John McCain vs. the Right: No easy peace; Update:McCain at CPAC
Update 11:11pm Eastern. The Club for Growth joins what McCain’s defenders derisively and speciously label the “McCain Derangement Syndrome” crowd. Here’s the CFG’s statement tonight. You can dismiss it as “hate” and accuse them of “acting like a liberal,” or you can deal with the facts:
When Janet Hook asked John McCain in tonight’s CNN Republican debate “What makes you more qualified than Mitt Romney, a successful CEO and businessman, to manage our economy?” Senator McCain offered a simple answer: “Because I know how to lead.”
Well, John McCain is certainly right about one thing. He knows how to lead, but he is often leading in the wrong direction, and often found with his liberal Democratic friends at his side. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are a case in point. John McCain was certainly a leader on the tax cuts: He led by being 1 of 2 Republicans in 2001 and 1 of 3 Republicans in 2003 to oppose the most pro-growth legislation in a generation.
John McCain joined with his Democratic friends in leading the opposition against the tax cuts. Like Ted Kennedy—who said “Now, they are proposing more of the same, more tax breaks benefiting only the wealthiest among us”—John McCain stood on the Senate floor and declared: “I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle-class Americans who need tax relief.” John McCain also proved his leadership skills by teaming up with Senator Tom Daschle in sponsoring an amendment designed to reduce the tax cuts and undermine their efficacy.
John McCain has also been a leader on several other key Democratic issues:
·He led by crusading, along with Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, against the First Amendment, pushing for legislation designed to wipe out free speech from the political realm
·He led by teaming up with Ted Kennedy and John Edwards in sponsoring the Patients’ Bill of Rights, a bill that imposed onerous mandates on insurance coverage and encouraged an increase in the number of frivolous lawsuits filed against healthcare providers
“Having leadership is an important quality, but it is important to consider the political philosophy underlying John McCain’s leadership,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Hillary Clinton is also a leader, but Republicans don’t want Hillary Clinton to be their nominee. While John McCain has demonstrated his leadership skills, too often, on economic issues, he is leading the country in the wrong direction.”
Update 10:53pm Eastern. What Karl at Protein Wisdom said: “On one level, I cannot help but respect McCain for not wanting to change his positions to align himself with the conservative base. It is undoubtedly the same defiant streak that got him through the hell of the Hanoi Hilton. On the other hand, many people wish that he would at least reserve his most harsh, sneering, morally arrogant and childish rhetoric for liberals, Democrats and their subset in the media, rather than for those with whom he purports to agree with most of the time. Unlike Romney, McCain has built his political fortune on kicking people right of center in the teeth.”
Update 10:48pm Eastern. From commenter RationalThought: “OK, I was softening toward McCain. I really, really do not want a Shrillery presidency. I think her Supreme Court appointments will be a disaster for decades. But the class warfare BS he’s throwing around — and the anti-business crap — man I HATE that stuff. It’s red meat for ignorant, spiteful, envious voters (the Jerry Springer/Oprah crowd), which means the candidate who uses it doesn’t actually believe he has a damn thing to offer except, “Hey, I really want to be President of the United States.” I don’t know if I can pull the lever for him. And I agree with others here tonight: that nasty little smirk. It was positively…Hillaryesque. I’m back to thinking McCain or Hillary — What’s the difference? I don’t really see it, and for the first time in my nearly 50-year life, I may not vote at all. Why bother?”
Update 8:02pm Eastern. Wisdom from The Other McCain - “If you offer to be a doormat, don’t be surprised when people wipe mud all over you.”
I’m liveblogging the GOP debate here.
Update 6:30pm Eastern. Go here for my chat with Glenn Beck about McCain, Juan Hernandez, Jerrold Perenchio, and the conservative base.
Update: 4:50pm Eastern. Something to make you smile: Makaniak.
Update 2:20pm Eastern. Mark Hemingway reports that John McCain himself is coming to CPAC, in addition to reserving the campaign staff booth reported previously. So he can dismiss conservatives’ “foolishness” to their faces? Should be quite a show. Not to be missed.
Update 2:14pm Eastern. Must-read from Jeff Goldstein, who gets the heart of the Constitutional disaster that a McCain presidency portends: “The McCain Mutiny.” (hat tip - HAheadlines) But I guess we’re all just suffering from “McCain Derangement Syndrome.”
Update 11:25am Eastern. McCain to conservatives: You’re fools!
***
Despite his longtime alienation of the Right on countless issues, John McCain secured a solid win in a closed Florida Republican primary and is assuming the air of inevitability. Many pundits have been urging John McCain to reach out to conservatives (how novel that would be). In response, he made a small point tonight in his victory speech of emphasizing judges–an olive branch, apparently, in the aftermath of the Alito/Fund kerfuffle.
Well. We hear what he says now. But we know what he has done for years:
Insult the base, trash the base, and pay lip service to the base only when it suits his needs.
The declaration that he is the “conservative leader who can unite the party” is yet another smack in the face to those who have watched him reach out and slap conservatives time and again–and then run to the warm, gooey embrace of the liberal media. Is it too much to ask to nominate a Republican candidate who is not as openly and historically hostile to the Republican base as CNN and (McCain’s endorsers at) the New York Times are?
McCain’s open-borders supporters will declare that immigration is no longer a factor in this campaign. They so wish it to be so. (Right on cue, here’s Kennedy-fawning NYT columnist David Brooks dismissing immigration sniffily as “not a good issue for Republicans.”)
But the fact is that McCain was driven to play up his border security promises (however hollow they may be) and to start talking up attrition through enforcement.
That’s a small victory. But questions like this remain: How can McCain honestly reach out to conservatives when he defends his extremist campaign Hispanic outreach director who doesn’t believe in borders and when he boasts a national campaign finance chair and soft-money mogul who poured millions of dollars into the fight against English-language instruction in California, Planned Parenthood, and radical environmental fear-mongering groups?
We know that Juan Hernandez is McCain’s Hispanic outreach director.
Who is McCain’s conservative outreach director?
Hillary Clinton likes to say that whatever differences she and her Democrat opponents may have, “they pale in comparison” with the differences she and her Dem rivals have with the Republicans.
Can the Republican front-runner say that the differences between him and his GOP opponents pale in comparison with the differences between him and the Democrats?
The McCain=Hillary ad from the grass-roots conservative group Citizens United provides the disturbing answer.
Conservatives have core concerns about McCain’s trustworthiness, adherence to conservative ideology, and commitment to sovereignty that can’t easily be brushed off with glib answers about being the “straight talk” candidate. The problem is that the media chuckleheads who get to question the GOP candidates are as hostile and out of touch with the conservative base as McCain is. This monumental deficiency has been exposed repeatedly during the election-year “debates.”
Wouldn’t it be helpful to have at least one bona fide conservative questioner on the CNN debate panel tomorrow night when the GOP candidates meet at the Reagan Library? They made room for minority journalists when they broadcast minority interest group-sponsored debates. They made room for local journalists when they broadcast the Iowa caucus and NH primary debates. Why not someone at the GOP debate who actually knows and cares about what conservatives care about?
Too much to ask, apparently.
***
Last month, I asked readers: “Would you, could you, vote McCain?” How about now? At the moment, I’m with Rush: “I can see possibly not supporting a Republican nominee.”
