Posted on 06/30/2008 9:31:54 PM PDT by goldstategop
Last week, a conservative magazine reported that I would not vote for John McCain for President. The magazine based its claim on a column I had written in May 2007 about why I could not support John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination.
The magazine was wrong. Though I did not support Sen. McCain in the Republican primaries, the moment he became the presumptive Republican candidate I endorsed him wholeheartedly for President Of The United States. Having not been a supporter from the outset, perhaps my endorsement of John McCain will carry more weight among conservatives who are still undecided about whether to vote for John McCain.
My bottom line is this: The gulf between John McCain and conservatives is miniscule compared to the gulf between John McCain and Barack Obama. This is true regarding virtually every issue of significance to America. The America that a President Barack Obama would shape, with the help of a Democratic Congress and a liberal Supreme Court, would be very dissimilar from the America shaped by a President John McCain.
Conservatives who will not vote for McCain are well-intentioned utopians. They are comparing McCain to a consistently conservative candidate. The reality, however, is that McCain is not running against a consistently conservative candidate. He is running against a consistently left-wing candidate. And America cannot afford to have its first leftist president ever. It can afford liberal presidents -- such as Bill Clinton, or Jimmy Carter (who governed as a liberal but became a leftist after leaving the White House), or John F. Kennedy, or Lyndon Johnson, or Harry Truman -- i.e., all the Democrats who have been President since World War II. But the Democratic Party has moved well to the left of liberalism. And Barack Obama is at the left of that left-wing party.
Furthermore, given the strong possibility of a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate, and a liberal Supreme Court for decades to come, given the number of Supreme Court appointments a Democratic President will be able to make, an Obama victory will move America more radically leftward than ever in its history.
That is why the argument that an Obama Administration will be so destructive that Americans will reject the Left and then elect a real conservative to undo the damage done in an Obama presidency is deeply flawed.
First of all, other than impeachment, there is no way to undo Supreme Court appointments, two or three of which a President Obama would likely make. And given how active most liberal judges are, it won't matter much if the country has some conservative epiphany and then elects a Republican President and Congress. Because even if the Congress and the President will not pass liberal legislation, a liberal Supreme Court will. On almost any social issue that matters -- the right to bear arms, late-term abortion, the definition of marriage, capital punishment, and many others -- a liberal Supreme Court will rule on these issues, and there will be nothing that a post-Obama Republican President, even with a Republican Congress, will be able to do about them.
Moreover, the argument that Americans will have a conservative epiphany after four years of an Obama presidency is predicated on America being greatly damaged by his policies. What kind of mindset welcomes such damage to the country it loves for the sake of potentially gaining politically after the damage is done? Is it, for example, really worth a considerably weakened economy (which Barack Obama's tax and other economic policies would likely lead to), with its widespread suffering and unforeseeable social and political consequences, just to -- hopefully -- get a conservative into the White House four or eight years later?
And the damage won't necessarily be undone. Even Ronald Reagan, the most popular conservative to ever serve as President, could not roll back most liberal creations. He never could get rid of the useless Department of Education, for example. Nor could a then-popular President George W. Bush do a thing about Social Security even when he had a Republican House and Senate. And how will Barack Obama's successor undo the damage done to Iraq, the Middle East, the War on Islamic Terror, and the credibility of America's assurances to allies once Iraq slides into chaos as a result of America's precipitous withdrawal from Iraq?
Therefore, as well meaning and sincere as many conservatives are, this mode of thinking -- let the country suffer under a left-wing president, Congress, and Supreme Court and then it will come to its conservative senses -- will likely lead to a downward spiral from which it is hard to see the country escaping for a generation, if it is lucky.
There is one person who can prevent this unhappy future -- John McCain.
He will not raise taxes, the last thing we should be doing in a weakened economy.
He will reduce government spending, and thereby prevent the state from controlling even more of American life.
