Like most conservatives, I spent Super Tuesday curled in a fetal position in my bunker. The idea that John McCain will get the Republican nomination is beginning to sink in and it is more than many of us can bear.
Many conservatives hate John McCain even more than we hate Hillary Clinton. Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter have said that they might vote for Hillary if it came down to a choice between her and McCain. James Dobson the head of Focus on Family, released a statement outlining the reasons he could not support McCain, including McCain's opposition to a Constitutional amendment protecting marriage, his vote for embryonic stem-cell research, his opposition to tax cuts, his sponsorship of the campaign finance reform bill and his membership in the Gang of 14, which prevented the appointment of some conservative judges. Even worse, says Dobson, McCain "has a legendary temper and often uses foul and obscene language." Dobson is hoping that Dick Cheney will decide to run for President.
Townhall columnist Lee Culpepper believes that McCain doesn't have the character to be President. "None of us know for sure what McCain experienced during his time as a POW," wrote Culpepper. "All we know is that he survived and came home while many other POWs did not. What was it about McCain that was different? Was it family heritage or was it his proclivity for compromising to get what he wants?" It's a good question. What kind of compromises did McCain have to make to survive his brutal captivity in Vietnam? Perhaps if McCain had not survived being a POW that would have reassured conservatives that we can trust him. I'm sure Lee Culpepper wouldn't have made it back alive.
It's not just the possibility that McCain made some sort of deal with his captors in Vietnam and is actually a Manchurian Candidate that makes conservatives not trust him. McCain has consistently been soft on illegal immigration, the most important issue to conservatives today. Although McCain now says he realizes that Republican voters want border security first, he seems reluctant to support rounding up millions of illegal immigrants and deporting them and throwing thousands of people who employed them in jail, which is what most conservatives want. Although McCain has done some pandering to conservatives in this campaign, earning an endorsement from the late Jerry Falwell, for example, unlike Romney he seems to feel really bad about it, which worries us about his sincerity. McCain needs to show that he really has had a change of heart on immigration, perhaps by calling a Hispanic reporter "Macaca," for example.
Another issue that worries conservatives about McCain is torture. Conservatives believe that we are not torturing people enough, while McCain says that he is against it. Sure, he did capitulate to the Bush administration and worked out a "compromise" that would let them waterboard a few people, but it's clear that his heart really wasn't in it. Conservatives are glad that McCain not only supports the War in Iraq but wants us to be there for 100 years and his joke about bombing Iran reassures us that under a McCain administration, there might be more wars we could rally around. Maybe McCain would even settle a few old scores by invading Vietnam and doing it right this time. But it's difficult to see how we could win these wars, or the War on Terror, if we cannot torture more people.
If McCain is bad now, just wait until the general election when he goes even further to the left to appeal to independent voters. Will he change the name of the Straight Talk Express to the Gay Talk Express?
Some conservatives are hoping that it is not too late to stop McCain and they have thrown their support to Mitt Romney, but so far it hasn't worked. Romney would be doing a lot better if Huckabee dropped out. And he would be doing even better if Huckabee and McCain dropped out. Unfortunately, it's likely that both will stay in the race so he needs to make some changes. So far he has spent only $1.6 million per delegate, which is pretty insulting to a typical Republican delegate. Democrat delegates can be bought with donuts and a cup of coffee, but Republican delegates don't come so cheap. And although Romney has changed his positions on many issues to appeal to conservatives, he's going to have to do a lot more. He now opposes abortion, gay rights and illegal immigration, but he has remained stubbornly consistent when it comes to his religion. The base of the party thinks that Mormonism is a cult, which is why he has been having so much trouble getting the evangelical vote. If Romney announced that his views on religion had "evolved" the way his views on abortion did, and he left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and converted to Southern Baptist that might be the key to victory. (Update: Romney has announced he is pulling out of the race.)
