McCain Lies about Missed Energy Votes

A reporter pushing McCain on his missed energy votes:

WALTER ISAACSON: [...] Tom Friedman's column mentioned that you haven't been there supporting the tax breaks that need to be extended for wind and solar. Do you support those breaks, and will you keep pushing for--will you push for it at some point?

JOHN MCCAIN: Yes, and I have, and I have a long record of that support of alternate energy. [...] I've always been for all of those and I have not missed any crucial vote. But my citizens in Arizona know that when I'm running for the President of the United States I have to be out campaigning. But I of course I am for renewable energy

This is a lie. Friedman's column shows that McCain missed every vote on Energy in 2007.

[McCain said at a] motorcycle rally that Congress needed to come back from vacation immediately and do something about America's energy crisis. "Tell them to come back and get to work!" McCain bellowed.

Sorry, but I can't let that one go by. McCain knows why.

It was only five days earlier, July 30, that the Senate was voting for the eighth time in the past year on a broad, vitally important bill -- S. 3335 -- that would have extended the investment tax credits for installing solar energy and the production tax credits for building wind turbines and other energy-efficiency systems.

Both the wind and solar industries depend on these credits -- which expire in December -- to scale their businesses and become competitive with coal, oil and natural gas. Unlike offshore drilling, these credits could have an immediate impact on America's energy profile.

McCain did not show up for the crucial vote July 30, and the renewable energy bill was defeated for the eighth time. In fact, McCain has a perfect record on this renewable energy legislation. He has missed all eight votes over the past year -- which effectively counts as a "no" vote each time. Once, he was even in the Senate and wouldn't leave his office to vote.

Despite that, a McCain campaign commercial running during the Olympics shows a bunch of spinning wind turbines -- the very wind turbines that he would not cast a vote to subsidize, even though he supports big subsidies for nuclear power.

If these missed votes become a significant line of attack from Obama I'm sure we'll learn that it's fine because he was a POW.

Update: Youtube of the "misstatement" is here.