by Seth Michaels, Apr 11, 2008

On Wednesday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took his presidential campaign to Connecticut, where he continued his quest to raise big bucks and evade hard questions from union members.

McCain spent the morning speaking at a private event for a multibillion-dollar hedge fund company, and the evening at yet another high-dollar fundraiser at the gated Belle Haven Yacht Club.

Outside the yacht club, dozens of AFL-CIO union members challenged the longtime senator to listen to their concerns and work to turn around America. 

Once again, McCain missed an opportunity to talk to real people about the issues facing working families, just as he did in Maryland, Florida, California, and nearly everywhere else he’s traveled.

McCain has admitted it: He doesn’t know much about the economy. He has yet to propose any real solutions to our economic woes. Instead, he’s proposed detail-free half-measures on the housing crisis and offered a health care plan that actually raises taxes without improving coverage. He’s even had trouble explaining his budget numbers, but he’s had no trouble offering big tax cuts to insurance companies.

What does McCain need to do? For starters, he needs to propose a real solution to the housing crisis, one that imposes a moratorium on foreclosures and restructures rates so working families can keep their homes. Offer a health care plan that provides high-quality health care to everyone, improving and expanding coverage. Fight against unfair trade deals like the Colombia FTA that hurt workers here and abroad. Finally, he needs to give workers the tools they need to improve their own lives by pledging to sign the Employee Free Choice Act.

Maybe if McCain spent less time with corporate lobbyists (like the 35 who hosted a fundraiser for him Wednesday or the many lobbyists on his campaign team), he’d have more time to listen to workers and understand the real problems they’re facing.

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