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Making the Case for McCain
Townhall.com ^ | March 21, 2008 | Burt Prelutsky

Posted on 03/21/2008 3:33:26 AM PDT by Kaslin

Making the Case for McCain By Burt Prelutsky Friday, March 21, 2008

A while back, I admitted that John McCain was not among my three favorite candidates for the Republican nomination. But I went on to say that if he emerged as the standard bearer for the GOP, he would get my vote. And to tell you the truth, I don’t feel I’ll have to bite the bullet in November so much as maybe gum it a little bit.

Needless to say, I have been hearing from a great many conservative hardliners. Among the things they’ve called me are sell-out, traitor, closet liberal and a mole for the Democrats. When a few of them settled for calling me a fool or an idiot, it almost felt like a compliment.

When you write what you honestly believe, you have to expect to raise occasional hackles. After all, I know very well that when I write about the sad fact that 80% of my fellow Jews can be counted on to vote for any cretin so long as he or she has a (D) after their name on the ballot, I can count on receiving a fair number of e-mails questioning my legitimacy and several more condemning me as a self-hating Jew. I also know that if I write a piece in which I defend Israel’s right to defend itself against Arab terrorists, I fully expect to be called a (expletive deleted) Zionist.

The thing that surprised me about the responses from those who hate McCain and who therefore hate me for insisting that there are meaningful differences between him and Obama/Clinton is how little sense they make. For instance, many people have taken me to task for not recognizing that McCain won all those primaries because Democrats crossed over to vote for him. In case they didn’t notice, the Democrats were a great deal more interested in their own hotly contested primaries than they were in ours. How many liberals did they really think were less concerned with the fight between the white woman and the black man than they were in whether McCain or Huckabee was our standard bearer? Frankly, I haven’t met one such person.

Then there were those Neanderthals who insisted they’d stay home in November or even vote for the Democrat in order to send a message to the GOP. These galoots seem to be stuck in a time warp. I tried my best to point out that it’s been a long time since a few big city bosses went into a smoke-filled room and emerged with a presidential candidate. In one primary after another, McCain took on and defeated all the Republican contenders. It was like watching Joe Louis in the old days, dispatching the likes of Tony Galento and Tami Mauriello on a regular basis, while barely breaking a sweat.

Worse yet, these disenchanted Republicans have to pray that the Democrat’s administration will be as awful as Jimmy Carter’s was, and that, come 2012, a Reagan clone will ride his white steed straight into the White House. How silly can you be? First, you have to hope that, with a sagging economy, gas at $3.40 a gallon, and the constant threat of Islamic terrorism, things will get even worse for America. Next, you have to hope that there is another Reagan out there. If there is, I’d like to know where he’s been hiding.

I say it pays to remember that the first, best thing that Ronald Reagan did before turning his attention to inflation and unemployment, even before pounding the final nail into the Soviet coffin, was defeating the smarmy disaster known as Jimmy Carter.

So, first things first. If the single greatest accomplishment John McCain performs is to keep Mr. Obama, the slogan-spouting radical, and Mrs. Clinton, the woman who never met a tax she didn’t want to raise, out of the White House, we’ll all owe him an enormous debt of gratitude.

To sum up my position in the form of a bumper-sticker: Better an Imperfect Republican Than a Perfect Socialist.

W. Burt Prelutsky is an accomplished, well-rounded writer and author of "The Secret of Their Success: Interviews with Legends and Luminaries."

Be the first to read Burt Prelutsky's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com delivered each morning to your inbox. Making the Case for McCain By Burt Prelutsky Friday, March 21, 2008 Send an email to Burt Prelutsky Email It Print It Take Action Read Article & Comments (38) Trackbacks Post Your Comments

A while back, I admitted that John McCain was not among my three favorite candidates for the Republican nomination. But I went on to say that if he emerged as the standard bearer for the GOP, he would get my vote. And to tell you the truth, I don’t feel I’ll have to bite the bullet in November so much as maybe gum it a little bit.

Needless to say, I have been hearing from a great many conservative hardliners. Among the things they’ve called me are sell-out, traitor, closet liberal and a mole for the Democrats. When a few of them settled for calling me a fool or an idiot, it almost felt like a compliment.

When you write what you honestly believe, you have to expect to raise occasional hackles. After all, I know very well that when I write about the sad fact that 80% of my fellow Jews can be counted on to vote for any cretin so long as he or she has a (D) after their name on the ballot, I can count on receiving a fair number of e-mails questioning my legitimacy and several more condemning me as a self-hating Jew. I also know that if I write a piece in which I defend Israel’s right to defend itself against Arab terrorists, I fully expect to be called a (expletive deleted) Zionist.

