McCain? No Way!

Gun Owners of America ^ | Feb 15, 2008 | Sen. HL "Bill" Richardson (ret.)

[calcowgirl]

www.gunowners.org/op0808.htm

McCain? No Way!
by Sen. HL "Bill" Richardson (ret.)
Chairman of the Board, GOA

Americans are being told by the mainstream media that conservatives have no other choice than to back the hypocrite from Arizona. All that is required is to pretend he is "really" a conservative. "So, crawl under the big Republican tent and vote for McCain," we are told. "Besides, what other choice do you have?"

We have plenty of choices, none of which calls for casting our vote for the lesser of two presidential evils.

First, the Republican race isn't over. Huckabee is still around and as Kansas and Louisiana should point out, the Romney vote flocked to Huckabee. Not that they loved Huckabee, but that they have zero trust in the promises of McCain. Even if Huckabee loses, what makes anyone think conservatives will vote for McCain?

Don't you liberals get it? The republican conservative believes McCain would be a vindictive president. He's proven his dislike for conservatives and would gut us at every opportunity.

Why do I say that? Because of three decades of experience as a Republican California Senator and a fifty year activist in the conservative movement. I have first hand, in-their-face experience with elitist RINO's (Republican in Name Only) office holders. They are biblically ignorant, power hungry, status seeking egotists who have no difficulty aiding their liberal Democrat colleagues whenever their arms are politely twisted. The one thing they have in common with liberal Democrats is their dislike of all conservatives, especially those who are Bible-believing. McCain, as president, would stifle the voices of elected Republican leaders and try to legislate the conservative movement out of existence.

There is no reason why any conservative should be depressed, especially if they look at past history. I clearly remember the political climate in 1964. We newly-awakened conservatives had a real friend running for the Republican nomination. Barry Goldwater defeated a liberal Republican in the primaries, but in the general election, the mainstream media slaughtered him. In 1964 it was easy to do; we had no effective political action committees, no conservative organizations, few pro-life activists, little religious participation, no talk radio, a handful of articulate conservative legislators, no fax machines and zero Internet. After the 1964 November election, all looked hopeless. Not a bright star on the horizon....But!

In 1966, we conservatives elected an actor as Governor of California. I was elected to the State Senate. The thespian and I were greener than grass but we were both quick to learn. Ron Reagan became a national star, a conservative leader in the nation’s most popular state. He couldn't be ignored.

I founded Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners of California. We became the second largest pro-Second Amendment organization in America with membership in the hundreds of thousands. We concentrated our efforts on electing pro-gunners to the legislature and stopping anti-gun legislation. We grew rapidly and were quite successful. During liberal Jerry Brown's eight years as governor, not a single anti-gun bill was signed into law. The reason was simple -- although the liberal Democrats controlled both houses of the legislature, no anti-gun legislation passed from either house to find its way to the Governor’s desk.

The entire gun movement is close to accomplishing that feat on a national level. As long as the gun community hangs together, it will make little difference on gun issues who is sitting in the White House. The same could be true of other major conservative organizations as long as they stay in the fight. We are much better off than in 1964 and much better organized.

The other good news is that some of the weak-sister Republicans are leaving office -- not willing to scrap it out with the liberal Democrats. Hooray, happy to see you go! Call Gun Owners if you need a ride out of town. We have an opportunity to replace them with tough, no nonsense conservatives. Already, some very fine men are seeking these vacancies.

We at Gun Owners intend to be very engaged in Congressional and US Senate races.

I personally will not cast a vote for the presidency -- that is, if McCain is the Republican nominee. Under no circumstances will I vote for either of the Democrats. This will be the first time in fifty years that I have made this choice. I hope it will be the last.

[TigersEye]

I don’t think he can make it either. Not even if every critic there is falls silent from this moment on. His history is fixed and exists on the internet. Moreover he would have to play to the middle-left and the right at the same time. That isn’t a juggling act that any politician can succeed at.

[TigersEye]

'96. Right.

Sitting out or voting fringe is a meaningless waste of time.

That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I don't think my vote was a waste in '92. Look how far right the R party went in '96. Look how many seats they picked up. Look what The Contract With America did to Clinton forcing him to endorse conservative legislation. Do you think Perot's 19% didn't figure into that Republican realignment? I do. That's my opinion. In '96 I wasn't paying any attention to politics.

