McCain Rails Against 'Half-Baked, Spurious Nationalism' in Liberty Medal Ceremony Speech

[highplainsdem]

Source: Mediaite

Senator John McCain was honored with the Liberty Medal earlier tonight, and he delivered a speech that seemed like it was directed at certain individuals in particular, even though he didnt name names

McCain railed against half-baked, spurious nationalism, and got a lot of applause for that line.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/tv/mccain-rails-against-half-baked-spurious-nationalism-in-liberty-medal-ceremony-speech/

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Video at that link, and at this Raw Story link:

Unpatriotic: Watch John McCain torch Trump and Bannons half-baked nationalism during Liberty Medal speech

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/10/unpatriotic-watch-john-mccain-torch-trump-and-bannons-half-baked-nationalism-during-liberty-medal-speech/

[div class"excerpt"]On Monday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) alluded in strong terms to President Donald Trump and his ousted chief strategist and current Breitbart chairman Steve Bannon in his speech accepting the Liberty Medal.

To fear the world where we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals weve advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain the last best hope of Earth for the sake of-some half baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who had rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans have consigned to the trash heap of history, McCain said.

-snip-



Full text of McCain's remarks at this Medium.com link, found thanks to a tweet from Ana Navarro:

Link to tweet

https://medium.com/@SenatorJohnMcCain/remarks-at-the-2017-liberty-medal-ceremony-8d69751a5ac1


Editing to add what I've posted in reply 12 below, a link to a page at ABC News that has a 12-minute video clip with the complete speech:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mccain-slams-half-baked-spurious-nationalism-sweeping-us/story?id=50522714

The comments we're discussing start about 8-1/2 minutes in...

[highplainsdem]

1. Arizona Republic article:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2017/10/16/emotional-sen-john-mccain-blasts-half-baked-spurious-nationalism/770565001/

An emotional Sen. John McCain on Monday leveled a blistering attack on what he called the "half-baked, spurious nationalism" that seems to have inspired President Donald Trump's administration to retreat from the world stage.

In a speech accepting the National Constitution Center's Liberty Medal, McCain, R-Ariz., also emphasized that the United States is "a land made of ideals, not blood and soil," rebuking the Nazi slogan about bloodlines and territory that was chanted in August by White supremacists demonstrating in Charlottesville, Va.

-snip-

McCain, the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman who is battling an aggressive form of brain cancer, did not mention the name of Trump, with whom he has publicly feuded on-and-off for more than two years.

But it was clear that he was talking about the Trump White House, which largely has taken an "America First" stance toward international affairs.

-snip-

[George II]

2. I hate to say it, but he really did not look well. Conservative or not....

....with some opinions that I don't agree with, he still puts the country before ideology and money. I'll never forget that 2:30 AM "thumbs down". That was dramatic.

Sadly he looks like he won't be with us much longer.

[highplainsdem]

3. Lawrence O'Donnell talking about this now,

making it very clear this is a "direct response to Steve Bannon."

[highplainsdem]

4. Glenn Thrush responding, saying he's "profoundly moved" by McCain's courage.

[Duppers]

5. That clip he played, Wow!

I was looking closely to see if smoke was coming out of his ears.

Joe Biden was on stage with him.

Fuck Bannon.

[highplainsdem]

6. Carter speechwriter James Fallows also praising the speech.

[Grassy Knoll]

7. Good For You John....

Fuck Trump, And Fuck Bannon. And Fuck
Tiki Torch Phony Hateful Dick Heads.

[groundloop]

8. HOLY SHIT !!!!!!!!!

[highplainsdem]

9. No direct response from Bannon/Breitbart yet, but they've given McCain's speech a headline

and quoted the sections most clearly aimed at Bannon -- just two paragraphs, no commentary in the article -- as a way to give their troll readers a place to post nasty comments attacking McCain.

[Wednesdays]

10. The Twitterverse should be very interesting

the next 24 hours or so.

[highplainsdem]

15. We're going to need more popcorn.

[SergeStorms]

11. Half baked?

Trump and Bannon's ridiculous nationalistic bullshit hasn't even made it to the oven.

I'm glad someone like McCain said it, although I keep vacillating between thinking he's a man of character, or an opportunistic Republican. I believe his illness is showing him a side of himself he always knew was there, but was sometimes too cowed by other Republicans to let it develop. When your mortality is staring you in the face it brings forth some uncomfortable truths.

Still, I wish him well, although the prognosis isn't very encouraging. He is an American patriot, unlike all the other Republican chicken-hawks.

[highplainsdem]

12. ABC News: "McCain slams 'half-baked, spurious nationalism' sweeping US" - 12 min video:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mccain-slams-half-baked-spurious-nationalism-sweeping-us/story?id=50522714


I think the video is the complete speech.

[pangaia]

13. Well, Johnny boy, THAT was a good one.

Keep it up.....

[hibbing]

14. Where are the others?

I honor him for his service. Politically, major disagreements of course. The majority leader and speaker remain silent or supportive of the fascist knowing they will pay no political consequences.

Peace

[Achilleaze]

16. "unpatriotic" there you have the bannon republicans in a NUTshell

deplorable

[highplainsdem]

17. Agree completely.