I’ve been on several threads like this. Here’s my take: We all want a conservative to be elected president. Is it possible to quantify conservatism, on a scale of 1 to 10? I would say that a pure, perfect conservative is a 10, like Reagan or maybe Goldwater. Newt, Cheney, Fred—maybe 8’s or 9’s, depending on which conservative ideals one views as most important. Hillary is a 1, although she tries to make believe she is a 2 or a 3. Obama is a big fat zero—the most liberal senator of all.
The big question becomes—what number is McCain? I’d say he’s a 4 or a 5. It’s easy to complain about him because he’s not an 8 or a 9. He’s not my idea of a conservative by any means. But, he is more conservative than Hillary and Obama.
So, let’s stop with the semantics. 1—He’s not a conservative. Not much argument there. 2—He’s more conservative than Hillary or Obama. You can argue that they’re all liberals, but it would be disingenuous to postulate that McCain is as liberal as the democrats.
Beyond that, it’s a personal decision. If you can stomach voting for someone who is not a conservative, but is demonstrably more conservative than his opponent, then go ahead and vote for McCain. If you understand that McCain is more conservative than his opponent, but not nearly conservative enough to suit you, then don’t vote for him.
Voting for him does not violate some sacred law of conservatism. It merely is a pragmatic approach, choosing the most conservative person left standing. The name-calling, personal insults and the like are really not very productive.
“Voting for him does not violate some sacred law of conservatism. It merely is a pragmatic approach...”
Is it? A McCain presidency with a likely Dem congress would be a mess. McCain’s probably a one-termer, who could foment an even bigger anti-Republican backlash than Bush. Then what? 2012 becomes an Obama or maybe a Joe Kennedy year, with a veto-proof congress. Hillary on the other hand would have the opposite effect, with maybe a 2010 Republican comeback, followed by maybe Haley Barbour, J.C. Watts or whomever in 2012. The immediate concern is the Supreme Court, but I still tend to think that Hillary would help swing the pendulum to the right. McCain would not.