Part Two

Part Two
Reagan made all kinds of excellent points, because he was a very clear, very principled thinker who knew how to win because he knew how to lead. The ideas and principles of conservatism are alive and well today. The reason most Republicans are having a hard time with the current candidates is because none of them are what people have been calling “real conservatives”. However, remember what the Gipper use to say:
- Who is the most conservative person we have that can be elected?
- Someone who agrees with me 70% of the time is my friend not my enemy.

So based on that let’s look at those who are electable.

Unfortunately from what I can see there are only two left that really have a shot and they are McCain and Romney.

So let’s look at McCain:
Social Conservatism:
- Good record for being pro-life. However, he has made several public statements saying that Roe v Wade should not be overturned. This is disturbing at best. His record of “reaching across the aisle” also disturbs me on this one. Quite frankly the main thing that we need from a president on this one is someone who will nominate strict constructionist judges who will uphold the original intent of the constitution. McCain was a leader of the “Gang of 14”. As one of the seven Republicans he negotiated a deal with Democrats. Now, this deal did get us Roberts and Alito, but it left the UNCONSTITUTIONAL practice of filibustering judicial nominees intact. I give him a mixed review on this one, though leaning toward the positive.

Fiscal Conservatism:
- Again, somewhat of a mixed review. He traditionally resists pork and has vowed to veto any bill with pork in it. This is a good first step. He has also said that he will cut spending in the federal government. All sounds good. However he voted against the Bush tax cuts that were desperately needed and backs the global warming movement that could be very dangerous to our economy and is based on emotion rather than scientific fact. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t research alternative fuels. I think that’s a great idea for businesses to do. But it’s not the job of the federal government and restrictive environmental policies are damaging to our economy. He also voted against environmentally friendly development of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, that would help to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil. Again, a pretty mixed review.

National Defense Conservatism:
- Still a mixed bag, although I have to give McCain a lot of credit on this one. He knows what is at stake in the war on terror and in Iraq and Afghanistan. I just don’t know how his very loose border policy can be good for national defense when terrorists can just march across. He has listened to the people (at least a little) on this one and is saying that he will build a fence and beef up security first. This is a lot better than the failed immigration bill last summer.

Over all:
- McCain is a war hero. He suffered terribly for this country over years. He had the opportunity to come home at one point, but refused to leave without his other brothers in arms and continued to suffer because of his decision including horrible injuries and multiple broken bones. He is a very straight talking person for the most part, despite over two decades in Washington. He will do what he thinks is right, no matter what the implications are. That is the sign of a leader and McCain is definitely a leader. He has supported some bad stuff over the years. McCain-Feingold hid more of the money in politics instead of getting it out. The McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill last summer was a disaster. I’m not sure how great he would be for the Republican Party or the conservative cause. But, I do know he would be better than ANY of the Dems who would all take us further toward secular socialism, bigger government, higher taxes, pro-abortion judges and a destroyed healthcare system.