Yes, the possibility is real. But we also have a long, long way to go.
With that in mind, I’m running a closed poll for registered MichelleMalkin.com commenters. (For those who can’t access the poll, I’m asking: Where do you stand with nine months to go until Election Day? If it’s McCain vs. Hillary in November, will you 1) Vote McCain; 2) Vote Hillary; 3) Stay home; or 4) Don’t Know.) I’ll post the results at the end of the day.
This portion of the content is restricted to registered users of this site. Please log in to view the content:
***
Meantime, let me share some of the reader e-mail that’s pouring in. At the moment, the depression and disgust are palpable. John McCain may have declared that he is the conservative uniter. But judging from my mailbox, his fight with the Right is far from over. On to Super Tuesday:
Carol…
I cannot in good conscience vote for John McCain.. If the country is going to hell, I’d rather Hillary, Barack, or the Dems can take credit for the destruction of the country than the Republicans.
Eric…
As a lifelong, politically active Conservative I’ve decided to vote Dem if McCain is the nominee. Why? Because I think that McCain will perform almost exactly like a Democrat and it is better to have the real thing in office rather than a Dem in GOP clothing. If McCain is elected and then performs poorly, because he acts like a Dem, he virtually guarantees a Dem win in 2012. However, if a Dem wins and runs things as they are dying to do then the GOP has a strong shot at 2012 and beyond.
I’d like to see someone start a very public campaign to keep Conservatives home on election day to make sure the Dems win, but win with a large segment voters sitting out so they can’t falsely claim a mandate.If McCain wins it will be harder for GOP House and Senate members to oppose him on Liberal initiatives, initiatives they would oppose if a Dem were to propose them.
Rick…
I’m a member of the conservative base and I just can’t see myself voting for John McCain EVEN if Hillary is the opposition. I am voting for Mitt Romney knowing that he panders. But at least he will promote conservative principles through the course of the election. Bottomline, I would be willing to lose with Romney over winning with McCain. McCain would ruin our movement by redefining what it means to be conservative, furthermore there is absolutely no way of knowing how that guy will govern.
I will never vote Democrat, but I will stay home!!
About me:
49 years old
Married and father of 3 (married once)
Business owner/operator for 21 years
College Educated
Christian faith
Extremely anti-abortion
Extremely pro-gun ownership
Support: strong national defense; small government; lower taxes; free trade; strong borders; personal responsibility
Harvey…
I think the Republican establishment needs to know just how many of us voters will never vote for McCain. I certainly won’t. I’ll just pass if he’s the nominee. I like the country’s chances with 4 years of Hillary better than 8 years of McCain (as much as it pains me to say that about a Republican)…
The electorate needs to know that McCain cannot win in November… and if I’m wrong about that and he does win in November, I think American voters will get the wrong impression of what it means to be a conservative. I have issues with all the Republican candidates and feel that no true conservative is still in the race… but if McCain becomes the nominee, I won’t vote for him.
Gerry…
If McCain becomes the republican nominee, Rush will be proven right. The “republican” persuasion will cease to exist. It might as well merge with the democrats to become its true self. Good riddance.
Staunch conservatives for life, my wife and I will vote for the democrat nominee (Billary or Obama) since they are scarcely different from McCain except on Iraq. Better to have a democrat pres kill the country than a faux-conservative republican like McCain kill it.
Then maybe another Jimmy Carter in 2008 will bring forth another Reagan for 2012.
Dave….
I’ve not voted for a Democrat in 25 years. I wont’ this year either. But if “my” party’s choice is McCain, I’m sitting on my hands. We’ll walk in the wilderness for the next 8 years together.
William…
Read my lips: I will NEVER vote for McCain.
Rod…
It seems to me that John McCain’s straight talk express is running on four flat tires. As a veteran I have always respected the man if not his policies. As the nation watched the Republican race in Florida it soon became apparent that the race to the finish line was a two man race, it also showed how sleazy and nasty McCain’s will stoop to gain a few votes. As he attacked Mitt Romney with underhanded tactics and outright lies he not only lost my vote he also lost my respect.
David…
Dear RNC:
I am very concerned about the direction toward which it appears that the Republican Party is going. In the words of Presidential hopeful John McCain, “they voted us in to change government, and the government changed us.”
John McCain’s own admission of how he failed in his duty as Senator, along with the rest of our fellow Republicans who were voted out of office in 2006, to make the changes that he promised is very telling. First, it raises suspicion as to his promises that he is now currently making. Additionally, it provides us with real insight into exactly who John McCain is, and why he should not be the Republican nominee.
John McCain, the “Maverick” has proven that he is indeed more of a liberal than a conservative or a Republican. What makes McCain a moderate is his staunch support for the war in Iraq. However, all of the Republican candidates, save Mike Huckabee would provide the same strong backing for the war. Which brings me to my next point demonstrating why John McCain would be more appropriate running for the Democratic nomination than a Republican one, McCain’s biggest successes in the Senate are renowned as the liberal’s biggest legislative accomplishments in the last quarter of a century. McCain-Feingold, a big blow to free speech and capitalism, McCain-Kennedy, was not only a smack-in-the-face to conservative Republicans, but also to more than 80% of the American people, who believe that there should be no amnesty, whether technical or not, and finally his global warming initiative McCain-Lieberman is a monstrosity that demonstrates his self-acknowledged lack of understanding of how economies work, particularly the economy of the nation for which he is running to lead.
Most remarkably telling of McCain’s liberal nature is his Clintonesque political maneuvers whereby he lied about and twisted Mitt Romney’s record by saying that Romney stood for something that even the most generous assumptions would not support, then attacked Romney for being dishonest, and repeated it consistently with the hopes that the public would believe it. This effective Clinton tactic is deceitful and it is not the sort of tactics that Republicans should use in a race against each other, simply for the reason that if for some reason a Republican were to lose, despite these terrible tactics, the Democrats would have plenty of ammunition to use fellow Republican’s own words against other Republicans.
I cannot support a candidate who claims that the American people have lost their faith in government and claims that he can restore faith in government, yet at the same time cannot even refrain from being dishonest in a campaign. John McCain is one of the biggest reasons people have lost faith in government, especially over the McCain-Kennedy bill where secret meetings were conducted with the hopes of ramming amnesty down the nation’s throat, despite overwhelming opposition direct from the American people.
If John McCain is selected as the nominee, I will not sit out of the election, but I will vote for whoever the Democratic candidate is. Rush Limbaugh and others have pointed out that if the choice comes down to between a Democrat on one side and a liberal Republican on the other, it’s much better to have the Democrat because at least all the problems that will arise from such an administration can be blamed on their party not ours. It is absurd to suggest that we should vote for a liberal because he is the only one who can beat a fellow liberal. I give much more respect to the liberal who announces his or her intentions and sticks to them rather than the liberal who pretends to be the most conservative Republican only to change positions in office and hide behind the shield that it was important to “reach across the isle” to get something done. Furthermore, we have all seen the damage that George Bush’s compassionate conservatism has done and how he has refused to serve the will of both the party that elected him and the American people as a whole, who believe that the borders should be closed and all the illegal aliens here asked to leave, go home, and wait at the end of the line like the rest of the millions who are trying to come here legally.
