- Posted by Christopher Estep on August 28, 2008
As far as Romney being qualified and capable to be President of the United States (POTUS), I think he's the most qualified and capable of any of the candidates of either party, including my own first choice of Fred Thompson. The only other candidates that come close as far as qualifications are Mike Huckabee and Bill Richardson, with Richardson's qualifications being the best (even better than Romney). I'm not saying I'd ever want either one in the oval office, just that both are qualified.
Having said that, I sincerely hope that McCain doesn't choose Romney as his veep choice. I think that would be a mistake on a variety of levels. It's an unfortunate reality that "ready to be President" is so easily overshadowed by political considerations. In order to BE vice-president, you have to get elected vice-president, and Romney is unelectable.
Boring White Guy
I realize that any white guy that is selected by McCain will fit the "boring white guy" mold. It's just that Romney is the poster-child for "boring white guy".
Class Warfare
The democrats have already started the "out-of-touch rich guy" theme and Romney would only add to that perception. It's more than a little ironic that it is the fact that he's a rich guy that makes Romney a good candidate and at the same time a bad candidate. The democrats and their media puppets are good at painting republicans as out-of-touch and let's get real here. Middle America really isn't going to easily relate to the rich white Mormon from Boston.
Mormonism
Romney's religion is the elephant in the room that people wish they could ignore. Being a
Latter-day Saint (
Mormon) myself, I understand better than most that it is BECAUSE of his faith that he would be a good POTUS. Mormons are raised being taught the value of serving your fellow man and have been loyal patriotic Americans for over 150 years. Likewise we are taught to respect diversity of opinion, even if some in Utah and elsewhere forget that from time-to-time. As a bishop and a stake president, Romney has worked with people from all stations and walks of life it triumph and tragedy and on a very personal and individual level. So make no mistake, Romney's religion helps his qualifications even though many don't see it. However...there's always a however...
Mormonism is still widely misunderstood and maligned by others who think they do understand it. Without turning this into a list of reasons why people oppose us, it's sufficient to say that these misunderstanding lead to us being called racist, cultist, polygamist, anti-christian, brainwashed, and so forth. Whether these characterizations are accurate or not (they are not), is wholly irrelevant.
Whether we like it or not (that is, Mormons or Romney supporters), the perception is there and the controversy is there. In the land of politics, truth amounts to a retraction on page 5 of section C while the damage of the front page headline has already done it's work. Every rumor, slur, accusation or wrongdoing that has ever been alleged against the LDS Church or a leader will be thrown out. There are religious bigots in the conservative movement, too. Some are just misinformed, others are wilfully bigotted. Regardless, the numbers are not inconsequential. We, as a party, cannot afford to have a candidate who will drive
away parts of its base, any more than it already has.
My Recommendation
As odd as this may seem, I think the most sensible choice for a VP would be Mike Huckabee. Huckabee may not be conservative enough for many, but he's more conservative than McCain and he's definitely pro-life and pro-second amendment. He also isn't rich, which takes away one more reason to criticize the ticket. He's a "typical white guy" but Huckabee has something that a lot of politicians don't have and that's an easy rapport with average people. Huckabee also has a quick mind and a great sense of humor. Yes, it gets him in trouble at times (like at CPAC) but as a VP candidate that can be brushed off.
Huckabee can do something that no other potential prospect can do and that's bring religious conservatives on board. He's an excellent speaker and I think can really help at the grassroots level. While he may not be the fundraiser that Romney is, he can excite people.
It won't happen, but that's my take.
- Posted by Christopher Estep on February 7, 2008
I just felt the need to point to this political eulogy (though obviously, Mitt can try again in 4 years) that was done by one of Mitt's earliest supporters, Hugh Hewitt, to the point of writing a book.
He did say something though that I completely disagree with:
The campaign ahead is first and foremost about victory in the war. As Romney argued today, Senators Clinton and Obama are committed to retreat, and Senator McCain to victory in that war. That's all the reason any conservative should need to fully support Senator McCain now that his nomination is assured.
I do not and I will not accept the one-issue litmus test, even when I agree with what's being tested. By Hugh's (and others' standards) Joe Lieberman is a suitable GOP candidate, too! you can substitute any issue for "victory in the war" and justify supporting a candidate.
I say without hesitation that there are things more important than this campaign or the next campaign. Things like preserving conservatism as a viable political force. Things like restoring the GOP to what it should be, and that's the polar opposite of liberalism. And the most important thing is to stop the glacial slide toward socialism and liberalism that the country is heading. A McCain presidency would cement his views in the Republican Party and make returning to the right a near impossibility. A lot more is at stake than Iraq, a few judges, and some taxes. I'm talking about the next 50 years or more!