[calcowgirl]

We're NOT moving. Their shrill whining will continue and culminate with the realization that we've lost the 2008 Presidential Election...not that there was a "win" in it for us anyway.

You would think the idiots that invested in McCain would have gotten the message earlier and saved their money--or given it to a worthy candidate. It's not like folks are saying anything new about their disdain for McCain and his policies, let alone his Maverick anti-Republican maneuvers.

[calcowgirl]

There you have it once again. Border security, enforcing immigration laws and dealing with criminal illegal aliens is extremist. The McCain position in a nutshell. Damn us xenophobes who believe in national sovereignty.

Xenophobe! Racist! Isolationist! Nativist! OHHHH, the HUMANITY! /s

[TigersEye]

FWIW Your 2000 vote was a good one in retrospect. I succumbed to fear, with no one prodding me then, to vote against Gore. I don't view the world in any aspect that way anymore. Realistically would Gore have been anything but a one termer? Do you think we would not be killing jihadis somewhere and strengthening our security? We would be voting an incumbent Pubbie to his second term right now is my guess. Maybe a George Allen or the like. If 9/11 had happened on Gore's watch Bush would not have been the nominee to challenge him.

But it's all speculation and speculation and assumptions are not reality. They are only good for playing games.

[Petronski]

You don’t McCain to win or lose?

English please.

[CharacterCounts]

How many of that 60% are "hold your nose" voters. I suspect many are, and that is the root of McCain's problem. It is one thing to reluctantly vote for the "lesser evil" and quite another to support the candidate by working for him and providing funds for the campaign. You can expect to read headlines about how much more the Dems are raising than the Republicans.

Suppose, after all the badgering, I finally agree to change and vote for McCain. Will I be a good guy then or am I expected to send him money.

[TigersEye]

Yes, I believe in the rule of law and personal responsibility.

What a racist I am. /s

That is coming from the newbie shills for the most part though not Huck or other long term FReepers. Huck is just worried for his country IMO. I don't blame him.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Have you read Obama's? His is based on Schwarzenegger's plan.

Most of us didn't get our choice for this November, but all of them (with exception of Ron Paul) are better than either Hillary or Obama and I don't much care for their form of taking from the rich to give to the poor.

Time is passed for having temper tantrums, McCain is the GOP candidate, love him or hate him.

I didn't much care for George W Bush in 2000, but he was a heck of a lot better than Al Gore... and I was certainly glad I chose Bush on 911.

Obama will get us all killed, McCain won't.... and Obama's SCOTUS choices are not going to be the kind we all want to live with for 40 years..... with Ted Olson advising McCain I fell much more secure having him name them, and I think it will be on the order of three or four coming up shortly.

It is time to actually read what Obama is promising and compare it to the worst of the worst of what McCain wants....

we don't have do-overs, though Hillary wants them in Florida and Michigan, so we have what we have... Everyone complaining had their chance.. you wanted Duncan Hunter... fine then you all should have gone to Iowa and New Hampshire and helped get him elected there... same with Fred Thompson, then should have gone to South Carolina and helped there... people didn't vote for Hunter and they didn't vote for Fred, they voted for McCain.

There comes a point in any election where you are either a Republican and support the candidate people voted in as our candidate or you are not.

McCain is saying he will be a one-term President, so we all have to be vigilant, same as we were with Bush and fight where he tries to do things we don't like.... He is likely to listen to us a heck of a lot more than the move-on.org candidate, Obama -- who will be beholden to George Soros from day one in office. He isn't going to be pushing a universal health-care plan this country can ill afford, and he says he isn't going to raise taxes and wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.. I don't think he will be preparing our taxes for us or using our tax dollars to pay people to save money.... McCain is a lot of things, I have never thought of him as a Socialist.

Looking ahead there is one very smart conservative in the GOP and if he does a great job as governor a potential candidate in the future -- Bobby Jindal.... He is smart, charismatic and conservative....

I remind everyone Evangelicals got bent out of shape and jumped the GOP and helped elect Jimmy Carter in 1976 -- granted it helped usher in Reagan in 1980, but we are living with the fall out from Carter 30 years later.... in the time of a terror war we cannot afford to try and undo an empty suit like Obama when his puppeteer is George Soros....

