Still Not Voting for John McCain: My Hypocrisy as a Republican Goes Only So Far
I have been the target of some fair amount of grief from some of my fellow Republicans who disagree with my choice not to support John McCain for the Presidency. Again and again, I hear the argument made (and I am not in disagreement with it) that McCain’s Liberal tendencies are not nearly as dangerous for America as are those of Barack Hussein Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It’s true that John McCain is not, as some Conservatives have portrayed him, a clone of the Democrat’s candidates. He is strong on the War Against the Global Islamic Jihad. He will not abandon the Iraqi or the Afghani people to their Islamist enemies. McCain will not try to play nice with Iranian President Ahmadinejad and allow him to gain access to a nuclear arsenal. I have no fears on those counts.
I also acknowledge his persistent record of being a budget hawk. I believe he would make vigorous use of the veto pen in an effort to rein in federal spending.
It is true that he has a pro-life record, though perhaps not as strong a one as some of his supporters claim, and it is even possible that he is sincere in his promises to keep taxes low and our borders secure, though I do have my doubts on those issues (especially that last one given his new partnership with Juan Hernandez, a close advisor to Vicente Fox and former head of Mexico’s “Presidential Office for Mexicans Abroad”).
I admit that all of the above is a compelling argument for supporting John McCain, given the potential for causing havoc our Democrat opponents present.
Then I look at the impressive array of men and women for whom I hold great respect who have lined up to support John McCain. Some of them, I can ignore RINO’s and Conservative light, but when you start mentioning names like Ted Olsen, John Bolton, Bill Bennett, Thad Cochran, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and John Cornyn, it gives me pause. He is beginning to pile up a formidable array of genuine Conservatives, people for whom I have great respect, and whose opinions I value.
It does give me pause…but…
No, for me, it is not McCain's Liberal leanings that concern me. I've been through Nixon and Ford, besides the two Bush Presidencies. My quandary lies in the question of McCain's fitness for command.I do not believe the man is mentally stable.
I believe that there is one qualification for the Presidency which over rides all others. The President of the United States must be rational and I do not believe that McCain is rational.
I fear that he might, in some peak of ire, take some precipitous action that would have dire and lasting consequences for us all. I also am not certain that he is not some sort of “Manchurian Candidate” (or perhaps Hanoi Candidate would be more appropriate).
He spent five years in a prison camp being alternately tortured and treated well, all the while being subjected to brainwashing techniques. It is impossible for anyone to undergo this kind of extended brutality without suffering lasting emotional scars and without it affecting his psyche.
McCain’s eagerness to "normalize" relations with (now fully communist) Vietnam is unnerving. Especially in light of his apparent refusal to pursue the MIA issue with his new found friends.
Turning one’s back on his fellow soldiers and embracing his enemies is not what I would consider to be the actions of a sane man. McCain, has regularly supported the political moves of his former captors; normalization of relations, re-establishing trade and membership in the WTO.
Here is an interesting photo I picked up at A Proud Infidel blog.
It is of John embracing one of the Vietnamese men (Mai Van On) who pulled him from the water after his aircraft went down.Were he some Bible thumping Christian, someone who was more demonstrative of a strong religious belief, I might well chalk it up to some strong belief in forgiving ones enemies, but I have observed John McCain in the past and I have found him to be one who appears to carry his grudges around with him like badges of honor (or of martyrdom), not someone who forgives and forgets.
His history is replete with legendary examples of this undisciplined temper, a number of them involving his colleagues in the Senate and others with pundits who are simply asking him questions.
I have already in a previous article mentioned his Captain Queeg-like repetition of key phrases like “Hide in the weeds,” during the last Republican debate. His was such a bizarre performance that even Mitt Romney, whomMcQueeq McCain was quoting was forced to ask him “what does that mean?”
Unfortunately it was not an isolated incident, but illustrative of a pattern of behavior that can only be described as abnormal. In an interview with Michael Reagan, McCain became obsessed over Michael Reagan’s observation that it was Warren Rudman who first recommended David Souter to President George H. W. Bush as a possible nominee to the Supreme Court. It was a gross betrayal of trust by Rudman.
Said observation led to an almost maniacally obsessive rant defending Warren Rudman who was at that time, March of 2000, McCain’s overall campaign manager. The entire transcript is available here and makes for a disturbing read. Here is an excerpt of it.
