Voters blast McCain at Sierra Vista Town Hall; denies supporting amnesty

Some excerpts from the article from the Sierra Vista Herald. Note how McCain claims over and over again that he has always stood for securing our border. Not true considering he co-sponsored an amnesty bill with Ted Kennedy. McCain also criticized Obama for excessive spending - but never mentions the fact that he voted for several of the billion dollar TARP pork bailouts himself.

 Wednesday, Arizona’s senior U.S. senator got an earful of how upset local people are when McCain held a town hall meeting in Sierra Vista.

And much of the discussion centered on the weekend death of a Douglas-area rancher, a subject the senator first brought up when he began the town hall meeting. Calling the death of Robert Krentz a tragedy that could have been prevented, McCain said he has been out front for years saying, “We have to secure our border.” 

“I’ve been saying for a long time the border needs to be secured,” the senator said. 

Another topic at the town hall meeting was the recently Democrat-adopted and signed national health care reform legislation.

The cost of the measure is part of what he called “generational theft.” McCain said the United States is spending itself out of existence.

“For every single dollar we spend, we borrow 43 cents,” the senator noted.

With the national debt currently forecast at $1.4 trillion and expected to go to $1.5 trillion next year, McCain said, “Please don’t tell President Obama what comes after a trillion.”

Most of the questions and statements from the audience centered on border issues, with a few about national security and one woman asking McCain to address the claim he is a Republican in name only — a RINO.

As for the latter, he responded that he has long held to conservative issues and does not waver on them.

Another woman wanted assurances from the senator that he will abide by the Constitution and not just say things that are expected during an election.

“Is it campaign rhetoric or is it serious?” she asked.

Saying that what he says at every meeting is what he has always said, McCain noted his values have never changed.

He has been under attack by a Republican opponent for the Senate seat, former U.S.Rep. J.D. Hayworth. Hayworth says McCain flips on issues, becoming more conservative during a campaign.

But by far the biggest topic in the question-and-answer period was border security. The senator hit every ball thrown at him by saying he has a long record of working to secure the border.

And McCain denied he supports any immigration bill that would  include amnesty.

To him, the two biggest things that have to be done to ensure the country’s future, he told the Herald/Review, are “stop the spending and secure the border.” (Editorial Note: Huh? Then why did he co-sponsor an amnesty bill and vote for several of the billion dollar TARP pork bailouts?)