Webloggin » The Future vs Party Unity

Call me an idealist, a hopeless purist, or a selfish piece of crap but I will not vote for John McCain to become President of the United States. Neither will I vote for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. I will however vote, as it is a deeply held belief for me to do so. Too many have sacrificed their lives or portions thereof for me to discard this most sacred privilege. It is also that belief that keeps me from voting for McCain in good conscience as I will not throw a vote away for party unity or the lesser of two evils. It is my true belief that such an outlook will bring us a continuation of what we have seen in recent years and that is unacceptable candidates who have disdain for the very electorate they claim to serve.

I have been told time and again by many on my side of the aisle that either of the two Democratic hopefuls are worse than McCain and that my vote (or non-vote if you choose that characterization) will assure victory to the socialist Obama or his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. I reject that premise on its face. The only thing that will assure a John McCain loss at the polls is John McCain himself. His past, his present and our worst fears for the future.

National Security is of grave importance and McCain is the only candidate has who has come out on the side of victory in Iraq but his stated amnesty stance would undermine that very same security by allowing millions of illegals citizenship. He now comes out on the enforcement side because he claims to have heard the American people. Perhaps what he really heard was his campaign sinking and his chances of election circling the drain after he angrily dressed us all down last spring and called us bigots in so many words. He showed the same attitude recently when he told conservatives that it is time to “calm down”.

I am not a single issue voter and as such I have many disagreements with John McCain; his support for amnesty being just one. He has taken positions on government funding of embryonic stem cell research, the President’s tax cuts, global warming, campaign finance and the filibustering of judicial nominees that are anathema to my own, just to name a few. He has a hair trigger and thinks nothing of trashing his party, his President and conservatives in general. He entertained a switch to independent back in 2000 as a jab at President Bush in a little sour grapes action of his own. He accused Mitt Romney of flip flopping on “every major issue” while never addressing his very public changes of direction that seem to have come just in time for the election. His proclivity to “reach across the aisle” and adopt the position of the Democrats gives me more than a few misgivings. How do I know he will not do this on Iraq when he takes office and faces a Democrat majority in Congress? McCain is the devil we don’t know and is only predictable in that we can expect him to disappoint us often. How those disappointments take shape is the unknown. His 82% conservative rating is only accurate when we span his entire career, if we look at his most recent ratings of 65% he is ahead of only Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Arlen Specter, three well known RINO’S.

I could go on but this would become redundant. The main issue we need to look at is the future of conservatism and the Republican Party as a home for said conservatism. If we continually settle for less we water down the platform until we are no different in viewpoint and action than the Democrats. This is not to be taken as a call for ideological purity to the point where everyone is 100% in lockstep. That is not only unrealistic but also restricting in a matter of ideology that would not allow for growth. This is a call to halt the continual slide down to the bottom of the hill as characterized by a recent tolerance for an ever increasing erosion of principle and the influx of left leaning thought process. Positions generally accepted as a way to make the Republicans more marketable to the masses. We do not defeat liberalism by adopting it and the masses will be drawn to the true Conservative stance of smaller government, lower taxes and a strong National Defense. If we continue the path of rejecting a true confidence in those bedrock principles, we may as well mail it in and accept Obama anyway. My thought process is long term and is about bringing the country back to conservatism. George W. Bush is not a conservative and it cost the party control of Congress and the confidence of the people. John McCain takes us even further away. For that I cannot stand.

Many Republicans fear that if conservatives don’t vote for McCain it will lead to a liberal in the White House. I fear that if I do we will have a liberal sympathizer there instead and it will set our country back for years to come. Stand instead of settle.

[Discuss this article with Biloxi over at the Republic of Biloxi...]

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