McCain for President: Leadership We Need
Faced with these facts, the choice before us as citizens is vital. We must choose as a President someone who will serve the interests of America, someone who has the integrity and courage to lead America through the uncertain times ahead. We must choose someone who is a proven public servant, because we cannot afford to take chances. The consequences are too great.
We must choose someone of virtue, someone who holds fast to the ideals on which this country was founded. We must choose someone who is unafraid to stand for these ideals, especially when it is politically unpopular to do so, because this is the hallmark of virtue. We must choose a leader, a man of conviction, purpose, and a selfless commitment to service and sacrifice. That man is Senator John McCain.
Any endorsement requires an honest assessment of the candidate, and I will be honest about John McCain. John McCain is not a full-spectrum conservative, nor will he be one as President. The only full-spectrum conservative in the race was Fred Thompson, but sadly he refused to campaign and has now dropped out.
John McCain is, undeniably, a national security conservative. America’s interests, and those who fight for them, have never had a more passionate or dependable advocate over the last two decades than John McCain. There is no other candidate who has stood with and for America’s military and its national defense as long and as consistently as John McCain.
There is no other candidate with McCain’s history of credibility on defense issues, nor is there another candidate that can match McCain’s record today. John McCain has been our nation’s chief prophet of victory in Iraq, arguing for the surge years before it even crossed Bush’s mind. There is no candidate that can demonstrate McCain’s commitment to victory against Islamic terror, in Iraq and around the world.
John McCain is, on economic issues, a lifetime Republican. There is no candidate that has stood for fiscal restraint and small government as long as John McCain has. From his first year in the Senate, where he supported the Gramm-Rudman act mandating spending cuts during budget deficits, to today, where he is the only candidate who refuses to engage in wasteful pork-barrel spending and dishonest earmarks.
He did oppose Bush’s tax cuts and he did so for two reasons. First, because he felt they were unfairly favorable to wealthy Americans least at risk from economic downturn; and second, because Bush refused to enact spending cuts to avoid a massive deficit. McCain has realized, after the robust growth spurred by those cuts, that he was wrong and has backed up his views with action, voting to extend Bush’s tax cuts in 2006. He has pledged to make them permanent if elected as well as working to require spending increases gain a 3/5 majority in Congress, thus making bigger government harder.
On social issues, there is no candidate who has stood up for life and dignity as long as John McCain. John McCain has done this by supporting strict, constructionist judges Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. There is no candidate who has supported human dignity longer than John McCain, when it was popular and when it was not. He was one of a very few Republicans who voted against the evil of Apartheid in 1986 and is the only candidate who publicly refuses to torture.
John McCain has been pro-life his entire career, not recently, always, and he proves it. In 1991, while visiting Mother Theresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh, the McCain’s were introduced to a baby girl who badly needed treatment for a cleft palate and was near death. At great personal expense, John and Cindy McCain welcomed this child, who they would name Bridget, into their home and their lives.
After a lifetime of public service in the Navy and then in Congress, there is no one who is more qualified to lead this country through the uncertain times ahead than John McCain. He is a known quantity in a world marked by uncertainty. As a conservative, he has done things which I don’t like, and I know he will do things I don’t like in the future. But after 24 years in Congress, John McCain has proven that he does what he says he will do. I don’t have to take him at his word, because I can look to his record. John McCain is, by all objective measures, the only candidate that can beat the Democrats in 2008.
As a conservative I am willing to accept John McCain, sins and all, because I know that he will keep the government small, the economy free, the terrorists out of my country, and Hillary out of the White House. I ask that you do the same.
This post was written by AdamRBitely on January 29th, 2008.
Comments: 8
Comments
Comment from Eric the 1/2 troll
Time: January 29, 2008, 9:16 am
Hmmm…me thinks the last sentence is the closest to home as to why McCain seems to be doing well now-a-days. Grasping at straws??
Comment from Kevin Bolling
Time: January 29, 2008, 9:47 am
John McCain has a fantastic war record, but his record in the US Senate leaves a lot to be desired.
He vetoed the Bush tax cuts. He now supports them, but unlike his campaign reasons now, at the time he did not support them because they were “tax cuts for the rich”. Sounds like a liberal Democrat. In 2006, he put out the McCain plan for “amnesty”. While not technically amnesty, McCain lauded it as such and essentially gave 10 million illegal aliens the right to stay here. Sounds like a liberal Democrat. He considered being John Kerry’s running-mate in 2004. Once again, sounds like a liberal Democrat.
