Ugh.
Alright, I guess that’s not all I have to say. I can think of maybe one good thing about McCain, from my point of view, were he elected president – it would be the definitive end of the era of American torture (at least for now). Yet, even then, I wonder about the exchange: because McCain means more imperialism, more empire – in short, more war. So we trade the torture of terror suspects for the continued bombing of non-threatening nations, killing non-threatening innocent civilians.
And then there’s the simple fact that he knows next to nothing about economics, except for a list of names of some economists that he can recite at a moment’s notice.
Let’s not forget that the self-professed neocons like Bill Kristol (another big “ugh”) preferred McCain to Bush in 2000.
I’ll close with Buchanan on McCain’s platform for November:
“The jobs are never coming back, the illegals are never going home, but we’re going to have a lot more wars.”
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I honestly think I’d rather see Hillary or Obama in the whitehouse than McCain.
The unfortunate fact is that people don’t have political philosophies, they have a favorite-team they call a “party.” And the person who defines the team’s philosophy (if there is one) is the person sitting in the executive chair. That’s why for most of the last 8 years, it felt like the Dems had no platform: because they had no unifying leader.
I’d rather the GOP wander in the wilderness, searching for a leader for 4 years, than have them redefine conservatism to be what McCain represents.
If McCain gets the nomination, I hope for – and will vote for – a third party Ron Paul candidacy.
There, I said it. Hold me to it.
It’s interesting; over here, we don’t really hear that John McCain is George Bush Mk III. The media are more bothered about things like campaign finance reform and the fact that he’s a “political maverick,” whatever that means.
OK, call me the pragmatist here, but I’m going to list 5 reasons why McCain is better than Obama or Her Royal Highness. And I speak as one who vote for Badnarik (the Libertarian Party candidate) in 2004.
1. Abortion. OK, McCain isn’t perfect on this issue. He is in favor of Stem Cell Research, by which I mean Taxpayer Funded Stem Cell Research. Other than that however, he has a very good record on this issue. He voted to ban partial birth abortion, he’s voted against taxpayer funded abortions, he voted to ban abortions on overseas military bases, he’s supported parental consent laws and he’s opposed funding overseas abortions as well. Clinton and Obama only agree with McCain on Stem Cell Research. I think Clinton is a bit worse than Obama only because this would be a more important issue for her than it is for him.
2. Judges. McCain voted for both Roberts and Alito. Obama and Clinton voted against both. Both have said Ginsberg is the model justice for the ones they would appoint to the bench. Now, it is true that GOP presidents have given us Justices like Blackmun, O’Connor and Souter. But it is highly unlikely that a Democratic president would give us someone like Scalia, Thomas or Alito, or for that matter like Anthony Kennedy.
3. Gun Control. Unfortunately John McCain is no hero on this issue for those of us who are 2nd Amendment purists. But he is worlds ahead of the two Democratic candidates. Quite frankly I’m not sure why Gun Owners of America gives McCain an F- on this issue. I know he sponsered the Gun Show Loophole law, but he has opposed the assault weapons ban and he opposed the Brady Bill also. I would think a C would be a more appropriate grade for him. Now get this in 2006 an amendment was proposed to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill that said that no money could be used for gun confiscation during “declared emergencies,” like Katrina or 9/11. The amendment was approved 84-16. Usually antigun senators like Joe Biden, Joe Lieberman and Barack Obama voted for the Amendment, as did McCain. You can guess who the 16 were. Chuck Schumer, Ted Kennedy, Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, and guess who else? That’s correct, the former 1st Lady herself.
4. Spending. A lot is made of the fact that McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts. His stated reason is that they were not accompanied by spending cuts. Well guess what, for most of Bush’s presidency spending has been out of control. Like John Edwards in a beauty parlor to quote another GOP candidate. In the previous congress, Citizens Against Government Waste gave John McCain a 95% approval rating, tied for the highest in the Senate. Obama got a 30% rating and Hillary got a 14% rating. I believe Ron Paul got a 95% in the House by the way. So McCain is heads and shoulders above either of the two Democrats when it comes to wasteful spending.
5. And finally Israel. OK, call me a neocon and a zionist if you please. But I am unapologetically pro-Israel. I don’t think Jimmy Carter is evil(except in the Augustinian sense that all humans are) but I do think he is wrong. Hamas hates Israel, so does Fatah by the way but we’ll leave that aside for the moment. Hamas does not want to live in peace with Israel, they want to destroy Israel. Ron Paul and I part company here. Hamas has not only killed Israelis they have also killed Palestinians who don’t go along with Hamas (like Fatah). Hamas isn’t killing other Palestinians because there is a Jewish state in “Palestine” nor are they doing it because American troops are in Iraq and were in Saudi Arabia. They are doing it because they are Islamic Fanatics (I don’t like the term Islamofascist by the way, because Fascism is an economic philosophy, a bad one granted, but has little or nothing to do with terrorism). I say all that to say this, if Hamas is willing to kill other Palestinians who also hate Israel, they won’t bat an eye to kill Israelis. Back to Fatah. Fatah isn’t as much of an Islamic orgaiization, but more of a Socialist-Left group. They were the largest member of the Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO). A little history here, the PLO was formed in 1964. Here’s a question, in what year did Israel “occupy” the West Bank and Gaza Strip? The answer is of course 1967. So, in 1964 what was the Palestine the PLO was wanting to liberate? The answer is the pre1967 Israel. So, neither Hamas nor Fatah, nor any of the other groups (like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) want to live in “peace” with Israel. Now, on this issue Hillary and Obama aren’t as bad as some on the Left are. But it is telling that Joe Lieberman endorsed McCain over his fellow Democrats, or those who used to be his fellow Democrats.
OK, I’ve rambled long enough. I’m sure I’m probably in a minority here, but those are my thoughts.
Ron Paul R3VO_|UTION!
Philip, yeah we talk about those things too, particularly the free speech issue with campaign finance reform and such.
Lonelypilgrim, I think you’re right that, just looking at McCain vs. Hillary or Obama, McCain would be better…the problem is, and I think this is what Jon is getting at, a McCain election means that McCain represents conservatives, and we don’t need another 4 years of a nonconservative, in many ways worse than Bush, representing conservatives. Actual conservatives are getting pushed to the fringe right now, so a McCain election would be bad for conservatism, which would, in the long term, be worse for the country than having Hillary screw things up for another 4 years.
Yeah, but I mean the McCain-Feingold Act is generally presented in our media, and I very much include the supposedly-neutral BBC, as being an unalloyed Good Thing. I guess I’m learning that (a) America can have very different debates from the UK (where we have very strict political funding rules) and (b) our media can manage to avoid giving that impression quite skilfully.
Wow, Ann Coulter just said on Hannity and Colmes that she would vote for Hillary Clinton over John McCain. She actually said that Hillary is more conservative than John McCain. I’m knew that chick was a dumb blonde, but I didn’t realize she was that bad.
Hannity and Colmes again tonight. Tammy Bruce said she might consider voting for Her Royal Highess over John McCain also. She’s another dimwit. She actually said Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton are more honest than John McCain. Is she serious?
You know the more I listen to people like Coulter and Bruce the more I like McCain. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks maybe they are on his payroll………haha.
Romney has suspended his campaign.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=55804