Free Republic

U.S. Senator John McCain says now that NATO military intervention in Libya is ending, military action to protect civilians in Syria might be considered.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States should step up efforts to aid wounded Libyan rebels by deploying a hospital ship to treat them and helping them get to European medical facilities, US Senator John McCain said Monday. "This is an urgent humanitarian need," McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement after Libya's transitional government and NATO inked a deal opening part of the country's airspace. "I continue to urge the administration to take immediate steps, including the deployment of a US hospital ship to Libya or Malta and transporting wounded Libyans to US...

The top lawmakers on the Senate’s defense panel on Friday recommended that a special committee searching for ways to slash the deficit consider some of President Barack Obama’s proposed changes to health and retirement benefits for the military. In separate letters to the bipartisan panel, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., signaled they were open to cost-saving steps in military benefits, recommendations that have already attracted fierce opposition from powerful groups of retired officers and veterans resistant to change.

In 2008, John McCain's campaign team discussed whether they should let Sarah Palin be sworn in as vice-president if they were to win the election, according to campaign staffer Nicolle Wallace. "There certainly were discussions -- not for long because of the arc the campaign took -- but certainly there were discussions about whether, if they were to win, it would be appropriate for her to be sworn in," Wallace tells Time's Claire Suddath. In her new novel, It's Classified, Wallace has a character -- a mentally ill female vice-president -- which she says is based on her experience working...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Sunday called for President Barack Obama to "sit down" with Republicans to find solutions to the nation's struggling economy.

Video at link.

(snip) Beyond South Carolina, Graham thinks the GOP should look to all corners of the country, “our pretty deep pool,” for its vice-presidential nominee. The Northeast, he predicts, could be the place to find a leader who balances the ticket. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, he says, would be excellent. Or, if Republicans were looking to Florida, freshman Sen. Marco Rubio, “a good guy, would obviously be very helpful.” Those two names, I say, are obvious. Graham smiles and floats another: Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor. “I know it would create problems on the social side,” he...

Evidence collected by a young London-based organization called Human Rights Investigations indicates that when Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain went to Benghazi in April to express his support for Libyan rebels, he visited the site at which the rebels publicly beheaded an alleged pro-Gaddafi “mercenary” only weeks before. [ ... ] Arizona senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, made a surprise visit to Benghazi in order to publicly call for stepped-up American support of the rebellion. McCain spoke glowingly of the rebels and their cause, even saying of the Libyan rebels: “They are my heroes.” Now a new...

<p>Cheney writes that in 2008 he was puzzled about GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign and request a meeting with congressional leaders to discuss the financial crisis at the White House.</p> <p>“Senator McCain added nothing of substance,” Cheney writes about the now-famous meeting. “It was entirely unclear why he’d returned to Washington and why he’d wanted the congressional leadership called together. I left the Cabinet Room when the meeting was over thinking the Republican presidential ticket was in trouble.”</p>

(snip) McCain said he is aware of the perception of Congress at the moment, noting the current approval rating of 10 percent and adding, “I’ve yet to meet anyone in that 10 percent at these meetings.” He said he has heard time and again from people who want him to reach compromises with the other side of the aisle, that Washington is polarized and unproductive. “Folks, I’m ready to compromise,” he said. “But not on principle.” (snip)

Sen. John McCain disagreed with Fox News hosts who said President Barack Obama’s announcement of the end of Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s reign over Libya was premature. “He’s on his way out,” the Arizona Republican said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.” “We’ve got to concentrate on making sure there’s not the kind of Baghdad experience we had [after the liberation of Iraq]. We need reconciliation to get the arms depots under control . . . and get in there and help them set up a functioning government. That’s what we should be focusing on.”

Arizona Sen. John McCain said the United States must lead the world in providing support to Libya as they begin their post-Gadhafi era. "I think we would be well-served if we make sure that there is not an extremist takeover or hijacking of this revolution," McCain said. McCain appeared on CNN's "The Situation Room", where he said an earlier and stronger showing of power by the U.S. in the air could have shortened the conflict significantly. "The only thing that was holding [Gadhafi] in power was money and fear," McCain said. "Once those are dissipated by military strength, it is...

Sen. John McCain was put on the defensive Sunday for comparing some of his GOP colleagues to hobbits during the debt ceiling debate. The Arizona Republican had taken to the Senate floor in July to admonish conservatives for “unrealistic” expectations and quoted a Wall Street Journal editorial that compared them to the characters from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” “What I was talking about, quoting from a Wall Street Journal editorial, was that there was a segment of the Republicans in the Senate — Republican Senators — that said we cannot raise the debt limit until we pass...

Sen. John McCain to hold town hall Tuesday in Goodyear Tuesday, August 23, 2011 3 pm Goodyear Justice Center 185 North 145th Avenue, Goodyear, Ariz. McCain town hall here Monday Monday, August 22, 2011 Noon First Congregational Church 216 East Gurley Street, Prescott, Ariz.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today released the following statement applauding President Obama for calling on Bashar al Assad to leave power in Syria, and urging other nations to also call for and take action to end the Assad regime: “We applaud President Obama for calling on Bashar al Assad to leave power, a position we have long argued should be the policy of the United States.(snip) “We urge other nations to join the United States in demanding an end to the Assad regime, whose legitimacy is clearly exhausted. We...

GILBERT - Arizona Sen. John McCain held a town hall in Gilbert this morning and the economy took center stage. The town hall was focused on the nations' economic troubles and McCain said the on-going financial problems would be much greater had Congress not passed a bill to keep the country from defaulting on its debt. McCain said he is very concerned with the recent S&P downgrade of the United States' credit rating and views it as a wake-up call to the nation. "It will cost more to borrow money and it is a very serious situation," McCain said. McCain...

On the same day that House Speaker John Boehner told Republicans to "Get your asses in line" and support his debt ceiling proposal, Sen. John McCain also blasted fellow Republicans. In a Senate floor speech laced with sarcasm and stings, the Arizona Republican aimed especially harsh fire at the tea party Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two senators and former presidential candidates say Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating speaks to the need for more bipartisan compromise — but they also say the blame lay with the other party.

An old friend came back to town last week and it was good to see him again after all these years. Because we really needed him, now more than ever. John McCain -- the old straight-talking, tough truth-telling John McCain -- stood up on the floor of the U.S. Senate and picked up just where he'd left off some four years ago: Telling it like it really is. Never mind that he was ticking off fellow conservative Republicans. Even the ones who knew in their hearts he was right. For months, Republican leaders had allowed themselves to be led by...

Our country is in crisis. Not the kind of crisis liberals invent out of mid air but the kind that results from the implementation of their policies and brings a country to its knees (and proves the president a rank amateur and many of the legislators unsuited for office). We are in debt, we have an energy crisis, we have high unemployment, and we’re more worried about whether our enemies think we’re nice that we are with crushing them with our military might. In a word: times are crazy. Yet in the middle of all this, I can honestly say...