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Barack Obama, Conservative, GOP, Hillary Clinton, Immigration, John McCain, Laura Ingraham, Mitt Romney, Republican, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, taxes
The race for the Republican presidential nomination appears to be coming to a close with John McCain leading the way and Mitt Romney struggling to nip at his heels. With all the powerful talk radio hosts pitted against him, (Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, etc…) I can’t help but wonder if they are missing something. I mean John McCain is a war hero, a centrist candidate who can “bridge the gap”, and a “straight-talker”. Should we give John McCain a little latitude?
If John McCain continues as he has, he will be the most liberal Republican nominee that I can remember. The fact is that he is to the left of his party on every major issue: Taxes (he voted against the Bush tax cuts), Immigration (Remember McCain-Kennedy?), the 1st Amendment (Remember McCain-Feingold?), Global warming… er… I mean “climate change”, judicial nominees, etc… The list could go on. John McCain has more in common with the Democrats than he does with the conservatives. You may notice, that I didn’t say Republicans. The reason is because if John McCain wins the nomination he will be the face of the Republican party for the next who knows how long, and it’s hard to have more in common with the Democrats than with yourself (although John Kerry probably could figure out how).
If John McCain is so far outside the Republican base, why does he appear to have enough support to get the nomination? Because the Republicans have left the conservatives and are now just the Grand Old Party, complete with matching Toyota Prius’. It’s obvious that McCain holds an edge over either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the head-to-head polls. I suspect some Republican voters believe that McCain is more electable than the more conservative Republican candidates like Mitt Romney or, prior to his exit, Fred Thompson.
I submit that John McCain is actually good for the GOP. His ability to think and act like a Democrat has helped him put together legislation with his friends from “across the aisle” to create “solutions” to tough problems, legislation like the McCain-Kennedy bill which would have given “amnesty” (although he swears it wasn’t amnesty) to the millions of illegal immigrants in the US.
The fact of the matter is that the GOP has more in common with the Democrats anymore than it does with the Conservatives. The GOP has consistently become more liberal, more tolerant of government growth, more accepting of government programs and intervention, more convinced that government can create a solution to every problem. John McCain is exactly what the GOP deserves. He is what the GOP has evolved into.
While John McCain may be good for the GOP (to remain in the White House), he is most certainly not good for the long-term prosperity and freedom of the country.