A very testy, "Please get out of here," was all McCain could muster in response.
Maria Shriver, was clearly taken aback by this abrupt response, and said moments later, "All I did was ask ... I doubt I'll be speaking to him again in the future." She later told the Washington Post: "I was doing my job. And I did what any other reporter would do."
McCain is notorious for his unpredictable outbursts of temper; sometimes railing uncontrollably at anyone having the temerity to disagree with him. This comes from NewsMax.com:
It is not beyond the realm of possibility that McCain as president could pop off to a foreign leader as Bob Smith described and do irreparable harm to our relations, our trade, or even cause a military incident, if say that foreign leader was Vladamir Putin or Hu Jintao.
This will be the toughest decision I have ever made since I began voting and since I acquired an interest in politics. Right now I am determined to sit this Presidential Election out and concentrate on the down ticket candidates.
I am very supportive of John Cornyn and my representative John Culberson. Both men are good strong Conservatives as are my state senator Dan Patrick (the man who brought Rush Limbaugh’s program to Houston radio) and Dwayne Bohac, my state representative.
In addition, with Kay Bailey Hutchison announcing her retirement at the end of her term in the Senate, it is time to begin examining the records of our state politicians for a suitable replacement.
When political parties fail on the national level, it is time to redouble your efforts at the local level. After all, our national political candidates got their start at the state or local level.
Long Live Our American Republic!!!
It’s true that John McCain is not, as some Conservatives have portrayed him, a clone of the Democrat’s candidates. He is strong on the War Against the Global Islamic Jihad. He will not abandon the Iraqi or the Afghani people to their Islamist enemies. McCain will not try to play nice with Iranian President Ahmadinejad and allow him to gain access to a nuclear arsenal. I have no fears on those counts.
I also acknowledge his persistent record of being a budget hawk. I believe he would make vigorous use of the veto pen in an effort to rein in federal spending.
It is true that he has a pro-life record, though perhaps not as strong a one as some of his supporters claim, and it is even possible that he is sincere in his promises to keep taxes low and our borders secure, though I do have my doubts on those issues (especially that last one given his new partnership with Juan Hernandez, a close advisor to Vicente Fox and former head of Mexico’s “Presidential Office for Mexicans Abroad”).
I admit that all of the above is a compelling argument for supporting John McCain, given the potential for causing havoc our Democrat opponents present.
Then I look at the impressive array of men and women for whom I hold great respect who have lined up to support John McCain. Some of them, I can ignore RINO’s and Conservative light, but when you start mentioning names like Ted Olsen, John Bolton, Bill Bennett, Thad Cochran, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and John Cornyn, it gives me pause. He is beginning to pile up a formidable array of genuine Conservatives, people for whom I have great respect, and whose opinions I value.
It does give me pause…but…
No, for me, it is not McCain's Liberal leanings that concern me. I've been through Nixon and Ford, besides the two Bush Presidencies. My quandary lies in the question of McCain's fitness for command.I do not believe the man is mentally stable.
I believe that there is one qualification for the Presidency which over rides all others. The President of the United States must be rational and I do not believe that McCain is rational.
I fear that he might, in some peak of ire, take some precipitous action that would have dire and lasting consequences for us all. I also am not certain that he is not some sort of “Manchurian Candidate” (or perhaps Hanoi Candidate would be more appropriate).
He spent five years in a prison camp being alternately tortured and treated well, all the while being subjected to brainwashing techniques. It is impossible for anyone to undergo this kind of extended brutality without suffering lasting emotional scars and without it affecting his psyche.
McCain’s eagerness to "normalize" relations with (now fully communist) Vietnam is unnerving. Especially in light of his apparent refusal to pursue the MIA issue with his new found friends.
Turning one’s back on his fellow soldiers and embracing his enemies is not what I would consider to be the actions of a sane man. McCain, has regularly supported the political moves of his former captors; normalization of relations, re-establishing trade and membership in the WTO.
Here is an interesting photo I picked up at A Proud Infidel blog.
It is of John embracing one of the Vietnamese men (Mai Van On) who pulled him from the water after his aircraft went down.Were he some Bible thumping Christian, someone who was more demonstrative of a strong religious belief, I might well chalk it up to some strong belief in forgiving ones enemies, but I have observed John McCain in the past and I have found him to be one who appears to carry his grudges around with him like badges of honor (or of martyrdom), not someone who forgives and forgets.