I pray that better judgment befalls you, as a party, and you do the right thing and select anybody but John McCain. It will truly tear the party apart in a way that I don’t think that you would like. I am prepared to donate the maximum contribution to the Republican party if the nominee is anybody but McCain, however if the nominee is McCain, I will keep my hard earned cash and vote for whomever the Democratic candidate is.
The sentiment expressed here is not isolated to my own personal beliefs, but it is felt among many of the conservatives in our party. We have been betrayed by John McCain enough. For us, a victory this Fall is not nearly as important as adhering to the principles that once made the republican party great.
Newt Gingrich has set forth a plan to win the majority back by following some simple conservative principles. To the Republican moderates some of these ideas may sound radical, but they are all winning solutions backed by a majority of Americans and transcend party lines. His ideas represent what real Americans believe and a majority of the nation support, like make English the official language, close the border and put an end to illegal immigration, and there are many others, all of which John McCain does not embody.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I hope you do indeed consider the ramifications of seeking power over principle. In the end, if you only go for the power and forget the principles for which we represent, you will have no power.
One more from Vietnam veteran Russ Vaughn:
Up front, as a Vietnam veteran, I will readily concede that I respect John McCain for his service to his country, first as a naval aviator and POW in Vietnam, then for his long years in our national Congress. I even will admit to the fact that I somewhat admire McCain’s desire to effect some sort of political reconciliation with the Democrat party. That being said, I must also make it very clear that I do not support certain decisions McCain has chosen on his pathways to political advancement.
Now that the Senator has won primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina and the network pundits are proclaiming he may well be the Republican “Comeback Kid,” I am reminded of an old Army joke about a platoon sergeant faced with the prospect of breaking the terrible news to one of his young charges, Private Jones, that the soldier’s mother has just passed away. The sergeant calls his platoon into formation and barks out the order, “All of you with living mothers take one step forward.” Then after a momentary pause, he mutters, “Not so fast there, Jones.” That’s my take as a veteran and a conservative Republican on this new political development: “Not so fast there, McCain.”
My first and biggest beef with John McCain is that when a very brave group of Vietnam veterans who had served with John Kerry stood up to say that Kerry’s self-serving portrayal of his war record was patently false, that his blanket charges of war crimes against them were absurd, and that his testimony in Congress was used by the North Vietnamese to further torture McCain’s fellow POW’s, Senator McCain airily dismissed these courageous men and sided with his Senate pal. Playing conciliator in the national media, McCain despicably denounced the Swift boat veterans’ ad as dishonest and dishonorable, hinting that they were pawns of George Bush and the Republican right.
Like all the leftists in the MSM, John McCain never gave these true American heroes even the least opportunity to defend their claims. As a veteran who had suffered more than most to defend our constitutional right of free speech, McCain inexplicably used his powerful office and national presence to ally himself with the repressive forces of mainstream media to suppress that right to men who had risked their lives in combat to preserve it. It was one of the bitterest betrayals the Swift boat vets and the millions of us Vietnam veterans supporting them would have to endure. We expected treachery from the MSM and Kerry’s campaign, but not from John McCain.
What I can never reconcile in my mind, my heart or my soul, is how this naval aviator, POW and true war hero, could so easily turn his back on his fellow sailors, combat veterans all. In the name of political expediency, and a sorely misguided attempt to lay to rest all the troubled ghosts of Vietnam that his treasonous Senate colleague was primarily responsible for creating, John McCain turned his back on the true heroes and sided with a phony vet with phony medals and a suspect discharge.
Never mind that I disagree with McCain on immigration, taxes and his unconstitutional McCain-Feingold bill; that’s all merely politics and has nothing to do with honor and loyalty to those who served bravely alongside you in combat. Nope, that’s not the issue. But I’m putting the Senator on notice right now; if you should somehow get the Republican nomination, you are gambling with the votes of millions of veterans like me unless you repudiate your reprehensible siding with the traitorous, treasonous John Kerry. I have never stayed home on Election Day in protest of a distasteful candidate, but this could be the first time for me and many Vietnam vets, again turning our backs on a fellow vet who turned his first.
The Senator should read the excellent recounting of how a determined few veterans, whom he disgracefully defamed, defeated his old buddy, John Kerry, in the 2004 campaign. In ‘To Set the Record Straight,” authors Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler, lay it out, page by page, what the concerted efforts of a few honorable patriots with an unrelenting resolve can accomplish in the arena of national politics.
Like the old platoon sergeant, I would caution, “Not so fast there, McCain!”
Russ Vaughn
Vietnam 65-66
Bryan Preston has some good suggestions for both McCain and the Right:
The GOP could do worse than nominate a bona fide war hero for the presidency, even while he presents serious problems on many issues. Our party at least takes national security very seriously and votes on it as a priority, something that can’t be honestly said of the Democrats. And for all his maverickness, McCain does vote conservative about 80% of the time. That fact gets lost in his high-profile betrayals of conservatives and conservative principles, and the existence of legislation called “McCain-Feingold” and “McCain-Kennedy.” He needs to work on something called “McCain-DeMint” or “McCain-Hunter.” Some sort of earmark-slashing tax cut package would be nice…
…Hope and courage are two things in short supply these days. If you have either one, and especially if you have any amount of both, use them.
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Trackbacks
- The Other McCain: Despair is not an option
- PoliGazette » John McCain Republican Nominee
- EdBlog » Blog Archive » Why the Field is so Bad
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- WTW: The Maverick Pulls It Out On Super Tuesday — Pirate’s Cove
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- McCain’s Uniting Effort
- Dinocrat » Blog Archive » Some thoughts on Florida
- Lump on a Blog » Blog Archive » The Carter Effect - Or No Thanks, I Think I'll Sit This One Out
- Line in the Sand | And Rightly So!
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- 7 Deadly Sins
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- Michelle Malkin tells Glenn Beck: I won’t vote for McCain over Hillary | Election Geek Blog 2008 Election News 24/7
- Nate's Thoughts
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- affect vs effect
I’m 18 years old and was looking forward to voting in my first presidential election. Now I don’t think I will. I won’t participate in the destruction of the Conservative movement.
I haven’t voted in the poll yet. I haven’t even looked at the results yet. I know last time I said I would never vote for McAmnesty. Next Tuesday when I vote, it will be for Mitt. I had an argument tonight with a supposed “conservative” cousin of mine who’s voting for Juan next week. I tried telling him everything. I directed him to all the stories. He’d hear nothing except “respect his service” which I do, over and over. At this moment, my thoughts are if we’re going to go down the toilet with open borders etc., why not with a Dimmy at the wheel?
I have never sat out an election. I have never voted for anything other than an (R) since my first, Reagan. But the thought of actually voting for this guy next November makes me ill.
I’m throwing up in my mouth a little bit as I type this, but I will vote for Hillary before I vote for McCain.
At least when the country gets screwed up, it will be by somebody who proudly wears the Democrat badge, instead of McCain who pretends he’s a Republican.
With Hillary in the White House at least we are guaranteed the best chance of winning back congress, with McCain in the White House the GOP will be set back 50 years.
Reluctantly, reluctantly, I’d vote for McCain. Only because I feel that if one doesn’t vote, they don’t have a right to complain about who gets in office.
