Preview of a McCain Presidency : Schwarzenegger in California
By Martin A. Knight Posted in Archived | bipartisanship | McCain — Comments (15) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Arnold is the primary source of heartburn for California Republicans. From his going around calling himself "post-partisan", his stated desire to see Democratic approval numbers up - even at the expense of his "fellow" Republicans, his very Lefty views and policies on the environment and healthcare, and all the way back to hiring a very partisan former Executive Director of the California Democratic Party to be his Chief of Staff, as sure as anything, the man is on course to be the worst thing that could have ever happened to the state party that produced Ronald Reagan.
And to be perfectly honest, for me the Republican candidate that I believe would give us an Administration at the national level that would be most like that of the obstensibly Republican Schwarzenegger in California is John McCain.
McCain's all too willing penchant for crossing the aisle "to get things done" - never mind whether or not those "things" are the right "things" - worshipping at the altar of so-called "bipartisanship" and his constant seeking of the approval of the Press Corps in every other area apart from Foreign/Defense Policy is going to be the cause of all sorts of heartbreak for Conservatives should he win the Presidency. If any of our candidates has proven himself to be susceptible to the elected official's version of the Greenhouse effect, John McCain is it.
Contrary to what most McCain supporters would have people believe, McCain's rationale for opposing the Bush tax cuts was that they were "tax cuts for the rich" and he got oodles of good press for his use of Democratic talking points. Spending as a reason was tacked on as an afterthought just preceding the current campaign, when McCain realized that his 2000 campaign's tactic of alienating Republicans and courting the Beltway Press Corps just might not win him the Republican nomination.
Personally, I honestly don't think that McCain has the intestinal fortitude to stand up to a hostile Press Corps on anything outside of those two areas of core competency and experience (Defense and Foreign Policy). That poses a serious problem. First of all, there's no doubt that when he crosses the Democrats in Congress, the Press is going to be firmly on the other side. I have no confidence that he will stand fast in the face of the potent (especially for him) siren calls from newspaper editorial pages pleading with him to ignore the "forces of intolerance" i.e. Conservatives, and be a "maverick."
Let's be honest here; in the past seven years, all the way up to the immigration battles, how many instances have there been where the pleas of the base got nearly half as much attention from John McCain as the views expressed on the New York Times editorial page? If it wasn't for the fact that almost every other GOP Senator paid attention to the base and pulled us back from the brink, McCain would never have deigned to figure out why we objected to Z-visas and chump change fines.
I need not point out that John McCain's appeal to "moderates" and "Independents", which is supposed to be a key selling point of his candidacy is entirely based on the hagiographical articles the Press rewarded him with every single time he thumbed his nose at the Right. What happens when they turn full-square against him? What happens when he's no longer "the maverick?" How confident is anybody here that we're not going to see him push Republican leaders in Congress for more of the same nauseating compromises with Tom Daschle, Ted Kennedy, Russ Feingold, Chuck Schumer and Pat Leahy he built his "maverick" reputation on?
The effect of this is that I think he is far more likely to punt and look for a "consensus moderate" candidate for the Supreme Court rather than try to fight for a conservative in the Senate. Ted Kennedy would get to write a HUGE amount of legislation with every confidence they'll be signed into law. He will sign an embryonic stem cell bill if (more likely, when) it gets to his desk, together with his judicial picks very likely depressing pro-life turn out for 2010. Tightening up McCain-Feingold to make it even more restrictive of free speech is a foregone conclusion and any hope for energy exploration, no matter how environmentally responsible, is in a coma until he is out of office.
I would vote for McCain if it is him versus any Democrat come November - he is a great patriot, worthy of respect and certainly better than any of the side's candidates running for their nomination. But I have to ask if it is really true that any of the other candidates for the nomination are so far behind him in the mastery of Defense and Foreign Policy issues that he is actually worth the risk of having a Republican President regularly siding with the Democrats in the name of "bipartisanship" and clashing with the base on a myriad of other issues, from taxes to judges, for the next four years (at the least).
Just look at Arnold and the California GOP.
As for judges, it will give the WaPo and NYT a thrill to vet his nominees, too.
It could be worse. McCain could have married a Kennedy. :)
...a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right...
---Thomas Paine---
But they certainly pair up often enough to suit me. Actually more than enough. (And of course I'm referring to the John and Ted show.)
