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Five Sept. 11 Suspects to Face Trial in New York

The Obama administration has announced it will try 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9-11 Gitmo detainees in a civilian federal court in New York, allowing them the protections of the U.S. Constitution even though they are not U.S. citizens.

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Four Radical Chinese Muslims Transferred to Bermuda

Four Chinese Uighers (radical Chinese Muslims) were recently transferred to Bermuda. Do you think it's a good idea to release Gitmo detainees to idyllic vacation retreats?

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July 16, 2008

Exclusive: Now Gramm Feels Our Pain – And McCain’s Boot

Rick Moran

Phil Gramm is still one of the smartest men ever to serve in the United States Senate, despite his clueless statement that the U.S. is in a "mental recession" and that Americans are a bunch of "whiners" about the economy.

Well things may very well look that way to the former Chairman of mortgage giant UBS and a guy who gets $50 thousand a crack to regale fat cat businessmen with stories of how stupid our government is and how the private sector is always smarter. I'm sure from the vantage point of someone whose idea of rough economic times is cutting back on the number of manicures he receives a week from three to two, things are just peachy.

The former Texas senator can cite figures on why the economy is not in recession from now until Barack Obama takes the oath of office and it still won't change the fact that the manufacturing sector of our economy is losing jobs faster than Gramm's prospects for a cabinet position in a McCain administration. This means that Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan are for all intents and purposes, in an economic slide - a real downturn and not one invented by the New York Times or the Democrat Party. To tell these people that they are just having a bad dream and to stop bitching gives those with a political tin ear a bad name.

"Technically" not being in a recession is like saying that "technically" I have the body of a Greek god, a mind like Aristotle, and the compassion of Albert Schweitzer - or I would have those things if I bothered to work out, read more, and gave a damn about the rest of you. It's all a matter of perception. And you can be "technical" all you want and still not grasp the fundamental truth that it doesn't matter where they got the idea - whether you and Phil Gramm believe it was force fed the American people by a biased media, a sneaky and underhanded Democrat Party, or if they read it in a bathroom stall - the undeniable truth of the matter is that most Americans believe the economy stinks and that they feel quite vulnerable at the moment to job loss, a loss of health insurance, and the price of gas making it impossible for them to maintain their standard of living.

Politicians don't deal in "what ifs." They leave that kind of thing to fans of the Chicago Cubs. Those who aspire to be president deal with the reality of the here and now. And John McCain, fighting perceptions of his own lack of understanding and compassion towards working folk, cannot tolerate nor can he afford his number one economic surrogate and advisor to run off at the mouth about the American people suffering from some demented notion that times are tough and that they should ignore everything that's going on around them and be happy.

Things may be fine in some areas of the U.S. but in the absolutely vital states of Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, there is real, demonstrable economic pain. What's more, there is a palpable sense of fear in the air in those states. People don't necessarily want government to guarantee them a job. They want to be reassured that their leaders understand what they are going through and that, true to our traditions and history as Americans, things will be better in the future.

No, Phil. We are not nor have we ever been a nation of whiners. Whiners don't build transcontinental railroads or criss-cross the country with a ribbon of highways. Whiners don't win three World Wars (going on four) or liberate billions from oppression. Whiners don't stamp the world with cultural icons like Hollywood or even the hated McDonald's. Whiners don't create a $13 trillion economy while the rest of the world stagnates into economic ennui.

John McCain has the right idea of what to do with someone who has so little faith in America, her people, and our future:

"The person here in Michigan that just lost his job isn't suffering a mental recession," he told reporters after a town-hall-style meeting at a factory in this city west of Detroit.

And when he was asked whether Mr. Gramm - McCain campaign co-chairman, UBS Investment Bank vice chairman and former economics professor - might serve as treasury secretary in a McCain administration, the candidate replied with a flash of his sometimes tart humor.

"I think Senator Gramm would be in serious consideration for ambassador to Belarus," he said, "although I'm not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that."

Talk about throwing someone under the bus, McCain just booted Gramm through the windshield and ran over him. Definite road kill, the former Texas senator has become.

McCain has been straight talking his way across the old rust belt, telling auto workers in Michigan their jobs aren't coming back, supporting free trade in Ohio, and talking energy in Pennsylvania. Will voters give McCain the benefit of the doubt because he refuses to pander to them? Experience says no, that the American people may not like pandering but they like hard truths even less. Perhaps McCain will get credit outside of the rust belt for telling it as he sees it.

But in those three vital states, his candidacy is now an even harder sell thanks to the insensitive, stupid remarks of Phil Gramm.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Rick Moran is a freelance writer who contributes to several websites. He is the proprietor of the blog Right Wing Nuthouse.

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