Senator McCain on Immigration and ‘Other Issues’
The crowd may have responded in a positive way and certainly a brief response may avoid gaffs but Senator John McCain does have some way to go to convince conservatives of his intentions. The remainder of this brief report from the AP suggests conservatives dislike McCain’s stand on ‘campaign finance, immigration and other issues.’ It would have been better to leave off ‘other issues’ or list them. It would have been better to say that most accounts state that McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform was flawed but not necessarily that conservatives disagree with the sentiment of campaign finance reform. The US Supreme Court ruled to err on the side of free speech rather than restrict issue ads. And there certainly is a rift between Senator John McCain and conservatives opposed to amnesty for illegal aliens.
But Senator McCain is not the only member of the GOP supporting amnesty. It would be fair to say that President Bush and some other Republicans favor that position. Support of amnesty by members of either major party seems to be more a function of vote getting than one of a social issue or moral question. The conservative approach to it would be following the rule of law.
So, Senator McCain, if you truly intend to oppose the ‘lure of socialistic programs promoted by Senator Barack Obama’ as stated in the woman’s question in the report below, you should start by declaring that as President you would not sign any legislation providing amnesty for illegal aliens. The sad state of affairs on immigration may be that all legislation put forth to correct the problem was done so knowing full well it would die in the Senate. That would give weak-kneed politicians political cover to support measures doomed to fail.
The view from this blog on the Presidential election is not one of optimism. It is merely a struggle to minimize the damage from a change in the White House. While Senator Obama is a sure bet for disaster, voting for Senator McCain is only an option if you can convince him you won’t unless he guarantees doing the right thing on immigration and some ‘other issues’. But the problem is not unlike electing any other candidate. Once they’re in office how do you persuade them to hold up their end? Simply voting against them the next time is not an effective answer.
August 16th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I think McCain would be a great commander-in-chief, but that is about the only area I agree with him on. That’s not enough for me to cast my vote for him. Not that Obama is getting my vote, because every single bit of his platform is socialistic at best. I think the Libertarians are too isolationist, but that is the ONLY thing I disagree with them on.
August 16th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Another presidential election where the selection is problematic. As it sits now I have to vote for McCain. While I voted for neither Dems or GOP in some elections in the past, candidates outside the two major parties or write-ins seem to be a wasted vote or worse yet, a vote for the candidate I least want to see in office.
My hope is, as I stated in some posts here, is that McCain’s bad points can be controlled to some degree by Congress and public reaction and more necessary, action, like the amnesty defeat last summer