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
He had the intestinal fortitude to stand up to the North Vietnamese while a guest at the Hanoi Hilton but he'll knuckle under to the 'hostile press corps' that you insist loves him so much. Is a Republican President only effective if he pisses off the opposition...and most of the world's population? Bipartisanship isn't normally a dirty word, unless you're Karl Rove that is.
I'm not questioning McCain's physical bravery - I lack even the imagination to think I can endure what he endured in Vietnam.
It takes an entirely different type of courage to stand up to the threat of calumniation and even more to resist appeals to one's vanity - the classic carrot and stick. McCain loves seeing laudatory articles about him in the Press - and after seven years of watching him lurch Left on multiple issues in pursuit of them, yes, I doubt he has the fortitude to withstand the Press Corps.
Is a Republican President only effective if he pisses off the opposition ...
No. He doesn't have to piss them off ... he just needs to be ready and unafraid to do so when necessary. McCain seems to take the opposite track, to be an effective Republican President one has to piss off your own side and unite with the opposition.
... and most of the world's population?
When has an American President ever failed to piss off the rest of the world?
Bipartisanship isn't normally a dirty word ...
I don't think it's a dirty word. I just don't care much for the concept - it's simply not important. What I really dislike though is the idea that has permeated the Beltway that "bipartisan" is synonymous for good. Bad legislation is bad legislation even if it is supported by bipartisan majorities. Good legislation is good legislation even if it comes to pass strictly along party lines.
Capiche?
... unless you're Karl Rove that is.
I do appreciate compliments. Thank you.
for victory in Iraq when support for the war was at an all-time low this past year...
W.C. Fields for President!
www.shortenurl.com/7cxfm
McCain against the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003.
McCain for McCain-Feingold and limiting free speech.
McCain for human embryo stem cell research.
McCain thinks pharmaceutical companies are bad guys - voted for Sarbanes-Oxley that is hurting small business.
McCain is against repealing the death tax.
McCain supports forced government regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.
McCain voted against drilling in Anwar.
McCain would raise social security taxes.
McCain would allow invaders [illegal immigrants] to stay indefinitely after [haha] paying a fine, BUT don't you dare call it amnesty!
McCain would rather thousands [millions with a nuke] of Americans die than pour water up a terrorists nose for thirty seconds - something all SEALS go through as part of their training.
McCain thinks being chummy and cooperating with Ted Kennedy is cool.
This is a conservative?
Back when the tax cuts were being debated and I still really liked McCain, it's my personal recollection that he *did* indeed bring up spending as the primary reason for opposing the tax cuts. Given that I've believed since the Reagan era that tax cuts are good, as long as they're accompanied by spending cuts, I seriously doubt I'd have been as happy with McCain's opposition at the time (and I *was* definitely happy with him then...) if it was just about "tax cuts for the rich".
That said, McCain isn't my first choice anymore, in part because of some of the reasons you mentioned, but the tax cuts aren't one of them.
There are a ton of quotes from 2000-2003 where he opposes the tax cuts because they benefited the rich. He ran a campaign ad in 2000 in NH and SC where that was the primary criticism. And keep in mind we had a projected surplus in 2000 when he first started ripping on W's tax cuts, so the deficit excuse doesn't work there.
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Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman
He's pretty much the only candidate that has a chance of winning in the general for the GOP this year. I guess you'd rather have a Democrat than a moderate Republican. Cool. That suits me just fine.
McCain won't sniff the presidency. He'll be the GOP's next Bob Dole or the GOP version of John Kerry (with a legit war record). If he gets the nomination it'll be because "it's his turn" and is a "consensus" candidate as the field is so split and he sorta close enough to nominate, but the GOP at large (who don't all vote in the primaries) won't have anything to get excited about and will stay home come election time.
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Halls of Justice Painted Green, Money Talking.
Power Wolves Beset Your Door, Hear Them Stalking.
He's already been the squad leader who took one for the team.
If he wins, won't he be the first active duty Vietnam veteran to become president?
Guns don't kill people, abortions kill people.
instead of getting someone better than George W, we are going backwards.
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Thou art the Great Cat, the avenger of the Gods, and the judge of words...-Inscription on the Royal Tombs at Thebes