If Romney can't save us from McCain, who can? Many conservatives supported Fred Thompson as the real conservative in the race. Unfortunately, once he announced he was running, he plummeted in polls. But now that he has dropped out of the race, many conservatives are looking at him again. He seems to do so much better in the polls when he is not actually campaigning, so there is a possibility he will have a late surge. If we could keep him on the ballot but make sure he promises to stay home, he could achieve an upset victory.
But while there still is a glimmer of hope that McCain will not get the nomination, most conservatives are resigning themselves to the idea that he will. If we are forced to make a choice between McCain and Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, what should conservatives do? John McCain's mother has said that conservatives should just hold their noses and vote for McCain and one company has introduced John McCain noseplugs to make it a little easier. Michelle Malkin is trying to rally her troops to vote for conservatives farther down the ballot in the hopes that someday one of these conservatives can be groomed to run for President, but many conservatives will probably be too deflated to summon the energy to get out of the house on election day.
Instead of voting to make things not quite as bad as they could be, however, a better strategy for conservatives would be to make things as bad as they possibly could be. One of the things we learned in Vietnam is that sometimes you have to destroy the village in order to save it. And the only way to save this country and the Republican Party at this point may be to destroy them. Though John McCain would destroy this country, he might not destroy it enough. So some patriotic conservatives have decided to become "suicide voters," pulling the lever for Clinton or Obama instead of McCain. I think this is a good plan and, taking a page from Malkin, conservatives should also vote for the most liberal candidates they can find in every contest in November. Let's hand over the entire government to the liberals and then see how the American people like it. They deserve it after treating us the way they have when conservatives have done so much for this country. And after a few years of liberal government, I'm sure they will come running back to conservatives, begging us to return to power. So from now on, I am going to be supporting the most liberal candidates I can find. That oughta show 'em.
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Technorati Tags: Jon Swift, Super Tuesday, John McCain, 2008 Election, Republicans, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Politics
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Can John McCain Be Stopped?
Posted by
Jon Swift
at
2/07/2008 06:56:00 AM
Labels: 2008 Campaign, Ann Coulter, Conservatives, McCain, Michelle Malkin, Politics, Republicans, Rush Limbaugh
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86 comments:
McCain as president scares me. On the next inauguration day, McCain will be 107 years old. (Those pictures of Teddy Roosevelt dandling a young John McCain on his knee are definitely NOT photoshopped!) With rumors swirling that he might pick John Kerry as his running mate, who knows what kind of evil thing could emerge?
John Kerry? I heard it would be Leiberman.
This entire post is pathetic. You talk about Thompson being an ideal candidate--yet he is a longtime friend and advisor of McCain and certainly will endorse him. You claim you 'hate' McCain worse than Hillary--if so, you deserve to live in the giant Belgium that she and/or Obama would turn America into.
People like you certainly do not deserve in a country where a man tortured for five years in its defense could possibly be casually termed a 'Manchurian Candidate'. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Is it possible that John McCain has groupies? We can always hope.
Has anyone tried a banana peel?
Hope, that just had to be ironic, right? Sort of sublimating your irony and Jon's irony into a supreme form of irony which never can be surpassed and hence shall live forever.
Right? Right???
Irony really can be teh sux on teh Internets ...
Sincerely, a guy from Denmark.
...you deserve to live in the giant Belgium that she and/or Obama would turn America into."A Giant Belgium? Frank Luntz meets David Lynch. Can the face of evil be so ordinary? Can boredom be sustained over so great an expanse? I guess Canada has proven it's possible.
Romney's kids must be PISSED he spent the family fortune on this! How unreasonably conservative!
If Romney announced that his views on religion had "evolved" the way his views on abortion did
At last we found the real reason Romney failed with the Evangelicals. He needed to say his views were created in 7 days.
Exactly what has the Republican party given America in the last thirty years? Bigotry, fattening the wallets of corporate executives, and transforming this nation into a borderline fascist police state? True Republicanism stands for self reliance within a context of equal opportunity. The Republican party should not function as a hollow shell under which fester imperious Neoconservatives and radical Evangelicals. And lastly, why do Limbaugh conservatives blame illegal immigrants? Are we glibly overlooking the role Republican supporting CORPORATIONS played considereing they were the ones who imported and HIRED illegal immigrants? The simplest solution to stopping illegal immigration is to not hire them in the first place!
lol
On the bright side, now that Romney's out, his kids have the time to go win the war in Iraq for us. Serious patriots, those boys are.