Woodrow Wilson, FDR, and Lyndon Johnson enacted dramatic changes to our system that because of the leftward shift they caused are now so accepted that it's unfathomable to undo them, yet there is no conservative today who would support those programs. Socialism has become so accepted that it is virtually unopposed. A McCain presidency absolutely precludes that opposition because his election would legitimize those liberal policies that we oppose so strongly. What is now merely "conservative" would quickly become "radical" and be even more marginalized than McCain himself attempts to do with the willing MSM.
We shouldn't sell our souls just to have a president with an (R) after his name. We need to stand for something.
Tell me, conservatives. If we back John McCain, what are we standing for? How liberal is too liberal? Where do we draw the line?
This country can't afford to compromise everything we've stood for just so we can win one or two issues. We've been defined and vilified by the media and liberals for too long. We've allowed egomaniacal panderers like McCain spit in our face for too long. How can we claim any moral high ground if we let McCain beat us like Tina Turner at every opportunity and repay him by saying, "Hit me again, Ike! This time put some stank on it!" and support his candidacy?
John McCain's conservative overtures are nothing more than Ike saying, "I'm sorry, baby. I was wrong. I shouldn't have hit you like that. You made me do it, but I won't do it again, I promise." Gee, do you think Ike would hit her again? Do you really think for even a moment that McCain won't abandon anything remotely conservative at the first opportunity?
What does it profit us to gain the White House only to lose the country and what we believe in?
- Posted by Christopher Estep on February 7, 2008
After hours of speculation, NBC has confirmed it.
Crap!
I understand it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I know he doesn't want to throw good money after bad, but after what was done to him in WV, I really didn't want to see him go out before the Huckster.
Oh well. Guess I better take the banner on the left down later.
I'm still not going to vote for McCain though. The only way I would ever vote McCain is if Romney or Thompson were his running mate because I don't think McCain is going to serve his whole term.
- Posted by Christopher Estep on February 7, 2008
I took yesterday off from blogging in order to calm down and assess what I'm actually feeling about the inevitability of John McCain. I said some things in the heat of the moment that may require reexamination. So I took yesterday to take stock of those words and thoughts and I can tell you that nothing has changed.
There is still no way that I can, or will vote for or support John McCain and will actively work against him and other liberal republicans that should come my way.
Some will say that to do so would be to sell out the country because of my own ideology, or to make a point. This is not so. I believe that the defeat of John McCain is one of the only ways we can save this country, long term.
Since Newt Gingrich was forced out of office, the GOP has been drifting to the left, symptomatic of the inside-the-beltway culture of social popularity which defines a persons standing by how "reasonable" they are as judged by the main stream media and liberals in general. It takes men of strong resolve and character to resist the temptation of popular media accolades and stick to their principles. Unfortunately, it's been a long time since we've any any leadership in that regard.
Whether it's the party leadership in Congress or the White House, the party (and as a result, the country) has been sold out to curry favor with whatever cause the media is championing that given day. President Bush, while deserving much credit for his prosecution of the GWOT has skewered conservatives on such topics as illegal immigration, No Child Left Behind, Medicare Prescription plan and so forth. Fortunately, that is in large part balanced by the appointment of two outstanding SCOTUS justices, Alito and Roberts.
Now we have John McCain as the presumptive GOP nominee and going to great lengths to try to convince us that he's conservative. He is not! And here is a major reason why I will continue to actively oppose McCain. He is trying to redefine both the Grand Old Party as well as conservatism.
I have no doubt that the cure for what ails this country is a conservative agenda that is firmly and unashamedly promoted. It is the only way we can keep the USA out of a decades-long socialist/fascist morass and it's the only way we can ever retreat from the communist flirtation of the left.
In order for this to happen, there has to be a viable home for conservatives and John McCain is on the cusp of rendering us homeless. I don't believe that McCain spells the end of the GOP, but he does spell the end of a conservative GOP. There is more to conservatism than being pro-military and anti-spending. McCain does not and obviously will never understand that. So if he is elected, it is McCain's definition along with W's faux-conservatism that will define what the GOP stands for. And those of us who are genuine conservatives will feel increasingly more alienated and irrelevant to our own party. We will be displaced.
Having a GOP that is more liberal, more socialist, and more taxing is bad not just for the short-term but worse for the long-term. Once we go down that road, it will take a major catastrophe to swing the pendulum the other direction. Nobody wants that.
