Posted on 02/03/2008 11:51:56 PM PST by Yomin Postelnik
As a lifelong conservative, I wish McCain evinced a greater understanding that limited government is indispensable to individual liberty. Yet there is no candidate in either party who so thoroughly embodies the conservatism of American honor and tradition as McCain, nor any with greater moral authority to invoke it. For all his transgressions and backsliding, McCain radiates integrity and steadfastness, and if his heterodox stands have at times been infuriating, they also attest to his resolve. Time and again he has taken an unpopular stand and stuck with it, putting his career on the line when it would have been easier to go along with the crowd.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
There are many among the grassroots who believe as you do, that McCain is too liberal. It seems that this is because conservative media has only highlighted the few times that McCain supported anti-establishment legislation. In each of these cases Thompson (viewed as the “clear conservative” candidate although he’s to the left of McCain) was right there with him, as were many other conservative senators, yet Sen. McCain took most of the flack. His immigration policies are perfectly aligned with President Bush and are to the right of President Reagan as well as of Rudy Giuliani.
The way I see it we have a practical choice to make. We can support an electable conservative war hero with an 82.3% conservative rating, a candidate who is more conservative than Presidents Ford, Nixon or Eisenhower and who poll after poll places ahead of Hillary, Obama and Comrade Edwards, or we can nominate a candidate who’s a lifelong liberal (although he now supports some major conservative issues) and lose the general election to a Barack O’Hillary tag team that’s more liberal than McGovern.
It’s not just that Rudy would have been a disaster in the all important Midwest and that opposition to Romney is so intense, even among Republicans, that he can’t win. It’s also about the fact that both are far more liberal than Sen. McCain, yet somehow the opposition to them was/is less. As Ronald Reagan said, if someone agrees with you 80% of the time, chances are they’re your friend.
What a steaming pantload.
Good!
There is no conservative case for McInsane.
McCain radiates integrity and steadfastness?”
How he lied in the debate( integrity ) and has been steadfast to pass liberal laws?
finally a pragmatic voice of reason
Exactly.
Have you learned NOTHING of W's compassionate conservatism and open borders over the last eight years??!!
Goodnight almighty!!!
Am I the only dummy on this board or did others have to look up the word heterodox?
Boy, there's an argument killer.
I often appreciate Jacoby’s articles, but on this one I have to disagree. Like many others, I think Jacoby is confused by the significance of the fact that McCain was a prisoner of war for several years. Yes, that makes him a patriot and perhaps even a “hero” — but it doesn’t make him a good presidential candidate.
Meant on social issues - he actually is - McCain just gets more flack because of a few major bills, most of which Thompson supported.
Romney was one of the nation’s most liberal governors. We’re a lot better off with McCain than him. Just a few weeks ago Romney proposed a liberal bailout in Michigan that wouldn’t work. He’ll say or do anything and how he’d govern is anyone’s guess, but it wouldn’t be very conservative as he goes with the flow. McCain’s much more reliable. We’ll disagree on certain things but he’ll be with us a lot more than Romney would.
HE went over the top but I think it’s in response to the attacks on McCain as well. Comparing McCain to Romney, McCain’s more trustworthy and would govern more in line with conservatives than someone who was one of the nation’s most liberal governors (mandated healthcare’s just the beginning) and who seems to just go with the flow.
When you buy into global warming, you’re on the road socialism, IMHO.
Agreed - But Romney is clearly taking whatever position helps him at the moment. He’d be more than happy to cave on global warming and a whole host of other liberal programs for the general election. McCain will disagree with us on some, but stay steadfast with us on most issues.
McCain is hopelessly lost, but you’re right about Romney. He was a liberal abortionist socialist (RomnyCare) governor. His words are totally worthless. He’s proven that over and over.
I can't think of any instance of that. If you mean Fred's lack of support for a HLA, then his federalism doesn't put him to the left.
Yes, the question is which Romney will show up on Jan. 20th.
I’ll take whichever one does over McCain.
Global warming is a big one for me. There’s the litany of other things we all know. And when I hear him talk of Canada, big drug companies, etc... he’s either very stupid or has the heart of a trial lawyer. Romney panders; McCain manipulates.
thanks for your reply..
One feels that Romney will at least listen to his constituents views as opposed to Bush/McCain.
