Posted on 05/06/2008 5:12:44 AM PDT by Brilliant
John McCain steps out of his comfort zone Tuesday to address his judicial philosophy, a hot-button matter for social conservatives that encompasses abortion, guns and gay rights -- all topics on which Sen. McCain has rankled the right.
On nearly every score, Sen. McCain agrees with conservatives, but he has made a series of exceptions to their orthodoxy. As a result, while liberals think he is a conservative, conservatives fear he is a liberal.
These never have been matters that animated Sen. McCain's quarter-century in politics the way military or spending issues have. And while he considers himself religious, the likely Republican presidential nominee rarely speaks in public about religion or his personal faith.
Combined with his record of breaking with the party line on issues such as immigration, torture and campaign finance, this has led to a sense that Sen. McCain is something of a moderate on social policy... That impression hurts him with the social conservatives who form a critical part of his party's base, but it could help him with independent voters...
It is hard to satisfy both, and when asked, Sen. McCain always emphasizes his conservative credentials. "I think I've been very strong on, quote, 'conservative social issues,' " he said...
At Tuesday's speech at Wake Forest University...he will articulate a conservative judicial philosophy and the principles he would use to appoint justices to the Supreme Court. That includes "strict interpretation of the Constitution" and antipathy for "judicial activism..."
In the past, he has praised Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia, John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
Judges are a key issue for conservatives, who have concluded that they can't advance their agenda unless they have backing from the courts. The Tuesday speech is likely to tell them what they want to hear...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
or D) we can join Ann Coulter and vote for the Dem. In so doing we may be able to preserve a Republican contingent in Congress that will actually fight for conservative values and principles. If McCain is President the party will be strong arming conservatives to go along with the “bipartisan” stuff like gun control and amnesty and all the rest.
We are. At least according to the new definition of "tolerant" (accepting every deviant anti-social behavior as normal, nay, worthy of celebration).
Not much more intolerant than this:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes unto the Father except by Me."
That was an interesting post on McCain by Andrew McCarthy in National Review. The gist of what I read was that McCarthy just about destroys Mccain’s creds in the overall WOT effort. With out that McCain will have nothing for Conservatives...
What a pandering bast**d! Yesterday, he went back on his previous statement of having “learned my lesson” on illegal immigration and is once again pushing Amnesty (He tries to fool us with “comprehensive immigration”). Today, he’s giving a speech before the radical reconquistas, the Enemy, at La Raza. Good luck getting conservative votes!
I don’t see how any thinking conservative can believe that McCain will undermine his own legislative legacy by appointing judges who will overturn it.
I don’t care what McCain’s saying on the campaign trail, he won’t destroy his own creation. He will also not owe his election victory to the Republican base, since he is overtly shunning it. He will owe his election victory to Dem crossovers, and he will act accordingly, in picking judges as in everything else.
There is no logical reason to believe that McCain’s judge appointments will look much different than Hillobama’s, and to suggest otherwise is wishful thinking.
More than I do Hillary or Obama.
You'll forgive me? I am suffering from an affliction called the "I can'tbeleivewearereallyscrewedthistime" syndrome.
It's real simple. The GOP holds primaries. That's the time for the "conservative cause" to rally around a candidate. Once the nominee is chosen, the game's over. Sorry, but that's just the fact. So, who was the "conservative cause" candidate? That, my friend, was the problem. The conservative cause failed to put a viable candidate on the field. Life goes on.
All caps typing doesn’t change the facts. McCain is the nominee. The conservative vote split between several bad candidates. That’s how the cookie crumbles.
Yer right, I forgot to say you can also help elect a full-on socialist Democrat. Silly me. I didn’t think anyone was dumb enough to prefer that option.
“Would you trust Hillary or Obama to give you a conservative?”
No, but I strongly believe that a determined group of conservatives (real) republicans would do everything possible to stop the nomination of left wing appointments to replace conservative justices. Whereas they will simply go along with McCain’s left wing appointments. There would be no chance of blocking McCain’s left wing appointments.
