Well, we get what we pay for. We have officially paid for George W. Bush. McCain is no conservative but he is a heck of a lot better than Obama or Clinton. It is surprising that polls show Obama only slightly behind McCain among Republicans. That clearly shows how disillusioned our party is. Obama is a socialist, but he is a nice socialist. He has the charisma and the ability to articulate and sell the extreme socialist, liberal agenda like no one else. I must admit he is impressive. In reality, we as a country might need an Obama figure to show us the “Clinton” years again. It will then swing back our way, but probably not for another 8 years. That is my assessment and it is obviously open to criticism.
McCain will have to answer too many questions about his record. He will be fighting his way out of a hole the entire election as he tries to cover up / repair his record to make him palatable for the right wing (which he needs a good percentage of to even have a chance). On the flip side, he will go into the election with a lot more cash on hand. The current battle between Clinton and Obama will suck them dry. I have not looked into this but I bet many have maxed out to either candidate and will be unable to help the Democratic winner in their final push. Obama’s fundraising ability scares me more because a lot of his base is young and idealistic and will chuck money at him to beat McCain (McCain wears the scarlet letter R next to his name; R = W). Obama’s average donation is pretty low which leaves more room to nickel and dime his way to a hefty campaign coffer.
Here is a list of things that McCain will have to explain / punt on.
1.) Bush’s Tax Cuts: He voted against them in 2001 and for them in 2006
2.) Immigration: He supports amnesty
3.) Iraq: Supports the war and has made fairly bold statements about the length of time he is willing to remain there
4.) Campaign Finance: McCain-Feingold – I will say no more
On top of these pretty big issues, he will need to defeat Obama’s (assuming the Democrats do not bite the hand that feeds them; a.k.a the African American vote) anti-war, pro-socialized medicine, populist message of hope.
I think this may be too much for the 71 year old man.
As much as the thought of a “President Obama” or another “President Clinton” sickens me, I cannot fathom voting for someone who doesn’t even believe in the Bill of Rights (McCain/ Feingold). I am tired of getting these scare letters from the RNC asking if I’ve deserted them- no, the elected Republicans are the deserters when it comes to the principles of free speech, limited government, and fiscal responsiblilty. I am tired of being asked to waste my vote on the lesser of two evils. I did that the last time and got W. None of these clowns are tallking about REAL issues. Gas prices are expected to rise to $4 a gallon, we are subsidizing ethanol (at the direction of the Republicans), a less efficient fuel, and causing the price a food to rise because we’re putting food (corn) in our gas tanks. We are not drilling for oil in ANWR at the direction of the greenies, we haven’t built any new refineries for the last 30 years, and nobody wants to talk about nukes. Del. Impallaria had a great piece in the Aegis last week about nuke power.
Other than the judges (and I’m not convinced on McCain here, either), why should I vote for McCain?
I just wonder how long we will be able to continue this two party system. The internet generation is drawn to people like Ron Paul and there is just no candidate in either major party that represents them. I predict the next 20 years will be politically amazing. The current 20’somethings will be more open to change than previous generations.
Why should you vote for McCain? Let me get back to you on that one.
According to Americans For Better Immigration, in their recent grades (dated January 28, 2008)when they ranked Republicans in the Senate on “Immigration Reduction”, McCain ranked 45th out of 49, getting a 27% for his votes. Compare this to Tom Coburn who got a 95%.
When including the entire Senate, 69 members got (higher) more conservative grades then Mr. McCain. That means 25 Democrats voted more correctly on the issue of illegal immigration then John McCain.
We all know kids who are not college material. They used to be able to get jobs in manufacturing, construction, or the trades. These jobs enabled them to at least obtain the lower “middle-class” in their standard of living. The manufacturing jobs are now gone. Illegals are driving down the wages in construction and the trades. Where are the children of Americans, who are not college material, now going to obtain jobs where they can make a decent living? By allowing this flood of illegals to continue we are resigning millions of young Americans to a lifetime of never having anything.
I am not drinking the kool-aid on supporting McCain in the general election. In his eyes the flood of illegals is O.K., our own children be damned. I can’t reward the man with my vote.
Speaking of Ron Paul, he will be speaking on Monday, April 14th at Goucher College. The event is open to the public and free, but tickets must be reserved ahead of time. Tickets can be reserved by calling Goucher at 410-337-6333 or by e-mailing boxoffice@goucher.edu.
Information is also available on the Goucher website at http://www.goucher.edu/x23838.xml
Dr. Paul received 10% of the vote here in Harford County in the primary in February.