We must have a strong conservative GOP. We must remain not just A FORCE but THE FORCE to be reckoned with on the political spectrum. A McCain presidency will send the conservative movement into a spiral from which it will not recover for decades. THIS is why a McCain presidency must be opposed!
But what about the liberal judges, policies, etc. that will come with a liberal administration. Yes, that will be painful and yes it will cause harm, but to allow conservatism to be dismissed the way McCain has done will cause even more harm because there will be no clear opposition to socialism and liberal causes (such as militant environmentalism). It is better to suffer some pain now than to endure massive injury later.
Without opposing McCain we suborn the acceptance of the policies we oppose. Things like open-borders, militant environmentalism, and class-warfare will no longer be debatable policies but will be accepted norms the same way entitlements have become norms. That can't be allowed to happen.
But apart from just opposing McCain and sticking to our guns, there are things we as conservatives can do and Michelle Malkin does an excellent job of pointing them out:
On Wednesday, wielding his olive branch like a schoolmarm’s ruler, Sen. McCain told conservatives to “calm down.” My advice is exactly the opposite: Get fired up.
Some on the Right advise their readers and listeners to vote Democrat or sit home. My advice is exactly the opposite: Get off the couch and walk the walk for conservative candidates and officeholders who need all the help they can get defending free markets, free minds, and secure borders—no matter who takes the White House in November.
I couldn't have said it better. This isn't about the next four years and this isn't about the White House. This is about values and principles that we conservatives have and must defend! Four years is 1/10 of my life. That's nothing. I intend to live another 50 years and if I have to suffer for four years to survive the other 46, I am eager to do that.
We conservatives are at a turning point! We can either "calm down" and "hold our nose" to put John McCain in office and set our party back 50 years in the process, or we can say without equivocation that we are conservatives! We can say that we will not be dismissed! We will not allow the GOP to do to us what the Democrats have done to black voters!!! If the party wants our support then we must be heard before a nominee is anointed, not treated like the petulant child who must me calmed down with a lollipop.
John McCain didn't need us or want us in order to secure this nomination. He accused candidates of "sucking up" to conservatives. He told baseless lies about a (near) conservative candidate even after repeatedly proven to be wrong. He rigged an election that he couldn't win just so the conservative would lose! He has consistently opposed the GOP in general and conservatives specifically for the last 8 years (at least). And now McCain thinks he's going to "make nice" with us by going to CPAC today, a conference he has consistently avoided? He thinks that by saying he will be conservative he will win us over (in spite of his record) and use us to propel him to power??
Oh, I don't think so!!!
John McCain cannot be allowed to further twist the GOP into a shadow of its former self! He must be opposed by conservatives. I would rather see a liberal who admits he's a liberal than a moderate-liberal who says he's conservative.
But we must also actively and strongly support any conservative candidate of good character for any office, even if he/she probably won't win! We should give to conservative PAC's and 527 groups that will promote our values! And we must put up conservative candidates for all races, even where the likelihood of winning is slim.
The Reagan Revolution is over. The old guard has moved to the left and they have turned their back on what Reagan truly stood for and did. We need to move past Ronald Reagan and start anew.
The Reagan Revolution may be over, but the New Conservative Revolution has just begun!!
- Posted by Christopher Estep on February 5, 2008
I had thought that when Ann Coulter said that she would campaign for Hillary if McCain got the nomination that she was just using hyperbole to make a point. I wondered how any conservative could make such a suggestion.
And then John McCain rigged an election in WV:
But before Huckabee’s surprising turnaround at the convention, McCain delegates told FOX News they had been instructed by the campaign to throw their support to Huckabee.
McCain delegate John Vuolo said former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer approached him and other McCain supporters at the convention and told them he had spoken to McCain, and that the best thing to do was to support Huckabee in the hope that Huckabee could beat Romney in this winner-take-all state.
I'm still in shock that McCain would stoop to such a level. And don't even try to tell me that this isn't rigging an election, because it is. He's manipulating the outcome to hurt his opponent. Had McCain actually dropped out and threw his support to Huckabee, that would have been different. But he didn't. Instead he colluded and conspired to throw the election.
McCain's supporters weren't convinced that Huckabee was the better man! They thought nothing of the sort! Their only motive was to hurt Romney because they know Huckabee can't win! In business, this is illegal. It is the sort of things that people get indicted for and sent to prison. You can't hurt yourself in order to hurt your opponent more. It's anti-competitive and highly illegal.
