[Man50D]

ronald reagan was a conservative idealist who practiced pragmatic politics when necessary. tancredo is being pragmatic.

It's never pragmatic to sacrifice conservative principles. As we have seen and are seeing that false premise only begets increasing and incremental socialism with the irony being socialists never sacrificing their principles.

[kingattax]

there are a million reasons why it would be a disaster for either obama or hillary to become president and i'm sure you have heard them all so i don't need to recite them.

if that nightmare scenario happened, THAT would be the real sacrifice.

i can't speak for you, but i love my country more than i love my 'conservative principles'

[JennysCool]

Better incremental socialism — where there is at least time to offer opposition — than the instant socialism of a Hillary! or Obama and a Democrat Congress. Their “program” would be in place before anyone knew what hit ‘em.

Stuffy “protest voters” in ‘06 gave us our present insanely goofy Congress. I shudder to think what they might give us in November.

Remember: If you vote McCain and a conservative Republican Congress to keep an eye on him, you are light years ahead of Hillary! or Obama with a blank check.

[Guenevere]

As I'm formulating my reply, I read yours.

Ditto...well said.

Pragmatic means no deep convictions!

[Finny]

King says: "... ronald reagan was a conservative idealist who practiced pragmatic politics when necessary. tancredo is being pragmatic."

Man counters: It's never pragmatic to sacrifice conservative principles. As we have seen and are seeing that false premise only begets increasing and incremental socialism with the irony being socialists never sacrificing their principles.

More insidious, socialists believe themselves morally vindicated -- that "right" won out, and use it handily to cower the Republican image away from conservatism.

People act as if Hillary or Obama in the White House would be all-powerful. Yet Big Government McCain (the antithesis of a conservative) is the Republican. Like the other two, he sees more and bigger government, at the expense of individual freedom and labor, as the solution for every kind of social and economic ill. This he would do in the name of the Republican party and stain its image and core for a generation at least. Plus he's likely seriously mentally unstable and will blow, staining even worse the Republican party image as the one that elects nutso old kooks.

Hillary or Obama, on the other hand, would probably crash and burn spectacularly in their first term and really destroy the Democrat party. I think so many Democrats realize this that they're the ones that will elect McCain, not us. That's a bad sign. And here Republicans and "conservatives" who define its pricinples solely in terms of abortion and homosexuality, are so cowed by fear that they are emasculated into surrendering to McCain and telling themselves that it's better that way.

There is nothing pragmatic about supporting McCain.