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Sen. John McCain: Really a man of 'high' principle? (THOMAS SOWELL...CIRCA 2000)
HUMAN EVENTS ^ | 1/28/00 | Sowell, Thomas

Posted on 01/31/2008 2:37:46 PM PST by paltz

When 89% of the people in the media voted for Bill Clinton in the last election, how are the Republicans supposed to get their message out to the public, unless they pay the millions of dollars it takes to advertise on television?

Why Media Love McCain

Republicans have no choice but to outspend the Democrats, because Democrats get a lot of their message out through the media, free of charge, simply because the people in the media believe so much of that message themselves. Restricting spending does not mean a public better informed about both sides of issues. It means a public far less likely to hear both sides of issues.

The media love campaign finance reform-and they love Sen. John McCain, who has become their favorite Republican by pushing this liberal nostrum in Congress and on the campaign trail. But is throwing your party to the wolves, in order to boost your own candidacy, a high principle?

Media advocates of campaign finance reform think it is terrible that someone like Steve Forbes can spend millions of dollars of his own money to acquire name recognition and a forum for his ideas. But they find nothing wrong with the fact that Hillary Clinton or any of the Kennedys can get the same name recognition and a forum free of charge or at the taxpayers' expense.

Is the political process harmed when those who have money can break the monopoly of those who have incumbency? Why is one form of unequal access to the media and the public considered so morally corrupt and the other not?

The incessantly repeated idea that wealthy candidates can "buy the election" has been disproved again and again, most recently by Steve Forbes' failure to reach double digits in national polls.

Then there is the McCain approach to taxes. Here again he buys into the liberal notion that it is somehow wrong to cut taxes across the board, for fear that "the wealthy" will benefit. Are taxes to be cut because they are too high or are tax cuts to be used to redistribute income?

The only people whose taxes you can cut are the people who are paying taxes-and that means, disproportionately, middle-class people who get reclassified as "rich" whenever politicians want to confuse the issues in order to prevent tax cuts.

Just who are these "rich" that liberal Democrats talk about so much?

Although the term is used endlessly, no one wants to say just how much money it takes to be considered "rich" when it comes to taxes. They don't say because they would be laughed to death if they did.

The political definition of "the rich" is often the top 20% of income earners. But a married couple making $40,000 each is making enough to land in that top 20%. Statistics show that an absolute majority of all Americans-including those who start out in the bottom 20% in income-are in that "rich" top 20% at some time or other.

Envy is not pretty, even when it is envy of people permanently better off than you are. But when you are envying people in a bracket that you yourself are going to be in, it is idiocy.

Thanks to the liberal media, most people will never be told that these "rich" and "poor" people they hear talked about so much are both transients with no fixed address in the income stream. Often they are the same people at different stages of their lives.

Maybe Sen. McCain doesn't think he can explain all this to the voters. Instead, he goes along with the mythology. Maybe he figures that, if you can't lick 'em, join 'em.

If he wants tojoin 'em, fine. There is already a party he can join that lives by that mythology. They are called Democrats. But running as a Republican on Democrats' rhetoric is hardly an example of high principles.

Copyright Human Events Publishing, Inc. Jan 28, 2000
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: mccain; rino; sowell

1 posted on 01/31/2008 2:37:48 PM PST by paltz
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To: paltz; Checkers

Last Clear Chance.
Vote for Mitt.

Stop McCain.

Stop Amnesty.
Or you get what you deserve.

http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/


2 posted on 01/31/2008 2:41:01 PM PST by sweetiepiezer (GO MITT........GO MITT..........GO MITT...........)
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To: paltz

yeah, lets recycle this old stuff.

Might as well bring out all the Romney stuff too while you are at it. Oh,...and Ron Paul’s nazi past.


3 posted on 01/31/2008 2:42:00 PM PST by Tulsa Ramjet ("If not now, when?" "Because it's judgment that defeats us.")
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To: Tulsa Ramjet

What’s so old about hearing a “so called” conservative spout the phrases that make him sound like a left wing lon on fiscal issues?


4 posted on 01/31/2008 2:44:15 PM PST by paltz
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To: Tulsa Ramjet
yeah, lets recycle this old stuff.

McCain has turned harder left since this was written. McCain has a very, very vengeful streak. He will make it a top priority to destroy what's left of the conservative movement. Thank God he will not be President. His buddies in the left will utterly (and rightfully) destroy this vile, petty, bitter old man.

5 posted on 01/31/2008 2:47:19 PM PST by sand88
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To: Tulsa Ramjet

seems as though the GOP likes to “recycle old stuff”. Let’s all look ahead to Juan’s new guest-worker program! No, wait...


6 posted on 01/31/2008 2:52:29 PM PST by Baladas
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To: jazusamo

Ping


7 posted on 01/31/2008 3:04:43 PM PST by beaversmom
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To: paltz
Will not vote for McCain, no way no how. Some here think he can beat Hill or Obama in the general, but they are sadly mistaken. If he does become the nominee(God forbid) at the proper time the media will eat him alive. He is just as unlikable as Hillary Clinton, but the media is hiding that side of him for now. In the end, the Dem candidate will crush him.

I seriously believe our only hope is Mitt Romney. Not the greatest of candidates, but I’d take my chances with him over McCain any day!

