Pirate's Cove

Interesting reading from Victor David Hanson

Despite McCain’s 82-percent career ranking by the American Conservative Union, and his support for balanced budgets, an end to pork-barrel spending and earmarks, strong support for the war, and expressed regret over once supporting the Bush illegal immigration reform package, McCain was branded by the conservative media as a sellout and a near liberal. Not to mention that he was supposedly too old and hot-tempered to be the Republican nominee. The more McCain was discovered not to be a perfect conservative, the more he was accused of not even being a good one.

Even stranger, the various Republican candidates began invoking Ronald Reagan’s three-decade-old tenure as the new litmus test of the times — apparently to show how moderates like the wayward McCain fell far short of the Gipper’s true-blue conservatism.

Were conservatives supposed to forget that a maverick Reagan raised some taxes, signed an illegal-alien amnesty bill, expanded government, appointed centrist Supreme Court justices, advocated nuclear disarmament, sold arms to Iran, and pulled out of Lebanon — but to remember only that John McCain was not for the original Bush tax cuts or once supported the administration’s offer of a quasi-amnesty?

We all know what McCain’s faults are. But, guess what? He’s a politician. If you are waiting for the perfect politician, don’t hold your breath too long. Though, if you do, please send me a photo of your turning a lovely shade of Blue.

You’ll be turning a different and ugly shade of Blue come January 20, 2009, if you keep up with the “no friggin’ way will I vote for McCain!!!!!!” talk.

Face it, Bush 43 is no conservative. Other then the tax cuts, and the War on Terror – which was thrust upon him, and he has had a good follow through – what has he done that is conservative? Bueller? Bueller? Other then those two things, why did you vote for him in 2004? Or did a large part of your support in 2004 stem from the alternative, President John F’ing Kerry?

What’s good about McCain? He will continue the War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom, unabashedly and forcefully. He will, more then likely, be quite a bit more fiscally conservative. The history that I see will show reduced spending. He is for tough sentencing for crime. He is pro-2nd Amendment. He believes in individual responsibility. And much more.

So, don’t look at just the negatives (despite some of them being whoppers!) If you have to hold your nose and pull the lever for McCain, do it. Because the alternative is much, much worse. You try to win with the players you have, and then work on some trades and free agency to make the team better. You aren’t go to make the team better but intentionally attempting to make it lose.

Don’t talk yourself into have an intense, personal hatred for John McCain. Don’t go in for McCain Derangement Syndrome. If you have to, think of it as voting against whoever the Democrat rented contender is. The wacko’s on the Left were not voting for Kerry in 2004; they were voting against Bush. So many of them hated their nominee. Take the same route.

Principles are wonderful things. But, in politics, they can only go so far, especially when the other guy is in charge. How many Conservatives bitched about Bank of America offering credit cards to illegals, then never took their business to another bank? How many Liberals bitch about WalMart, then go shop there? Your principles will mean nothing when the opposition is in control, jacking your taxes up, retreating in the War on Islamic Terrorism, etc, and so on.

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