Posted on 01/14/2008 7:41:37 PM PST by rface
(CNSNews.com) - Republican presidential hopeful John McCain kept his promise and called a heckler.
McCain had publicly promised to telephone a vocal audience member whom he encountered at a conservative voters' event in Michigan over the weekend at which he and fellow Republicans Mitt Romney and Duncan Hunter made appearances. The heckler, John A. Hillman, said he was surprised to get the call.
"I thought, if he does call, it will just be a staffer calling and I'd get a, 'You talked to the senator, about ... blah-blah-blah,'" Hillman told Cybercast News Service on Monday. "But I picked up the phone and he said, 'Hi John, this is John McCain. Do you have a few minutes?' And I said, 'Absolutely. I've got a few minutes, senator.'"
Hillman, a 63-year-old car salesman in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Mich., said he attended the Saturday afternoon event, the Defending the American Dream Summit, to get an up-close view of the candidates. He got more than he bargained for.
"I was sitting in the front row, and he was about 15 feet away - so I think that's probably why he noticed it so much - and he was talking about protectionism. He said, 'We have to guard against protectionism.' And I went 'Boo' - and he looked around, and that's when he said, 'It appears that I have someone who disagrees with me.' And I said, 'Yes, sir, you do.'"
Hillman said he wasn't planning to be vocal, and he wasn't trying to be disrespectful. His comment just slipped out. He was surprised when McCain invited him to comment or ask a question.
"I told him: 'It's my opinion that it's never been a question of the Big Three (automakers) asking to be protected from the government, more than just a level playing field. It's my opinion that over the last 25 or 30 years, protectionism has been for the importers and not for our country,' Hillman added.
"And I said, 'It is a very bothersome thing that it isn't a level playing field. I'd really love to talk to you about it sometime.' And he said, 'I'll tell you what, I'll have one of my staffers get your cell number, and I'll call you on my next leg.' And by golly, he did," he said.
McCain called two-and-a-half hours after the Saturday event, Hillman said, and the pair chatted for about eight to 10 minutes on several issues, in give-and-take fashion.
One topic was environmentalism.
"He said, 'Would you agree with me on the greening of America, to a degree?" And I said, 'to a minor degree.'"
As part of that, Hillman said they also discussed CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards - Congress recently revised the CAFE regulation to require car manufacturers to make vehicles get at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
"I said, 'I think it's a huge mistake. I'm not going to purport to be an expert on that, when you've got all the experts in the business and the field telling you that it is virtually impossible to reach a corporate CAFE of 35 by 2020 without damaging the business, but maybe you shouldn't have made it a law yet,'" Hillman said.
"And, he said, 'We can't be dependent on foreign oil forever.' And I said, 'I agree with you. Why we can't drill up in Alaska is totally beyond my comprehension. All the arguments used originally for drilling up there were found to be untrue. I guess, Senator, we're going to have to agree to disagree.' And he said, 'Absolutely,'" he added.
Was Hillman won over by the chat?
"I still think he's a man of integrity. I think he's honest," said Hillman. "I don't think I agree with some of the stuff he believes in, but who am I? I'm just a guy out here selling cars for 41 years that lives with the results of what these people down in Washington and Lansing, Mich., do."
Calls to the McCain campaign were not returned by press time.
Hillary wants to thank you for your support.....
.
A smart man.
One of the things I like about McCain is his ability to get people who don’t support him to, at the very least, respect him.
My Eyes Are Bleeding!!
A vote for McCain is as bad, no worse than a vote for Hillary! He will smile as he encourages more illegal aliens to come into America and take the jobs away from Americans.
You need to join the Quisling Party.
mccain needs to wake up and listen to the people of this country.
he’s just like the Libs in that respect, he thinks washington knows what is best.
mccain could have really been able to learn something from this man.
anyway, i’m glad mccain is so hard headed. he’s gonna lose because of that hard head.
Which one is that?
lose weight with the hillary diet. just look at that pic after every meal. of course your nutritional uptake will suffer because you will vomit every time you look at it.
It is scary how many people actually trust McCain to do what is right.....or even what he says.
That he called the guy is fantastic;
That he steadfastly opposes drilling for oil in the outer fringes of nowhere, when we are in an energy/national resources crisis - frightening.
There is not a single valid reason not to drill in ANWR not even an environmental one, and McCain’s wrong headedness on this makes me wish to Heaven that Thompson can get that nomination.
The only good thing I can say is we don’t have the drilling anyway, even w/o McCain as president. But still he is looney on this.
GEORGE: You know, like all the comedians always say, ‘How would you like it if I came to where you work and heckled you?’
JERRY: Yeah, that’d be something.
GEORGE: I’m not kidding, you should do it.
***New scene Toby in her office at Pendant. Jerry pokes his head in the door.***
TOBY: You know, I have work to do here! I’m very busy!
JERRY: Oh, is this disruptive? You find it hard to work with someone...interrupting?
TOBY: Well, how would you like it if I called security?
JERRY: Security? Well, I don’t know how you’re gonna make it in this business if you can’t take it! Ya gotta be tough! Booo! Boooo!
Then why is he against it, so he can lose votes?
If McCain doesn't get elected, it's because he tells the truth.
While America only elects candidates who tell the people what they want to hear.
(but who am I? I’m just a guy out here selling cars for 41 years that lives with the results of what these people down in Washington and Lansing, Mich., do.”)
Hats off to this guy. He’s obviously well educated about politics, and he’s a hell of a debater. It’s nice to have someone finally call the politicians on the results of their decisions. It’s not like the media was going to bring up ANWR when the subject of gas prices comes up!
Hillary wants to thank you for your support.....
Nominate McAmnesty, and you may be right.
I’ve got to hand it to Hillman, if McCain called me, I’d be tripping over my words. Good for him for sticking for him (and us, in a sense).
Well said!
I’m very proud of McCain for saying what his position is. Unfortunately, it is an absolutely wrong left wing, idiotic position. IMHO
There is no valid reason not to drill in ANWR and we desperately need the oil. McCain’s reason is teh caribou, etc - the caribou which love the North Slope drilling. Opposition to ANWR is energy insanity.
True, we need the oil...and heroin addicts need smack, alcoholics need liquor, smokers need nicotine. In reality, what we REALLY need is a new technology that will wean us of our addiction to a non-renewable resource (hydrogen, biofuel, something else...because someday, oil is going to run out!)
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