Posted on 02/10/2008 8:53:14 AM PST by K-oneTexas
There's Nothing Conservative or Principled About Helping a Democrat Beat John McCain By John Hawkins
I keep hearing conservatives say that if John McCain is the nominee--and barring a miracle at this point, he will be--that they're going to sit out the election or even vote for the Democratic nominee because of "conservative principles."
As one conservative--and not as a "John McCain conservative," but as a "I supported Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson, oppose amnesty and abortion, fought to get Samuel Alito instead of Harriet Miers, believe in small government, term limits, tax cuts, and balancing the budget" conservative--to another, let me tell you that I very respectfully, but also very strongly disagree with that definition of "conservative principles."
There is NOTHING conservative about working with the Democratic nominee against most of your fellow conservatives in order to grow government, socialize medicine, lose the war in Iraq, tilt the Supreme Court to the left, and make Roe vs. Wade the permanent law of the land. If you are conservative and vote for the Democratic nominee or even just refuse to vote for McCain, who is by any and every objective standard, considerably more conservative than either of them, let me tell you what you are NOT doing:
* You are NOT doing the logical thing. When faced with a choice between a moderate who holds some conservative positions and some non-conservative positions and a liberal who holds no conservative positions, the logical decision is to take the moderate. After all, half a loaf is better than none.
* You are NOT helping conservatism or your fellow conservatives. To the contrary, you are helping liberals defeat conservative ideas. Isn't that what conservatives are saying that they're furious at McCain over? Well, who's less of a conservative: John McCain, who, if he were in the White House, would help conservatives win some battles and would help liberals win others or the conservatives who want to help a Democrat get into the office who will go against conservative ideas every time?
* You are NOT looking out for the best interests of the country. If you believe that winning in Iraq is better than losing, if you believe that balancing the budget is better than higher deficit spending, if you believe that having a Supreme Court that is tilted to the right is better than having a Supreme Court tilted to the left, and if you believe that Roe v. Wade is leading to the immoral murder of millions of children--and the overwhelming majority of people reading this column certainly believe all those things--then you are certainly not putting the good of the country first if you oppose John McCain in November.
Some might argue that having Hillary Clinton in office would be better for the country and conservatism because she would screw things up so badly that it would actually help conservatives in the long run. But, if people haven't seen through Hillary Clinton after 16 years in the public eye, what makes you think another four to eight years in the White House would do it? How many Americans saw through FDR? Even as his government policies extended the depression for years after it should have ended, he was voted back into office. Yes, he was a capable war president, but he also did more damage to this country domestically than any other president in history, short-term and long-term, and he's still considered by many people to be one of our greatest presidents.
But, we don't have to go all the way back to Roosevelt: just think back to 2006. What did we hear then? "We should stay home and teach the Republicans a lesson. They'll take a big beating and it'll be great for conservatism." How did that turn out? From where I am sitting, we have a lot less Republicans in Congress, more squabbling than ever, and we're going to have Republican nominee John McCain. Why? Because sometimes a loss leads to better things, but in politics, as often as not, losing just begets more losing and it can sometimes take a very, very long time for a movement to learn from its mistakes. Think back to Roosevelt, whose victories started a 40 year-long dominant cycle for the Democrats and that party's shift to the left in 1972 that started a long slow slide for them that may have finally ended in 2006.
Along those same lines, it's also worth noting that after Barry Goldwater was destroyed in 1964, Richard Nixon, who was even less conservative than McCain, was elected to two terms in the White House. Then, in 1980, Reagan became president. So, there is absolutely no reason to think that if a moderate Republican gets into the White House that it will prevent a conservative Republican from getting in later. And since I mentioned Reagan, I have heard his name invoked many times in the past few weeks to justify not supporting McCain in the general election.
If Ronald Reagan had been alive and had chosen to endorse a candidate in the primaries, even McCain fans should be honest enough to admit that candidate probably wouldn't have been John McCain. But, McCain's most ardent opponents should also be honest enough to note that Ronald Reagan campaigned for Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, both of whom were to the left of John McCain. So, were he still alive, Ronald Reagan would almost certainly campaign for McCain against Hillary or Barack and you can be sure that he would not approve of conservatives who say that they'd rather have a liberal Democrat in the White House than a far-from-perfect Republican.
So, whether the question is "What would Reagan do" or "what would a principled conservative do" in November, the answer would be the same: vote for John McCain.
John Hawkins is a blogger who runs Right Wing News and Conservative Grapevine, and writes a regular column for http://Townhall.com.
In doing so we are now left with a liberal republican as a standard bearer. Sorry to all Huckabees's supporters but his populist ways will lead to the exact same end as McCain and the Dems. Romney wasn't perfect but he was a moderate, not liberal, and would keep us from drifting farther to the left. His fiscal and national security stance on the issues gave the conservative hope. We missed a chance.
Now principled dyed in the wool conservatives looking for the perfect candidate have given us all a choice: 1) work hard within the party to bring it back on course or 2) bend over and await the socialist stick.
A new party is not the choice. As I said we are a minority and will be just another one in the sea of Libertarian Party, Constitutional Party, Green Party, and so many others that pop up from time to time on one issue or disagreement ... and then fade away.
There’s Nothing Conservative or Principled John McCain
In other words, stop complaining and swallow this welfare state poison?
You forgot the war on terror and Iraq/Afghanistan.
And repealing Bush’s tax cuts.
And not giving us national health care.
+1
--I'm gonna post this several times a day for a long time, I suspect---
How many million illegals was he and his friend Kennedy trying to put on free health care??
What leverage do conservatives have if the GOP knows they will support any nominee, no matter how repugnant?
“And repealing Bush’s tax cuts.”
And that would be a good thing?
Doing ANYTHING to assist Hillary Clinton in securing power over the government and military is completely asinine.
Which is all a vote for McCain will accomplish.
Yes, yes. I was in way too much of a hurry.
Sorry, if John McCain gets beat by Hillary or Obama in November, he won’t have anyone to blame but himself. I wish you people would stop lecturing us about being loyal to the party no matter who the candidate is. If you want to sell out, go right ahead, but I refuse to compromise my values any more than I have over the years, especially for the likes of John McCain. Keep lowering the bar and you’ll eventually end up having a candidate like Kucinich to vote for. In my opinion, It’s no different than the way the educational system has lowered its required level of achievement for students, and how other institutions and agencies have lowered their qualifications to achieve specific quotas.
I can not vote for a man I do not trust.
At this point, it’s about vengeance. They cut out our tongues, and now they will pay.
Besides, McCain is just another Democrat regardless of his actual party registration, so helping him defeat a different one gains us nothing. Actually, it’s worse, since then we become the author of the disaster he will surely bring.
It's tired, old, and broken.
Time to take that dog to the vet.
McCain has already said that he doesn’t need the Conservative vote. And he once said that Hillary would make a good President. Let him fend for himself.
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