McCain from 2006: Americans wouldn't pick lettuce even for $50/hour.

[devilgrrl]

McCain responded by saying immigrants were taking jobs nobody else wanted. He offered anybody in the crowd $50 an hour to pick lettuce in Arizona.

Shouts of protest rose from the crowd, with some accepting McCain’s job offer.

“I’ll take it!” one man shouted.

McCain insisted none of them would do such menial labor for a complete season. “You can’t do it, my friends.”

Here's one from the DU way back machine: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=844692

[lligrd]

1. McCain Claims Americans To Weak To Do Real Work

should have been a headline. Too bad the media's been bought and paid for.

[Vinca]

2. Is he signing people up? I'll pick lettuce for $50 and hour anytime. nt

[superkia]

26. At only 40 hours a week and no overtime, thats $104K a year!

McCain has no idea what most "Americans are making and how many are barely surviving, not everyone has a house and an $50k gas guzzling SUV. As another poster pointed out that they would do it for $25 per hour, hell yeah, thats $52k a year for a physical job that I don't have to stress out over when I'm at home and not working.

Fuck McCain!

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

3. Fuck that, I'd pick lettuce for $25 an hour.

I wanna be paid in euros though.

[blondeatlast]

23. LOL!

:spray:

[B Calm]

4. Cheap Labor Conservatism is withering on the vine. . .

[NNN0LHI]

5. If any Dem candidate had said this that would be the end of their candidacy

We all know that.

Lou Dobbs would be repeating this every single night until they withdrew from the race.

Don

[ReverendDeuce]

6. Seriously... I'll take the "easy life" of manual labor... $50/hr? Sign me up.

Honestly... Having to deal with office politics, idiot subordinates and superiors, and being indoors all day...

Fuck it. I'll pick lettuce for $50/hr. Be outdoors, working with plants, no office bullshit... yeah!

[crikkett]

27. it's not easy, it's stoop labor and you're exposed to poisons all day, all week, all year.

poisons meaning pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Work dawn to dusk, no guarantee of work, and get shat on by your overseers.

McCain was right, the way farm labor "works" now, if Americans were doing the labor there would be riots and lawsuits to the point where THEYD own the farms.

[Zynx]

7. Show me the fields. I'd do it.

[L. Coyote]

8. “You can’t do it, my friends.” Speak for yourself. AND, now we know who his friends are.

Good Blooper. Americans can't work! That is as LAME as it gets.

HELLO JOHN... some of us actually do real work for a living!!!!!

[KG]

9. not many picking jobs are paid on an hourly basis, it's piece work.

still not many immigrants are using picking jobs to raise up from poverty. it's a lifetime occupation.

[jpak]

10. K&R

McDumbass

[MasonJar]

11. Oh, sure, they pay $50 an hour to pick lettuce!

[Political Heretic]

12. I'd do it for 50/hr

[dogday]

13. You would be surprised what people would do for $ 50.00

dollars and hour... That is an untrue statement... Exactly what does McCain think about Americans.. Picking lettuce is beneath us... No, nothing is beneath us when we have families to support...

[Aristus]

14. Shoot. I'd do it for $20 per hour. I'd donate every surplus penny to

every group working to prevent his Presidency.

Fucking asswipe.

[erpowers]

15. Why Are Republicans So Stupid

I would just like to know why Republicans are so stupid. The Republicans seem to just make stupid comment after stupid comment. Americans do jobs, that can be considered much worse than picking lettuce, for much less. I guess McCain never met a janitor, a McDonald's workers, or other people doing a host of other jobs. However, maybe he thought they all were making $50 an hour or more. That man is just stupid.

[unblock]

21. they're not really stupid so much as they value loyalty over integrity

democrats tend to make up their own minds, so they know and understand the issues and the beliefs they espouse. which makes for great individual candidates, especially in debates; but it makes for lousy team performance because we can't get on the same page.

republicans tend to hear the party line and believe that their job is to go out and espouse the PARTY line. they might not even bother forming a personal view on the issue because that doesn't enter in to it for them. if they do, they'll choose to advocate the party view over their own view anyway. which makes for great TEAM performances but lousy individuals. for instance, it's harder to remember the official position than it is to remember your own. hence mccain's earlier gaffe about having to check his prior speeches for his views on contraception and stds.


in this case, the party line was that employers import cheap labor because citizens refuse to do the job. this is necessary to rationalize taking jobs away from people who are already americans. mccain was simply touting the party line. but since it wasn't really his own view (does he even have a view?) he couldn't explain party line that well.

the party line was not really that no american would pick lettuce for $50/hr, merely that growers couldn't make a profit if they paid americans what they were demanding -- which is nowhere near $50/hr.

[Johonny]

16. I can't decide

Is he being racist, unpatriotic or just ignorant of economic/social conditions. Oh well I'm sure the media will play the statement over and over like they do Democratic misstatements.

[blondeatlast]

24. All of the above--I was just thinking the same thing.

The local press has been covering up his misspeaks for years.

[PA Democrat]

17. He is so out of touch.

Hey, can someone start a compilation of some of his most ridiculous statements. I posted this one yesterday:

McCain: "I’m glad whenever they cut interest rates. I wish interest rates were zero."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3102512&mesg_id=3104958

[robinlynne]

18. I sure would.

[TomBall Democrat]

19. Two Questions, McCain

when and where?

I can pick some serious lettuce for $50 an hour.

Anytime.

[grannylib]

20. He's out of his mind. Sign me up. When do I start?

[WinkyDink]

22. I'm there!

[Mz Pip]

25. Sure they would

but no one would then want to pay $5 for a head of lettuce. He left that out of the equation.

[TwixVoy]

28. He's an idiot

Too much money to be in touch with anyone.