In the political realm, nothing has ever caused me more visceral consternation than Bush’s amnesty push of a year back. A major reason for that was the sheer fact that I had voted for Bush (including for governor) and loudly supported and defended him for years. It’s one thing to oppose the crazy libs and their socialist/decadent agendas, always certain to raise the blood-pressure. But, there’s nothing quite like the hell of seeing someone you supported go off the deep end, and promoting something that would basically destroy the country as we know it.
I vowed then and there that I will never again vote for any candidate (local, state or national) that is remotely weak on border issues. It’s the ultimate deal-breaker for me. It’s something I won’t waver on, regardless of any other circumstances. Indeed, I could overlook all of McCain’s (rather substantial) faults, and given him my vote. But, with his horrid pro-amnesty views, forget it. It seems this is the new direction the Republican Party wants to take, catering to the illegals, and to hell with law-and-order conservatives like myself.
Mind-boggling to contemplate this might very well be the first time in my life where I won’t be giving my vote to a Republican come November. Simply mind-boggling.
Can I have some of what the author is smoking?
I couldn’t agree more !
That kind of logic is fine for primaries. But by not voting McCain in November you are voting for the even more open border policy of Hillary/Obama. You lose even more. Add to that a loss in the war on terror, higher spending/taxes, nationalized health care and liberal judges just to name a few. It’s a ridiculous position.
Even if you didn’t care about the other issues McCain could be influenced by severe pressure. The dems have absolutely no check on them. And think of the judges they will appoint who will decide the major immigration cases that are coming our way. I’d rather have 40 or 50% on this issue than 0.
I never understood the fools like Michael Moore who were outspoken Nader supporters in 2000 then begged Nader on literal bended knee not to run in 2004. Intelligent people don’t have to burn themselves before they correct. I think most Freepers will come around once the lemming kings like Rush do.
McCain has, by his actions, already told me everything he thinks about conservatives. It isn't good.
I'm applying the same rules to McCain that I apply in every day life. Character and consistency counts. He's not my guy. Never will be.
Not likely in this lifetime...I'd just as soon let the republican party die and rebuild from the ashes of socialism.
This is like the Teri Shiavo case but at the party level, except this time I'm going to do the opposite and pull the plug.
This is the last betrayal. I'm outta here.
Sleep republican party, sleep...beep...beep...beeeeeeeeeeep...
I believe McCain went to the forefront of people’s minds, after Bhutto’s murder.
He is the only one with the brains to know what to do about it, and the guts to do it.
None of the other candidates made anyone feel safe or secure, when that happened. They all looked like deer in the headlights.
We are at war, and need a person who knows what war is like, to be the Commander in Chief. A person who knows how to command and lead men and women. Someone who can motivate us, and who can make us proud.
We also need some time to come up with better candidates. This years lot was horrible! McCain can win this thing, and keep the White House in Republican hands. This is very important. If the Dems get in the White House, it affects all of our embassies around the world. And, It affects every Federal Prosecutor’s office, in every state of the Union.
The fact is, that no other Republican candidate can beat the Dems. We have to take McCain. We have to unite around him. If we don’t, the Dems will be in control of every single government office, here and around the world. The clintons could be in control of every government office around the world! We must not let that happen.
This way, we will have 4 years to rebuild. Win some local offices, and regroup.
A REAL conservative’s case AGAINST John McCain:
John McCain is the alleged “Reagan” Republican who.....
1. Wanted to be John F’n Kerry’s running mate....
2. Was a corrupt member of the “Keating Five”....
3. Has been duped by the Euro-socialist “global warming” alarmists....
4. Wants to roll out the red carpet for the illegal alien hordes....
5. Was one of two senators (along with the ignoble Lincoln Chafee) who originally joined the Democrats in voting against the Bush tax cuts....
6. Proudly put his name to the most dangerous assault on free speech (McCain-Feingold) in the nation’s history....
7. Opposes the effective interrogation technique known as “waterboarding”, and wants to close Gitmo so he can bring captured terrorists to the United States where he can “lawyer them up” and give them access to the courts....
8. Joins the environmental extremists in opposing drilling for oil in a relatively minuscule section of the frozen, barren, wasteland known as ANWR....
9. Is older than Bob Dole was when Dole ran for President in 1996, and who would be the oldest man in history to try to win the Presidency as a major party candidate....
10. Impeded conservative initiatives in the Senate at nearly every opportunity, according to a genuine conservative, former Senator Rick Santorum (R - PA).
We don’t know if Romney will stab us in the back. We know McCain will. Romney is the logical choice.
