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A conservative's case for McCain
Boston Globe ^ | 02/03/08 | Jeff Jacoby

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 ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bullshiite; bullshirt; dumberthandirt; gopcoup; jeffjacoby; liberal; liberalagenda; liberals; liberalvalues; mccain; pantload; primaries; rino; romney; stuckonstupid; supertuesday
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It's McCain or Romney, so here's my take: I agree that we need to be a party of principals and that we conservatives need to stand by our core beliefs. But that’s why I’d also urge you to seriojusly consider Sen. McCain over Mitt Romney. He has an 82.3% lifetime conservative rating in Congress. Overall, he’s far more conservative than Romney, a lifelong liberal who just last year forced government mandated health insurance in his state and just last week advocated extremely liberal government intervention to solve an economic crisis in Michigan that cannot be solved without the common sense solutions that McCain supported and Romney opposed.

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.

1 posted on 02/03/2008 11:51:58 PM PST by Yomin Postelnik
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To: Yomin Postelnik
Also from Jeff Jacoby:

Illegal immigrants are here to stay

2 posted on 02/03/2008 11:56:01 PM PST by ruination
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To: Yomin Postelnik
there is no candidate in either party who so thoroughly embodies the conservatism of American honor and tradition as McCain

What a steaming pantload.

3 posted on 02/03/2008 11:58:30 PM PST by South40 (Amnesty is a slap in the face to the USBP!)
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To: Yomin Postelnik
Then he outdid himself with:

The demonizing of illegal immigrants
4 posted on 02/03/2008 11:58:37 PM PST by ruination
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To: Yomin Postelnik

Good!


5 posted on 02/03/2008 11:59:31 PM PST by moderate_conservative
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To: ruination

There is no conservative case for McInsane.


6 posted on 02/04/2008 12:00:23 AM PST by flaglady47 (There's still time, ... vote Romney!)
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To: All

7 posted on 02/04/2008 12:00:31 AM PST by Cindy
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To: Cindy

8 posted on 02/04/2008 12:03:09 AM PST by South40 (Amnesty is a slap in the face to the USBP!)
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To: Yomin Postelnik

McCain radiates integrity and steadfastness?”

How he lied in the debate( integrity ) and has been steadfast to pass liberal laws?


9 posted on 02/04/2008 12:04:36 AM PST by factmart
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To: Yomin Postelnik

finally a pragmatic voice of reason


10 posted on 02/04/2008 12:04:37 AM PST by ari-freedom (Support our troops and their mission!)
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To: South40

Exactly.


11 posted on 02/04/2008 12:07:16 AM PST by Cindy
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To: Yomin Postelnik
Please enumerate which cases we were better off in the long run in any great way by voting for a RINO (Republican-D), over a Democrat--when there were conservative choices?

Have you learned NOTHING of W's compassionate conservatism and open borders over the last eight years??!!

Goodnight almighty!!!

12 posted on 02/04/2008 12:08:29 AM PST by AmericanInTokyo (Enough has been said already. The 2008 GOP RINO takeover is complete. It is what it is.)
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...McCain radiates integrity and steadfastness, and if his heterodox stands have at times been infuriating...

Am I the only dummy on this board or did others have to look up the word heterodox?

13 posted on 02/04/2008 12:13:22 AM PST by Doofer (Carl Cameron Is A Weasel)
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To: Yomin Postelnik
Thompson (viewed as the “clear conservative” candidate although he’s to the left of McCain)

Boy, there's an argument killer.

14 posted on 02/04/2008 12:13:28 AM PST by MitchellC
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To: Yomin Postelnik

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.


15 posted on 02/04/2008 12:13:34 AM PST by RussP
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To: MitchellC

Meant on social issues - he actually is - McCain just gets more flack because of a few major bills, most of which Thompson supported.


16 posted on 02/04/2008 12:17:18 AM PST by Yomin Postelnik (Realistically It's McCain or Hillary)
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To: factmart

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.


17 posted on 02/04/2008 12:19:43 AM PST by Yomin Postelnik (Realistically It's McCain or Hillary)
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To: RussP

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.


18 posted on 02/04/2008 12:21:43 AM PST by Yomin Postelnik (Realistically It's McCain or Hillary)
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To: Yomin Postelnik

When you buy into global warming, you’re on the road socialism, IMHO.


19 posted on 02/04/2008 12:22:27 AM PST by D-fendr (Deus non alligatur sacramentis sed nos alligamur.)
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To: D-fendr

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.


20 posted on 02/04/2008 12:25:49 AM PST by Yomin Postelnik (Realistically It's McCain or Hillary)
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