called “hobbits,” and McCain was sure to read that part out loud. So how did he explain himself? He said he was simply reading from the op-ed, and he actually “admires” the Tea Party.
“I wasn’t attacking the Tea Partiers or anybody,” he said, later adding that the editorial he read was more of an “attack on President Obama.”
“I admire, respect and appreciate the Tea Party, and they’re the ones that gave us a majority in the House of Representatives so that we can get something done,” McCain said near the end of the interview.
Still, he disagrees with the “idea” that conservatives would rail against John Boehner‘s plan because it doesn’t do enough (such as advancing a balanced budget amendment). That, he said, could lead to Congress passing Harry Reid’s plan, which he thinks is an egregious piece of legislation. In fact, he called it “one of the most flimsy, transparent, phony spending cut things, proposals, that I’ve ever seen.”
As for Hannity, he was pointed about his thoughts on the crisis: “Senator, I’m not buying this.”
You can watch the interview, in two parts, below:
[source]