McCain is a Maverick In Name Only. When crazytown calls, he always answers.
And by "crazytown" I don't mean "Belgium." Unless "Belgium" is a going to be the name of the giant palace in Iraq. In which case, I'm pretty sure that's Bush and not Obama.
Wah wah wah. You whine like a baby. The people in your party pick a candidate you don't like so you're going to vote for the opposition party to show all us bastards, is that it? They have a word for people like you that I double-checked on Merriam-Webster.com and that word is turd.
Ever read "A modest proposal" by a certain Jonathan Swift? If yes, did you take that literally??? Just a little hint...
Love it.
As I sit here and contemplate Mitt Romney leaving the Church of Latter Day Saints, it occurs to me that perhaps he should have flopped his faith to a more rewarding flock.
Scientology.
Oh yeah - you know it. He would have had the backing of a long list of quasi-sane celebrities like John Travolta and Couch-Hopping-Tom Cruise. I believe that this was Romney's fatal flaw.
Long-live Xenu, or whatever.
//PJP
NOTE: My apologies and condolences to any Scientologist who reads this comment. Please do not hack my blog. (shameless plug)
Mr. Swift,
I think we are forgetting that Alan Keyes is still in the race. He is a genuine conservative maverick firebrand, especially when he is fully medicated.
Plus, I believe he is a negro.
LD
p.s. do those people hunt with a long rifle, or just shoot each other with illegal hand guns?
wow - who is this Hope Muntz gal and can i do her: anyone that can envision a giant Belgium in the US is for me!
p.s. - i'll provide the opium flecked hash, you just bring your bad-ass self, hope!
Hi, Jon,
I appreciate your support over here. I'm hoping my follow-up article will be on TH this weekend. Mr. Garthwaite has not had the chance to read it. Needless to say, aside from my bitter humor, McCain has no one else but himself to blame for the truth I revealed. Some people say a man's personal life is irrelevant, but that does not mean it's irrelevant to everyone -- especially when it is consistent with the way he conducts himself professionally.
Don't sweat the folks who mistake feelings for thinking.
Here's a link; hope you like it: http://leeculpepper.com/more.php?id=36_0_1_0_M
Warm regards,
Lee Culpepper
"Suicide voters?" Now there's an idea in traction!
A fun read.
Just 347 days and counting... TGIF Presidential Countdown: Just 347 days until somebody other than McCain succeeds Bush.
What's wrong with Belgium? And do you have any actual independently verifiable proof that McCain was actually tortured? Besides, I know for sure that Jon did not just casually label McCain a Manchurian Candidate. After much deliberation and weighing of evidence, he had no choice but to proceed with his conclusion. Personally, I applaud Jon for his bloggeristic integrity that he would publicly post what would obviously be a controversial analysis of a man in his own party!
Check out my blog . It's not full of shameless self-promoting.
When we become a Giant Belgium,who will be our Giant James Ensor?
Back on topic, I tried what you suggested in Ohio in '04--I voted for Kerry, hoping he'd get the Republicans off the hook for the war and the disappearing middle class--unfortunately my state-mates didn't see the subtle argument I was trying to make. Either that or the Kerry campaign outfoxed us by suppressing their own vote. The strategy did work, however, for Senate and Governer in '06--Ken Blackwell sure dodged a bullet here...
I sincerely hope that American conservatives will follow your advice. I'm sure they will, actually, because we all know how important their ideals are to them, and that they would never compromise their ideals just for the sake of hanging onto power.
Conservatives are beginning to amaze me in their inability to see what's really at stake here.
This election is about more than McCain and his inability to follow conservative principals - and that has been proven true a hundred times.
But how is handing the whole country over to liberals a suitable alternative to McCain?