He will ensure that America wins in Iraq. That will make one of the biggest and richest Arab states the freest of the Arab states. And it will hand Islamic terrorists the biggest defeat they have ever suffered. It will teach potential enemies not to attack America (whether Iraq did so directly is irrelevant to the point). And it will reassure America's allies around the world, many of whom, as in Iraq, risk their lives for America and liberty, that America will never abandon them.
He will appoint conservatives to the Supreme Court and to federal benches, thereby depriving the left of its most powerful weapon in reshaping America in its image.
He may attract enough Hispanic votes (while securing the borders) to prevent that critical constituency from identifying with the Democratic Party, something that would ensure left-wing victories for decades to come.
He will develop nuclear power, environmentalist (read leftist) opposition to which has been morally indefensible. We would all love to have a solar powered or wind powered country. However, on planet earth at this time, nuclear power may be the cleanest source of energy we have. That is why France, not heretofore known as politically conservative, relies on nuclear power for nearly 80 percent of its electricity.
However noble their intentions, conservatives who do not vote for John McCain will be morally complicit in what happens to America during an Obama presidency.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
“Hold your nose and vote for McShamnesty.”
Johnny Mac and use all the help he can get.
Actually, I don't vote FOR Republicans. I vote AGAINST Democrats -- by marking the little boxes next to Republican names on the ballot.
Sad, but that's the way it has become for me since Republicans have completely abandoned Reagan conservatism.
"And Barack Obama is at the left of that left-wing party."
I don't want Louis Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright having an influence on how my taxpayer dollars are spent.
The unborn will continue to be systematically annihilated under Obama's abortion policies.
Obama's Stalinist policies toward gun-owners will also result in a large number of tragedies similar to the Waco incident.
I see no safety or freedom under Obama's jackboot.
That is why I am voting for McCain.
Hey prager,GFY.Conservatives think for themselves.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I'm waiting though to see who he picks for VP.
I can't - and won't vote for two McCains.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Did he ever tell you NOT to think for yourself?
This is an opinion piece. Prager stated his opinion. You are free to reject his opinion and reject McCain. You are not free, however, to avoid the consequences of your choices.
We have to make them understand he's not a mainstream liberal but a fringe leftist.
Fringe leftist is quite an understatement. A Marxist-Socialist hiding beneath the cloak of democRat liberalism is a better description.
Cheers,
OLA
To hell with Barak Hussein Obama.
In this election, the old saying “ I’ll vote for the lesser of both evils “ is true.
Please, give everything you can to the McCain campaign and/or the RNC. I am an enlisted military man raising a young family with two young children and I have given more than is prudent for me by any measure. The only way to expose the lie of Obama is through money.
I recommend donating to the McCain campaign for the next 2 months then switching over to the RNC when he accepts public funding. For those of you who cannot stomach that and would risk knowingly putting the nation into the hands of the likes of Obama please consider donating to the RNC or at least find a 527 or third party group (NRA for example) that will be attacking Obama.
If you believe, as I do, that Obama is a threat to this republic please put your money where your mouth is. The Obama fanatics are absolutely off their rocker and the money is rolling in from the anti-American. Most members of this forum know the American public is woefully uninformed and an Obama cash bonanza will likely mean they will in fact be fooled. Don't let it happen. I cannot bear the thought of serving under this abomination. Please fight to keep it from happening!
NO, I WILL NOT HOLD MY NOSE and vote for McCain.
I would rather put a gun to my head.
I will vote Constitution Party.
Chuck Baldwin is on the ballot in Illinois.
it’s a shame Mr.Prager isn’t runnung
To Hell with Barak Hussein Obama
To hell with Juan INSANE Mc Shame
Both are George Soros puppets!!
You are a fool...
The Lesser of two evils is STILL evil, and shamefull for that matter
I never supported John McCain and never will.
It’s Ron Paul or Chuck Baldwin as President for me this year.
The rest are all scum.
Hey, imahawk, Looks like reading comprehension and logic are not your strong suits.
Sometimes "My way or the highway" is self defeating...even, sometimes, downright ignorant.
