Posted on 02/17/2008 10:20:04 AM PST by calcowgirl
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.
Perfect!
OBAMA in 08! The conservatives' choice!
It's not an argument.
“Write a name in if you must”
Write ins in Californian arn’t counted unless the candidate has been qualifed for the election.
And they would be defending her by accusing her critics of supporting Obama.
well it will help obama win
“OBAMA in 08! HE won’t stifle conservatives! He’ll be constrained by the Constitution!”
The Second Amendment [and about 100,000,000 firearms] will guarantee that.
Funded by Soros.
McCain-Feingold.
McCain-Kennedy.
McCain-Lieberman.
McCain-Edwards.
Pro-abortion (you can't be pro-life and still be in favor of federally-funded embryonic stem cell research)
Opposed the Same-Sex Marriage Ban as "unRepublican."
Anti-Second Amendment.
Pro-Amnesty for foreign invaders.
...I'm sorry...you were saying?
not conservative enough! let’s let obama win!
There. Fixed it.
:-) I like that quote, too.
Write ins in Californian arn’t counted unless the candidate has been qualifed for the election.
Third party works just as well.
Agree with you 100%.
I rarely vote strategically - I’d rather vote my conscience and let the chips fall where they may.
This lesser of two evils crap (what is the real difference between Clinton, Hussein Obama, and McCain??) is what brought us to where we are today. If the Republican establishment continues to work against limited government conservatives, they are going to end up in the dustbin of history in very short order.
We need to focus on Congress for now, and work on building a credible conservative alternative to the one party Republicrat establishment.
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