There is a serious difference between McCain and a pure bread liberal who is bent on destroying ALL conservative values as well as our country with them.
Anti McCain commentators such as Rush Limbaugh have ventured the idea that perhaps we should sit this election out and let the Dems have a term in office, claiming it might pave the way for a future shot at a candidate he and others will like in four years.
Imagine the damage our country will endure if Democrats control all three branches of government for 4 to 8 years.
This would give liberals what they will treat as a clear sign from America that is it ready to move sharply to the left. Not slightly to the left.
My daughters will come of age in the next 4 to 8 years, and I'd rather have 50% of McCains ear than 0% of a destruction bent liberal's ear.
Cherry picking our candidate is exactly what got us INTO this mess, and if conservatives aren’t careful, they may throw the entire country into a liberal spin that can take a decade(s) to pull back out of.
There is no such thing as a quick recovery from 4 years of liberalism unchecked. We may be facing what will take years and years of damage to undo. What’s more, there’s no guarantee that it WILL be undone. Have conservatives completely forgotten Roe v. Wade and other extremely important issues? We need an allie on every core issue we can get.
Questioning McCain was right and highly useful for a time and a season. Many of us wish we had acted sooner to support Romney or Huck....
But staying home on election day allows liberals a pass to capture all THREE branches of Government. Do you want your kids growing up in that kind of environment?
I'm not asking anyone to sacrifice their own belief or convictions, but we have a serious serious problem here, that we can't afford to fall asleep on.
Give it some thought, friends.
Danny Vice
http://weeklyvice.blogspot.com
http://thalunatic.blogspot.com
"But staying home on election day allows liberals a pass to capture all THREE branches of Government. Do you want your kids growing up in that kind of environment?"
What? I thought the liberals already controlled all three branches of government. Rampant spending, massive corruption, expanded governmental power, foreign nation building, Mexicans everywhere, homos running amok in high office... Am I missing something?
Hey Jon,
How come your blogroll (scrolling) is still up when blogrolling.com crashes?
Could you let me know what you're doing to keep it going?
Mine just goes blank.
Pastor Rob Singleton
Hm, are you and Mrs. Malkin slyly endorsing Gravel? Because Atrios says that we shouldn't be endorsing anyone. It annoys him.
Hey, shouldn't you photoshop your picture of McCain to look angrier, like all the other conservatives have been doing lately?
The problem with McCain isn't that he's too liberal or not conservative enough, it's that he's neither. He's a party of one and everything he does is to advance his own political fortunes. The media calls it maverick but its just finger to the wind politics and that means a man of no vision and no sincerity. McCain is not a leader, he's a tool to be used by the Republican party and if they're smart they'd start looking at a serious conservative to run 3rd party and at the same time start finding contenders to take on McCain in the Senate.
Giant Belgium?
Giant chocolate!!
-if so, you deserve to live in the giant Belgium that she and/or Obama would turn America into.
Can we has waffles?
I agree with the Republican "suicide voters" tactics. I hope it works. And all I can say to Rush and those who follow him, THANKS!
A question: does this mean conservos should be encouraged to support phoney-baloney liberals like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, or should the distinction be explained to them?
(I note that many liberals have difficulty comprehending this too, but that's another kettle of fish, or batch of waffles, etc.)
I am consistently impressed with 2 things whenever Jon allows us to share the fruit of his brain.
1) How entertaining his writing can be
2) How many people take his words literally and do not understand the concept of satire.
Hi Magda. Yes, I've read A Modest Proposal: what can you expect from someone who blogs for Swiftspeech . The essay sounded like it was written by a reasonable man.
For those who want to dig further, here's a clip from "Conduct of the Allies." Sorry I couldn't find the entire essay on line. Best to you, Jon, and the great wits on this blog.
Printed in London for John Morphew, 1712.