And I’d rather have a supposed pseudo conservative than see the Clintons back in charge.
My uncle said it beautifully:
The Republicans have become the Democrats and the Democrats have become Communists.
McCain vs. Hillary OR Obama? Ugh, I think I’d be forced into voting McCain, just to get by on a “lesser of two evils” path.
Read this carefully, folks: The survival of the conservatives and our ideals will NOT come from the president’s seat, but from winning the house and senate back. Let’s just cut our losses on the POTUS. I am astounded that McCain has made it this far, especially considering that he is insane (read his book and ask him about being submerged in ice as a kid).
If the Democrats continue to control both the houses and then pick up the POTUS slot, you can bet that we’re going to be in for a hell of a ride.
WE MUST WIN CONGRESS.
As much as I like to listen to Rush, he is after all an entertainer and businessman. He has said in the past that a democrat in the White House means more ratings for him. Another term for the Clintons would be the ultimate in ratings.
If its McCain, I’ll be voting for the Democrat, it’ll be fun to play saboteur for a guy who has been a saboteur to the conservative movement for over a decade.
And by fun, I mean agonizing…
Elections are all about lesser evils.
Would I prefer Hillary - the greater evil in virtually every area - to McCain - who has plenty of evil, but less than option 1? Nope.
I’ll hold my nose and vote McCain - and pray Congress keeps him in check. Even if the DNC takes congress, it seems their only agenda thus far is to make a GOP president look “bad” by gumming up the works. I see little reason for this to change with the election of McCain.
I will not vote for Hillary, I don’t care who she is running against. There, I said it.
For my part, I’ll go and vote down the ballot, but I’m not going to vote for a Clinton, even if she is named McCain. I actually don’t think the Dems are going to let it get to that point. As soon as McCain has the nomination, they’ll tear him to shreds. Hillary may end up with a Reagan style landslide, and the mandate that goes with it. As far as the Florida Republicans are concerned, I’ve heard them described as “conservative”, but as far as I can see they’re mostly ex-NY retirees, and about as conservative as most New Yorkers. Too bad the NE libs have gotten to choose the Republican candidate again. If the party wants to have any future at all after this fiasco, they better change their entire nominating process to eliminate the outrageous influence of Iowa, NH, and anyplace else with open primaries or caucuses and mainly liberal voters. This system is broken beyond repair.
Hillary vs McCain? Gee, the Red Queen or The Manchurian Candidate - tough choice.
I would rather vote for Obama than McCain, since McCain has already dismissed appointing judges like Alito.
And his amnesty policies are no different than Kennedy’s.
McCain would just be a one term liberal, dem wannabe, lame duck.
I agree with Rush,let this mess fall on the Democrats watch. Obama looks to be the more adult of the two. We sure as hell don’t want the clintons to bring along all their old tattered baggage to the White House.
Madelin Half bright? please save us from that dingbat.
Sandy Burglar? This guy can pull a national security plan out of his ass, literally.
Conservatives have to bite the bullet and burn down the village, to save it.
Operation Phoenix starts in 2009.
I just don’t know.
I’ll probably vote for the Republican, and I’ll never vote for Hillary, but a lot can happen between now and November.
You know, our time, breath, and money might be better spent building up the farm team–supporting genuinely conservative candidates who might become governors, congressmen, and senators and be ready to kick but in four or eight years…and who in the meantime will do the right thing and hassle the leftist orthodoxy.
Michelle you need to add at least 1 more choice: Vote 3rd party, which I plan to do if McCain is the nominee
http://www.constitutionparty.com
I mean, if I were going to donate fifty dollars to political candidates, and I had a choice between (say) re-electing Jim DeMint or electing John McCain, I’d gladly send it to DeMint. And I suspect I’m not alone there.
I voted for Romney today, but I’ll vote for McCain if he’s the guy in November and I hope you folks will too. If I can’t have what’s best for my country, I’ll take what’s “better”.
He’ll be much better on Defense and on spending than any Dem. He backed Bolton for UN and hopefully he’d pick a similar guy. He’ll appoint conservative judges, and I’ll hold him to his promise for security first before “amnesty”. If he wants to be a two-term president he can’t go back on that, and even if he does we can still defeat it as we did with Bush. He wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.
I believe we’re at a pivotal point in history. A liberal/ socialist/ pacifist in the White House would be a disaster. McCain isn’t the best choice, but if it’s him against Hillary or Obama he’s certainly the better one.
I’ve never been more cynical or discouraged since I started paying attention to national affairs. I have no idea what I’ll do on election day. Whats the point?? The elites seem determined to create a socialist super-state with no borders. Its all a con game with the policy outcome predetermined.
I consider it to be my civic duty to vote. I will never sit out an election. Voting for a third-party candidate is not an option, that’s just like not voting. Believe me, if it comes to that, I won’t enjoy voting for McCain, but there is NO….WAY….IN….HELL that I would ever vote for Shrillary. Sorry, not gonna do it. Wouldn’t be prudent. Nah gah dah.
Besides, we’d get to see Meghan McCain for at least four years.
I feel terrible tonight. I hope something intrudes to spare me the choice. But if it’s McCain vs. Hillary or Obama, I will hold my nose and vote McCain. I don’t like him, but I am not yet suicidal.
Has the right truly gone mad? I mean has insanity really gripped conservatives?
Are conservatives really saying that there is no difference between McCain and Hillary?
I have been supporting Rudy Giuliani, and I would like to say that the supporters of every defeated candidate need to…(grabbing a bullhorn)…
FALL…INTO….LINE!!!!
Yes, McCain has cozied up to democrats on some issues. Yes, he has been too much of a media darling, and the Jayson Blair Times likes him.
He is also a man that is further to the right than President Bush on the Iraq War.
The democrats want to end the war. He wants to win it.
We can have fights about illegal immigration and campaign finance reform after the election in the same way we loved President Bush, but argued with him on steel tariffs and Harriet Myers.
We cannot elect Hillary. We cannot elect her under any circumstances.
The perfect must not become the enemy of the good. Ronald Reagan was a giant, and he was not perfect on illegal immigration. George W. Bush is a good man and a good President, and he has made his mistakes.
John McCain is not perfect, but he is a leader.
He is the man who promised in 2000 to “beat Al Gore like a drum.”
Conservatives…in 1992 spitefulness got us Bill Clinton. That gave us higher taxes, the Brady Law, and an attempt at socialized medicine.
I am begging conservatives to listen to McCain’s overtures. This man is a hero, and as much as he has fought with the right, they have belted him pretty hard as well.
He is reaching out. We can either work with him, and rebel when he is wrong, or watch Hillary from the outside looking in. That is a non starter.
To those who complain about Reagan and amnesty, I offer Antonin Scalia. To those who complain that Bush Sr. raised taxes, I offer Clarence Thomas. To those disappointed by President George W. Bush on immigration, I offer John Roberts and Sam Alito.
We must rally around the nominee of the republican party. Do not stay home. Do not vote 3rd party. Do not Vote Hillary.
We govern together, or we sit getting governed separately and badly.
FALL…INTO…LINE.