It's bad enough that McCain has allowed himself to be duped like a third-grader by the Euro-socialist "global warming" alarmists, but his plan to close Gitmo and bring the terrorists back to the US so they can "lawyer up" and get access to our court system is over the top. The man will never get my vote.
Those who want to bash Romney as being a liberal need to remember that he was dealing with a legislature that was 87.5% democrats. That’s the kind of super majority that can effortlessly override a veto and Romney still managed to repeatedly cut taxes and balance the budget. Any Republican faced with that kind of overwhelming opposition would be forced to sign many liberal bills simply as a means of choosing the lessor of two evils. Either you sign the bad bill that has a few concessions in it or you veto it and they override your veto and give you nothing. Given what Romney was dealing with, I’m willing to cut him a lot of slack on his record and forgive him some flip flops. McCain doesn’t have any similar excuses.
Here I thought a primary was about choosing the best man for the job, not running scare tactics about “only candidate X can beat the other side.”
You don’t know that McCain is the most likely candidate to beat Hillbama, you’ve just convinced yourself to think that way because he’s your guy. Given his spearheading of two massively unpopular policies I see him as perhaps the least electable of the lot, but the I’m not exactly an impartial judge. Anymore, the country seems more more interested in the economy than the war, and if Iraq continues to get better voters will be even less interested in a military leader 9 months from now; and if heaven forbid the surge start to fail - McCain is finished. The point is that none of us know what could happen in the general election; we can make our silly predictions and jaw about it, but in the end we’re all flying blind.
Three months ago the pollsters were telling us that Guiliani and Clinton would be our nominees - now, Rudy’s long gone having won a pathetic one delegate, and Hillary’s looking distinctly un-inevitable. So we’re supposed to believe these same pollsters when they tell us that McCain is the only republican who can win next November? What a joke. I don’t even blame the pollsters and pundits for making the predictions they do, their just filling their jobs as talking heads - who I blame is us, if we take them too seriously.
I appreciate your reply. But, I’m unyielding on this matter. I’m not going to allow myself to go through the process of feeling complicit in any kind of upcoming amnesty/open-borders agenda, via giving my vote to someone who holds those views. I’ve had it. No more auto-pilot voting for any and all Republicans for me. Those days are over. I’m going over their records with a fine-tooth comb, from here on. And, McCain, with his desire to flood the country with up to 80-million impovershed third-worlders, is out of the question, to put it mildly.
How do you advance your cause by not voting McCain? The result actually means even more illegals. At the minimum a McCain presidency would seal the border, even if it granted a path to citizenship. He has already pledged to close the border first. He got the message from people like you. The battle is fought in a primary. When it is over a war needs to be waged. You lost the battle but there is no reason to surrender the war. There will be other primaries, other races. There are other levels of government. We already proved we can stop amnesty in the Senate with a pro-amnesty GOP president. Think of how a McCain candidacy can draw independents to pro-secure border GOP candidates down the list. The Senate is where the real border strength is.
The thing is, not only would Obama mean blanket amnesty but he supports licenses for illegals. His appointments to the court would mean decades of damage to the border cause not just 4 years. Imagine the immigration activist jusges on the court.
Not to mention a surrender in the WOT and giving up on cutting spending and balancing budgets. One-issue voters only end up shooting themselves in the foot. You cannot be a conservative and a one issue voter.
How do you advance your cause by not voting McCain? The result actually means even more illegals. At the minimum a McCain presidency would seal the border, even if it granted a path to citizenship. He has already pledged to close the border first. He got the message from people like you. The battle is fought in a primary. When it is over a war needs to be waged. You lost the battle but there is no reason to surrender the war. There will be other primaries, other races. There are other levels of government. We already proved we can stop amnesty in the Senate with a pro-amnesty GOP president. Think of how a McCain candidacy can draw independents to pro-secure border GOP candidates down the list. The Senate is where the real border strength is.
The thing is, not only would Obama mean blanket amnesty but he supports licenses for illegals. His appointments to the court would mean decades of damage to the border cause not just 4 years. Imagine the immigration activist jusges on the court.
Not to mention a surrender in the WOT and giving up on cutting spending and balancing budgets. One-issue voters only end up shooting themselves in the foot. You cannot be a conservative and a one issue voter.
Conservative case for McCain my @$$!
McCain conducted a counter presidency during Pres. Bush's tenure (plus violating the 1st amendment) all to make himself believe he was important. This man should not get the nomination.
