Whoever wins the nominations of their respective parties, I have a number of questions for them:


1.  Will you, or will you not make the Bush Tax Cuts permanent? 

2.  Will you, or will you not, lower taxes?  Will you get rid of the Estate Tax and lower or eliminate Capital Gains Taxes?

3.  I don't like Social Security.  I pay into my own IRA and I have a diverse investment portfolio of my own.  Can I opt out of Social Security?  And if not, why not?    Doesn't the 9th and 10th Amendments protect my right against this sort of confiscation of my hard-earned money?

4.  I don't like Medicare.  I don't like paying for other people's health care, especially of those of whom I do not know.  Can I opt out of Medicare?  And if not, why not?  Doesn't the 9th and 10th Amendments protect my right against this sort of confiscation of my hard-earned money?

5.  After reading the Constitution thoroughly, I do not see where it says that the Federal Government can put tax dollars toward education.  Will you eliminate the Department of Education and reduce educational spending at the Federal level?

6.  Some of you campaigned on providing Universal Health Care.  Can I opt out of paying for it if I don't want or need such services?  And if not, why not?  Again, aren't my rights against such taxation protected by the Constitution?

7.  What are you going to do to deport criminal illegal aliens?  How are you going to enforce America's immigration policies? 

8.  How do you intend to protract the war on Terror so that we achieve a decisive victory against Islamofascism?

9.  What sort of judges do you intend to place on Federal Circuit and Supreme benches?

10.  What are you going to do about rampant earmark spending? 

Those that say McCain is the most electable are basically asking the rest of us to cede our principles of freedom in the name of political expediency.  When Cicero ended up choosing between Mark Antony and Octavian Caesar, he couldn't necessarily see that he was effectively picking between two tyrants.  One may have been more of a competant tyrant, but Octavian, later to be called Augustus, was a tyrant nonetheless.  Expediency ended up having Cicero's hands nailed to the Senate doors. 

Is John McCain a tyrant?  We don't know.  Is he a political opportunist.  Clearly he is, and this makes him a dangerous choice for anyone.  Hillary is also a political opportunist, with a much better spin machine available at her whim. 

 

Michael Medved, and other "pundits," continually tout McCain's ACU rating of 83%, and his support from the likes of John Kyl and Trent Lott, but these mean absolutely nothing.  Who knows what the man said behind closed doors to these others?  This is a man who, in saying that he "got the message" about strengthening the borders, also said on Meet the Press that he would've signed McCain/Kennedy had he been president.  What message did he get? 

 

The man says he's not going to raise taxes.  What guarantees do we have that he won't?  How do we know he understands how taxes influence our market?  He talks about global warming as though it were controllable with government legislation, which translates into less money in your pocket and less control over your property.  Conservative, Mr. Medved?  I don't think so. 

 

More importantly, why does John McCain want to be president?  What does he want from the job?  What does he want to do? 

Why is it that it seems every election we're supposed to choose between two evils, the "lesser" of which will hurt us the least?  Choosing between two evils is still choosing evil. 

The first post of this blog I've been meaning to do for sometime has to do with John McCain and the anger many conservatives, like myself, have for the man.  It's not that we hate him, as some pundits believe.  It's just that the man comes with a lot of problems. 

We can't object to John McCain's service in the military.  Indeed, his service could be construed as exemplary. 

It is his service as a GOP senator that we have problems with. 

In a word, it's about Loyalty. 

If a person who's supposed to be on your side has little loyalty to it, then his talent and effort serve only your enemies. 

We currently live in a time when the opposition party has behaved deplorably and treasonous.  Not a month goes by when the Democrats say or do something that vents their opposition to American success in not just the war, but to the private sector as well.  They are so fixated on getting power that they are willing to see the country ruined if it'll propel them into the White House. 

So when John McCain joins with some of the biggest reprobates in Congress in the drafting of legislation, it's rather puzzling?  Has he ignored what these people said and did over the past 20 years?  Why is he legitimizing their behavior by joining with them in the name of bipartisanship?  By working with these people he has created the impression among the media that the rest of the GOP are stubborn, obtuse, and unreasonable. 

On any particular issue, even if he votes GOP, he will offer something sympathetic to the liberal cause.   We're in a mortal fight for our republic, and McCain routinely sides with a side committed to defeat in the War on Terror, economic recession, and the abrogation of fundamental liberty. 

So anything this man says now is dubious.  He will say anything that is expedient at the time, and such a man, like the Clintons, is not to be trusted.  Nor is it conservative of him. 

A conservative is a conservative to the marrow of his bones.  He doesn't prioritize anything; he is not a social conservative over a fiscal conservative.  He is both.  And he espouses those principles in every speech he gives and in every interview.  When has McCain really done that without sounding like he was coached?  

Conservatism is grounded in the principles of Freedom, as outlined in the Declaration of Independence.  A compromise with tyranny is an abrogation of freedom, and anyone who does this does not further the cause of freedom. 

A conservative is not out for self-aggrandizement.  He knows there are things out there greater than his own success and fame.  He is not looking for a quick sound bite or accolades from the press.  He is not seeking to please every audience he comes across, tailoring his words to satisfy some aspect of his listeners. 

A conservative knows that the sun does not rise or set at the behest of the capitol.  It is normal Americans who make the country succeed and prosper, not government.  Government often gets in the way, especially when it strays from the specific functions and powers as indicated in Article 1, Section 8. 

To those who believe that John McCain is the only electable choice, and that those of us who adhere to our principles will never find someone that'll satisfy us, I say look at things from our perspective, if you will.  You're ignoring the problems that McCain has, paying no mind to his inherent disloyalty.  You may believe he will get tough on the border, but why do you believe him?  You may believe he will cut taxes, but why do you believe him?  He may cut spending, but why do you believe him?  A man who will compromise on his principles will compromise on anything if he feels he can get some sort of personal advantage from it. 

John McCain is a beltway insider who has become too enamored with power.  Indeed, many in Washington believe they're more important than others that live in other parts of the country.  McCain, like many others in America, has an entitlement issue.  He feels entitled to respect by virtue of the fact that he's a senator and a war hero. 

Respect must always be earned, and disrespecting those whom you intend to lead is not a quality of a good leader.   This is why we don't want McCain as the GOP candidate.  And this is why, should he get the nomination of the GOP, many of us will likely sit this one out and let a Democrat, like Hillary, win the election. 

Better to see the nation burn under the administration of a Democrat than of a Republican.  Then afterward, we'll rebuild.