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.
Incorrect. Show me one MSM source that claims that conservatives "have no other choice." That's total nonsense.
All that is required is to pretend he is "really" a conservative.
Incorrect. Show one MSM source advocating that we "pretend" McCain is "really a conservative." More nonsense. The old MSM bogeyman...as if having conseravtives sit out and pout while the DEMs march to victory ISN'T what the MSM would prefer.
We have plenty of choices, none of which calls for casting our vote for the lesser of two presidential evils.
But only two choices are of any consequence: McCain or the DEM nominee. The other choices are all equally meaningless.
First, the Republican race isn't over.
But it will be soon.
Even if Huckabee loses, what makes anyone think conservatives will vote for McCain?
57% of Freepers who responded to the poll say they will vote for McCain. That means the sit out and pout crowd is a minority of a minority.
and would gut us at every opportunity.
Like he did when he voted for Roberts and Alito? Like he does by supporting victory in Iraq?
McCain, as president, would stifle the voices of elected Republican leaders and try to legislate the conservative movement out of existence.
As president, McCain would work with both sides.
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.
But by sitting out, you help the Democrats win.
It depends on what your definition of "defeat" is. In California, conservatives were told "winning" was everything and Schwarzenegger was shoved down our throats as all the Party operatives worked to slime Tom McClintock. I said from day one that electing Arnold would not be a "win" for the people, the state, or the party.
Where did this "win" get us? We now have a leftist introducing leftist policies and advancing the goals of liberals, all under the (R) label.
I want no part of John McCain. I will work hard to elect conservatives to Congress who will oppose his vision of "Republican."
p.s. Drop the "hate" rhetoric. This has nothing to do with hate.
It's not a sock puppet. It's not a bogeyman. It's the actual choice: McCain or (likely) Obama. Deny it all you need, it's an undeniable fact.
California, and the CA Republican Party, may never recover from Scharzenegger.
McCain--more of the same.
Mclaim cannot win.. If you think he will/can you're not paying attention..
I might vote for him if he could.. HE CAN'T..
Bush fractured the party like a windshield in a car wreck,
and by border policys and run away non vetoed BIG government spending...
A Bush/Kennady/McLaim Republican Party is a travesty..
Sure an Obama/Clinton administration is a nightmare and a heart attack..
But It WILL HAPPEN.. turning your head from it WILL NOT make it Go AWAY...
The democrats are galvanized the republicans are stomach punched and depressed..
Lame... PeP talks will only make it worse..
Republicans are Cats, democrats are oblivious sheep..
Thats just the way it is.. Oh! RINOs are sheep too..
No kool-aid needed, thanks. I’m looking at life with eyes wide open. The ones drinking the Jim Jones suicide juice are the ones who intend to help elect the Socialist OBAMA and give him a mandate to govern. The ones who just this year discovered that sometimes you don’t get the candidate you wanted. The ones apparantly so drunk on koolaid they are acting as if they’ve never experienced politics before.
McCain can't be held responsible if he loses. Liberals are never to blame for their own failures.
Vote for the Conservative Party candidate
LOL. As if there's nothing in between ultra-conservative and ultra-leftist. What a bunch of crap.
Siding with Hillary, Kennedy, and GWB on immigration
That's right: GWB. I voted for GWB, and were he running this year, I'd vote for him again. Not because I like him. I don't. Not because I agree with all he does. I don't. But because he would represent the better of the two actual choices. Similarly, I'll vote for McCain, the better of the actual choices.
but the notion that McCain is anything other than a fascist is just that, a teenage reverie.
LOL. More of this 'brownshirt' fascist stuff. You realize that means you've lost the argument, right?
Correct that. Vote for the Constitution Party candidate
Wise up! There's simply NO difference between the SCOTUS pick of McQueeg vs Bilary/Obama. Watch--if he's elected he'll nominate someone who would make Sandra Day O'Connor look predictable.
Look--either way, all that's going to happen (IF any judges retire in the next four years) is that a couple of liberal judges would be replaced by a couple of liberal judges. No matter whether it's McQueeg, Bilary or Obamanation.
He's run as himself, and will be the nominee, because he got the necessary votes. It's his campaign, he is who he is. He'll be responsible for what he does. But conservatives who sit out and pout, helping the DEMs win with a sizable mandate, will have themselves to thank for the socialism that will follow.
No doubt, you're right there (again) 100%.
"Petulant children?"
" We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle
just ended. 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."-- Ronald Reagan, 1965
The only think Perot accomplished was to get Clinton elected. Some legacy!
Screw McInsane. /rant off
I'm sure that if Hillary ever switches parties, you'll be demanding that I vote for her as well. And it's because of that reality that you have absolutely no credibility among real conservatives.
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