Oh! And we should close gitmo too because the New York Times doesn't like it /s
“lemming kings like Rush...”
Nearly every conservative talk personality is vehemently anti-McCain. I tend to agree and have a hard time believing that every single one of them is wrong. If I am forced to choose between being stabbed in the back or stabbed in the front, I would rather see it coming and coming from my enemies, rather than someone flying a false flag.
I would be proud to assume the title of lemming, with the likes of Rush, Glenn Beck, Coulter, et. al., as leaders.
Romney was able to trick Communist Massachusetts into voting for him.
Do you think my state of Communist Massachusetts would've liked Conservative policies?
Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, and DITTO.
Massachusetts was no trick. The trick is now. And you’re falling for it.
I don’t have a horse in this race, my guy was Duncan Hunter, followed by Fred Thompson. The three we have left make me ill.
Huckabee is a spoiler, he will not get the nomination. I think the powers that be are keeping him in the race to take votes away from Romney. I’m TRYING to see something in Romney to give me the gumption to vote for him. The only thing I have come up with so far is that he is very smart, very good businessman and maybe being an outsider he will be a bit more creative when it comes to picking advisors. Who he surrounds himself with will be very important.
McCain has that moron Juan Hernandez on his team which scares the hell out of me plus, he has actually showed he does not give a hoot about illegal immigration. Yeah, he says he’ll build the fence but what is he gonna do with the 20 million or so that are here? He will give them amnesty.
Romney has made lots of promises, he said he supports conservative causes right now. Well he’s made his bed and he will have to lie in it. McCain has made it known he really doesn’t care anything about conservative causes so we’re really screwed if he becomes president.
Zachary Taylor owned 400 slaves, yet Lincoln and others supported him believing he'd be opposed to the slavery movement and they were right.
Romney would be a more Conservative president than you believe he'd be.
Ditto. I’m just sick to death of being ‘shamed’ into supporting a candidate, no matter how bad, who the media has deemed our only electable nominee. The OBL media and their ‘polls’ has controlled this election from the onset. It makes absolutely no sense that Americans would push to the forefront and elect the same man responsible for Shamnesty, when the majority of us rabidly oppose it.
And oh, IMO, Obama will be the nominee to beat, not Hillary.
First of all, McCain is NOT my guy. I happen to like Duncan Hunter. Sadly, his name is not on the ballot, anywhere. I was also hoping Liddy Dole would get back in the race...but, she too is gone.
And the primary is all about chosing the best person for the job. There are three candidates left in this race. Only one of them could beat the Dems, and that is McCain. He is the best we have now. No “scare tactics”; just the facts. Take a look at them, and maybe you could see the truth.
McCain has more experience and leadership qualities than either one of the Dems. He is more likeable, and admirable than either one of them.
Romney has been married a long time. He is rich and manages his finances well. He did a great job with the Olympics, but he didn’t do any great CONSERVATIVE things as leader of his state. Homosexual marriage became legal during his tenure. He was all for abortion. He raised taxes. He approved statewide healthcare—when the state can not afford it. He has changed his mind as much as his undergarments. He is a one term governor, with no military experience whatsoever. He doesn’t have enough experience, or “hollywood” to beat the dems. Thems the facts.
Love Huckabee; and the Lord could bring him to a win. He would be a great moral leader for this country. I believe that we would be blessed to have him. Nothing is impossible with the Lord. But, I definately thought the same thing about George W. Bush, 8 years ago.
If I am looking at the facts, the fact is, Huckabee has no war time experience. No military background in a time of war, is silly. And his own record shows him to be too soft. He is ready to forgive, as the Lord forgives, but sometimes the state needs to be a little more hardnosed! Fact is, Huckabee put many more criminals on the road to freedom, than should have been. Some people are dead because of it. I can not support that. I also don’t care for his actions with the illegals. Presidents have to be tough. If he quits, I actually look for him to endorse McCain.
Listen, all three are too liberal for my taste. But, when deciding who would be best for the country out of those three, McCain is the winner. The Republicans have lost both houses of congress...I say, lets keep the White House!
I dont care what his History is ,he has sold out to the devil to gain the Presidency.
Why does he not embrace true conservative priciples now ? Why does he not make it clear that he will nominate true conservatives to the bench ?
Why doesnt he say that no one comes into the country until they learn what the American culture is about ,all of our traditions and you must learn English ? Not to come and get a green card to get a job to send all the money back to Mexico and the Hell with the United States !!!
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