My Case for John McCain
This is an excellent article in The Economist on why America would do well to elect John McCain as the next President.
The Case for John McCain
Personally, why do I support McCain? I'm going to keep this short but I'm also going to try and convince you why he is right when it comes to the issues. Here are the issues that are of most importance to me, from the most important down.
1. Torture - John McCain, when he appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, drew raucous applause from the audience when he said that if he became President, one of the first things he would do is to shut Guantanamo Bay down. Things such as the existence of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, denial of habeas corpus and due process under the law to those held in our custody, and extraordinary rendition by the CIA detract from America's international image and rip to shreds the Constitution. John McCain has time and again been crystal clear as to where he stands on these issues. Forget other Republicans, with the exception of John Edwards, even none of the Democrats have taken as high a moral position as John McCain on this issue.
2. Iraq War - I've said it before and I'll say it again. I was against the surge. I thought it would cause increased bloodshed, for both American troops and Iraqi civilians. I was wrong. The surge does appear to be working. The Democrats seem to either have missed this or they are pandering to the anti-war fanatics who would have us leave Iraq no matter what, even if we are to leave sectarian genocide in our wake. And these people call themselves liberals and progressives? I can only shake my head in disappointment.
3. Global Warming and the Environment - John McCain is one of the few Republicans who believes the threat that global warming poses and is ready to step up to face the challenge. Even on the Democratic side, the only person who seems more capable is Al Gore and would certainly have gotten my support, the only problem is that he's not running. The rest of the Democrats pay lip service to fighting global warming, but they fail to convince me that they would do more than John McCain on this front. In fact, I'm convinced that Hillary would do less.
I disagree with John McCain's viewpoints on issues such as abortion or gay marriage, as he is anti both. However, I agree with him on the bigger, more important issues and respect the man's integrity enough to give him my support, realizing that we need not agree on all issues. A politician that says what he believes in is rare. A politician that says what he believes in even when it is deeply unpopular is rumored not to exist. John McCain is that politician.
The Case for John McCain
Personally, why do I support McCain? I'm going to keep this short but I'm also going to try and convince you why he is right when it comes to the issues. Here are the issues that are of most importance to me, from the most important down.
1. Torture - John McCain, when he appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, drew raucous applause from the audience when he said that if he became President, one of the first things he would do is to shut Guantanamo Bay down. Things such as the existence of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, denial of habeas corpus and due process under the law to those held in our custody, and extraordinary rendition by the CIA detract from America's international image and rip to shreds the Constitution. John McCain has time and again been crystal clear as to where he stands on these issues. Forget other Republicans, with the exception of John Edwards, even none of the Democrats have taken as high a moral position as John McCain on this issue.
2. Iraq War - I've said it before and I'll say it again. I was against the surge. I thought it would cause increased bloodshed, for both American troops and Iraqi civilians. I was wrong. The surge does appear to be working. The Democrats seem to either have missed this or they are pandering to the anti-war fanatics who would have us leave Iraq no matter what, even if we are to leave sectarian genocide in our wake. And these people call themselves liberals and progressives? I can only shake my head in disappointment.
3. Global Warming and the Environment - John McCain is one of the few Republicans who believes the threat that global warming poses and is ready to step up to face the challenge. Even on the Democratic side, the only person who seems more capable is Al Gore and would certainly have gotten my support, the only problem is that he's not running. The rest of the Democrats pay lip service to fighting global warming, but they fail to convince me that they would do more than John McCain on this front. In fact, I'm convinced that Hillary would do less.
I disagree with John McCain's viewpoints on issues such as abortion or gay marriage, as he is anti both. However, I agree with him on the bigger, more important issues and respect the man's integrity enough to give him my support, realizing that we need not agree on all issues. A politician that says what he believes in is rare. A politician that says what he believes in even when it is deeply unpopular is rumored not to exist. John McCain is that politician.
posted by Vivek at 7:38 PM
9 Comments:
Those three are important reasons for me as well. They all demonstrate McCain's judgment and commitment to the legacy America leaves to the future and the world.
I've just added you to the Blogroll at Election Night HQ.
Also, is there an e-mail address for your blog?
Sincerely,
Publisher, http://ElectionNightHQ.com
Hello and welcome aboard the Straight Talk express. Thanks so much for joining the MV08 Bloggers for McCain.
I just got back from a week of campaigning for McCain in New Hampshire. What a thrill!
I look forward to working with you in the future.
My friend in Arizona...
...who I believe I alluded to when we met in September, i.e. he being your vehement, liberal, passionate sibling...
has told me that McCain is a carpetbagger who moved to the state he represents solely to advance his own political ambitions and is nothing more than a "perpetual campaigner" who will check the direction of the wind and decide to support that particular course at any given moment. He also takes millions from Political Action Committees and was a member of the "Keating Five," a group of senators who took big money and lots of perks from developer Charlie Keating in exchange for help and inside information about government land deals.
Man of integrity?
Let me get back to you on that one.
Meanwhile, I see you've attracted some McCaintologists who are trying to get you to drink the Kool Aid.....
"[McCain] is nothing more than a "perpetual campaigner" who will check the direction of the wind and decide to support that particular course at any given moment."
I strongly disagree. If this description were to be accurate, McCain should not have pushed the Iraq surge as he did in January in spite of overwhelming opposition. He staked his entire political career on his belief that the surge would succeed. The political winds a year ago were nearly hurricane-force in favor of a hurried retreat, with people like myself leading the charge for that retreat.
If this description were to be accurate, McCain should have stopped railing against nonsensical agricultural subsidies a long time ago so he court the votes of all those farmers in Iowa. Rather than flip-flop to supporting agri-subsidies, he just decided to abandon Iowa altogether.
And finally, if this description were to be true, McCain would have been a fool to press for immigration reform (being elected from a state where the Minutemen enforce law and order along with regular uniformed police) or the extremely principled stand he took against Mitt Romney in the YouTube debate (implicitly taking the side of the dreaded ACLU (as far as right-wing nut jobs are concerned)).
All this while trying to get the Republican nomination through the Republican primaries.
Your friend from Arizona must be talking about some other John McCain, certainly not the one running for President right now.
I didn't drink the Kool-Aid by the way. I suspect it may have been spiked.
As for John McCain being a carpetbagger, this article is a nice one.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter5.html
Sure, him marrying his wife in Arizona, just as it was about to get a new congressional seat was convenient, but I think it was just good fortune. If he did marry her for the residency, it is unlikely that the marriage has lasted 28 years almost now. For those that accused John McCain of being a carpetbagger back in 1982, I think his response was very appropriate in squashing a slanderous allegation.
"Listen, pal. I spent 22 years in the Navy. My grandfather was in the Navy. We in the military service tend to move a lot. We have to live in all parts of the country, all parts of the world. I wish I could have had the luxury, like you, of growing up and living and spending my entire life in a nice place like the first district of Arizona, but I was doing other things. As a matter of fact, when I think about it now, the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi."
As for his involvement in the Keating Five, did you friend tell you that it happened before I was born?
Every politician would have taken some money at some point. I think it's just part of the nasty business of politics.
You think Obama is spotless? Hillary Clinton, enough said.
But what has McCain done since then? He's been one of the strongest promoters of anti-lobbyist and campaign finance reform legislation of anyone on Capitol Hill.
Sometimes, we need to leave the vehement liberal passion aside and look it things objectively. When I do that with McCain, he's done more than enough to earn my trust, without me drinking the Kool Aid offered by the McCaintologists.
People should read this.
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