Preface:
I Cannot sufficiently admire the Industry of a sort of Men, wholly out of Favour with the Prince and People, and openly possessing a separate Interest from the Bulk of the Landed Men, who yet are able to raise, at this Juncture, so great a Clamour against a Peace, without offering one single Reason, but what we find in their Ballads. I lay it down for a Maxim, That no reasonable Man, whether Whig or Tory (since it is necessary to use those foolish Terms) can be of the Opinion for continuing the War, upon the Foot it now is unless he be a Gainer by it, or hopes it may occasion some new Turn of Affairs at home, to the Advantage of his Party; or lastly, unless he be very ignorant of the Kingdom's Condition, and by what Means we have been reduced to it. Upon the two first Cases, where Interest is concerned, I have nothing to say: But as to the last, I think it highly necessary, that the Publick should be freely and impartially told what Circumstances they are in, after what Manner they have been treated by those whom they trusted so many Years with the Disposal of their Blood and Treasure, and what the Consequences of this Management are like to be upon themselves and their Posterity.
Those who either by Writing or Discourse, have undertaken to defend the Proceedings of the Late Ministry, in the Management of the War, and of the Treaty at Gertruydenburg, have spent time in celebrating the Conduct and Valour of our Leaders and their Troops, in summing up the Victories they have gained and the Towns they have taken. Then they tell us what high Articles were insisted on by our Ministers and those of the Confederates, and what Pains both were at in persuading France to accept them. But nothing of this can give the least Satisfaction to the just Complaints of the Kingdom. As to the War, our Grievances are, That a greater Load has been laid on Us than was either just or necessary, or than we have been able to bear; that the grossest Impositions have been submitted to for the Advancement of private Wealth and Power, or in order to forward the more dangerous Designs of a Faction, to both which a Peace would have put an End; And that the Part of the War which was chiefly our Province, which would have been most beneficial to us, and destructive to the Enemy, was wholly neglected. As to a Peace, We complain of being deluded by a Mock Treaty; in which those who Negotiated, took care to make such Demands as they knew were impossible to be complied with, and therefore might securely press every Article as if they were in earnest.
These are some of the Points I design to treat of in the following Discourse; with several others which I thought it necessary, at this time, for the Kingdom to be informed of. I think I am not mistaken in those Facts I mention; at least not in any Circumstance so material, as to weaken the Consequences I draw from them.
After Ten Years War with perpetual Success, to tell us it is yet impossible to have a good Peace, is very surprising, and seems so different from what hath ever happened in the World before, that a Man of any Party may be allowed suspecting, we have either been ill used, or have not made the most of our Victories, and might therefore desire to know where the Difficulty lay: Then it is natural to enquire into our present Condition; how long we shall be able to go on at this Rate; what the Consequences may be upon the present and future Ages; and whether a Peace, without that impracticable Point which some People do so much insist on, be really ruinous in it self, or equally so with the Continuance of the War.
McCain can be stopped, the crook and the sooner the better. Nixon 2 is close to getting the delegates.
Hope Muntz?!?!
Where are you? i'm still waiting...waiting...'course, all the opium flecked hash is gone...shame that...is it too late for us?
what about our giant Belgium? Belgium...waffles! *giggle* Belgium waffles with ice cream and chocolate syrup!...christ i'm hungry...
wonder what's on the tube?
Nanderthals for Change
.
Fay Buchanan, Romney spinmeister, arch Republican Villager and sister of Pat Buchanan was being interviewed. The reporter broached the topic of change, that Romney had joined the verbal band wagon of and for change.
"We're definitely for changing the old prevailing ways of Washington" said dear Fay.
But you're in the process of adding White House insider types, Bush confidants and Cheney genes to Romney's staff said the reporter.
"Isn't it amazing how the old guard can be a force for change?" responded Fay, effortlessly.
doc--got to hell. Hope and I are going to live together, nestled warmly in a cranny of our giant Belgian waffle.
hope...?
*whimper*
People like you certainly do not deserve in a country where a man tortured for five years in its defense could possibly be casually termed a 'Manchurian Candidate'.
And just how, precisely, do you think Manchurian Candidates are produced?
Certainly, we can't clone them from stem cells!!
Hope and I are going to live together, nestled warmly in a cranny of our giant Belgian waffle.