The thing that surprised me about the responses from those who hate McCain and who therefore hate me for insisting that there are meaningful differences between him and Obama/Clinton is how little sense they make. For instance, many people have taken me to task for not recognizing that McCain won all those primaries because Democrats crossed over to vote for him. In case they didn’t notice, the Democrats were a great deal more interested in their own hotly contested primaries than they were in ours. How many liberals did they really think were less concerned with the fight between the white woman and the black man than they were in whether McCain or Huckabee was our standard bearer? Frankly, I haven’t met one such person.

Then there were those Neanderthals who insisted they’d stay home in November or even vote for the Democrat in order to send a message to the GOP. These galoots seem to be stuck in a time warp. I tried my best to point out that it’s been a long time since a few big city bosses went into a smoke-filled room and emerged with a presidential candidate. In one primary after another, McCain took on and defeated all the Republican contenders. It was like watching Joe Louis in the old days, dispatching the likes of Tony Galento and Tami Mauriello on a regular basis, while barely breaking a sweat.

Worse yet, these disenchanted Republicans have to pray that the Democrat’s administration will be as awful as Jimmy Carter’s was, and that, come 2012, a Reagan clone will ride his white steed straight into the White House. How silly can you be? First, you have to hope that, with a sagging economy, gas at $3.40 a gallon, and the constant threat of Islamic terrorism, things will get even worse for America. Next, you have to hope that there is another Reagan out there. If there is, I’d like to know where he’s been hiding.

I say it pays to remember that the first, best thing that Ronald Reagan did before turning his attention to inflation and unemployment, even before pounding the final nail into the Soviet coffin, was defeating the smarmy disaster known as Jimmy Carter.

So, first things first. If the single greatest accomplishment John McCain performs is to keep Mr. Obama, the slogan-spouting radical, and Mrs. Clinton, the woman who never met a tax she didn’t want to raise, out of the White House, we’ll all owe him an enormous debt of gratitude.

To sum up my position in the form of a bumper-sticker: Better an Imperfect Republican Than a Perfect Socialist.


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; democratsbestfriend; liberal; liberalagenda; liberalvalues; mccain; prelutsky; rino
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To: Rudder

The Lesser of 2 evils is EVIL STILL!!


21 posted on 03/21/2008 4:46:16 AM PDT by chicagolady (Mexican Elite say: EXPORT Poverty Let the American Taxpayer foot the bill !)
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To: Rudder

LOL!!

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
e·vil Spelled Pronunciation[ee-vuhl] Pronunciation

–adjective 1. morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked: evil deeds; an evil life.

2. harmful; injurious: evil laws.

3. characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering; unfortunate; disastrous: to be fallen on evil days.

4. due to actual or imputed bad conduct or character: an evil reputation.

5. marked by anger, irritability, irascibility, etc.: He is known for his evil disposition.

–noun 6. that which is evil; evil quality, intention, or conduct: to choose the lesser of two evils.

7. the force in nature that governs and gives rise to wickedness and sin.

8. the wicked or immoral part of someone or something: The evil in his nature has destroyed the good.


22 posted on 03/21/2008 4:48:51 AM PDT by chicagolady (Mexican Elite say: EXPORT Poverty Let the American Taxpayer foot the bill !)
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To: steelboy
Any true conservative will support Mccain without condition

LOL!

23 posted on 03/21/2008 4:53:38 AM PDT by SIDENET (Hubba Hubba...)
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To: steelboy
The lifeboat is Mccain...the only one that is left.

What? The lifeboat only steers to the left?

24 posted on 03/21/2008 4:55:09 AM PDT by SIDENET (Hubba Hubba...)
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To: steelboy

Only after he has been “reeducated” by Marxist Big Brother.


25 posted on 03/21/2008 4:56:12 AM PDT by MBB1984
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To: Man50D
against overturning Roe V Wade.

What are you smoking?

McCain says Roe vs Wade should be overturned.

26 posted on 03/21/2008 5:00:14 AM PDT by Tribune7 (How is inflicting pain and death on an innocent, helpless human being for profit, moral?)
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To: Content Provider
Very true. Also, if McCain wins the Presidency he will lead the Republican Party. Consider carefully the individuals he will place in leadership positions. They will be leftists like him. These leftists will ensure that fellow leftist Republicans are supported as candidates and in other leadership positions. The perversion will permeate from the top down and end with the GOP being completely emasculated from conservative principles. Only McCain has the power to destroy the conservatives within the GOP.
27 posted on 03/21/2008 5:02:29 AM PDT by MBB1984
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To: All
mc con is no conservative and will fold like a cheap tent the second the NYT’s writes a critical article about him.

we conservatives are cast out of Washington, and the liberal Pharaoh is on our heals. and we aint got no stinkin Moses

28 posted on 03/21/2008 5:04:02 AM PDT by Casaubon (Internet Research Ninja Masta)
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To: steelboy

I see you will catch h**l for saying that from some people, And I don’t agree with the “without out condition” part, I’ll have my reservations about Mc Cain, but if he is the nominee, I’ll burn the the tires off my ‘ol truck to get to the pols to vote for him! I personally think that anyone who refuses to vote for him and lets Hillary or Obama win ought to never accuse anyone else of hating America.....


