Posted by
Dred on Saturday, February 02, 2008 12:52:00 PM
Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain has drawn a bit of ire lately from the conservatives positioning themselves to 'be true to their core beliefs.' I say this with no sarcasm; in fact, I too have pondered what a horrible scenario it would be to have McCain and Clinton staring back at me from the ballot. I don't know about you, but I cringe when the TV casts out images of McCain comparing himself to true conservatives and Ronald Regan. Of course he approves of that message - it's a lie that may get him elected.
I can understand why he wants to use the 'C' word to describe himself - it is an easy thing to say. He needs to appeal to his base, and in a minute-long commercial there are no rebuttals; he can say anything, and he has. But why go out on a limb and compare himself to Regan?
The latter is what sent me into a lather. OK, I said to myself, time to dig out the Regan books - recenter my conservative core, find more fodder against McCain that I can use to persuade my California friends that Romney is our guy.
Something strange happened. Putting aside his maverick and sometimes liberal politics, one has to look objectively at a couple of facts. The guy is building a coalition of conservatives, moderates, new-age republicans, a few blue-dog democrats, and neo-cons (the last said without the intent to insult like the left uses the word). Who else built a majority coalition?
He finally came around and realized his amnesty plan was un-presentable to the public. No one trusted the government, and most of us don't trust him. Now he realizes we need to secure the border first. Big step in the right direction.
He promises to appoint Alito/Roberts style judges, Reagan gave us Sandra Day O'Conner. The point is that even my conservative hero had a few hiccups; sort of like McCain. Actually, the point is, do we want a Clinton/Obama presidency and all that comes with it... Ginsberg, Welfare State, Universal Health Care, No Competition in Schools, Union Strengthening, Paper Tiger Foreign Policies, Group-Think Mentality - or do we want to settle for someone who is actually electable and pretty close to Regan when it comes down to it.
The answer is easy - it is time to stop blasting McCain and start growing his coalition. It is either him or the left.