At town hall, McCain takes heat for "Tea Party hobbit" comment, refuses to apologize

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

At a Town Hall meeting in Arizona on Monday, a group of angry voters rebuked Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for using the phrase "Tea Party hobbits" in a speech on the Senate floor last month, and demanded that the former presidential candidate issue an apology, according to the East Valley Tribune.

McCain, one of many lawmakers using Congress' August recess as an opportunity to hold town hall meetings and connect with constituents, defended his remarks - and pointed out that he was merely quoting a Wall Street Journal article.

"What apology is in order?" McCain asked, when called on to apologize. "What was wrong that I said?"

The editorial McCain quoted in his July 28 remarks likened Tea Party members to characters in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

"The idea seems to be that if the House GOP refuses to raise the debt ceiling, a default crisis or gradual government shutdown will ensue and the public will turn en masse against Barack Obama. ... Then Democrats would have no choice but to pass a balanced-budget amendment and reform entitlements, and the Tea Party hobbits could return to Middle-earth having defeated Mordor," McCain said, quoting the editorial.

McCain told town hall audience members that he quoted the remark because a debt limit deal with an attached balanced budget amendment had no chance of passing in the Senate - and that any argument to the contrary was, like hobbits, fictitious.

"There was no way that a balanced-budget amendment would have passed the Senate," McCain said, according to the Tribune. "If anyone said that it could, they were not being truthful. Hobbits are not real, and the point is that it was not real. You should not deceive people and say that something like a balanced budget amendment could happen."

"It's not my fault that it was misunderstood," he added. "I'm sorry that it was misunderstood."

McCain also pointed out that he has voted for a balanced budget amendment more than a dozen times, and touted his record as a fiscal conservative.

"I will match my record as a fiscal conservative against anyone in the House and Senate, including the new members," McCain said. "I have fought both the Republican and Democratic leaders on spending. I will defend my record."

[djconklin]

They ARE hobbits with little minds. If we had had a balanced budget in place we wouldn't have been able to fight WW2. This is a back door attempt to let the Nazi mentality in our country win the war.

[meshine]

Why are we wasting our military fighting in Afghanistan when we have terrorist here in this country amongst us, they're called Tea Baggers.

[midvale3]

When your party is made up of a bunch of ignorant, knuckle dragging morons don't be shocked when they don't understand what you are trying to communicate.

[pbaird2]

Tea Party associates need to read American history and not rely upon Palinesque historical memories. The currenty Tea Party movement bears absolutely no resemblance to the early American revolutionaries nor does the Tea Party embrace the ideals which ultimately caused our separation from Brittain. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, so read something more substantive than soundbytes and bumper stickers.

[djconklin]

The Tea Party will never read and when they supposedly try they do not comprehend what they are reading--that's how they came up with "death panels" in the health care bill.

[wdrussell1]

The original TeaParty dumped the tea.

The new TeaParty wants to dump our republic.

[djconklin]

Good one!

[Martha12345]

This old RINO is ready to retire to the zoo.

[ladyang]

Mccain will be apologizing next week! Old fool.

[Aryadnae]

I totally agree with kansas1946. If the hobbits are supposed to be the good guys, why are the tea partiers so upset? Geez, if you call them heroes, they get mad; if you call them terrorists they get mad! Maybe they're just mad.

http://restoringtruthiness.org/5847/mccain-to-tea-partiers-i'm-sorry-if-you-misunderstood-my-hobbit-insult-as-an-insult-video

[NotWaff]

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McCain is old-guard Republican, part of the problem and needs to go.

We need the Tea Party to bring in fiscal responsibility.

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[nearl451]

No. His only problem is that he is losing his edge a bit.

You need the old guard for some stability and rationality in the Republican Party,it denotes some resemblence to sanity.

[RobAla]

I would agree. I have a lot of respect for McCain bravery and military service, but it may be time for him to retire.

[NinthSt78]

Some old ladies don't like green tea in plastic bottles. When they have a tea party it comes with silver brew pot, silver utensils, and cute little demitasse cups and saucers.