His history is replete with legendary examples of this undisciplined temper, a number of them involving his colleagues in the Senate and others with pundits who are simply asking him questions.
I have already in a previous article mentioned his Captain Queeg-like repetition of key phrases like “Hide in the weeds,” during the last Republican debate. His was such a bizarre performance that even Mitt Romney, whom
Unfortunately it was not an isolated incident, but illustrative of a pattern of behavior that can only be described as abnormal. In an interview with Michael Reagan, McCain became obsessed over Michael Reagan’s observation that it was Warren Rudman who first recommended David Souter to President George H. W. Bush as a possible nominee to the Supreme Court. It was a gross betrayal of trust by Rudman.
Said observation led to an almost maniacally obsessive rant defending Warren Rudman who was at that time, March of 2000, McCain’s overall campaign manager. The entire transcript is available here and makes for a disturbing read. Here is an excerpt of it.
On another occasion, an incident which was captured on film, Maria Shriver, current First Lady of California and a reporter for MSNBC at the time, was on the receiving end of McCain’s infamous temper when she asked him how he felt as he prepared to concede the California primary to rival George W. Bush on Tuesday night, March 7, 2000.John McCain: Ah, Warren Rudman did not appoint Judge Souter, President Bush did, remember he was the president.
Michael Reagan: Yes, but ...
John McCain: Second of all, Warren Rudman is a fine, decent man who served his country in the Korean War, Attorney General of his state, and a Senator who was highly respected. It was, it was President Bush that appointed Justice Souter.
Michael Reagan: Right, but Warren Rudman...
John McCain: Warren Rudman is 70...let me finish, please, could I finish? Ah, ah, Warren Rudman is 70 years old, he's been, he had a serious illness. He's not interested in playing any active role in a McCain administration and I resent enormously phone calls that were made by Pat Robertson saying that he was a vicious bigot. I think that one might be...
Michael Reagan: Senator, Senator, Senator, Senator, Senator...
John McCain (talking over Reagan): ...well worth talking about as well...
Michael Reagan: Senator!
John McCain: I'm not...
Michael Reagan: Senator!
John McCain: I asked you, Michael, if I could finish, can I finish?
Michael Reagan: But you did finish... [McCain interrupts]
John McCain: Can I Finish? Can I finish? Yes or no?
A very testy, "Please get out of here," was all McCain could muster in response.
Maria Shriver, was clearly taken aback by this abrupt response, and said moments later, "All I did was ask ... I doubt I'll be speaking to him again in the future." She later told the Washington Post: "I was doing my job. And I did what any other reporter would do."
McCain is notorious for his unpredictable outbursts of temper; sometimes railing uncontrollably at anyone having the temerity to disagree with him. This comes from NewsMax.com:
I do not believe that I can vote for him. Better a sane Socialist in the White House, against whom Republican Conservatives can rally, than some half-baked RINO time-bomb against whom our Republican members of Congress would be reticent to take a stand.“In a July 5 NewsMax.com article, former Senator Bob Smith, a New Hampshire Republican who served with McCain on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said,
‘I have witnessed incidents where he has used profanity at colleagues and exploded at colleagues . . . He would disagree about something and then explode.
‘It was incidents of irrational behavior. We've all had incidents where we have gotten angry, but I've never seen anyone act like that.’" [Emphasis added]
It is not beyond the realm of possibility that McCain as president could pop off to a foreign leader as Bob Smith described and do irreparable harm to our relations, our trade, or even cause a military incident, if say that foreign leader was Vladamir Putin or Hu Jintao.
This will be the toughest decision I have ever made since I began voting and since I acquired an interest in politics. Right now I am determined to sit this Presidential Election out and concentrate on the down ticket candidates.
I am very supportive of John Cornyn and my representative John Culberson. Both men are good strong Conservatives as are my state senator Dan Patrick (the man who brought Rush Limbaugh’s program to Houston radio) and Dwayne Bohac, my state representative.
In addition, with Kay Bailey Hutchison announcing her retirement at the end of her term in the Senate, it is time to begin examining the records of our state politicians for a suitable replacement.
When political parties fail on the national level, it is time to redouble your efforts at the local level. After all, our national political candidates got their start at the state or local level.
Long Live Our American Republic!!!
What do you think?
To leave your opinion click on the word "COMMENT(S)" below
posted by Will Malven at 10:26 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home