John McCain Apologizes to Long Island
EmailDon’t mess with Long Island, Senator McCain.
Deep in debate over detainee policy today on the Senate floor Senator John McCain, R-AZ., made an offhand joke which later led him to, rather grudgingly, take to the Senate floor for a public apology.
“Isn’t it true that Justice O’Connor was specifically referring to a case for a person captured on Long Island?” McCain said on the Senate floor, referring to a Supreme Court decision. “Last I checked, Long Island was part — albeit sometimes regrettably — part of the United States of America.”
McCain was discussing if the Supreme Court had ever ruled on a specific matter of law dealing with detainees detained within the United States and being held indefinitely without constitutional rights.
But the comment about Long Island, which had nothing to do with the specific detainee debate, ticked off New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, who demanded an apology almost instantaneously for part of his state being the brunt of his joke.
“@SenJohnMcCain – All of America saw how heroic Long Islanders were on 9/11. #LongIsland deserves an apology,” the twitter account of Senator Chuck Schumer, D-NY., tweeted to McCain.
McCain then returned to the Senate floor and gave a perfunctory apology -suggesting that maybe Senator Schumer needed to have a better sense of humor.
“I made a joke,” McCain said, “I’m sorry there’s at least one of my colleagues that can’t take a joke and so I apologize if I offended him and hope that someday he will have a sense of humor.”
This half-hearted apology didn’t sit well with Senator Schumer who again took to twitter to chastise McCain.
“NYers can take a joke. But if @SenJohnMcCain wants to mock parts of America, stick to Arizona,” Senator Schumer’s office tweeted.
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Mccain is an old crusty that should freaking retire. he’s a bozo
Posted by: mike | November 30, 2011, 7:26 pm 7:26 pm
Apologies mean nothing . Most people mean every word they said
Posted by: ww2vet | November 30, 2011, 7:34 pm 7:34 pm
Hmmm. I think everyone’s just trying to figure out the ‘humour’ of the supposed joke. Guess you had to be there?
Posted by: Mystic | November 30, 2011, 11:07 pm 11:07 pm
If the quote above is complete, then McCain didn’t apologize to Long Island at all. He sarcastically apologized to Chuck Schumer while chastising him for not appreciating McCain’s failed attempt at humor, but to the millions of Long Islanders who may have been offended by his remarks, he offered nothing.
Posted by: shamsky24 | December 1, 2011, 1:00 pm 1:00 pm
As a Long Island transplant living in AZ, “Senator” McCain has been in office for the entire 24 years I am here. I am returning to my beloved Long Island in 2012, McCain has been in this desert too darn long and the desert heat has rotted out his brain…. step foot on Long Island Mr. McCain and say that statement..you owe that part of the USA an apology, check your facts and see how many 9/11 NYC victims were from Long Island and stepped up to the plate in those dark days. Tell me how many Long Islanders voted for you do you know…. maybe you should have had that number in mind before you open mouth stick foot in. I have disliked living here for a while, now I can’t wait to leave this once beautiful place, that you have done nothing to protect its citizens on so many fronts. The native Arizonans’ though are missing brain cells from the heat as well cause they keep you in office!
Posted by: impossible9189 | December 1, 2011, 10:55 pm 10:55 pm
McCain is right long island is a dump and should be firebombed.
Posted by: taso | December 2, 2011, 8:48 am 8:48 am