29 posted on 03/21/2008 5:05:01 AM PDT by Quickgun
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To: Rudder

He is, by FAR the least of three evils. I’ll vote for him though. But most of all, while I’m at the polls, I’ll vote for the most conservative senators and congressmen that I can. There are only two ways you can change the political scene; voting or civil war. I’ll still try voting


30 posted on 03/21/2008 5:14:27 AM PDT by Quickgun
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To: chicagolady

We’re talking about the political election- not religion.

dont change the subject.


31 posted on 03/21/2008 5:17:17 AM PDT by Canedawg (No Che Hussein NObama, and the Hildebeast, too)
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To: steelboy
The lifeboat is Mccain...the only one that is left.

...and the leftward drift continues. Who will be the "lifeboat" after McCain? How about Snowe? Jeffords?

I sure wish folks would stop confusing the terms "Republican" and "Conservative." They don't mean the same thing.

32 posted on 03/21/2008 5:20:19 AM PDT by grellis (If the democrats want a re-vote, let THEM pay for it!!!)
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To: Kaslin

The case against mccain (for conservatives)

Pro-Amnesty
Global Warming Truther (begets big govt. nanny-stater)
Anti-free speech
Anti-originalist judges (otherwise why a gang of 14)
Liar (keating 5)
Class-warfare warrior
Liberal


33 posted on 03/21/2008 5:35:22 AM PDT by wilco200
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To: steelboy

LOL


34 posted on 03/21/2008 5:36:00 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
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To: Rudder
What it all boils down to is the answer to this question: Is McCain the least of three evils?

There its is.

The greatest, most successful nation and society founded on democratic principles that the world has ever known has sunk to the point we select our leaders from the lesser of two or three evils.

Our nation, with some of the brightest, most dynamic and successful leaders in the world, elect our president from the most disfunctional, unqualified people in the country.

In American Politics Scum Floats To The Top


35 posted on 03/21/2008 5:39:10 AM PDT by Iron Munro (Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.)
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To: steelboy

Really? What world are you from? McCain hates conservatives and conservative ideas. Virtually all of his positions are anti-conservative - or have been in the past and will be again in the future. Lastly who the F set YOU up as the king of conservatives?


36 posted on 03/21/2008 5:40:12 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (John McCain - The Manchurian Candidate? http://www.usvetdsp.com/manchuan.htm)
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To: M. Espinola
"Sitting at home and not voting is the easy way out

Voting and getting screwed is what kind of way out?

37 posted on 03/21/2008 5:42:24 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (John McCain - The Manchurian Candidate? http://www.usvetdsp.com/manchuan.htm)
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To: Tribune7
What are you smoking?

The title of that article tells the story. The fact that McCain has to reach out to Conservatives proves he is not a Conservative. A true Conservative would not have to reach out to those who think like him or her. He is trying to pull the wool over Conservatives eyes by flip flopping on the issues as his statement to the San Francisco Chronicle reveals.

I’d love to see a point where it is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.

-John McCain San Fransisco Chronicle

38 posted on 03/21/2008 5:44:45 AM PDT by Man50D (Fair Tax, you earn it, you keep it!)
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To: chicagolady

You would like a perfect political candidate. They don’t exist. Politics is either about compromise or dictatorship.


39 posted on 03/21/2008 5:55:41 AM PDT by beejaa
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To: Man50D
That's a quote from almost 10 years ago and even then people said he was flip flopping because he had a very consistent pro-life record and said he would appoint strict constitutionalists as judges.

I'm sure I can be disappointed with a McCain presidency but there is no way I could be disappointed with Hillobama. Neither has ever budged the slightest from being a fanatical pro-abort. There is a world of difference between McCain and the Dems on life.

And in this election cycle, McCain is on record for overturning Roe. Since the nomination is sewed up, I guess that's were he is putting his chips.

If life is your issue it is a no-brainer to vote for McCain.

40 posted on 03/21/2008 6:01:38 AM PDT by Tribune7 (How is inflicting pain and death on an innocent, helpless human being for profit, moral?)
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