Thanks to this little scumbag maneuver, there is no possible way that I will ever vote for McCain. I would vote for Ralph Nader first. This sort of manipulation of an election is something that I would expect from a third-world country, not from someone who thinks he should be called a hero. I said yesterday that I didn't think Barack Obama would disgrace the office of President of the United States, even though he's a flaming liberal bent on creating a totalitarian fascist liberal utopia. I can't say that anymore about John McCain because McCain already has disgraced the office of the President even before he gets a real chance to get in.
I can't even contemplate the crimes he would commit during a presidency when he would do this now, when he's ahead in the polls and the delegates. It's the kind of behavior that makes me literally fear for the safety of this country. Who's to say that he would start whacking foreign leaders or diplomats who disagreed with him? I can't even begin to consider the danger he now poses.
I knew McCain probably had some lingering issues due to his captivity and torture, but I never thought he would ever go this low. It's erratic, rash, and in one fell swoop he has shown himself to be the most dangerous person in the entire race. With judgment like this, it is no wonder he never made Admiral. They likely knew that he was erratic and couldn't be trusted with that kind of authority.
John McCain is a disgrace to his office and to the very uniform that he throws in everyone's face.
- Posted by Christopher Estep on February 1, 2008
Most of what people know of John McCain is what he wants them to know. That's where McCain has been a shrewd and successful politician. Unfortunately, it is the most shrewd politicians who are the most deceitful and McCain certainly ranks among them.
The public perception of McCain has admittedly been my own. It was when I started seeing more and more evidence of a tragically flawed character, my view of him changed dramatically and not for the better. Like most people, I became blinded by the myth, a myth that McCain has deliberately crafted for political advantage. Like most people, here's what I thought of when I thought of McCain:
- War Hero & PoW
- Honest & honorable
- blunt and forthright
- A "maverick" unconcerned with opinions
- A man of unwavering character
Some of these are accurate but others are just plain wrong.
You only have to watch any of the debates to hear people talk about McCain being a hero and such an honorable man and so forth. Candidates can't wait to say something about his honor. But why is that? The answer to that lies in McCain's own emphasis, which is to say that McCain is milking his status as a former PoW for all that it's worth. I don't use the word "milking" lightly either. It's one thing to say that he reminds people of it, but he takes every opportunity to bring it up and especially uses it as a means of changing the subject or silencing a critic because everyone knows that it would be politically incorrect to say anything negative about a PoW. It's not unlike the cartoon character that dons a pair of spectacles and says, "You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you?"
It's understandable that McCain would want to place so much emphasis on his PoW status. He has a lot of other things that he doesn't want people to bring up.
- John McCain had extra-marital affairs which, even by his own admission, had nothing to do with Vietnam. While those are indeed behind him, it shatters the "honorable soldier" myth. It should also be mentioned that adultery is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice under which he was serving. I'm just saying.
- McCain was a discipline problem at Annapolis and received over 100 demerits each year and graduated 5th from the bottom of his class. Much has been made of Bush's "C average" in graduate school, but nobody dares say a thing about McCain being the 5th worst midshipman in his class.
- McCain had to retire as a Captain. His father and grandfather were both admirals. As a decorated war-hero, for him not to become a flag officer must have felt like a huge failure. Further, it's entirely possible that he had other problems that led to him not being promoted, which failure to be promoted prompted his retirement.
- The only real civilian job that McCain ever had was in his 2nd father-in-law's beer business.
- The Keating 5 scandal.
He uses his PoW status as a means to hide from a mediocre college career, the failure to reach admiral like his dad and grandfather, his infidellity, and his bribes.
Don't let anyone forget the Keating scandal. John McCain would not have escaped that if it hadn't been for two things:
- He went to the MSM and appeared on every TV show he could find and proclaimed his innocence. Sound familiar? If he says something long enough people will believe it and that's precisely why he repeats his lies after he's been caught.
- The Gulf War started and he was suddenly "the" expert for the Republicans because he was not only military, he gave anyone in the media access and that's what the MSM likes.
McCain should have been run out on a rail that year and conservatives shouldn't let people forget it before Tuesday.
And his lies? Well, I could compile a list, but that's hard to do where I'm seated at the moment and I'm sure there are more and more lists every day. I'll pick two:
- McCain has said in debates that he was "the only one on this stage to endorse the surge" and even when the others proved him wrong he said "no you weren't". That is a complete fabrication and it's mythbuilding, something at which McCain excels.
- McCain accused Romney (repeatedly) of supporting a withdrawal from Iraq, something that McCain intentionally pulled out of context to make Romney sound bad. When Romney disputed it and Anderson Cooper read the entire quote, McCain wouldn't relent. He kept saying, "timetables were a code word for withdrawal" even though Romney had said specifically in the interview to which McCain refers that he wouldn't support a withdrawal.
