May 9, 2008

For immediate release

Press contact: Keiana Page 799-7798
Hope Derrick (803)553-1732 (cell)

 

 
 

"Clyburn and Fowler Against Third Bush Term"
 

 

Columbia, SC – South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler and House Majority Whip Congressman James E. Clyburn addressed Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's visit to South Carolina and the possible impact his presidency could have on the state today during a press conference.

 

"South Carolina doesn't need a third Bush term and that's all John McCain has to offer voters. His policies and outlook on the war in Iraq, the economy and healthcare show he is clearly out touch with everyday Americans. Why else would he say that a lot of Americans' economic problems are "psychological?"  Those of us who weren't lucky enough to marry multimillionaires know those problems are real," said Fowler.

 

"Senator McCain is trying to give President Bush a third term and that would be disastrous for South Carolina and this nation," Congressman Clyburn said.  "We can't afford four more years of failed Republican policies that have devastated working Americans with skyrocketing gas prices, record foreclosures, and lack of affordable health care.  We can't afford to remain in Iraq indefinitely when we can't take care of our veterans and those on the homefront.  We need a change in direction, and continuing the disastrous Republican policies is the wrong way to go."

 

McCain's Inaction  Doesn't Offer Much for South Carolina

JOBS AND ECONOMY:

Unemployment Up 53% in South Carolina.

Gas Prices Up 226%.

Children in Poverty Up 18% in South Carolina.

...But McCain Claimed Americans Were "Better Off Because We Have Had A Pretty Good Prosperous Time."  In the January 2008 Republican debate, McCain commented, "I think you could argue that Americans overall are better off, because we have had a pretty good prosperous time, with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things have happened. A lot of jobs have been created." [CNN GOP Debate, 1/30/08]

 

McCain Said A Lot of Americans' Economic Problems Are "Psychological."  When discussing the gas tax holiday, McCain said, "I think, psychologically – and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological – confidence, trust, uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home."  McCain said that his gas holiday will give people a psychological boost and that solving the mortgage crisis would be a major psychological step forward.  [FOX News, "Your World With Neil Cavuto," 4/16/08]

 

HEALTHCARE:

South Carolina Has Over 690,000 People Uninsured.

McCain's Health Care Plan Does Not Focus on "Reducing the Ranks of the Uninsured." McCain's plan does not focus on "reducing the ranks of the uninsured," of which there are about 47 million, or one in seven Americans. According to the New York Times, "The McCain campaign has no estimate of how many of America's 47 million uninsured would likely gain coverage under its plan." [Wall Street Journal, 10/11/2007; New York Times, 3/2/2008]

 

KIDS HEALTHCARE:

More than 115,000 kids in South Carolina have NO health insurance.

McCain Supported Bush's Veto of SCHIP and Voted Against Providing Insurance For Millions of Uninsured Children. McCain voted against reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program for five years, expanding the program by $35.2 billion.  McCain told CNN that Bush's subsequent veto of the legislation was the "right call by the president" because the legislation offered a “phony smoke and mirrors way of paying for it.” [2007 Senate Vote #307, 8/2/2007; CNN.com, 10/3/2007]

HOUSING:

South Carolina Is Being Hit By the Mortgage Crisis.

In the First Quarter of 2008, Nearly 2,000 Homes in South Carolina Received a Foreclosure Filing.

 

McCain's Plan To Aid Homeowners Lacks Specifics On Who Would Be Eligible. "McCain sketched out a plan Thursday to help 200,000 to 400,000 homeowners trade burdensome mortgages for manageable loans in a speech in Brooklyn. Aides said the plan could cost from $3 billion to $10 billion. Still missing were details on exactly who would be eligible for help; McCain said he wants to aid those who borrowed sensibly but now can't handle their mortgages.' [AP, 4/10/2008]

John McCain Promises Help For Working Americans, But His Proposals Reveal More Aid For Corporations.  According to the Washington Post, revealing his economic agenda, McCain "offered sweeping rhetoric about the economic plight of working-class Americans, promising immediate assistance even as he spelled out a tax and spending agenda whose benefits are aimed squarely at spurring corporate growth." [Washington Post, 4/16/2008]

 

McCain Leaves Behind 1.5 Million "Undeserving" American Homeowners.  The McCain campaign maintains that the HOME Plan will assist somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 "deserving" homeowners, "More than 1.5 million other homeowners — presumably 'undeserving'— are expected to face foreclosure this year."  [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Editorial, 4/14/08]

 

MCCAIN HAS OPPOSED PROJECTS THAT HELP south Carolina COMMUNITIES

McCain Didn't Want To Improve The Health Care Infrastructure In South Carolina. McCain opposed "$10 million for the Medical University of South Carolina Oncology Center in Charleston, South Carolina, for the construction of the Allied Health Technology Tower." [Congressional Record, 11/20/04]

 

McCain Railed McCain Railed Against South Carolina's Agriculture Interests.

�        McCain opposed "$4.5 million for the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, SC." [Congressional Record, 11/15/01] 

�        McCain ranted, "There is $600,000 to treat waste on small swine farms in South Carolina. I don't know if that means for small animals or small farms; that was not designated_perhaps both. It is in South Carolina. Since it is only $600,000, we all know it is chicken feed. Congressional Record, 1/23/03

McCain complained, "The conference agreement authorizes the purchase of land by the Agriculture Research Service in Florence, SC." [Congressional Record, 4/19/05]
 

McCain Opposed Helping South Carolinian Shrimpers. McCain opposed "$4.1 million for shrimp aquiculture research in AZ, HI, MA, MS, SC, and TX. Congressional Record, 12/6/06

 

McCain Against Monies For South Carolina's Universities and Other Research Universities.

 �       McCain opposed "$350,000 for the South Carolina Taxonomic Center." [Congressional Record, 9/14/01]

�        McCain argued against "$300,000 in funding from the Library of Congress (LOC) for the University of South Carolina for the preservation of Movietone Newsreels. Clearly both are worthwhile endeavors, but why are the University of South Carolina and the state of Georgia more deserving of these distinctions then any other university or state.” [Congressional Record, 11/20/04]

�        McCain complained, "$1.4 million for the South Carolina Center for Excellence in Educational Technology." [Congressional Record, 9/29/06