John McCain Insults Long Island, Says Chuck Schumer Can't Take A Joke

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) managed to give 562,001 residents of Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties a reason to regret voting for him in the 2008 presidential race: He declared in a Senate floor debate that their home was "sometimes regrettably" part of the United States.

In a debate Wednesday over a controversial defense bill that would let the military detain Americans indefinitely, McCain pointed to an old case of German soldiers who were captured on Long Island as proof that the Supreme Court has addressed the issue. The case had been cited by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in a more recent terrorism decision.

"Isn't it true that Justice O'Connor was specifically referring to a case for a person captured on Long Island?" McCain asked Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). "Last I checked, Long Island was part -- albeit sometimes regrettably -- part of the United States of America."

That did not sit well with New York's Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who quickly tweeted: "All of America saw how heroic Long Islanders were on 9/11. #LongIsland deserves an apology."

McCain then returned to the Senate floor to respond, and took a swipe at Schumer.

"In an exchange here on the floor ... I mentioned the wonderful long people -- wonderful Long Island, I made a joke," McCain said. "I'm sorry there's at least one of my colleagues that can't take a joke, and so I apologize if I offended him and hope that someday he will have a sense of humor."

Schumer decided not to let it rest.

"NYers can take a joke," he tweeted back. "But if @SenJohnMcCain wants to mock parts of America, stick to Arizona."

McCain was once dubbed "McWeasel" by the New York Daily News for saying he couldn't help an ailing 9/11 recovery worker from Brooklyn, one of two New York City boroughs also located on Long Island.

CORRECTION:This article has been corrected to clarify that 562,001 residents of Nassau and Suffolk voted for John McCain in the 2008 presidential elections.

Comments

[OnlyIfIHaveTo]

09:45 AM on 12/03/2011

LI is full of left lane hoggers, women stuck in Goodfellas styles, horrible Iinguistics, over crowding, and the overall belief that the worlds edge is at the 718 and 516 area codes. Whats not to like about all that?

[jman7]

06:21 PM on 12/03/2011

718 is Queens and part of Brooklyn....

I def agree about the driving we are quite horrible. I do not knwo what part of LI you visit to see the women dress in such a way. But Anna Wintour has constanly complimented Long Island (Nassau/Suffolk) for its fashion conscious well-dressed people. Maybe in hevaily blue collar communities you have seen that attitude and/or style. But its hard to imagine Lloud Harbor, Plandome Manor, Great Neck, Merrick or Bellmore residents being referred to as Goodfellas styles

[jman7]

06:18 PM on 12/02/2011

I do not get why there are these fights about the definition of Long Island. The Land Mass of Long Island does include Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk, however when it is referred to in conversation or colloquially it is just Nassau and Suffolk referring to the suburban region outside of NYC. It is also considered its own politically entity at the state and federal level. Whether that is personally upsetting or offensive to Queens or Brooklyn residents is irrelevant.

[JustinP213]

03:26 PM on 12/02/2011

It was a totally unnecessary "joke." And, if Shumer had made a similar joke "about" a part of Arizona, I bet McCain would be compalining.

[LasloPferg]

03:28 PM on 12/04/2011

"Compalining?" Was this a freudian slip or just really clever? When Sarah Pain opens her mouth she is usually compalining about something.

[JustinP213]

04:00 PM on 12/05/2011

Neither of the two. It was a typo.

[Gestas]

12:07 PM on 12/02/2011

If I lived in Arizona, I would never say anything about any other place in the world...Sunshine, Drugs and Poverty....not to mention Bikers with Machine Guns.....and J.McCain...

[JrayTo]

11:42 AM on 12/02/2011

No one is interested in you or jan brewer's machinations.

[GOPNoLonger]

09:38 AM on 12/02/2011

Well the truth is that Arizona is a much much bigger joke - unfortunately !

[El Justiciero]

09:08 AM on 12/02/2011

I don't like McCain, he doesn't have a great sense of humor but it WAS just a joke. I joke that way about Texas all the time. Big whoop! If you're going to flip out, flip out over his votes.

[dwedge]

09:01 AM on 12/02/2011

McCain doesn't know where he is half the time, so it is probably not a good idea for him to insult any part of the country.

[Cory111]

09:00 AM on 12/02/2011

"Sorry about that, my tongue once again got in front of my eye tooth and I could not see what I was saying."
His wife needs a shorter leash.

[paid trawler]

08:30 AM on 12/02/2011

cadaverick's legacy will be that he forced sister on the rest of us.

[darter22]

08:27 AM on 12/02/2011

Regrettably, Arizona is still part of the United States and keeps electing politicians like McCain who are unfit to serve. Retire already.

[gevan]

05:55 AM on 12/02/2011

His predecessor (Goldwater) publicly wished to saw off the eastern seaboard in 1964.

[ginger42]

05:19 AM on 12/02/2011

Shut thy mouth, John--and keep it shut

[adam646l]

03:15 AM on 12/02/2011

What a sad man. He needs to go way. Retire. I saw it on television. Not only was he not joking but when he gave that sad excuse for an apology, he could barely contain his contempt. He knows it is over for him, he reached the pinnacle of his career a long time ago and as we all know never got the White House. He aslo had high hopes fot the tea baggers and also sees the writing on the wall. Sad ending for a man who really thought he had something to contribute. Lots of Long Islanders are upper middle class republicans. Not his best moment.

[ena]

01:28 AM on 12/02/2011

AZ is regretably part of the U.S.

[adam646l]

03:15 AM on 12/02/2011

McCain is regretably an American

[ena]

06:21 AM on 12/02/2011

Bravo fanned!