We need to pull the rose-colored glasses off the electorate and let them see McCain for who he really is. He is an opportunistic man of questionable character who peddled influence to the highest bidder and then championed "campaign finance reform" to cover his own butt and make people forget Keating.
John McCain is a disgrace because of Keating and will say whatever he has to say (including lying even when he's caught red-handed) in order to prove to his dead father and grandfather that he's not a failure and will also be a high-ranking military commander, even if he has to jump the chain-of-command to do it.
Don't let yourself be blinded by his robotic recital of "foot soldier in the Reagan revolution" and "largest squadron in the navy" into thinking he is anything more than a liar who craves power.
- Posted by Christopher Estep on January 31, 2008
As I said previously, Republicans fall in line and that's precisely what Rudy is doing now that voters in Florida popped that big ego of his and showed him that no, he's not America's Mayor.
Sources also say that the Govenator is next. Oh, there's a big shock! If he were any more of a RINO, his last name would be Specter. Or...well, McCain actually.
I really hate that John McCamera is going to be getting the nomination unless Mitt pulls a miracle out of his...um...hat. Mitt has a good organization, but it doesn't include any Washington insiders. That is proving to be a mistake, likely a fatal one.
- Posted by Christopher Estep on January 28, 2008
Obviously, I wasn't able to liveblog Thursday night, nor have I been able to blog at all since then. Sorry about that. I'm back on track at least and here are a few comments on the debate in Boca.
- Mitt Romney - He was on message and didn't make any gaffes. I was particularly impressed that he stated plainly that he is prepared to hit back at Clinton and it wouldn't be pretty. I like seeing his backbone like this.
- Rudy Giuliani - He stunk up the place. He's circling the bowl along with Huckabee.
- Huckabee - He had the best night of all of them. He was typically funny, but I thought he shone best when he cogently explained the Flat Tax (twice) and especially didn't allow Russert to get him off message.
- McCain - He was worse than Rudy. Everything out of his mouth was "Rumsfeld" and it's getting old. He looked the absolute worst when he was humiliated by Ron Paul who asked him if he was going to abolish a certain advisory committee and McCain obviously had no clue what it was and circled his wagons by saying, "I have good advisors" and so forth.
I don't think the debate will have had much effect by tomorrow, but it was still a good debate.
- Posted by Christopher Estep on January 24, 2008
I'm going to try my hand at liveblogging for the first time tonight with the GOP debate being broadcast on OlbermannTV MSNBC and streamed at msnbc.com. I don't know how it will go, or even if I'll ever do it again. Regardless, it's worth a shot and it could be fun.
I would encourage anyone remotely interested in politics to watch it. It promises to be a very good debate, regardless of who's running it. Brian Williams isn't too bad, thought Chris Matthews will be doing the after-show McCain Party analysis.
Why it will be a good debate:
- This has to be the debate of Rudy's entire life. His political career literally hinges on this debate because he put every egg he has in Florida and he doesn't have the cash to continue long without an infusion that a Florida win would give him.
- Rudy's in 3rd place.
- McCain is now in 2nd place in some polls.
- Romney is actually gaining support.
- Huckabee is also fighting for his life. If he can have a good showing in Florida, it will help his money situation. He knows he's going to lose there so there is no delegate to be gained, but he's showing his followers that he hasn't given up. In a sense, the Florida campaign for him is partly designed to hold his organization together.
- Clinton/Obama have set the stage for debates to be "taken up" another notch.
- John McCain and Huckabee both have nasty tempers. Conversely, Romney and Giuliani are both very measured.
My predictions for the debate:
- McCain will begin to lose his temper if Romney (or the moderators) start calling his immigration plan "Amnesty".
- Huckabee will try to look relevant, but the candidates will largely ignore him.
- Romney will be said to have "won" the debate because there's really very little anyone can say to rattle him. The economy is the big issue and nobody is better on it than Romney
- Posted by Christopher Estep on January 23, 2008
Amy Goldstein at American Thinker has a really good article on why the other candidates hate Mitt:
Have you noticed how all of the Republican candidates can barely conceal their contempt for Governor Mitt Romney? It goes way beyond the typical good-natured competition that usually is the hallmark of Republican contests. Senator McCain has snarled at Governor Romney in debates and Gov. Huckabee has tried to paint Romney as cold and uncaring, while Sen. Fred Thompson attacked Governor Romney right out of the box. This display of hatred usually is the hallmark of the Democrats.
And that's a very good point and a question I've wondered myself. She goes on to give some very interesting reasons.