Respectfully,
eric aka the Tygrrrr Express
http://www.blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com
The only Democrat I would be willing to vote for is Zell Miller. Zell Miller has said that he would not change his party affiliation. He was born a Democrat and will die a Democrat. It fits my bill too in regards to the Republican party. But that may change. I have toyed with the idea of becoming an independent out of disgust with the GOP but have not done so because it breaks my heart. It is an aberration I can’t fathom. McCain as the nominee is perhaps enough for me to do so. He is deeply flawed and blind to his own arrogance.
“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” Matthew 16:26
I think the Republican party is selling its soul for an election that may be at best a pyrrhic victory.
I’ll never vote for McCain nor will I vote for the Democrats of today. I will vote for the Libertarian candidate who ever that may be. Here in California we have that luxury as our state has not elected a Republican in twenty years and will do so again in 2008.
Michelle Malkin said
Is this a rhetorical question? Because they want McCain to get the nod so Hillary will eat him for lunch and turn the United States into something of which Karl Marx would be proud and Grouch Marx could laugh at.
You are, in my opinion, Michelle, one of this nation’s strongest and most effective speakers, on screen and in print - and you probably get plenty of weirdos online so do know that this happily married man is fawning excessively strictly on the merits of your gigantically talented craftsmanship - so far be it from me to make a suggestion. But perhaps it’s time to up the rhetorical stakes with a little tougher language, and this goes for everyone, everywhere, really.
Tonight I saw Hillary shilling for herself, gazing deeply into the camera on Fox, the same woman who refuses to debate on that same channel because according to her Fox has a right-wing bias. Apparently not too much of a bias to use that cable network as a self-promotional sales tool, however. Same for Obama. Perhaps the Daily Kos gave her permission. But such insultingly hypocritical arrogance should enrage absolutely everyone to the point of screaming into their telephones as they politely speak their mind to the operators at Fox News.
And CCN.
Sometimes - in fact all the time - it seems to me that most conservatives take the MSM liberal bent for granted, and in turn play their supposed expected role of patsy/pushover/fool beautifully to glowing liberal applause. It’s quite frankly high time, to quote the name of one extraordinarily written book, for a little more Outrage from everyone.
If McCain is the Republican nominee, I will go to the polling place and vote Republican for every position except President. I will simply not cast a vote for President.
Eric, while I disagree on many of his details, makes one very good point.
While I don’t like McCain (I actually cannot stand to even look at or listen to him after everything he’s done), he is better than Hillary. Don’t let sour grapes ruin your perspective - or your country.
And it isn’t over for Mitt by a long shot. I heard something heartening echoed from his camp today: they feel that the strong conservative vote is turning his way. While there is an admitted “duh factor’ to that statement, I doubt there can be any question of that and it is a good sign.
So as Eric has suggested, I’d submit that we fall into line. The democrats look absolutely well-disciplined compared to Republicans right now, and for that, shame on us.
I have never met Eric or know him in any way, but he has a good slogan our party needs right now, so I’ll repeat it because it makes alot of sense:
FALL INTO LINE
.
As for me, I’m solidly in the Romney line right now. But if McCain wins I’ll hold my nose and vote for him, just as I am sure Eric will hold his nose and vote for Romney. It’s about being mature and well-disciplined enough to do what’s right for the country, because if anyone thinks Hillary isn’t vastly worse than either, then they have forgotten what she can be like when she’s not smiling lovingly into a camera for votes.
You may re-post this list of links wherever your hearts desire in whole or in part;
Candidate Research - Know Who You’re Voting For ( The Easy Way ) http://tinyurl.com/2sowta
Mr. CC,
You want to discuss maturity?? Have you studied the entire record of your pandering BS artist Willard?
Candidate Research - Know Who You’re Voting For ( The Easy Way ) http://tinyurl.com/2sowta
To blacktygrrrr: thank you.
More and more I have to hold my nose and vote for the lesser of bad choices.
Any chance for a write in candidate?
I said it before and I’ll say it again. I’ll back whoever the GOP nom is, but until then I’m not for McCain. At least the 4% difference between he and Hillary is 4% I can agree with.
- The Cat
Cut our losses. Build where we need to.
Sounds like a plan.
All this is according to the press - I’m selling here folks, not buying, heh.
here goes nothing…
Remember the great Split Government that produced so much economic success in the 90’s? Bust your butts for your local GOP candidates at the state local, and especially Congressional races.
Lets get a Republican Congress to counterbalance President Clinton.
Worked in 94. Lets try it again!
Talk to your Dem friends that dont like Hillary once she stomps Obama with her racebaiting and dirty politics - tell them how to “pay her back”.
/MSM-Appeal
Doubt it will work, but its about all we have left.
Don’t stay home. Vote Constitutional Party (or some other substitute) for President, and GOP for congress.
Get a GOP Congress — and also deny Hillary a majority of the votes and any claims to a mandate (and send McCain the Betrayer Home).
Enough of “the lesser of two evils”!
My last “staw” was the Huffington - Feinstein “match” when the R party betrayed a man of character(Dannemeyer) for money (Huffington). I left the Senate selection on the ballot blank.
I take that back-my politcal friends said “hold your nose and vote for Arnold-he’s the lesser of two evils” - I voted for him knowing he was really in the Kennedy camp.
To my Republican friends: I will hold my nose NO MORE and I will NOT, again, vote for the LESSER OF TWO EVILS!!!!
As we keep getting fed liberal Republicans, the Democrats are smiling ear to ear. As we are in a mess over the fact that we can’t even get a conservative as a nominee they are chuck full of liberals willing to destroy the country.
How lucky are we?
Perhaps this is all a set of growing pains that the GOP needs to go through. I feel it’s safe to say that we are at a point now that we either let the party become what John McCain and his ilk would have it be, one that supports the breaking of immigration law, one that stifles free speech aimed at people like him, one that engages in class-warfare rhetoric, one that promotes constitutional rights for enemy combatants, -OR- we sit out now, express our dissatisfaction with those types of policies, and demonstrate that we are conservatives first, and FORCE the national party to understand that we will not support RINO’s anymore simply for the sake of the party. If we sit out now, and let the country suffer through a Dem presidency, let them watch their taxes rise, let them watch jobs disappear and wages fall, let them watch the 1st and 2nd amendments eroded even farther etc, it could make the party stronger in the future.
If you consistently support the status quo, nothing will ever change. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Both parties are moving leftward, if we want to stop it, it will take huge numbers of us expressing our dissatisfaction. The only thing they pay attention to is power, and they can’t have it without us. They need to be made to understand that again.
As for blacktygrr and his supporters, don’t you EVER presume to tell me what to do.
Fall in line? Screw that, I don’t fall in line for liberals.
Michelle, your poll should have included ‘3rd party’ as a choice. I voted for ‘I don’t know’ because if the R nominee is McCain I will be voting 3rd party, maybe for the ‘Constitution Party’, ‘Green Party’ for the heck of it or even randomly choose anyone but McCain.
Adding an ‘anyone, but McCain’ poll selection might have been a good idea too.
So far your poll results are very similar to the conservative news forum Free Republic poll asking the same question on January 23rd, 2008.
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/poll?poll=215
Right now McCain has about 40% support from conservatives (liberal estimate). It could go as higher if Hillary ends up being the nominee. IMHO there will be at least 20+% of conservatives who simply will never vote for McCain no matter what the circumstances are. I’m in that group.
