Republicans Against Maverick McCain (RAMM) announces its formation in response to the presumptive nomination of John McCain for President as the Republican Party’s standard-bearer in November. RAMM is committed to preserving the conservative vision for America as the foundation of the Republican Party. We cannot support John McCain for the Presidency of the United States of America because of his antithetical policy positions and voting record on amnesty, political free speech, expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, global warming, access to domestic oil and gas supplies, e.g., drilling in ANWAR, and a host of other critical issues.
Senator McCain, a self-described maverick, is using the banner of the Republican Party as a flag of convenience to further his own political ambitions and agenda. His views don’t represent those held by the majority of Republicans. It is worth noting that Senator McCain became the presumptive nominee with just 31% of the total primary vote and that he was the only top tier candidate of either party that didn’t garner at least 50% of the vote in his/her home state. Winner-take-all and open primaries have permitted Senator McCain to game the system producing a nominee who doesn’t enjoy the support of most of his party.
The Republican political establishment has struck a Faustian bargain with Senator McCain over the political heart and soul of the GOP sacrificing principle and values in the illusory hope of winning the White House in November. In 1975, President Reagan said at CPAC, “A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency or simply to swell its numbers.” What political party nominates its maverick to be its standard bearer? What does it say about the core beliefs and values of that party? Conservatives are being offered a Hobson’s choice with the presumption that they have no alternative but to vote for the lesser of two evils. Whoever holds that view is sadly mistaken. If John McCain can vote on the basis of principle and conscience over party, so can we.
We will vote in the November 4, 2008 election for all Republican candidates except for the Office of the President, which will be left blank or filled in with a write-in candidate as determined by each RAMM voter. RAMM is a grassroots organization that provides a venue for alienated conservative Republican voters to express their objections to Senator McCain’s nomination. As Conservatives, we are concerned that a McCain candidacy will depress Republican turnout, which will damage the chances of other Republicans running in Congressional, state, and local elections. And many of these Republicans will have to take positions on critical issues that are diametrically opposed to those held by Senator McCain and their Democrat opponents, a sorry spectacle indeed and not conducive to winning elections.
The McCain nomination has taken a number of important issues off of the table during the general election because Senator McCain and his Democrat opponent hold essentially the same positions on immigration, global warming, campaign finance reform, federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, and environmental concerns as they impact the degree of access to vital sources of domestic sources of energy. Two issues, immigration reform and proposed legislative plans to address “man-made” global warming, deserve a national dialogue. The former has the potential to destroy this country and the latter to wreck our economy and curtail individual liberties.
Immigration, legal and illegal, plays a major role in every significant challenge facing this nation whether it is national security, health care, energy independence, education, the entitlement programs, transportation, infrastructure, taxes, the economy, the environ-ment, etc. McCain’s “cap and trade” legislative proposal mirrors the Democrat approach to unproven anthropomorphic global warming. If passed, our economy will become less competitive globally and the costs will be passed on to the consumer. It will be an unmitigated disaster. The general election could have served as a referendum on these so-called wedge issues, but that will be impossible with McCain at the head of the ticket.
We are also concerned about the future of the Republican Party. An unlikely McCain victory will further marginalize the conservative influence and move the party further to the Left. In 1965, Reagan said, “We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn't make any sense at all.” By nominating John McCain, the GOP has ignored Ronald Reagan’s admonition.
Winning elections is certainly important and the sine qua non for the survival of any major political party. However, “winning isn’t the only thing” when it comes to maintaining a viable political party for the long term. The success of the Reagan Revolution and the subsequent Contract with America was based on conservative principles. Unfortunately, this success caused many Republicans in Congress, and yes in the White House, to lose their conservative moorings and become more like our opponents. The nomination of John McCain is just the culmination of the GOP’s descent into mediocrity and irrelevancy.
RAMM is a wake-up call to the GOP. Return to conservative principles or perish.
My answer to that is “what conservative isn't?” The question that I have is what is more important, the future of the Republican party or the future of America? It reminds me of that quote during the Vietnam War when a general was asked why some city was bombed and his reply was “We had to bomb them to save them.” So your solution to this election dilemma is to risk the possible short and long term destruction of our country at the hands of a boy amongst men on the world stage to save the Republican party!?