03.07.08
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John McCain - The Next President
One of the things that comes up on talk radio and among my fellow Conservatives is whether or not John McCain is actually a Conservative. I believe he is and will be taking some time today to point out why.
I’d like to start by saying that John McCain was not my first choice for the Republican nominee. I would have preferred Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee even though they both have positions that I do not agree with. I think we can all agree that there are things that John McCain has done that we disagree with. I am a solid Conservative and understand that we don’t always get 100% of what we want. Likewise, Ronald Reagan was more “liberal” on a number of issues than I would have liked. We tend to look to Reagan as our standard-bearer and I believe we should. In my opinion Ronald Reagan was the best president of the 20th century and possibly of our entire country’s history.
Here are the reasons that I believe John McCain is a Conservative and why he should be the next president of the United States:
1) John McCain has a lifetime Conservative rating of 82%. Tom Tancredo’s is 87%. That’s very good considering that Barack Obama has a 100% Liberal voting record and Hillary a 97% Liberal voting record. John McCain was ranked as the 2nd most Conservative Republican in the 109th Congress. See here for details: http://voteview.com/SEN109.HTM.
2) John McCain is 100% Pro-Life. He has voted for EVERY single Pro-Life bill in his lengthy House and Senate career.
3) John McCain has NEVER voted for a tax increase. I know he voted against both of president Bush’s tax cuts and that he was only one of two Republicans who did that. He also made some ridiculous comments. However, he has since voted twice to make the tax cuts permanent. When asked why he said, “because they work.” He has also promised to fight to make the tax cuts permanent.
4) John McCain has pledged that he will NOT raise taxes and that he WILL reduce government waste. Ronald Reagan actually raised taxes and government spending soared nearly out of control.
5) John McCain believes in School choice and vouchers and has promised to fight for that.
6) John McCain has NEVER done an Earmark in his entire career! That’s really saying a lot. Both Barack and Hillary have done this many, many times.
7) John McCain has promised to fight terrorism and to protect America and her interests around the world. Here is an area where he has excelled and a strong military has long been a Conservative issue. We can count on him to follow Reagan’s leadership on this with “peace through strength.”
8) John McCain was hand picked by Ronald Reagan to join the “Reagan Revolution.”
9) John McCain has voted for every single Conservative justice including Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. It was because of his efforts, in part, that Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito were put on the bench of the Supreme Court. He believes that justices should look to the constitution as their guide as opposed to what the liberals like Barack and Hillary believe which is that justices should legislate from the bench. McCain has repeatedly pledged to put justices on the bench like: Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. This is by far one of the most important legacies that any president can have.
10) John McCain has campaigned for Republicans, including his former rival President George W. Bush in 2004. He has fought hard to make sure that Republicans get elected. During 2006 he raised $10.5 million dollars for Republican candidates.
11) John McCain strongly believes in Free Trade; an important Conservative value.
12) John McCain supports mandatory sentencing in the criminal justice system.
13) John McCain believes in Capital Punishment.
14) John McCain favors Private Social Security Accounts as a means of saving the failing system.
15) John McCain has long favored Welfare Reform and was part of the Republic-led reform during the Clinton era.
16) John McCain opposes a government takeover of the health care system and as a rule opposes an overly intrusive government. He’s more in line with Reagan who believed that it is government’s job to “get out of the way!”
Can I find positions that John McCain holds that I disagree with? You bet! I do believe we need to “hold his feet to the fire” so to speak. However, I do not believe we should continue to ridicule and belittle him. Some of the most ridiculous statements I’ve heard have come from radio talk show host Lars Larson. I used to listen to Lars all the time and even spent time working to get him on his current national show. I have totally lost interest this past week. Lars spends most of his time talking about immigration. I do believe this is important but every day I turn it on it’s one of the first things I hear him say. Lately he’s been saying in regards to the upcoming election that he doesn’t know what he’s going to do. He’s going to think about sitting this one out or voting for another candidate to send a message. His argument is that it took four years of Jimmy Carter to get Ronald Reagan. That’s not logical and I don’t believe that we should use that as some sort of formula for success. I remember hearing the same thing when Bill Clinton was running against Bush 41. We ended up with eight years of the second worst president (only behind Jimmy Carter) in all of the 20th century. Did eight years of a bad president get us another Ronald Reagan? The answer to that is an emphatic “No!” To take this sort of position is to allow America to suffer just because you disagree with the Republican candidate on a number of issues. Talk about your RINOs. It’s time to switch off Lars Larson and listen to some more intelligent talk show hosts like Michael Medved. I’m also disappointed in Mark Levin who I generally like a lot. This grade-school name-calling of John McCain as John McLame has got to go. Mark I have a lot of respect for you and you’re more mature than that.
In order to take back the House and Senate we must get people to the polls to vote for Republicans. That will not happen if we continue to knock our candidate. Remember the presidency is only a part of the equation. It is imperative that we retake the House and Senate and that can only happen if we convince people that we have a “better” vision for America. Notice I didn’t say perfect, but it is far better than anything the two Liberal Democrats have to offer.
There is only one way for John McCain to lose this and that is if he doesn’t pick a fairly Conservative AND young running mate. This is an absolute requirement. If he picks someone like Hagel (sp?) it’s all over. His VP doesn’t need to be the most conservative but they do need to be recognized by those of us who are solid Conservatives as one of us. This choice must be someone that we want to vote for in four years as I think it’s likely that John McCain will only be a one-term president. This person must be a standard bearer for the Conservative cause. That means they need to get the message in front of the American people and explain why Conservative values are the best for the country.
So let’s stand up and fight for our Conservative values. Let’s put aside the animosity and support the best candidate for the president of the United States - John McCain. Start telling people now about all the positive reasons to vote for John McCain and why Republicans must be returned to power in the Congress and in State Houses across the nation. May God bless you and may God bless America.
Check out my blog, “Why I am a Republican”