Document the flip-flops of Presidential hopefuls here.

[Dinner]

Ahh, with the end of the Congressional midterms we have officially kicked off the start of the primary season where Presidential hopefuls start to position themselves and end up flip-flopping all over the ideological map in order to win primaries. Typically candidates will run to either extreme (left or right) to win the primaries and then run back to the middle for the actual election and hope voters just don't remember how they've changed their positions 20 times in 20 days depending upon who they're talking to and what they want to hear.

This thread is to document those flip flops and give readers a bit of a laugh and perhaphs a bit of insight on each Presidential hopeful.

[Dinner]

McCain has always tried to be a moderate but if he's to win the Republican primary voters must think he is a bible thumping neo-Nazi who hates abortion. Thus he has swerved hard right and has now announced that abortion needs to be outlawed. This is dispit his previous stance for the last 20-25 years that abortion should be legal but not government financed.

McCain Flip-Flops, Supports Immediate Reversal of Roe v. Wade

In 1999, the “moderate” version of John McCain said that overturning Roe v. Wade would be dangerous for women and he would not support it, even in “the long term.” Here’s McCain in the San Francisco Chronicle:

I’d love to see a point where it is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.

This morning on ABC, McCain — now aggressively courting the likes of Jerry Falwell — expressed his unequivocal support for overturning Roe v. Wade. Watch it:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/19/mccain-abortion/

Transcript:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me ask one question about abortion. Then I want to turn to Iraq. You’re for a constitutional amendment banning abortion, with some exceptions for life and rape and incest.

MCCAIN: Rape, incest and the life of the mother. Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So is President Bush, yet that hasn’t advanced in the six years he’s been in office. What are you going to do to advance a constitutional amendment that President Bush hasn’t done?

MCCAIN: I don’t think a constitutional amendment is probably going to take place, but I do believe that it’s very likely or possible that the Supreme Court should — could overturn Roe v. Wade, which would then return these decisions to the states, which I support.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And you’d be for that?

MCCAIN: Yes, because I’m a federalist. Just as I believe that the issue of gay marriage should be decided by the states, so do I believe that we would be better off by having Roe v. Wade return to the states. And I don’t believe the Supreme Court should be legislating in the way that they did on Roe v. Wade.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/19/mccain-abortion/

[DinoDoc]

Duh! George HW Bush used to have the nickname Rubbers because of his support for family planning services. Is anyone really shock that a GOP candidate would reverse an opinion on that issue? He also has a reasonable new opinion on the subject as well.

[Impaler[WrG]]

I cant wait to see the South Carolina Confederate flag issue brought up again so he can complete a Triple flip.

In 2000 you may remember the Confederate battle flag being flown on a state building of some sort. Reporters glefly tossed handgrenades of the "Do you think the Confederate flag is a symbol of Racism or Southern culture/pride?" Both Bush and McCain knew not to catch hand grenades and gave the "Its totaly not my buisness, its a States Right to fly what ever flag it wants". Nothing very exciting at the time, it was only some time after the whole precidential race was over McCain totaly out of the blue makes an anouncment to the effect of "I totaly said that just to try to win the SC Primary, I actualy do think the Confederate flag is a symbol of racism and should be removed, my concience compells me to admit this now etc etc". I think the flag has subsequently been taken down in SC so its not going to be a burning issue but I'd be suprised if this is brought up to attack him come time for the SC primary. Fortunaly McCains current rival is to his left and will be on the defensive if he even gets that far. Their lots of room for a chalenger on McCains right push him out of the Primary in SC as Bush did in 2000.

[Dinner]

I expect that before we finish just about every Presidential hopeful will have flip-flopped like a fish from one end of the country to another.

[Caligastia]

I'm no fan of McCain, but surely there are better examples of flip-flops. Saying the issue should be decided by the states hardly makes him a 'bible thumping neo-Nazi who hates abortion'.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

I am pro choice but even I realize that a reversal of Roe v. Wade simply means states have the decision to legalize or outlaw abortion.

Saying a reversal of Roe v. Wade is equivalent to making abortion outlawed is disingenuous hyperbole.

[Q Classic]

Originally posted by Caligastia
I'm no fan of McCain, but surely there are better examples of flip-flops. Saying the issue should be decided by the states hardly makes him a 'bible thumping neo-Nazi who hates abortion'.

Well, there is that matter of McCain totally pussying out on the torture bill.

[Dinner]

I have found another flip flopping Presidential hopeful. Just last month John Kerry was quoted as saying there was no way he'd run for PResident again yet AP is now reporting that John Kerry has said he'd like to run for President in 2008. Can Gore be far behind?

[Caligastia]

Why can't someone decent run? Why so many turkeys?