Seven Houses for Just One Family?

Workers Ask John McCain to Open His Homes to Foreclosure Victims

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

CONTACT: Leilah Mooney
(202) 701-5209

As Economic and Housing Crises Worsen, Workers Unite to Hold John McCain Accountable

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Protest Comes as McCain and Palin Face Greater Scrutiny on Housing Issues

ARLINGTON, VA -- Workers today called on Senator John McCain to open his home to families facing foreclosure at a protest outside his luxury condo in Crystal City, VA. The event, sponsored by labor and community groups, was designed to highlight the growing disconnect between Senator McCain and the challenges facing working families across the country. The action culminated with the construction of a tent city across the street from McCain's condo -- one of seven homes he and his wife own around the country. The rally was the first in a series of coordinated demonstrations that will take place in six cities around the country this week.

The protest comes as the housing and unemployment crises have reached new heights. As major banks announce bankruptcy, seek bridge loans, and pursue buyouts, average Americans watch the value of their homes plummet as their mortgage payments soar. A record 1.2 million houses were in foreclosure during the second quarter of 2008. Last week the federal government announced the takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, fueling renewed fears about the housing market. In August, employers nationwide cut 84,000 jobs and the national unemployment rate rose to a five-year high of 6.1 percent. These blows to the economy come in the eighth year of George W. Bush's tenure as president. One of the president's most vocal supporters, Senator McCain has voted with Bush on economic and other issues 90 percent of the time, and plans to continue many of these policies if elected.

As these economic crises weigh on working Americans, new revelations have emerged about Republican candidates John McCain and Sarah Palin. McCain was widely criticized for not knowing the number of homes he and his wife own. Since then, most sources have agreed that the McCains own seven homes across the country, while some maintain that he owns up to eleven. Recently it has been reported that Senator McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, billed Alaska's taxpayers for a "per diem" allowance -- intended to cover expenses incurred while traveling for state business -- for 312 nights she spent in her own home. These per diem charges amounted to about $17,000 in 19 months, and it is unclear whether or not Palin declared these subsidies in her income tax report.

Jean Irwin, a former public sector worker from Michigan who attended the protest said, "John McCain and his advisers might think this recession is psychological, but I'm here because I know how real it is. I have lost my job and my home could be next -- and it's not because I have acted irresponsibly. We are all just hard working Americans trying to keep our jobs, send our kids to school, put food on the table, and pay our bills, but that's getting harder and harder to do. And we figure -- since John McCain has so much, and we have so little, maybe he could help us out."

Jean Irwin was an administrative assistant for the state of Michigan and recently lost her job as a result of state budget cuts. Irwin was joined at the protest by Annette Wisniewski of Lorain, Ohio, and Hameedah Shadoor of Youngstown, Ohio. Wisniewski, the daughter of a veteran and railroad worker, currently works in a mental health facility, and lives paycheck to paycheck as gas and food prices continue to soar. Shadoor, a mother of three, recently lost the home she lived in for eleven years to foreclosure.

On Wednesday, September 17, unions and community groups will visit McCain campaign offices and GOP headquarters in cities around the country to continue to request that Senator McCain share his homes and take action on the housing crisis. "And for the record," Irwin said "we can't wait for McCain's staff to get back to us."

Change to Win Chair Anna Burger said, "We are in the midst of a crisis; millions of working families across this country can't pay their mortgages, and each day we are seeing more families put out on the street. If John McCain and Sarah Palin want to live up to their promise to put 'country first,' they could start by offering a helping hand to working people here at home by helping to raise the minimum wage, joining our fight for universal healthcare, or pursuing alternative energy policies that will help create jobs."

Change to Win Executive Director Chris Chafe said, "While John McCain has supported George Bush's agenda to hold workers' wages down and send their jobs overseas, he's bought enough homes to field a baseball team. America's workers deserve a leader who will stand up for them, and they want Senator McCain to change the Bush policies that have kicked them to the curb for the last eight years."

These events are the latest facet of Change to Win's campaign to hold John McCain accountable for his record on the housing and job crises. Change to Win unions have mounted a John McCain Truth Squad Tour: nine workers traveling to ten states to spread the truth to union members about what a John McCain presidency would mean for working Americans and the entire nation. Change to Win also recently released a new video, called "Real McCain of Genius" which uses a parody of the Bud Light ad "Real Men of Genius" to highlight how extremely out of touch John McCain is with working families. The video, which can be seen on www.worsethanbush.org racked up 70,000 hits on Youtube in less than a week, and has been featured on hundreds of blogs.

ACORN President Maude Hurd said, "We are a nation of workers, not of whiners, but we have been left behind by the uncompassionate conservative economic agenda of deregulation and exploitation. If only the original maverick had been originally more interested in helping homeowners than predatory lenders, we would not be in the epic foreclosure crisis in which we find ourselves today. John McCain has been in the Senate as long as most mortgages last, and while he has helped himself to many homes he has never helped homeowners struggling with the result of his economic agenda. When it comes to the concerns of one-home homeowners, John McCain just doesn't get it."

Protestors want Senator McCain to understand the effect these policies have on working Americans. They want him to change his position on these policies and take real action that will protect the interests of hard working Americans.

This web page is paid for by the Change to Win Committee for the American Dream and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.