Posted on 02/09/2008 10:32:20 AM PST by TenYearLurker
There's an old Groucho Marx riff in which he launches a new career as a stick-up artist -- while worrying that his native cowardice may not induce the requisite fear among his victims. Sure enough, after a little time in a dark alley he springs out to confront his first victim, points his gun to his own head and says, "Take one step closer and I'll kill myself."
Such is the posture today among pundits on the far right of the Republican Party as Sen. John McCain moves closer to receiving his party's nomination. Consider the destructive implications of their pledge to work against Mr. McCain's nomination and even -- in the event he is nominated -- not to vote in the general election. Start with where it would leave our country -- presumably under the leadership of either Democrat candidate -- in the two domains where we will face critical challenges in the years ahead: our national security and the threat of an economic meltdown.
>snip
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Exactly. And there's going to be plenty of spinning in the days to come.
p.s., Ten Year Lurker, You're sudden arrival and post is way too transparent.
I don't. And I think he miscalculated on his screename. Should have put like, five or four-year lurker. Read FR for ten years and never comment? Then post? Yeah, right.
LOL. I like your post.
While I wouldn't have expressed it that way, your point is well taken.
To me, it is insulting that people suggest it is sufficient.
REALLY? So, we can just ignore the ideological positions and policies of the presidential candidates and vote for the one that we like the most?
Sheesh! I wish I knew that before! /s
Jury is still out. Mr "Baker Commission plan to surrender Iraq to Syria/Iran, Close Gitmo and extend the legal protections of the US Constitution to terrorists" McCain has yet to make the sale that he is substantially different then Hillary.
Oh he SAYS he is. It just we have yet to see any actions to back up the words. See Conservatives are so use to being lied to by politicians, we look more at their actions then their rhetoric.
But don't worry, he has got 9 months to seal the deal. I do not doubt most Conservatives will be scared into supporting McCain by the Democrats between now and Nov.
Unfortunately for you, not many of them will be Freepers. We know better. We know McCain's real record.
Did you really mean to ask that question the way you wrote it?
If so, then the answer is, "yes."
In the end, you always do that. Or, you don't vote.
I think it’s moot also, I truly think it’ll come down to Obamanation of Islam stomping McCain into the ground.
However, a Shrillary/McCain showdown will be close and clownish. Who is the most hated of the two?
Clinton’s loved by the left HOWEVER, if she indeed wins a close race, the blacks (and others) will NO DOUBT be EXTREMELY bitter, if not outright rioting and convinced that the Klintoon machine stabbed Obamanation of Islam in the back and “stole the election”! LMAO!
Meanwhile the conservative right (not all of us but many) will not vote for McCain under any circumstance, curiously they pick THIS election to find their “voice”, nonetheless I respect it and hell, might even be with them come November cause I sure don’t like the man myself...easily the worst nominee we’ve had, even more than Dole IMO.
And some are set on proving how liberal McCain is by voting for the absolute MOST liberal of all in Shrillary!!!
But given the last two elections came down to the last state with a 50.1% to 49.9% TOTAL margin...some of us will claim we were directly responsible for the ensuing disaster...a NO WIN if there ever was one...McCain will do MANY things that are both dangerous and wrong-headed,
but my money is on Clinton for making the bigger mess of the COUNTRY at the end of the day.
And btw...I’m not beholden to any party...but I AM beholden to this country, it’s the only one I have.
We?
I wouldn't presume to speak for so many, or even not many.
The future is certainly cloudy, that's for sure. I'll give you that. But the lack of visibility only means we can't see that far . . . yet.
In the aftermath of the field reduced to only McCain and Hucklebee, there's only a lot of bluster and noise. And, like you say, there are still nine months for events to reveal themselves.
We'll see whether or not your subset of conservatives support the Democratic ticket by default or roll the dice on McCain.
Well, perhaps I could have worded it better but based on your question, and then my reply, I think the intention was quite obvious.
Let me clarify: I do not choose a President based on who I "like." I choose who to vote for based on their character, their record, their intelligence and their platform. John McCain is no dummy, but he fails on all other counts--and he's unlikeable, to boot. When this election started out, the person I "liked" the most was Huckabee (although I never even considered voting for him due to his nanny-state positions and his global-warming craziness.)
Now, you said the U.S. was not a dictatorship. Perhaps you meant something different than how I interpreted your sarcasm. I assumed you meant that John McCain's record and positions on global warming regulation, the border, amnesty, Law of the Sea, "League of Democracies," etc. were not relevant to his candidacy. Hence, I responded as I did.
I stand by my original assertion: John McCain as POTUS would be an imminent threat to the U.S.A. as we know it.
Coulter likes Clinton.
That has to be the lowest threshold for supporting a candidate that I have ever seen.
Why, that must make me a wonderful candidate:
I meet all the Constitutional requirements; have never killed nor molested anyone, let alone a child; never abandoned a wife in favor of a whore f***ing partner "paramour"; never took bribes campaign contributions from sleazy S&L magnates; and have NEVER cozied up to Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, nor Feingold. And I contribute to FR.
And I have about as much chance of being elected as Toilet John McCainiac.
Please raise your sights, before you shoot yourself in the foot; you're shooting waaaaaaaaaaaay too low.
Nice photo of you. Did you pay to have someone do the lighting? Good stylist, too. Anyone we would know did the shoot?
I just thought the tissue and tears went well with your Frank Capra “It’s a Wonderful Life” emotional appeal for a vote for McCain. :)
Perhaps, it was. To you and to others. Not necessarily so, for me.
I can't tell you how many times I've written the thought in my head, perfectly crafted it, sent it on its merry way, only to learn that it perfectly failed to do the chore it was assigned to do. That's simply the tyranny of language.
My fault. Your fault. Nobody's fault.
Thank you for taking the time to clarify. I do appreciate it and I do respect your thoughts. I hope this reply demonstrates that.
Now, you said the U.S. was not a dictatorship. Perhaps you meant something different than how I interpreted your sarcasm.
Ah, the perfect thought gone wrong. It wasn't sarcasm. It was bent humor with what I thought was a relevant point.
As President, there are only specific things McCain or Clinton or Obama can do as President. They can negotiate treaties but that can't ratify them, for instance. All Presidents are assigned credit or blame for things that really became reality only through legislative acts. Then, the power of President as a reflection of his ideology and character is his willingness to sign or veto the legislation.
In Roman times, the Senate would elect a dictator for a supposed temporary term who could override their powers to legislate. Of course, temporary didn't always turn out so temporary. The point was that McCain could only be the fundamental danger some think him to be if he had power over the Congress.
Here in Free Republic are so many people with whom I'm politically compatible and we're at odds. By magic, I guess you were supposed to know what I'm working out in my own mind.
I stand by my original assertion: John McCain as POTUS would be an imminent threat to the U.S.A. as we know it.
Somewhere in what I've written above I hope comes the rejoinder that what you assert is impossible. It presumes unchecked powers he simply wouldn't have.
And if he circumvented the will of the Party, say by executive order or administrative powers (i.e., allocation of resouces) or an unwillingness to use his veto against Democratic legislation, I doubt the party would be there to support and finance a second term.
Welcome to FR. You may comment on the subject of your initial post if you wish.
Apparently, Ten Year Lurker posts or comments only once every ten years.
The silent right is seething.. somewhere.. probably considering revolution or civil war.. I know I am.. Washington D.C. is a Rube Goldberg political machine.. Voting for at least 18 years has produced little.. The 1992 election offered promise but it fizzled..
... global warming regulation, the border, amnesty, Law of the Sea, "League of Democracies," ...
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