Apparently Bonnie Erbe has not quite gotten over the fact that her favorite candidate, Hillary Clinton, lost the race for the democratic nomination. Not only that, she must not have gotten the memo that Sen. Clinton has since endorsed presumptive nominee Barack Obama. Bonnie Erbe has also officially unseated Marie Cocco and Lorne Gunter, taking her thrown as Queen of Spin. For this week, at least, she sits at the top of a very exclusive list, but her jaw-droppingly false column based solely on exaggeration, may just end up winning Spin Of The Year honors as well.
Here’s her piece entitled “Barack Obama, Serial Flip Flopper.”
We all knew the infamous flip flopper accusation would be thrown out there at some point in this election. Because human beings have a tendency to change their minds every once in a while, it was inevitable that one or both of the presidential candidates would be accused of this “sin.” What was completely unexpected was that it would be a pundit from the candidate’s own party who would throw the first stone.
And that’s just what Bonnie Erbe has done. Obviously still reeling from the emotional trauma that was Sen. Clinton’s failed presidential bid, Ms. Erbe has produced nothing short of a hatchet job on Sen. Obama. Here’s the quote that got us laughing here at Rebel:
“From where I sit, flip-flopping is an unbeatable addiction for Obama. For McCain, by comparison, it’s an occasional foible.”
Wow, that’s a bold statement. But where’s the evidence? Can’t we the readers have some sort of list so we can sort out whose flip flops are worse? What we get as readers is a list of Barack Obama’s flip flop greatest hits with nary a mention of the radical change Sen. McCain has undergone in the last few months in terms of policy. So, eventhough we may be stalwart supporters of Sen. Obama’s presidential bid, because we are fair at Rebel, we have chosen to present you with a more comprehensive list of flip flops than Ms. Erbe deemed necessary. We will use her list for Obama, but our list of McCain’s flip flops has been generated almost entirely from recent memory (we had to look up a few dates).
Sen. Obama (D-Ill.):
• He [Obama] ripped Hillary Clinton for months for voting to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Days after Clinton conceded, Obama flipped and said he supported the definition.
• Obama repeatedly vowed to meet with various heads of terror states—most notably Ahmadinejad of Iran—”without preconditions.” Then, with the nomination in sight, he zigzagged: “There’s no reason why we would necessarily meet with Ahmadinejad. He’s not the most powerful person in Iran.”
• In October, he supported NAFTA expansion. In March, campaigning in the Ohio primary, he called for a “reopening” of the trade pact’s terms. This week, he called his own primary rhetoric “overheated” and said NAFTA has had a positive effect on the US economy.
• Yesterday, after signaling opposition to nuclear power, he told Democratic governors he’s open to expanding it.”
Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.):
• McCain was against Bush’s tax cuts before he decided to support them during his presidential campaign. On January 5, 2000 he told The Washington Post, “I’m not giving tax cuts for the rich.” The same day he told The LA Times, “I don’t believe the wealthiest 10% of Americans should get 60% of the tax breaks. I think the lowest 10% should get the breaks.” But at a republican debate in Boca Raton, Fla. in Jan. 2008, McCain said, “I think it’s very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent.”
• McCain referred to Jerry Falwell and preachers of his ilk as “agents of intolerance” in 2002, but while campaigning during the republican primaries, he suddenly changed his tune and began courting ”agents of intolerance” for their endorsements, most notably John Haggee, the Catholic bashing hate monger whose endorsement McCain actively sought and then quickly disavowed.
• McCain used to be one of the biggest supporters of campaign finance reform on Capitol Hill (remember McCain-Feingold?). Now that he has won his party’s nomination for president, Sen. McCain is opposed to legislation he helped pass.
• John McCain, a former POW who was tortured while held in the Hanoi Hilton, has repeatedly stressed his opposition to torture. However, when the Intelligence Authorization Bill was brought to the floor of the Senate in February of this year with a provision banning the use of waterboarding, Sen. McCain voted to uphold President Bush’s veto.
Now that a more balanced representation of the evidence has been presented, whose list of flip flops is more egregious, and, for that matter, whose list is even worth compiling?
After shilling for Hillary for the past few months, Bonnie Erbe is obviously unable to switch gears and focus on the general election. Op-Ed writers with a vendetta towards a certain candidate or an ax to grind in general are a dime a dozen, and Ms. Erbe has shown herself to be no different. What sets her apart though is the amateurish way she has gone about publishing this attack piece. She obviously made no attempt at writing a fair article, she has no semblance of balance, and, because of this, she has lost all credibility.
At least she’s earned her place in Spin Of The Week history as the most blatent offender yet.
If you would like to add to either candidate’s list of flip flops, feel free to use the comments section. And if you think Bonnie Erbe is an idiot, read her coworker, John Mashek’s piece on the same topic with a completely different outlook.
