Posted by
federal rb on Thursday, March 27, 2008 3:07:29 PM
I am trying to understand the palpable anger directed towards John McCain. I have my theories but wanted to get responses from the conservative blogoshere. I know that his positions in the last deacde have been contrary to conservative views, but why does President Bush get a pass(mostly) while McCain gets the wrath from the right.
President Bush has been great to lower tax rates for everyone in the country, a stalwart on the global war on terrorism, and has given us Roberts and Alito. But he also has greatly expanded the scope and money spent on the Federal dept of Education.(not a conservative position) Has established a prescription drug benefit.(not a conservative position) He tried to give us Harriet Myers as he was reluctant to fight the Dems on the appointment of a Supreme court justice. (Okay he received much grief from conservatives over the Harriet Myers attempted appointment) And he was in total support of the illegal amnesty bill that failed in Congress. (And that instigated open warfare with conservatives across the country) But he is still respected and revered out there.
McCain seams to get the blunt end of the anger out there. Yes, I realize McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Feingold, and taxes for the rich have not made him a favorite of the right. But to sit out this election or gulp "vote for Hillary". That is total lunacy. I love reading and listening to Ann Coulter, but to argue that she is more conservative than McCain is utter nonsense. So I cannot understand why conservatives are willing to lose this election in order to get a better candidate 4 years from now. The next president might have 2-3 more appointments on SCOTUS and that will affect the country for the next 20-30 years. Let alone the Dems obvious attempt to nationalize our healthcare system. Can we really let the country drift further along towards socialism while waiting for the next coming of Reagan?
I am a center-right Rupublican. I am not a squishy Republican as I haven't voted for a Dem since Clinton 92. Please forgive me as I was young, foolishly idealistic, and too easily swayed by the "this country needs change" pushed by the major media. But after 1 - 2 years of Clinton's malfeasance and the media's slanted journalism, I have awakened and started to think through the positions best suited for our great country. I have sympathetic ear to the downtrodden in our society, but feel the states are better equipped and should take care of our problems. Accessible government is much more valuable than anything the federal govenrment could ever do. So a federalist is the best way to describe my views. And the Republican party is no way close to my views, but they are much better than the Dems central government power grab. I could not think of wasting my vote for the libertarians, while the country elects Dem after Dem. So I have learned to compromise by supporting the closest electable thing. Which gets me back to McCain.
Why cannot McCain get all the support from the conservatives out there? My theory is that it is not just his positions, but his attitude. It is one thing to take contrary positions, but another to keep on poking a stick in the eye of the conservatives. Much more style instigation than policy indignation.
Do you think when or if the true conservative candidate next comes along that the country will be easier pull in the other direction? Remember that Reagan was going to abolish the dept of Education and that didn't happen. Just imagine what programs a Democratic President will start or enlarge in the next four years. And he/she will have a Democratically controlled congress also. Hillary has said that the country cannot afford all her ideas. And Obama is more liberal than her. Can we afford to wait four years for the next Gipper? Or should we hold our nose and just vote for McCain?