Posted on 11/08/2006 9:03:34 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
The events of yesterday may be a blessing in disguise for those of us who react with absolute horror to the very thought of a Democrat President in 2008.
Most likely the Democrat nominee is going to be Hillary, and like her husband before her, the only way she could win the Presidency is if there were a conservative stalking horse like Ross Perot to split the conservative vote.
We all know what an egomaniac John McCain is. If he does not get the nomination in 2008, there is no doubt in my mind that he will strike a secret deal with the Clintons and run a third-party candidacy, which will deliver the Presidency to Bill/Hill LLC.
I have resigned myself to McCain as the 2008 nominee.
It is either that, or resign myself to another 8 years of the Clintons.
No, McCain would be just as bad as Hitlery.
Oh great! Wasting votes on another third party loser will certainly restore good government. As for deserving "another 8 years of the Clintons," what a silly line, surpassed only by "the subsequent destruction of the nation" thing. I see nothing in your comments to separate you from the "teach them a lesson" crowd that helped their opponents yesterday.
What do you recommend, that we all redeploy to Okinawa? Get a grip.
It's not just that Howlin, he has that doughy, colorless look to him that people get right before they pass.
I think that she's going to run, then self-destruct when exposed to the limelight, a la Ross Perot.
It takes a special person to have *all* of their skeletons dragged out of the closet for public viewing, and she ain't it. Even with the mass media treating her with kid gloves and Katie Couric serving up softball questions, there will still be enough people (Swift boaters, etc) that stop and say "Let's talk about Vince Foster, Cattle Futures, FBI files, etc etc etc".
Look at how Bush was savaged in the elections. His college grades came into question. A 30-year-old DUI conviction was a major talking point. Dan Rather was making stuff up. And - the things that were getting press were trivial (how many people care about your college grades?) in comparison to the rampant corruption that has surrounded the Clintons ever since they've been in office.
That's my 2c, and my opinion only....
McCain was in the hanoi Hilton with a bunch of respectable and valueable men. Among them: Mike Benge, James Stockdale, Bud Day and others of great stature.
My friend Mike Benge was an enlisted peacetime Marine (1955-1959).
As the war in Vietnam heated up, Mike went to Vietnam in 1963 with the International Voluntary Services (forerunner of the Peace Corps) and joined what is now the U.S. Agency for International Development as a Foreign Service Officer in 1965.
Mike was serving as the senior civilian CORDS (Combined Operations Rural Development Support) advisor in Vietnam and was captured by the Communist North Vietnamese during Tet of 1968 while attempting to rescue 4 U.S. volunteers and a group of Missionaries.
Despite the fact that Mike was not a uniformed member of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Vietnamese Communists treated him with the same distain doled out to men like John McCain, James Stockdale and many others.
Mike was joined in prison by two missionaries who later died of malnutrition.
Mike was held captive by the Communists for just over 5 years. The first year, he was held in 12 different camps in South Vietnam. He was held one year in Cambodia then in and three different camps in North Vietnam.
Mike spent 27 months in solitary confinement, one year in a cage and one year in a black box. Finally he reached the Hanoi Hilton where the uniformed American POWs were held. He was released during Operation Homecoming in 1973.
Mike received the State Departments highest award for Heroism for saving the lives of 11 USAID personnel prior to his capture and a medal for Valor for his actions during his imprisonment.
Today Mike continues his service for others. He works for equal rights for the native peoples of tribal Vietnam.
For Bud Day I'll just post his Medal of Honor citation:
On 26 August 1967, Col. Day was forced to eject from his aircraft over North Vietnam when it was hit by ground fire. His right arm was broken in 3 places, and his left knee was badly sprained. He was immediately captured by hostile forces and taken to a prison camp where he was interrogated and severely tortured. After causing the guards to relax their vigilance, Col. Day escaped into the jungle and began the trek toward South Vietnam. Despite injuries inflicted by fragments of a bomb or rocket, he continued southward surviving only on a few berries and uncooked frogs. He successfully evaded enemy patrols and reached the Ben Hai River, where he encountered U.S. artillery barrages. With the aid of a bamboo log float, Col. Day swam across the river and entered the demilitarized zone. Due to delirium, he lost his sense of direction and wandered aimlessly for several days. After several unsuccessful attempts to signal U.S. aircraft, he was ambushed and recaptured by the Viet Cong, sustaining gunshot wounds to his left hand and thigh. He was returned to the prison from which he had escaped and later was moved to Hanoi after giving his captors false information to questions put before him. Physically, Col. Day was totally debilitated and unable to perform even the simplest task for himself. Despite his many injuries, he continued to offer maximum resistance. His personal bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy. Col. Day's conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Armed Forces.
