“He has to be on the dole of the mexican Gov’t or the drug cartels”.

Can you provide any factual support for this statement, 1964? If you can’t, then its’ nothing more than speculative… and borderline slanderous, IMO.

McCain is NOT a republican no matter what letter they bracket beside his name.

Suggest you actually review his public voting record.

McCain is NOT a republican no matter what letter they bracket beside his name. He has to be on the dole of the mexican Gov’t or the drug cartels. Those two entities will be the big winners no matter which one of those is president.

Irish Rose. You are playing politics. This is not a football game.

No, I’m not playing politics. I am saying that we have a two party system, and the (D)s and (R)s behind the names of our legislators are the two letters that we use to set government policy. You’re either in the majority or the minority, depending on what letter follows your name. We don’t have subcategories.

Conservatives don’t want just anybody with an (R) after there name in the Whitehouse. I personally do not want to just win the Whitehouse to claim victory for the (R)s. Screw that.

Then I will say again that you have not carefully considered what will happen to this country if you put someone with a (D) behind their name in the White House and legislators with (D)’s following their names in charge of the Senate. Either that, or you simply don’t care.

Far too many conservatives these days are thinking that we should just put the Dems in charge of all the choices in Washington and “let them suffer the consequences”. A biblical solution, if you will.

I’m sure that that would happen, but in reality it is you and I and our loved ones who will pay the consequences. The catastophic fallout would destroy American life as we know it, for generations to come.

You put a socialist Dem in the White House and allow Dems to take control of the Senate, effectively removing the checks and balances that are necessary for restraint, there will be so much damage done to the fabric of our economy and government structure that we’ll never – ever – be able to repair it. Once its’ gone, it’s going to be gone for good.

If you think otherwise, you’re only deluding yourself.

And I also don’t want to build consensus with people in my party who claim to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal. As far as I am concerned the two are not compatible.

I think you’d probably find a lot of Republicans in OUR party who disagree with you on this particular issue, and thank goodness for that.

For example: I believe that fiscal conservatism is important… but not in a way that compromises the wellbeing of those among us who are elderly, sick, poor and vulnerable.

For far too many Republicans, “fiscal conservatism” means pulling the rug out from under critical government programs that are absolutely vital to the survival of many of our poorest and most vulnerable citizens.

Yes, the system is broken and some significant changes must take place in order to fix it. But I happen to think that overhaul of existing programs is the best solution, not elimination of programs.

Another example: I don’t support the idea of socialized medicine, but I’m capable of understanding that our healthcare system as we know it, is broken. Privatized health care plans are not the answer.

There are far too many people who are forced to go without health insurance because they have to choose between paying their premiums and surviving, and something MUST be done to correct this. No American should have to make a choice between being healthy and surviving… and that includes the working poor.

At the age of 45, I was thrust back into the job market after a 20 year absence to provide for my children and myself single-handedly. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time: the job market in Michigan is so miserable right now, that even part time jobs are hard to come by even for skilled workers. I’ve not been covered for health insurance for the last four years. I have health problems that require maintenance and medication that I have not been able to afford, and my health has declined significantly. My children and I have been living well below the poverty line for some time now, and the experience has made me a bit more of a realist than many fellow Republicans.

This is what I mean when I suggest that a lot of Republican voters are conservatives but lean towards moderation on many issues. We have to put people into office in Washington who have proven themselves capable of bipartisan dialogue, or we will continue to exist in a state of political deadlock where nothing ever changes.

Do I like John McCain? Not particularly. Do I think that he is the perfect candidate to represent the Republican party? No. Do I think that he needs to change some of positions on issues like immigration? Heck, yes. But the days between now and November are growing short, and that work can be done by his advisors AFTER he is elected.

To put it bluntly, we can’t afford four to eight years of socialist governance while we wait for the perfect Republican candidate to put in an an appearance.

Over the course of the next six months it is absolutely imperitive that we unify as a party, and stand behind our candidate – imperfections and all – or the worst case scenario will become a tragic and devestating reality.

Apologies to Michelle for the rambling dialogue.

Well, thanks for providing a very clear example of why the Republican party is having such a problem right now.

It’s not because of people like me. It is because of people like John McCain and his followers (I am assuming you) who keep wanting liberals to like them. You may be in the wrong party. John McCain sure is.

If you moderates don’t need us conservatives

“you moderates”… “us conservatives”.