You know what? If it’s Hillary vs. McCain no amount of convincing by national talk show hosts Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, Hewitt, Prager, Medved is going to have any effect in changing our minds. That goes for conservative bloggers, columnists, local talk show hosts, etc.
If it’s McCain the Republicans are in for a landslide loss that will rock the foundation of the party… just what needs to happen!
Regardless who the canidate is, I will vote for the R, instead of the D, Unless a strong I canidate appears and has a chance.
I never want to see Clinton in office again
As I told my Democrat friends tonight,you can go into the voting booth in Nov. blind-folded,because it looks like Clinton vs.McCain.There is no difference between them.Of course,my Democrat friends are too ill-informed to know where any candidate stands on any issue(or what the issues are),all they see is the Big D.
I have decided after many years of being non-partisan,to change my registation status to Republican,just so I can cast a vote in the primaries against McCain and Arlen Specter.I would have some respect for those two,if they would stand up and proclaim themselves for what they are–Liberal Democrats,instead of calling themselves Republican.
Oops,I forgot to add,conservative leader,my a$$.
The man has been telling us that he learned his lesson, and then we find he’s got Hernandez on his team - obvious he’s been lying. It doesn’t matter what he says he’ll do or not do. I won’t stay home because there are other races that are important. But I don’t know if I’ll vote for the Dem or write someone in or just not vote for a president at all. I do know that I’ll **never** vote for Juan.
Here’s something we know that McCain will vote for:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,326346,00.html
From the Fox news site.
With McAmnesty winning Florida last night, I feel very ill.
There is no way in h@ll that I will vote for that man. There’s not a dimes worth of difference between him and the Hildabeast.
I’ll vote for Daffy Duck before I’ll vote for McAmnesty.
In all seriousness though, I’ll probably write in either Duncan Hunter or Fred Thompson on my ballot.
As other posters above have said, I would rather the Dems take the hit for our Country’s downfall.
I can’t “fall into line”.
I have a motto at the top of my blog–”Supporting party above principle does a disservice to both”–that I constantly refer to when dealing with the “lesser of two evils” argument. In this case, I’m not convinced that there is much of a difference, and since I am more than a one issue voter I’m not prepared to see all domestic policy shift into the liberal column in order to salvage foreign policy.
So, how does supporting John McCain support conservative principles?
While I don’t think I would vote 3rd party, there is a definite chance that I would “undervote” and simply leave President empty.
One factor that many who are urging the rest of us to “fall in line” is the down-ticket ramifications of a McCain nomination. Especially here in “purple” Colorado, I can’t see how his presence would help in the close Senate race between the conservative Bob Schaffer and the Boulder liberal Mark Udall. “Moderate” and “unaffiliated” voters (the 2nd largest voting bloc in this state) broke for Sen. Ken Salazar in 2004, even though President Bush carried the state–and Bush is much more conservative than McCain, despite his failures.
I’m just hoping that Mitt Romney can turn the tide next Tuesday.
This best expresses my opinion right now,
“it is better to have a Dem in office rather than a Dem in GOP clothing. If McCain is elected and then performs poorly, because he acts like a Dem, he virtually guarantees a Dem win in 2012. However, if a Dem wins and runs things as they are dying to do then the GOP has a strong shot at 2012 and beyond.”
This vote will be for 2012. The next 4 years are just a “lets hope we’re still afloat at the end of it” period.
A Florida McVain victory is proof of the vast number of reading for comprehension lessons needed. As Ron White said there is no fixing stupid. With such a vast number of stupid Republicans need anyone worry what becomes of such a party. Hopefully this malaise is not nation wide but if it is then we can count on stupid doing as stupid is. Little do they know and little do they care what we do here but if a McVain election day comes wait until then when we are not their either.
The latest poll at Michael Reagan’s site only asks “If John McCain is the nominee what will you do?”, with no mention of Hillary. The results are almost identical to this current Malkin poll so far and very similar to the results of that Free Republic poll I referenced up above.
Poll on left side of the page here:
http://www.reagan.com/
THERE WAS NO SLOT FOR ME IN THE POLL!
I WILL VOTE! I ALWAYS VOTE, NO MATTER WHAT.
I will NEVER AGAIN VOTE FOR ANY DEMOCRAT.
BUT NEITHER WILL I VOTE FOR A RINO SOCIALIST SUCH AS JOHN McCAIN.
EVER!
I WILL VOTE FOR A WRITE-IN CANDIDATE if McCain becomes the GOP Candidate.
I did not vote for Gerald Ford. I did not vote for Robert Dole.
NOTHING COULD EVER EVER EVER CAUSE ME TO VOTE FOR JOHN McCAIN.
NO UNHOLY ALLIANCE THAT WILL STILL PROMOTE SOCIALISM OVER THE CAUSE OF CONSERVATISM COULD BE OF THE LEAST VALUE - not even as medium for Penicillen.
Saving the GOP from destruction by “pulling together” in the face of certain DIM VICTORY cannot possibly SAVE THE UNION of the United States of America.
Dear Russ Vaughn and many others,
Russ, you are just a little bit older than me.
I must tell you, I have only one explanation how a man could have been where they say McCain was, in Vietnam, and be the man he now CLEARLY is.
I come from an extremely large family, and I have known people like him, before, and still do.
At my age, I can tell you, I saw them as toddlers, as young teens, and young adults, and I have seen them middle aged, and now going beyond that.
I’ve seen foolish young folks who grew out of it. I’ve seen serious young folks, who also grew out of THAT.
But sadly, I have seen folks of a certain type of LACK OF CHARACTER as even toddlers, yes, and certainly as teens and young adults - who are NOW and EVER the same identical type of person, suffering the same IDENTICAL lack of character, as always.
There is something different about the ones with an inherent self-centeredness, who have no serious moments of consideration of others.
I have found some people who have gone through horrendous things, and they are tired and fed up and angry and bitter - BUT THEY CANNOT QUIT GIVING, no matter what.
I’ve found others who got the best of what was available and KNEW IT, yet continually complained that all were working to deprive that one OF THEIR JUST DUE.
The only thing that makes sense to me is that John McCain is one of those who did NOT conduct himself nearly as honorably as he would like others to believe, AND THUS HAD DEVELOPED A DEEP TREMENDOUS HATRED of those who stand for what he is ATTEMPTING VAINLY to pass himself off as - BUT KNOWS HE IS NOT AND NEVER CAN BE. So like a toy paste jewel from the Cracker Jack box, he cannot stand the glare of day to stand beside a real Diamond.
That is the only explaination I have EVER seen in my life for John McCain to have the quality of SUPPORTERS for his MILITARY record that he does, who are his CHIEF supporters and defenders.
Because I have NEVER in all my LIFE EVER seen a HANOI JOHN defend A TRUE HERO - EVER! And it follows that the DAUGHTER of the KEATING of the KEATING FIVE who also vociferously defends John McCain’s MILITARY RECORD is ALSO not in the least credible.