Until the Great Scoop falls from the Great Ice Cream Scooper in the sky, as it says in the Bible: Haagen Daaz 3:16
I'm with Magda.
Jon, I should like to suggest to you then Dr. Ben Marble as President. I'm considering a campaign to send him plastic Jesus dolls purchased at Walmart to show solidarity for his support.
Marble for President 2008!
well if it is HiTlary vs. McCain I might actually consider a run ;)
Thanks,
Ben Marble, M.D.
Dr. Marble, you would have my whole-hearted support if you did decide to run.
Although if you didn't make it this time, we may be better off annexing a portion of Canada, where we could elect you the leader, and call it Benmerica, or Marble Land for example.
Deserves what? A nice room in a retirement home?
Jebus, get a grip. He is dangerous.
In my view everybody must go through it.
this 9 | good 5 | nice 3 superb 1 | check site | this 3 superb 8 | do not forget 5
Dr. Ben Marble as President. I'm considering a campaign to send him plastic Jesus dolls purchased at Walmart to show solidarity for his support.
A nice room in a retirement home?
I'm considering a campaign to send him plastic Jesus dolls purchased at Walmart to show solidarity for his support.
we can't clone them from stem cells!!
"Isn't it amazing how the old guard can be a force for change?" responded Fay, effortlessly.
Those who either by Writing or Discourse, have undertaken to defend the Proceedings of the Late Ministry...
In my view everybody must go through it.
Hope and I are going to live together, nestled warmly in a cranny of our giant Belgian waffle.
Nestled warmly in a cranny of our giant Belgian waffle.
What Deserves what? A nice room in a retirement home?
I have undertaken to defend the Proceedings of the Late Ministry...
As to a Peace, We complain of being deluded by a Mock Treaty; in which those who Negotiated, took care to make such Demands as they knew were impossible to be complied with, and therefore might securely press every Article as if they were in earnest.
Therefore might securely press every Article as if they were in earnest.
We complain of being deluded by a Mock Treaty; in which those who Negotiated
Ware going to live together, nestled warmly in a cranny of our giant Belgian waffle.
McCain can be stopped, the crook and the sooner the better. Nixon 2 is close to getting the delegates.
Romney had joined the verbal band wagon of and for change.
These are some of the Points I design to treat of in the following Discourse; with several others which I thought it necessary, at this time, for the Kingdom to be informed of.
I thought it necessary, at this time, for the Kingdom to be informed of.
These are some of the Points I design to treat of in the following Discourse; with several others which I thought it necessary
I think I am not mistaken in those Facts I mention; at least not in any Circumstance so material, as to weaken the Consequences I draw from them.
I note that many liberals have difficulty comprehending this too, but that's another kettle of fish, or batch of waffles, etc
The problem with McCain isn't that he's too liberal or not conservative enough, it's that he's neither.
The problem with McCain isn't that he's too liberal or not conservative enough, it's that he's neither.
McCain is not a leader, he's a tool to be used by the Republican party and if they're smart they'd start looking at a serious conservative to run 3rd party and at the same time start finding contenders to take on McCain in the Senate.
if they're smart they'd start looking at a serious conservative to run 3rd party and at the same time start finding contenders to take on McCain in the Senate.
Please run 3rd party and at the same time start finding contenders to take on McCain in the Senate.
Took care to make such Demands as they knew were impossible to be complied with, and therefore might securely press every Article as if they were in earnest.
You should might securely press every Article as if they were in earnest.
where Interest is concerned, I have nothing to say: But as to the last, I think it highly necessary
That a greater Load has been laid on Us than was either just or necessary, or than we have been able to bear; that the grossest Impositions have been submitted to for the Advancement of private Wealth and Power..
The grossest Impositions have been submitted to for the Advancement of private Wealth and Power..
MedAcess a Trusted Name in the Industry Since ages.
That is great to hear, thank you for reading!
That was a VERY interesting one! Seriously interesting.
That was a VERY interesting one! Seriously interesting.
Thank you, that was just an awesome post!!!
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