Right.And I gave my opinion and it still stands.Does your guy really want to win this election?He sure as hell aint acting like it.
Well and truly said.
That said, I pray the rest of us don't have to live with the consequences the 'my way or the highway' people may cause...
“You are not free, however, to avoid the consequences of your choices.”
Neither are you. Vote for McCain, but understand that if he wins, the GOP will move even further to the left. If he loses, the GOP will still likely move even further to the left. The leftward trend of the nation has got to be stopped and this is as good as any time to try and do it.
This is the truth of it.
We are voting for our very freedoms - perhaps never more so in the history of this country.
One doesn't get to vote out a Marxist gov't in "the next election" =
The Socialist/Marxists have spent the last 30 years systematically, deliberately and with total success, infiltrating and taking over the democrat party and the MSM.
They now have their Programmed Polished Puppet ready to install in the WH.
We are now at the tipping point.
This election is about voting for America, for our Constitution and our freedoms.
Let the Marxist win and they are all gone.
Big business will be nationalized - didn't anyone listen to what Maxine Waters inadvertently let spill out of her mouth???
Every aspect of our lives will be ruled: "You can't drive your SUV's, you can't have your thermostat on 72 and you can't eat all you want to." = Didn't anyone pay attention to the obaminations edict?
And the SCOTUS ruling on guns would be overturned within the obaminaions first reign.
That's just for starters.
the sheeple need to get their heads out of their self-importance and see that these people do not get control...
Indeed, we need to sweep the house of these Socialist/Marxists.
Blind ignorance reigns supreme -
McCain is the only thing between what's left of America and the total absolution of America. Are you willing to say goodbye to your country forever?
That was an interesting sentiment you expressed. It reminded me of what Kristol said about the Democrats: "They hate Bush more than they love America." Now the shoe's on the other foot and we'll see if a conservatives will "let" Obama win by not voting for McCain. Will it then be said that they hate McCain more than they love America?
The leftward trend of the nation, as Prager ably points out, will not stop, slow or pause under an Obama administration. Quite the contrary.
McCain’s no conservative, I’ll grant you, and I feel no enthusiasm toward him whatsoever.
But Obamessiah and his mindless, zealot followers will yank this country so far left over the next 8 years you won’t even recognize it when they’re through.
I would like to steal that graphic, please.
I vote this the most nonsensical post of the day.
So you're willing to let the obamanation and his Marxist/Socialists comrades into office because "the leftward trend of the nation has got to be stopped"?
Below are a few lines from Obama’s books “ in his own words:
From Dreams of My Father: “I ceased to advertise my mother’s race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.”
From Dreams of My Father: “I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mothers race.”
From Dreams of My Father: “There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.”
From Dreams of My Father: “It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.”
From Dreams of My Father: “I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn’t speak to my own. It was into my father’s image, the black man, son of Africa , that I’d packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.”
From Audacity of Hope: “I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”
It’s all yours Allegra.
Chuck Baldwin?
You might as well write in Alec Baldwin; the end result of such a vote will be the same.
Sounds great. Can you let us know the method and process for effecting that for this election cycle?
If any white person made one such comparable remark, they'd not be allowed to run for dog catcher
I tried to listen to the audiobook of “Dreams of my Bigamist Daddy,” but I just couldn’t stomach it.
I salute you for wading through the morass to find Barry’s pearls of wisdom.
Or they could play the audio book and hear it straight from the Muslim militants mouth.
But the greater of the two evils is very, very evil. Particularly in this case.
That would be perfect - then let him and his minions try to spin it...
Obama is the same Muslim crap our military is fighting to keep out of this country.
The nation has already moved so far too the left that there are supposed conservatives who praise the “New Deal” of FDR. For crying out loud when does it stop? It won't stop with the election of John McCain. It will only stop if they people themselves reestablish the founding principles of this nation. Otherwise, ten years from now people will be thinking Obama is a conservative.
That's just it, Allegra. He scares the stuffing outta me.
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