And when you search online for QUALITY defenders for him…
All you find are where he was ripping the heroes and their families to pieces instead, because he was in cahoots with Kerry and Kennedy for CONTRACTS that depended on THEIR GETTING TREATIES PASSED WITH NORTH VIETCONG in the late 90’s - which treaties caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of our allies in South Vietnam, such as one of my dear friends and Vietnam War Veterans, known as “Cappy Marine” - yeah, I know that is like Joe Smith - but he blogs about those allies and the facts surrounding their deaths - that history in newspapers noted their deaths - but buried the stories.
Just as they are now burying the story of the 20% of NON-REPUBLICANS who voted in the Florida Republican CLOSED PRIMARY.
I have searched for years - but there are some things in life for which there simply ARE NO EXCEPTIONS AT ALL.
And for example - would you ever find Toady Chappaquiddick Kennedy at the top of the heap of those praising and giving the BEST of accolades and honors AND PRIZES to some TRUE HERO of any kind in any area?
NO! YOU WOULD NOT! Neither would you ever find him RESCUING some young girl in a bad situation in over her head.
You know he would simply snigger and turn and go back upstairs.
So when these folks defend McCain’s MILITARY RECORD… there is nothing we can do but PUSH ASIDE OUR NAIVETE and FACE FACTS - just like you would if it was some worthless young fellow in your neighborhood who came by and asked to borrow a very very fine, classic vehicle from you - “just for a spin - when you can smell alcohol on his breath.
Why do we find this so hard to do when it is a famous person who is honored by people we do not even respect, such as Hanoi John and Toady Chappaquiddick Kennedy.
It is NOT a breach of good manners to NOT allow what is good to be trampled by avarice and deceit!
The stink is just too much - and the REAL explanation is the only one that HOLDS WATER.
We need to trust our guts like we have learned to in other types of situations in which we would NEVER DARE DREAM of shoving that FINE-TUNED INSTINCT for trouble aside, just because we THINK we should defer to the judgement of others.
This is DEADLY. Even if it is all seen ONLY in “POLITE SOCIETY”.
We need to trust our instinct. Just like you would if it were a physical snake in the grass beside your back door where your children are playing.
Do not let these dangerous people make you feel intimidated - you have a lifetime of sound judgement in a wide variety of other areas to show you in a time like this - trust your gut instincts.
McCain wasn’t better as a CHILD or a TEEN or in the early days of his military service where he himself admits his record was FILLED with demerits. He is exactly the same.
And his own allies in nefarious dealings cannot trust him, either. He would throw any of them to the crocodiles for any whim that tickles his fancy.
Michelle, Your poll is flawed. The I will stay home. option should be changed to No selection or other.
There are other candidates and issues on the ballot that deserve our support and in some cases our opposition.
Depressed Republican turnout only benefits the Democrats. Staying at home is not an option.
I will vote a straight democrat ticket in November is McCain gets the nod, if only out of spite and to hopefully teach the RNC a lesson.
McCain is about 5% different from Hillary, and she’s only 5% off from Obama. So really, it isn’t like there would be a difference.
All of them opposed most of Bush’s judicial nominees, tax cuts, they supported (at least in words) Amnesty, and they think people need to be saved from themselves.
Screw that.
Besides, let them have the country for a few years. The reality of THAT end result should give conservatives a lock for decades…
For Romney I would stir my California butt out of my computer chair to vote in the vain hope I could make a difference. For McCain - it just is not worth it. Yeah, we lose bigger with Hillary. I see it like pulling off a bandage to see what is underneath. I’ll take the chance of Hillary winning. That will be like pulling the bandage off fast. Then the public sees the festering mess and maybe does something about it. With McCain I see the bandage coming off slowly. We’ll end up hurting about as much. So why bother? It may make more sense to my roughly 65 year old butt to cynically take advantage of the Democrat’s socialism if that is what the US declares it wants. I’ll quit taking responsibility for my actions and promptly start whining and blaming others to see what I can get out of the honeypot as things disintegrate.
swj719AWG,
It’s guaranteed that such a spite vote will not turn any heads anywhere in the cosmos. It never has in the decades I have been voting.
I’ll stay home.
I cannot and will not vote for McCain.
I agree with one of the commentors above: if the country goes to sh*t I would rather it NOT be on the hands of someone who is (supposedly) a Republican, and who was voted in BY Republicans. I would feel personally culpable if I voted for him. I would rather the Democrats take “credit” when things go downhill.
McCain’s immigration record is the reason I will stay home if that’s what it comes to. I will NEVER vote for Hillary or Barack, and I will NEVER vote for anyone who wants to erase the borders between the U.S. and other countries, who wants to let illegals stay in our country, and who wants to make taxpayers like myself pay for it. Never.
Juan Hernandez is an appalling nightmare.
Don’t shoot yourself in the back to buff your pride!!
I don’t get it, and Rush should know better with this bogus concept that by not voting ANY Repub in Nov will just “punish” the party to return to the right path for next try later on.
Hello!!!
Once the Dems get in they’ll install massive social programs that will NEVER go away, no matter who’s elected after them! (Hello Social Security??) Health Care’s only the first monster! Wait till you basic housing and food entitlements creep in — and don’t about the “automatic naturalization” of anyone crossing the border! All this WILL come to pass if the Dems get their foot in the door and seal these programs in concrete against any later tempering! At lest WE have a chance to influence our nom; forget the Dems!
Please do as I — least just for the hell of it vote our nominee — even just for killing time! It’s not just a mere “McCain” (if he’s it) term we have to worry about here! I hope Fred and Tom and Huck and the others get this into their followers to back the nom and dump this suicidal purist “principles” thing! Pride and one’s principals WON’T spare your wallet and culture from the socialist ravaging of the Dems!! In fact for now on I’m not calling Dems dems, but there true nature — SOCIALISTS!
Or does that mean anything to anyone any more?
PLease swallow your pride and don’t sit home! It’s all beyond McCain now!!
James Greenidge
Queens NY
I found myself commenting at HotAir that the reason you have to vote for McCain is the SCOTUS. Then I started counting the disastrous, left wing activist judges appointed by liberal Republicans: Harry Blackmun (Roe), John Paul Stevens (worst), Burger, Anthony Kennedy, hell, even Reagan appointed O’Connor. She’s no liberal, but she certainly wasn’t conservative.
These are the names we will be thinking about if McCain appoints a SCOTUS judge with a Dem congress.
I’m going to have to rethink that “Anybody But Hillary” sticker I have on my SUV
I’ve said it a half a dozen times since your poll asking the question:
I would rather be waterboarded than vote for McCain.
I’m anger. I’m turning my “venom” towards those idiotic, uninformed, envy mongers who think they’re smarter than everyone else. Yes that includes you, Fred Barnes, Victor Davis Hanson, and David Brooks. Ya, you too Fox News for glossing over Mr. Democrat-lites record. John McCain isn’t too blame. I blame those who voted for him. I’m angry.
PS- Great column today on foreclosures Michelle.
PS- I didn’t literally mean “venom.” I meant my energy. But venom sounded more…well…venomous. hehe
Just get one that says “except McCain” and put it right next to it.
Godzilla - your uncle is brilliant!
“My uncle said it beautifully:
The Republicans have become the Democrats and the Democrats have become Communists”
It is so true. But I guess that is the natural course of history.