8 posted on 01/31/2008 3:08:26 PM PST by bushinohio
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Thomas Sowell on the Dennis Prager program discussing economic myths. Touches a little bit on the upcoming election/candidates as well. From January 29, 2008.
Click link for partial transcript and link to audio:

Dennis Talks To Tom Sowell On Democrats And Their Economic Fallacies

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1962443/posts


9 posted on 01/31/2008 3:10:08 PM PST by beaversmom
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To: paltz; AbeKrieger; Alia; Amalie; American Quilter; arthurus; awelliott; Bahbah; bamahead; bboop; ...
Thanks for the ping, beaversmom.

*PING*
Thomas Sowell

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Recent columns
A ‘Stimulus Package‘?
’Billary‘ versus Obama
McCain‘s Age

Please FReepmail me if you would like to be added to, or removed from, the Thomas Sowell ping list…

10 posted on 01/31/2008 3:23:00 PM PST by jazusamo (DefendOurMarines.org | DefendOurTroops.org)
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To: sweetiepiezer
Last Clear Chance. Vote for Mitt. Stop McCain.

You know, I keep seeing this posted....and if thought it was a better than even bet that Romney was significantly better than McCain, I might sign on.

The problem is not that the conservative base of Repubs fails to recognize that McCain isn't conservative...the problem is that they are not convinced that Romney is either.

So, now even before the election when we are being expected to vote for the lesser of two evils we have to do similarly in the primaries?

How many times do I have to hold my nose and vote anyway?

11 posted on 01/31/2008 3:29:52 PM PST by Ethrane ("semper consolar")
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To: Ethrane

Would you like some more good reading on Romney? Try this.

http://www2.nationalreview.com/corner/romneyaddress.pdf


12 posted on 01/31/2008 3:42:41 PM PST by Logical me (Oh, well!!!)
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To: Logical me

bump


13 posted on 01/31/2008 4:06:09 PM PST by Freee-dame
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To: Logical me

Thanks for the link...that was a pretty good read.


14 posted on 01/31/2008 4:22:46 PM PST by Ethrane ("semper consolar")
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To: Ethrane
Photobucket

The man says that he has converted to Conservatism. At this point I have no other choice but to believe Mitt given the alternatives. He even personally signed the smoker ban bill in MA, and I'll forgive him and still vote for him (he has seen the light). I realize that it's like letting a recently baptized born again Christian run for Pope, but such is the sad state that we are in.

15 posted on 01/31/2008 6:10:23 PM PST by Eric Blair 2084 (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms shouldn't be a federal agency...it should be a convenience store.)
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To: jazusamo

So it’s unanimous. Every thinking conservative hates John McCain.


16 posted on 01/31/2008 6:11:35 PM PST by Eric Blair 2084 (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms shouldn't be a federal agency...it should be a convenience store.)
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To: Eric Blair 2084

Let me just say that if Mitt would pick a conservative like Thompson as the VEEP, I’d feel somewhat more assured.

Doesn’t have to be Thompson in particular, because he may want someone ‘younger’ which would be better for future options too, but someone ‘Thompson-like’ in his beliefs.

And, I’d like to say that of the remaining ‘Pubbies, Romney is the only one I would consider voting for IN THE GENERAL ELECTION. It almost hurts to say that, but it’s the truth.


17 posted on 01/31/2008 6:21:13 PM PST by Ethrane ("semper consolar")
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To: Ethrane

I’ve been wrong on every other prediction I’ve made...like the baby killer/nanny stater Rudy/Huck ticket from a few months ago so take this with a grain of salt....

I guarantee that McCain picks Fred as his VP. It’s his only hope for trying to sucker conservatives back into his camp.


18 posted on 01/31/2008 6:28:46 PM PST by Eric Blair 2084 (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms shouldn't be a federal agency...it should be a convenience store.)
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To: Eric Blair 2084
I guarantee that McCain picks Fred as his VP. It’s his only hope for trying to sucker conservatives back into his camp.

Sorry, but I just don't see that happening. The last thing McCain needs is another 'older' guy as a running mate, despite how much Thompson would add to the ticket.

I don't see Huckabee getting the nod either, but that might depend on how much he still pulls on Super-dee-duper Tuesday...he might bring some of the religious-right along on the McCain express. Don't think it will work, but maybe.

McCain may decide to just totally discard the conservatives and pray that his appeal to the moderate dems will bring them over rather than vote for the lefty-socialists like Hill and Obama...I could see McCain picking someone like Crist of FL, another 'moderate'.

It will be interesting.

19 posted on 01/31/2008 6:34:37 PM PST by Ethrane ("semper consolar")
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To: Ethrane

It will be interesting is right. Your theory is as good as mine. Just seems to me that he already has the RINO’s like Rudy and the Total Sellout star Sqirminator Ahnold in the bag. These fools think that reaching out across the aisle to support liberal causes makes them heros.

They don’t undertand why the hand doesn’t come across the aisle to support conservative limited government initiatives.

Seems to me that he has to pick Fred to have a prayer at least of getting some conservative votes. Otherwise, McLiberal is just relying on his sheer brilliance as an orator and salesman to convince the sheeple to vote for him vs. Billary or Osama.....HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!


20 posted on 01/31/2008 6:48:12 PM PST by Eric Blair 2084 (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms shouldn't be a federal agency...it should be a convenience store.)
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