A Conservative’s Guide: How to Vote for McCain and Know It’s the Right Thing To Do

A lot of conservatives are choking with rage over the prospect of a McCain candidacy and, after so many years of his fingers poking the eyes of the conservative movement, it’s easy to see why. But now he’s pretty much got the nomination sewn up, and it’s time to swallow all the personal animosity generated over the past several years and get on board the “Straight Talk Express”. That doesn’t mean that McCain should have a free pass, or that the man won’t drive conservatives batty over borders or daffy over global warming (less than 8 years left!) – if elected, there will be plenty of opportunities to give McCain hell. But as it stands now, there are reasons to appreciate that alternative McCain provides to the Obamessiah or H. Clinton and reasons why a vote for the man will be the right thing to do:

1) The War. This alone is sufficient reason to support McCain and the rest is gravy. It isn’t so much about Iraq these days. By the time a Democrat can get in the White House to snatch defeat from victory, the road to success might already be irreversible. Plus, there’s the possibility that the Obamessiah or H. Clinton, won’t be so anxious to lose Iraq on his/her watch (not a prudent assumption to make). But nothing is certain and it is still important to support the fledgling democracy. But what about the next central front on the War? Whether it’s Iran or Pakistan or somewhere else, we need a president that is not hesitant about defending our interests – and it is relatively safe to think that McCain will be that type of president. The inexperience of the Obamessiah and H. Clinton would invite unwanted testing by American enemies that are licking their chops at the prospect of a dovish Democrat who thinks the worst blunder in American history was the liberation of Iraqis.

2) Supreme Court appointees – McCain may not be as reliable as Rudy, Romney or Thompson – and he probably won’t appoint the likes of Thomas or Alito – but, at the very least, he should be able to hold the court steady with center right appointees, which is preferable to taking anywhere from 1 to 6 steps back.

3) Pork & Earmarks – McCain is against both. As a Bush Republican, I’ve always felt that Bush was unfairly criticized for “spending like a drunken sailor” – but I have to acknowledge that he has been largely absent (until this year) on the battle against ear-marks. This seems to be a fight that McCain is passionate about and, if effective, he can really advance the conservative cause.

4) Tax Cuts – Despite being against the Bush tax cuts initially, he’s pledged his support to make them permanent. Whether he will or not….who knows.

If McCain is successful in these four areas, then conservatives should be singing his praises. The decision to vote for him is as simple as pie.