Well, thanks for providing a very clear example of why the Republican party is having such a problem right now.

On March 18th, 2008 at 8:41 am, Irish Rose said:
Again, and I have asked this many times here at MM and have never received a response… who gets to define who is or is not “the base” of the Republican party?

Well, obviously, you do Irish Rose.

So, someone who is far right has no clue. I am as far right as they come but I am not unhinged.

I asked a general question.

At what point did it become personal with you?

On March 18th, 2008 at 8:41 am, Irish Rose said: I’m sorry, but thats’ the way that it is.

Excuse me, but that is just your opinion. So let me help you get a clue. If you moderates don’t need us conservatives I hope you enjoy President Obama.

Who is running in Tancredo’s seat in Colorado?

Can he make sure that seat stays in conservative hands?

I assume that when you refer to “the base” here, you mean you and your conservative friends that think like you do. Correct? Has it ever occurred to you that you may not actually BE “the base”?

Yes, I have gone so far as to say we Reaganites are the RINOs now. The only two conservative victories in the last year have been killing amnesty in the Senate by facing down our party and causing chaos in the Democrat primaries.

We will still fight for conservative causes and if that means keeping McCain and his back-stabbing ilk out of office, then so be it.

Bush has shown we cannot defeat liberalism by getting along with it. McCain is the master traitor at this because he hates the conservative base.

On March 18th, 2008 at 8:41 am, Irish Rose said:
Again, and I have asked this many times here at MM and have never received a response… who gets to define who is or is not “the base” of the Republican party?

Well, obviously, you do Irish Rose.

So, someone who is far right has no clue. I am as far right as they come but I am not unhinged. Have you not been paying attention? Do you think the Republican base is made up of “far right wing nut jobs”? Sadly, you are the one who does not get it. You think I, and people like me, can’t bend? No! What upsets me (and millions like me) is the idea that we must bend and to what end. If you think conservatism is defined by being out where I am, you are sadly mistaken because I am the exception to most every rule. You want the very definition. HA, talk about unhinged! Where is every line drawn? Is that the question you want answered? Go ahead, you define the lines but don’t think for one second you will get by with your definitions without opposition.

It is safe to say that I agree with Michelle on most issues (if not all). Do I think she should be like me? Nope. I do not think anybody should be like me and I do not want to be like her. I love Ann Coulter but there are a lot of conservatives that do not. So, which of us should jump ship because we do not fit YOUR idea of the “conservative mold”?

Talk about pious? If I do not fit your idea of a mold or we cannot answer your question; “who gets to define the mold?” we are somehow PIOUS? Come down off of your high horse and let me be a part of the conservative party – faults and all.

Thank God for this site and its conservative commenters. Most conservative sites (including Hot Air) seem to have gone completely in the tank for St. John.

Perhaps they’ve simply opened their eyes to the reality of the situation and are willing to do what must be done to have a system of checks and balances in Washington for the next four years, even if it seems personally distasteful.

The conservatives I know are still waiting for McCain to earn our support. He has done nothing but alienate the base since 2000 and relishes in doing so.

I assume that when you refer to “the base” here, you mean you and your conservative friends that think like you do. Correct? Has it ever occurred to you that you may not actually BE “the base”?

He has a lot of public repenting to do.

To whom, and for what?

The man has a very high favorability rating among Republicans, according to the latest Pew research poll. He didn’t become our nominee through force or deception, R, he won the nomination through a legitimate electoral process.

This nation’s core is still strong and durable. It can survive another Democratic presidency and Democratically controlled Congress if that is it’s fate. It will simply be that much harder to right all the wrongs that will occur in that scenario, but it is not beyond the capability of mainstreet Americans when they have finally had enough.

No, it can’t.

You obviously have no idea what the long AND short term consequences of a “Democratic presidency and Democratically controlled Congress” will be.

All due respect, but if you honestly think that that the wrongs that would be created by such a scenario would be easily solved by mainstream Americans rolling up their sleeves, you clearly don’t understand the issues that are on the table.

You can start with the lifetime liberal leftist appointments to the supreme court that the next Dem POTUS will be making, move on to rapid (and catastrophic) troop withdrawal in the middle east, a shredding of the National Security measures that have foiled every single terror attack attempt on US soil post 9/11, and work your way down the list from there.

The conservatives I know are still waiting for McCain to earn our support. He has done nothing but alienate the base since 2000 and relishes in doing so. He has a lot of public repenting to do.