John McCain’s straight talk express, if it ever existed, has taken a sharp turn off the tracks. He will do anything to get elected, even blatantly lie about other candidates’ records. John McCain has slammed Romney on his support of a timetable for withdrawal, like the Democrats. Let’s look at Romney’s own words:
“Well, there’s no question but that — the president and Prime Minister al-Maliki have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about. But those shouldn’t be for public pronouncement.”
Yes, he did say timetable.. but I’m pretty sure that’s not a timetable for withdrawal. They’re milestones, benchmarks.. the same thing the generals in Iraq wanted in place. Nonetheless, there’s no stopping John McCain’s desperation.
John McCain is not the man we need leading our Republican Party. I believe it’s Mitt Romney, but one thing’s clear: it’s certainly not John McCain.
Comment from Lucca Brazzi
Time: January 29, 2008, 1:03 pm
McCain’s appointment of Juan Hernandez as his Director of Hispanic Outreach has shown John for the lair he is. How can he say that he ‘get’s it” about the border and illegal immigration when he has a man on his staff that is on recorded as saying:
“I work with the community in the United States, the Mexican community because I don‘t want them essentially going native on us. We want them continually tied emotionally, linguistically, politically to Mexico, because then they‘ll continue to send money home.”
and:
“I want the third generation, the seventh generation, I want them all to think ‘Mexico first.’”
and:
“We must not only have a free flow of goods and services, but also start working for a free flow of people.”
A man who said to Congressman Tancredo: “Congressman, it‘s not two countries; it‘s just a region.”
So much for John’s promises. Why would anyone elect a man who won’t stand up for the sovereignty of this nation. I guess John will go back to call those of us that want secure borders ‘Chicken Shit’, racist, bigots, zenophobes, yeah that should win him a lot of votes.
Comment from johnny mac
Time: January 29, 2008, 1:34 pm
who’s running for office, Hernandez or McCain? this type of charge is ridiculous, McCain never said any of those things. this attack doesn’t even make any sense and simply demonstrates more myopic vitriol over the border issue. buidling a fence isn’t going to completely solve the problem, not by a long shot. it doesn’t address the 40% of illegals who came here legally, nor does it address the scofflaw employers who attract more illegals. the fact is that a border fence alone doesn’t solve the problem. sadly, conservatives have absolutely no credibility on the immigration issue, b/c they refused to act when they controlled both Congress and the White House. They couldn’t even build their coveted border fence. instead of bitching about McCain’s Hispanic Outreach Director, you should be asking the Republican Party why it was absent for 7 years on illegal immigration. There is one Republican who had the courage to actually address the immigration issue, and that Republican is John McCain.
Comment from johnny mac
Time: January 29, 2008, 1:45 pm
won’t stand up for the sovereignty of this nation??? WTF??!!! are you kidding me? how many years did you spend fighting for this nation’s sovereignty??
how long have you served this country, in the military or in public office?? McCain endured five years of brutal torture on this country’s behalf, he even refused a prisoner exchange b/c not all of his fellow POWs would be going home.
John McCain has done more to stand for this nation’s sovereignty than all these other conservative blowhards combined. Limbaugh runs his mouth and gets stoned on Oxycontin, Santorum is the most hollow conservative i’ve ever seen, all hot air and nothing to show for it. he couldn’t even win re-election. McCain has been with the Republican party for nearly 25 years, longer than any candidate in the race. you are full of it!!
Comment from Anonymous
Time: January 29, 2008, 3:40 pm
McCAin’s an okay guy; he’s just not that conservative. I’m backing Paul but am hoping for all intensive purposes Romney wins big.
Comment from The Young Reaganite
Time: January 30, 2008, 8:21 am
We say that John McCain’s sins should be forgiven. My problem with this idea is that George W. Bush has not stuck to conservative principles at all during his last 8 years (ok he hates abortion,but thats easy). My problem is we conservatives say we want to go back to the good old days when won elections running as Republicans ( not as Democrats). John McCain is not that for the reasons everybody here knows about.
Principle should guide our decisions. Not the desire to keep Hillary out of the White House. If we vote based on keeping Democrats out and not on keeping Republicans in, what are we then?
Comment from Virginian for McCain
Time: February 2, 2008, 7:42 pm
Check out new Virginia ‘08 Blog:
Virginia for John McCain
http://www.va4mccain.blogspot.com/
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