McCain vs. ?
Mitt Romney announced that he is suspending his campaign today. McCain is on the television looking rather Presidential. McCain will surely win the nomination now, since he was more than halfway there after super Tuesday. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a McCain Huckabee ticket at this point. Huckabee provides a link to the southern Christian conservatives. They will play well together and will be a formidable opponent to either Clinton or Obama.
I supported McCain in the past. In 2000, I would have voted for him over Gore, had he won the Republican nomination, and I urged him to run as an independent in 2004, but somewhere in the past four years, he has lost my support. I think it was when he stopped criticizing President Bush and was suddenly a "Yes" man for him. It was a rather abrupt about face during the 2004 campaign, and it became clear that McCain was thinking about 2008, not about the present. It may have been smart politics, but it was antithetical to everything McCain stood for prior to that moment.
I always admired McCain's independent nature, even if I didn't always agree with his policies. I think some of that is still there, but watching him speak, he is clearly cowing to the far right of his party. He has decided that in order to win the white house, he will have to bend his principles.
In his speech today, he said several things that make it difficult for me to vote for him this year.
1. He supports Bush's warrantless wiretapping and amendments to FISA.
2. He wants to make Bush's tax cuts permanent.
3. He believes that we should remain in Iraq for the foreseeable future.
While I have said that we need to win in Iraq, and even suggested that we remain there until we do. It is clear that such a victory will not be achieved by the current strategy and McCain has shown no indication that he will change the current course in Iraq.
McCain was correct at the beginning of the war that we needed more troops. I was in total agreement with him, but things have changed since then. I don't believe we should just turn tail and run, but I don't believe we should remain there for decades to come either.
My hope is that Obama will win the nomination for the Democrats now, as he has the best chance to defeat McCain. If Clinton wins, and McCain has Huckabee on the ticket ... they will probably win. I like many of Huckabee's positions, but I will never agree with as many or more.
What an interesting time ... more to come.
2 comments:
And now... we conservatives are faced with a decision.
The talk of Pat Robertson endorsing Rudy Giuliani now means nothing (not that it ever did!)
Neither does anyone care about the wide evangelical support that Mitt Romney won over.
We now have, on the left, Senator John McCain whom Dr. James Dobson says "is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has sounded at times more like a member of the other party." John McCain promotes amnesty for illegal immigrants, he called Samuel Alito "too conservative" (a good indication of the judges he would appoint), he supports embryonic stem-cell research, and he has little regard for freedom of speech.
On the right: Governor Mike Huckabee, with 10 years of experience governing, a staunch pro-life record, and a proven force for defending marriage and religious liberties. During those 10 years, he reduced welfare roles by 50%, returned $400 million to taxpayers, and was named "One of America's Best Governors" by TIME Magazine.
Governor Huckabee's platform calls for secure borders, supporting the military, and reining in the rising costs of healthcare and energy through practical, market-driven methods.
And today, there is finally justice as Dr. Dobson endorses Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Conservatives need to back Governor Mike Huckabee for the good of our nation. Or do we have Hillary or Obama fans out there?
The lack of enthusiasm for Huckabee is baffling and, frankly, a betrayal of a man who has faithfully served his country--with conservative principles guiding his every step.
Can conservatives of all stripes unite around what we're FOR, rather than what we're AGAINST? If so, our values just might be represented in the White House come '09.
If we just want to sulk on the sidelines of this political race, then forget it. Let the 4 years of disaster begin, as some commentators have put it.
Vote Huckabee! And support his campaign!
-joshMshep
www.myspace.com/joshmshep
www.mikehuckabee.com
I thought about not posting this comment above ... but then, why not? Huckabee won't win the Republican nomination, and even if he did, he would lose the general election. He is too far to the right for the country as a whole. It is quite a liability in the third millenium to say that one does not believe in evolution. Honestly, religion and science are not opposed to one another. If anything, science is the language of God. If you want to know God, learn science.
As for your doom and gloom prediction ... I think the past 8 years are pretty good evidence that even a terrible President can't destroy this country.
McCain is a moderate on many issues, there is no doubt, but I would not categorize him as a liberal in the least.
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