James Stockdale: I'll say this. A selfless man.
In Newport RI, I was a Navy Lieytenant (junior grade)at the time, temp about zero, wind ferocious, bee bees of hail or something flying side ways....I could see a blue officer's coat about 100 yards ahead as I labored toward a building.
The officer ahead held the door open for me. For an inordinate time. For a very Junior Officer.
That was Jim Stockdale. Admiral Jim Stockdale. POW Jim Stockdale.
"Stockdale...deliberately inflicted a near-mortal wound to his person in order to convince his captors of his willingness to give up his life rather than capitulate. He was subsequently discovered and revived by the North Vietnamese who, convinced of his indomitable spirit, abated in their employment of excessive harassment and torture toward all of the Prisoners of War."
So reads the Congressional Medal of Honor citation for James Bond Stockdale. Shot down over North Vietnam in 1965, he endured seven years of captivity as a Prisoner of War, one of the longest such ordeals in American history.
http://www.medalofhonor.com/JamesStockdale.htm
Your vote is interpreted as an endorsement of all they stand for. I understand about strategy voting. Interesting that nobody remembers about that when they assess the reasons for the outcome. They assume total purity in the voting reasons. Clearly that's not true.
Hillary will unite conservatives, not divide them.
Still, last night sucks. Despite the "uncertainty" today, it is obvious to anybody with half a brain the Senate is gone for us.
Horrible does not begin to describe how that feels. We just have to rebuild.
Really? I guess the fact that though tortured and imprisoned he refused repatriation ahead of his fellow POWs counts for nothing on your rather odd loyalty/patriotism meter.
He is one man that I will never vote for. HRC is one female that I will never vote for.
I take it he feels it's a preverted Falwell/Bush plot to corrupt our precious bodily fluids.
'08 campaign slogan: Preserve Our Essence!
Liberals do that, not conservatives.
My hunch is that Republicans will even go further left... influenced by this Dem surge. McCain(and Bush) will 'work' with them... further blurring the distiction between (R) and (D) to the sheeple. The closer the parties 'seem'... the more it will benefit The Beast.
The big victor in this debacle was the DBM... it proves that the informationNew Media
You're right, of course.
I LIKE it!
You are dead on! All of these "purists" will give us Hillary, just like they gave us Bill if they vote for a third party in '08.
Wake up people!!!! You don't ALWAYS get the candidate of your dreams. This is a TWO party system, like it or not. Name any Libertarian or Conservative party affiliate that holds national office.
THEREFORE, I will vote for ANY candidate that can beat Hillary no matter how much it pains me, because there is NO one as evil as Hitlery.
The answer in '08 is to get a VERY conservative congress who will tow the true conservative line and support WHOEVER has the best chance of beating the Hilda-beast.
My hunch is that Republicans will even go further left... influenced by this Dem surge. McCain(and Bush) will 'work' with them... further blurring the distiction between (R) and (D) to the sheeple. The closer the parties 'seem'... the more it will benefit The Beast.
That is all.
We have a better chance of being attacked by killer tomatoes. As a conservative who survived the "Conservative Movement is Dead!" and the "Republicans Are Finished!" pronouncements of 1964, 1976 and 1992, I agree that we need more conservatives with the ability to win big and to govern well. But abandoning the party that has shown the ability to win and govern as conservative doesn't seem the best route to success.
Of all the posts on all the threads that FR has hosted, that is the goofiest. You may not like him (many don't), you may disagree with him (many do), but calling this tortured POW a traitor is just plain wrong.
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