Posted by
Andrews on Friday, March 21, 2008 12:47:09 PM
I have repeatedly explained why I think we should vote for McCain rather than let a Democrat win. I have done it so often*, I thought I would not need to revisit the topic, as I had addressed every objection. But I was wrong. Apparently, those opposed to McCain are more creative at finding reasons than I anticipated.
So, here are responses to several complaints I have seen about McCain:
1. He is not trustworthy
I will resist the temptation to say "Of course not, he's a politician" and answer seriously.
For the sake of argument, let us assume McCain does not want a second term, and so starts to completely disregard conservative voters. So, what would happen? Well, the Democrats do not want him to get any credit for their "good ideas". That means they will oppose his liberal legislation and put up their own even more liberal versions. Nor will the Republicans sit still for liberal laws. Some have opposed Bush's compassionate conservatism, and I think more will oppose McCain if he moves left. So, if McCain veers hard to the left, I don't see him getting anything done. Which actually makes me like him even more. Four years of gridlock on social programs is even better than a real conservative in office.
2. Our Party will be blamed
This only makes sense if you adopt the silly proposition that McCain will be every bit as bad as Obama or Clinton, and,
as I have said before, I don't buy that.
But let us assume he is. Do you really think Republicans will escape blame, even with a Democrat in office? Clinton still gets credit with reforms enacted as part of the Contract With America, even for measures he continually opposed. And Bush gets blame for things which should be blamed on congress, or his predecessor, or Islamic terrorists. The press finds a way to spin things so the Democrats are always blameless and the Republicans are mustache twirling villains. That won't change if McCain loses. No matter what happens, Republicans will be blamed. Get used to it.
3. McCain will not listen to conservatives
I addressed this
before, but here it goes.
First, if he wants a second term, he will need to listen or he will be a one term president. But even if he ignores that reality, he still won't be able to completely ignore conservative views, well not if we bother to vote. Presidents just cannot rule by executive orders alone, he needs congressional support. As I said above, the Democrats won't go along with him, no matter how liberal he becomes, so that means he needs Republican support. If we do our job as voters and put some real conservatives in congress, that means he will be forced to listen to conservative positions. Either listen or spend four years getting nothing done. Either one works for me, so I see this as another argument for McCain.
I am sure there are more than these three arguments, but, again, I think I have hit all of the major ones, either here or in my previous posts. If anything new comes up, I will be sure to update this post or write another.
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* My earlier posts on McCain (including several negative ones) can be found at these locations:
Jacob Frank and Hillary Clinton
A Thought on McCain
And on the Other Side
Some General Thoughts on the Election
A Difficult Decision
Oh, Please!
Do as I Say Not as I Do
Abandoning the Party
"Selling Out"
To Make It Very Simple
Why We Need Adults
NYT Mistake
Grasping at Straws
One More Reason Not to Sit It Out
Why McCain Will Win
82%? So What?
As you can see if you read those posts, I have no illusions about McCain. I am aware of his shortcomings, but I still think he is the best choice we have, and is much better than allowing the Democrats to run our country during a time when we are facing ever increasing foreign threats. But I will leave it to my readers to look at the older essays and see if they agree or not. Hopefully as time goes on, and more is revealed about Obama and Clinton, more and more Republicans will see that McCain could never be even half as bad as those two possibilities.
Correction (04/05/2008): My comprehensive list had omitted one article. ("
82%? So What?"). I have now added it to the list.