I’m still not sure how I will vote. My whole “voting life”, except for Reagan, I have held my nose and voted for the so-called republican because the pundits all say that to do otherwise would give the democrats control. A lot of good that has done! (I have never voted for a democrat.) I think I’m done with the lessor of two evils logic. I will, of course, vote for all other offices, but may just leave tha president box blank if McCain is the choice.
This is why I will sit it out if McCain is the nominee:
1). If we have a LIBERAL Republican President and the Dems are the majority in the House and Senate, the Liberals get everything they’ve always wanted.
2). If we have a LIBERAL Republican President and the Republicans are the majority in the House and Senate, the Liberals still get everything they’ve always wanted because the Republicans in Congress will not want to go against the Republican President. (Remember how difficult the Shamnesty battle was.)
However, if the President is a Liberal Democrat, the Republicans (whether in the Minority or the Majority) can still fight for (and win) conservative principles without the embarrassment of fighting their own president.
The future of Conservatism in the Republican Party will be better served with a President Hillary than with a President McCain.
I am trying to imagine a scenario where I can vote for McCain. What if he signs a “build the fence in 6 months” pledge? What if it is McCain/Rudy vs. Hildebeest/Richardson? What if we are hit again by terror? Hard to figure for me at this point, but I am not a happy man today.
I would rather put my hand in boiling water than use it to pull the lever for McCain, but I’ll do it if I have to for one reason:
As long as the United States has men and women in harm’s way, I will not subject them to having Hillary or Obama as Commander-in-Chief. Period.
How bout we wait till after super tuesday then freak out….
if necessary…
All these statements sum up my nausea precisely. Fact is, a majority of Republicans are voting for McCainnedy and are proud to do so. This is a schism the GOP will not recover from as it shows a permanent drift from conservatism.
My voting for McCain, should he be the nominee, depends largely on who his Veep choice is. If he/she is not a strong conservative I won’t vote for him.
I will NOT vote for a Dem short of Zell Miller.
So, I’m left with not voting of POTUS or voting third party/write-in. Then I’m moving to New Zealand.
Under no circumstance will I EVER vote for John McCain, especially after his support of Shamnesty, his sponsorship of the Free Speech suppresion Act (McCain-Fiengold), his friendship with Ted Kennedy, and his “gang of 14″ membership. I will either sit this election out, or vote for a third party candidate.
If it’s McCain, I will definitely be sitting out. I think it would be best for the Republican party to allow Hillary or Obama to win so they can spend the four years cleaning house. A McCain victory would mean nothing but even more compromise of the party to the point where, what separates it from the liberals, would not be enough to make anyone vote for them (why vote for a fake liberal when they can get the real thing). I say we focus on the congressional seats. We know how McCain behaves when the Republicans had a majority and a sitting President (he stabbed them in the back). No need giving him a liberal majority that he can agree with. See about getting some real Republicans elected so he is a lame duck. His first order of business will be to sign that sorry excuse for an immigration reform bill drafted by Ted Kennedy after it is resurrected…(anyone notice how we conveniently still have no fence and a bunch of excuses with the President and congress we have now…no coincidence)… let a Dem president be the one to take the fall for that sorry legislature.
As an Arizona resident I think I can offer some clarification to others on the question about how McCain could be a Republican . ..
Until the massive growth here across the last 10 years Arizona was a very strong Republican voting state, and you pretty much needed to be a Republican to have any chance at getting elected. Therefore McCain has been a Republican since he started his political career.
The rapid growth here due to a massive influx of businesses and people from very liberal areas of the country, especially from our neighbor to the west, California, has changed that.
This has changed the voting base of this state significantly, allowing McCain to be more openly left in what he does because the new class of voters here make sure he gets re-elected. If he still had to count on the strictly conservative voters he would have already been voted out of office.
He has abandoned the people and the party in his unquenchable quest for power. This shift started with the loss in the Presidential election of 2000. Just like the Dems he has been obsessed with the 2008 election ever since.
This is my opinion, of course, but it is offered from one that has watched it happen from the ground level here.
McCain is the brain-child of the left and the surest way to get a democrat elected president.
He would make a perfect subject for a conspiracy book - Manchurian style!
This man is as bad - my opinion - for the US as Hillary or Obama.
I would sadly and I mean very sadly vote for McCain for this reason and this reason alone. I know what the Clintons did to our military when Bill was in office. And I know how our fine men and women were treated. Having a son in the military I would fear for him and all they have gained under Bush. Hillary would put us back years. McCain although I disagree with him with many other issues, I feel would not disassemble the military like the Clintons will.
The Clintons must not get into office. The nation might not survive them this time around.
!. I will NOT vote for McCain !!!
2. I may just stay home or I may write-in.
In Maine, I will not vote for Senator
Susan Collins who is just like McCain.
So, there may be no reason for me to
vote. If there is a good Republican
running for the House, I’ll go and
vote for them.
3. It’s time for Mitt to take off the
gloves and expose McCain’s
personality…his temper, etc.
4. I would like to see Mitt run some
clips of senate committee hearings
and floor debates on immigration.
I guess there may be a CSPAN/Senate
copyright issue, but who cares, just
do it. This guy has to be exposed for
what he is.
5. Bottom line - John McCain is
untrustworthy and too unpredictable.
I will never vote for open borders traitor Shamnesty McCain.
No more “arsenic will kill me more slowly than cyanide” RINO vs ‘Rat votes for me. I’m done, W. was enough.
Amen, brother! It’s nice to see another young conservative out there in the world! I
feel like Iam surrounded by apathetic, idiot liberals among my peers here at college.I’m 19, and a hard-core conservative (of my own choosing). No one chose this political philosophy for me… I took it upon myself, because it is the only one that works.
Likewise, no one can choose John McCain as the nominee without sacrificing this conservative’s vote. I’ll nnever vote Dem, but I’ll write-in or vote 3rd-party if Juan McCain is nominated.
I was in the military under the Clinton also. Yes he was horrible (especially with the military) and he was the reason I first voted in any election (to see him GONE) and eventually the reason I left the military. But McCain supporting the military won’t be much after he turns the entire country inside out and bows down to liberals and other countries…. won’t mean much at all.
Come on folks, take heart. The Fat Lady ain’t even on stage yet. Reach down, grab a pair and hold the frigging line.
Like most other people’s responses here, I WILL NOT VOTE for McCain. NOT EVER NEVER!!!! After he and his open-border cronies called myself and all the other millions of people, who flooded the Congressional switchboard with phone call and faxes, bigots and racists, I will never support his campaign. The Republican party has lost this conservative’s vote!
I’m not sure who I’m voting for (ie write-in candidate or Hillary/Obama), but it won’t be Juan McCain. The liberal MSM has been pushing him since day one and I for one resent the fact that the REPUBLICAN Party’s nominee will be chosen by Independents and Democrats. How is this fair to Republicans who vote in later primaries? I live in NC and my primary isn’t till I believe May. This system HAS to change in future elections.
I’m hoping for a Democrat landslide in November and then coming back with real conservative in 2012. That’s really the only thing I have to look forward to now.
McCain is a liberal tool (the NYT says so!), but I’m not jumping into the river until I know for *sure* Romney’s out of it.
The Romney oval stickers go onto our cars this weekend. (I can always peel them off later).
If I have to peel them off, tho, I vote (R). One day I’ll be judged, and I don’t want to have to answer to voting for Hillary.