So... yes, I will suck it up and vote for John McCain, to do anything different is suicide.

[hiredhand]

You would think the idiots that invested in McCain would have gotten the message earlier and saved their money--or given it to a worthy candidate. It's not like folks are saying anything new about their disdain for McCain and his policies, let alone his Maverick anti-Republican maneuvers.

Oh! But that's not the way it works! First, we get some truly GREAT conservative prospective candidates along with some truly dreadful ones. Then the GOP ignores the good ones, and leaves it up to the MSM to completely bury them. Then we're told with a sigh, that we just have to vote for what's left.

You did read the sarcasm in that last para didn't you? :-) You probably did.

We're not being steered any longer. What happens will happen. We're pretty sure we know what will happen. But those who tow the line for the GOP will be equally to blame as will we. But the blame isn't on so much "who" as it is on "when".

By this, I mean that all of us should have realized what was going on long ago and initiated this split in the GOP. The fact that it's happening now is certainly a correct and right response. It's just terrible timing. :-)

But that's the way it is. We will stand solid on our promise to write-in our candidate, and our left leaning conservative counterparts will hope up to the very day of the election that we will "blink" and not do what we've vowed to do.

As I've heard some older people say in the south, "Hide and watch!" :-)

[TigersEye]

C'mon, that is English. I don't McCain to win or lose either. lol

It's just a joke, Huck.

[hiredhand]

In retrospect, 4 years of Algore would have quite possibly been a very good thing. It might have caused the conservative shake down that is happening now. Back then would have been a good time to do that, NOT 9 months before an election as it is now. :-)

But hey...if I wish in one hand and spit in the other....ah, you know the saying. :-)

[Petronski]

No, really. What did he mean?

[TigersEye]

I don't much care for their form of taking from the rich to give to the poor.

How big of an earmark will Amnesty be? How many billions will be redistributed with his Kyoto-Lite plan which also hamstrings the auto industry, the energy industry and puts a 50 cent per gallon new fed tax on gasoline?

[TigersEye]

I dunno??? I just think a little humor might help.

[Eagle Eye]

Some of us don’t swallow just any candidate that the GOP selects for us.

[calcowgirl]

Have you read Obama's? His is based on Schwarzenegger's plan.

McCain is in line with the Schwarzenegger/Gore plan, as is HillBama.

Who will oppose them if McCain is President?

Time is passed for having temper tantrums, McCain is the GOP candidate, love him or hate him.

The only temper tantrums I've seen are the folks stomping their feet and complaining about conservatives not voting for McCain.

McCain is saying he will be a one-term President, so we all have to be vigilant, same as we were with Bush and fight where he tries to do things we don't like....

Hmmm... I hadn't heard McCain say that. As to vigilant, "as we were with Bush," ya mean like how we fought NCLB and Medicare Part D? That didn't turn out too well, now did it?

[daviscupper]

I appreciate the passionate well thought our argument for John McCain. However, you put a lot of faith in his new found conversion to conservatism.

You seem to take it for granted that he will appoint conservative, strict constructionists judges. That is a leap of faith. Ted Olsen is a fine man but he is not President. McCain is a head strong man and he will not delegate that kind of power to anyone. He will appoint the type of judges he wants. His past statements about Alito and his leadership role in the “gang of fourteen” are profoundly disturbing. I do not trust him to fight for conservative judges. I expect him to do the same kind of things that he did recently as the leader who did everything he could to prevent Dubya from appointing conservative judges. Just look how hard he has been working to break the stalemate in the current backlog of judges. Not very hard at all.

We could talk about Amnesty, the first amendment etc. but you know where I would be going. McCain is deeply flawed and has a visceral aversion to conservatives and conservative principles. He is hateful, filled with bile and anger and viciously attacks his conservative opponents in the most vile and personal way. Just listen to the radio interview between McCain and Ronald Reagan’s son, Michael. It is truly despicable behavior.

I cannot see myself voting for this man. JMHO.

[Arizona Carolyn]

There again I am forced to look at what all three will do and what they will do and McCain will not do.... I suggest everyone work up their own balance sheets.... and while at it keep the war on terror and Iraq in the forefront of their thinking.....

[RTO]

I would say he is... a threat to sovereignty and individual rights.

Then I would have to agree That John McCain is an enemy of our country, since those two concepts essentially define the American Republic.