McCain Urges Bush To Spend $1 Trillion On Bailout -- Without Congressional Approval

I'm not making this up. John McCain today urged the Bush Administration -- on more than one occasion -- to immediately and uniliterally spend $1 trillion buying up home mortgages.

I was watching live when he made the proposal this morning, and it seemed like such a staggeringly insane idea that I assumed he couldn't be serious. He couldn't think that Bush should just spend $1 trillion without asking Congress for permission...could he?

But then I saw his economic adviser try to back the idea up, and then I saw McCain make the proposal again during the NBC Nightly newscast. So he's serious. He really thinks that Bush should just spend $1 trillion without talking to Congress, without seeking approval, without building any sort of consensus -- without getting any protections whatsoever for taxpayers.

Update: Here's video of him making the proposal on three separate occasions Tuesday.

End update.

::: ::: :::

This is the same John McCain who just a couple of days ago was railing on the $1 trillion price tag of the bailout (when it was actually $700 billion).

But just a few days after railing against the unbridled power of government, McCain now seems to envision the presidency as a dictatorship. He now thinks that Bush should just spend $1 trillion without allowing anyone to ask any questions -- and he supports doing it just one day after the House of Representatives voted down a $700 billion bailout.

This won't suprise anyone on the left. The question I have is this: when are conservatives going to wake up and realize that despite all his bluster about being a conservative, the Republican nominee for president has proposed the single largest expenditure in the history of this nation -- and that he's proposed that it be made without the approval of Congress?

Comments

[barelymakingit]

I think John McCain is right. Lets go one step further. Lets Suspend The Campaign, Throw out the Constitution, Throw out Congress and The Judical System. In Fact Lets just Make John McCain
King of America, nope Emperor, Not Big Enough, ..........­.Fderalist Creator of THE WORLD.

Now that's the picture I can vote for. Oh I forgot we're not voting anymore. I forgot throw out freedom of speech while we're at it we don't need these blogs.

[AngryCenter]

Welcome to the John McCain Presidential Process - I'll do what I want, when I want.

4 more years of Bush? Not even... this guy's worse.

[StandUpAmerica08]

I saw that too and then the anchor put her head down in shame. She said "I see NOTHING that gives the President the authority to spend that amount of money. where is John McCain getting this information from?"

[wizardofoz]

lord of the rings,GOLLUM is his buddy

[GSMRaleigh]

And, this tells us what his presidency would look like.

[Missmn]

I am so happy you wrote about this. I saw him make this suggestion yesterday when he was holding his "economic round table" and I was absolutely floored. Every day this guy gets a little worse.

[mom2sons]

And he had the nerve to do an ad saying Barack would cost us 1 Trillion. He blames his policies on Barack. Unbelievable. This man is Krazy with a K. Vote Obama-Biden 08!

[GeoDBA]

The Obama campaign should starting airing this ad tomorrow before the VP debates.

[kathleen15]

Grandpa you are not qualified to be president you need to go back home for American sake, i know you always want to be president but you are to dangerous, you can't gamble with the future of America you are too volatile, and unstable, now go back home to Cindy.

[Mahi Joe]

This just goes to show you how out of touch and ill-informed McCain is about anything remotely connected to economic issues. McCain seems to be going out of his way to insure that the same greedy immoral people who brought this crisis upon the American people are rewarded and left in place to continue to undermine our entire economic structure and bring our country down. Someone has to stop this maniac because he is going to cause more harm to our country than all the terrorist groups combined. Go on McCain sell out our country to your greedy friends and when the Sh*t hits the fan be ready to see riots in this country the likes of which will make the 60's pale in comparison.

REMEMBER THE KEATING FIASCO....McCain wishes to repeat it only this time instead of a 1.6 billion dollar payout it will be a 700 bilion dollar payout to McCain's greedy friends.

[iluvsam]

This needs to be an ad.

[redhead55]

The 14 Tenets of Fascism:

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism
5. Rampant sexism
6. A controlled mass media
7. Obsession with national security
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together
9. Power of corporations protected
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts
12. Obsession with crime and punishment
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption
14. Fraudulent elections

[Stonegate]

In a Des Moines Register interview yesterday, McCain actually said "If I were a dictator, which I've always aspired to be . . ." - I kid you not! THAT needs to be an ad!

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=videonetwork&maven_playerId=immersiveplayer&maven_referralPlaylistId=b959b1ca832e44b7543c0c1d3b9b6ef23903c7fc&maven_referralObject=873527229

It's in the clip on the economic bailout . . .

[Kassandra]

I think Bernanke already did this all by his little self:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jC0Js_XMSCt-GDAijc3qIbjuVZIAD93GJJ1O0

We now know what kind of executive McCain would make. I bet in his alternative mind he was a general in Vietnam, not a fighter pilot who lost US two billion dollar planes before spending the rest of the war in the relative safety of a prisoner of war camp.

Isn't "unitary executive" double speak for "king"?

[Miravanguild]

The man has serious problems.. All these "senior moments" add up to serious problems... He isn't sweet out of it like Reagan, he is dangerous out of it...

[obamanation31]

Oh Boy! THis is serious.

[SaskiaStars]

Another example of how dreadfully unqualified grumpy is to lead this country.