Come now, did any of us REALLY believe his pack of lies from the CPAC speech? Just because someone is articulate and speaks well does not mean they aren't stinking, festering pond scum.
"Surely, I have held other positions that have not met with widespread agreement from conservatives. I won't pretend otherwise nor would you permit me to forget it. On the issue of illegal immigration, a position which provoked the outspoken opposition of many conservatives, I stood my ground aware that my position would imperil my campaign. I respect your opposition for I know that the vast majority of critics to the bill based their opposition in a principled defense of the rule of law. And while I and other Republican supporters of the bill were genuine in our intention to restore control of our borders, we failed, for various and understandable reasons, to convince Americans that we were. I accept that, and have pledged that it would be among my highest priorities to secure our borders first, and only after we achieved widespread consensus that our borders are secure, would we address other aspects of the problem in a wa y that defends the rule of law and does not encourage another wave of illegal immigration."
You’re not going to block Hillary’s appointments, or Obama’s. The only question is whether you’re going to get a more conservative appointment from Hillary or Obama on one hand, or McCain on the other hand. You’ve got at least 3 Supreme Court Justices who will come up for appointment in the next President’s term. Hillary and Obama will appoint Ginsburg/Stevens-like appointees. They might appoint Bill, in fact. McCain will not.
Personally, I am confident about McCain’s promise to appoint conservatives. He’s waffled on every other issue, but that’s the one issue that he has been consistent on.
True, he may compromise in order to get his appointees confirmed, but I can accept compromise when I am shooting blanks. The GOP has very little influence in the Congress. Compromise is the best they can hope for. With Hillary or Obama, they won’t even get that.
McCain can say whatever he wants - it’s meaningless. He has lied too often and is too confused. His handlers probably will make the decisions.
I don’t think that is really true. The knock on McCain is not that he flip-flops or lies. The knock is that he’s not conservative enough. For example, he doesn’t lie about immigration, even though it would be tempting to do so. He says that he supports a path to citizenship. He’s pretty consistent in what he says. His positions are just too liberal for most of us. But “liberal” is relative. He’s not nearly as liberal as Hillary or Obama.
He and Cindy are creepy and weird and have too much baggage. He might not be the Manchurian Candidate but he does evoke images of a sociopath. All three candidates are equally bad.
from the CPAC speech... " and have pledged that it would be among my highest priorities to secure our borders first, and only after we achieved widespread consensus that our borders are secure, would we address other aspects of the problem in a way that defends the rule of law and does not encourage another wave of illegal immigration."
From his own website...
For Immediate Release
May 5, 2008 Contact: Press Office
703-650-5550
Statement by John McCain on Cinco de Mayo and Announcement of New Spanish Website
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain today issued the following statement on Cinco de Mayo as his campaign announced several new Spanish efforts:
"Cinco de Mayo commemorates an important moment in the history of Mexico's path to freedom. On this day in 1862, a small group of Mexican troops overcame overwhelming force to win the Battle of Puebla. Today, we join together to remember the sacrifice that these Mexican patriots endured, as well as the struggles of all those around the world striving for freedom. We recognize as well the important friendship that exists between our country and Mexico, and celebrate the many contributions Mexican-Americans have made to our society, culture, security and economy."
The Cinco de Mayo statement can now also be found on the Spanish section of the official campaign website at http://espanol.johnmccain.com, which the campaign launched today. This part of the website will feature regular updates in Spanish throughout the election.
Finally, as part of his commitment to talking with all Americans during this presidential campaign, the McCain presidential campaign announced that John McCain will attend the La Raza Annual Convention in San Diego on July 14, 2008.
Come July it is going to be very interesting to see how he "defends the rule of law and does not encourage another wave of illegal immigration when he is flapping his jaw in front of the La Raza bunch.
The “path to citizenship” has never been viewed by him as inconsistent with illegal immigration. In a technical sort of way, it’s not. I don’t think that McCain has lied about his position on that one. Everyone knows where he truly stands. He’s in favor of allowing them to stay. And he won’t deny it.
“All three candidates are equally bad.”
I was with you up until that point.
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