[John D]

How about McCain Feingold which restricted freedom of speech? Or McCain Kennedy which wanted amnesty for illegals. How about his opposition to tax cuts? What about is insistence that we no longer look for our missing POWs and MIAs in Viet Nam? He is just as liberal as any democrat running, and more liberal than some.

[Dante3]

I agree. Plus, McCain has mental and character issues. His health appeared poor, he has more than his share of scandals - adultery, Keating 5, etc.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

“He is just as liberal as any democrat running, and more liberal than some.”

I’m not a McCain fan, but that’s just not true. He’s not a socialist, so that automatically makes him less liberal than the candidates on the democratic side.

[Oliver Optic]

The fact that McCain shares a few positions with Democrats does not mean he is as liberal as Hillary and Obama. That is a logical fallacy.

Ronald Reagan raised taxes in California, signed an amnesty bill on illegal immigration, chose for his would-be running mate in 1976 the most liberal Republican in the Senate, appointed Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court.

Fred Thompson co-sponsored McCain-Feingold. He opposes a pro-life constitutional amendment. He had a Senate voting record nearly indistinguishable from McCain.

By the logic some are trying to use, I have “proved” that Reagan and Thompson are as liberal as Hillary and Obama.

Is McCain a consistent conservative? No. Could a reasonable conservative decide not to vote for him? Yes.

But throwing statements out there like McCain is as liberal as Hillary and Obama only muddies the water at a time when conservatives need to be thinking clearly and soberly.