Why I'm Supporting John McCain

As many of you who know me already know, I'm a Republican. I'm a pretty steadfast Republican. But I'm also a pretty moderate Republican. In the recent years, and especially in the recent months around the primary election, it's been feeling more and more like the Republican Establishment (referred to as the RE from here on out) doesn't want anything to do with moderate Republicans. They've tried to push us off to the outskirts of the party, only calling us in when they need our vote for their further right candidate. This year, many in the RE have been saying things as follows:

"If John McCain or Mike Huckabee is the Republican nominee, it will destroy the Republican Party."

This specific quote is attributed to Rush Limbaugh, radio loud mouth; but he's not alone in believing this. Sean Hannity has been very hostile towards McCain, and tons of Republican blogs have been equating a vote for McCain as a vote for Hillary (referred to as Hildog from here on out).

Luckily, it seems, the Republican voters in this country are starting to wise up and not give these far right wingnuts the ability to nominate the the republican candidate. And, being as the majority of the country falls somewhere in the middle/moderate category of their respective parties, it's amazing that the RE seems so intent on killing the one remaining moderate candidate they have left.

But, that's not why I'm here. I've already railed against the RE in a previous post. I'm here to list out the reasons why I think John McCain is the best choice to be my party's nominee for President of the United States.

First, John McCain (as well as Mike Huckabee, my second choice), in my eyes, is the most genuine candidate in the field. He always speeks his mind, and never strays from his beliefs. People will point to his views on the Bush Tax Cuts (which he voted against...and now wants to make permanent) and McCain-Kennedy (which gave illegals a path to citizenship...and he now says he heard the voter's wishes and will work to secure the borders first) as McCain Flip-flops. But these are not flip flops. McCain has been very clear as to why he voted against the tax cuts, he wants spending cuts to accompany them. Now that they are around, he doesn't mind extending them as President, since he'll be around to push for spending cuts as well. And, personally, I believe we do need a broad based reform for immigration in this country, and McCain's bill wasn't a terrible idea.

Second, McCain is the best choice among any candidate running for President to successfully manage and help us succeed in the Terrorist's war on us. McCain served in the United States Navy for years. He led combat missions into Vietnam through the air (he was a Naval Aviator), and was also a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years. This stuff is well known. But these experiences, and those of his father and grandfather, taught him many things about warfare, conflict, and the ins and outs of managing a war. He was the main supporter and a vocal advocate of a surge in Iraq well before anyone else was. This surge succeeded in quelling violence and curbing American deaths in the region. McCain is a good military strategist, and he knows what it will take to defeat the terrorists who hope to take our freedom away.

McCain is widely acknowledged among most Republicans as the strongest foreign affairs candidate, both because of his support and good ideas on the war and his many many years in the senate. But he also has many other conservative bone-afides. He is pro second-amendment, and will fight for our right to bear arms. He is for lowering taxes AND lowering spending, which, when coupled together, is the true conservative position on the economy (creating a smaller central government, which, really, is the goal of conservatives). He has fought for the sanctity of life, and is very pro-life (which is a core conservative belief. even if I'm pro-choice, this does prove his conservative credentials). McCain is a Republican. But he is not against bucking the RE and working across the aisle with Democrats to get things accomplished.

One of the main reasons I approve of McCain is this willingness to work with both sides of the aisle to accomplish things in Congress. McCain-Feingold was a campaign finance reform bill he worked with Democrats on. While the bill itself hasn't exactly worked as he intended it, I commend him for trying to reform campaigns, because they need it. McCain has also attacked pork-barrel legislation, or the tacking on of financial pet projects to other bills in the hopes of getting them passed. Pork-barrel legislation increases the budget a ton every year, and is one of the reasons why we continuously have a national debt. It needs to be curbed.

Another hot button issue for the RE is immigration reform. The RE wants to kick every illegal out of the country, no questions asked, as fast as possible. This is idiotic. As much as illegal immigration undermines our economy by placing an added burden on our social programs, they fill jobs we desperately need filled and that most Americans do not want to do. McCain is the only candidate on the Republican side who has actively worked to create comprehensive immigration reform. While his final bill ended up emphasizing the path to citizenship for illegals, he does recognize the need to secure the borders. I think he's right on in his belief for a guest worker program for people who want to come here, and is also right to look into giving families who have been here for a while a path to citizenship. Kicking everyone out of the country isn't going to solve anything. McCain knows this and will work for immigration reform that makes sense.

Next, the big swing factor in my decision to back McCain is his unwavering support of nuclear power. Two things drive this thought. First, all the coal and natural gas power plants create tons of pollution. So, we need to find a source of energy that is cleaner. While there are alternatives, like solar and wind; none of these can create the mass scale power this country needs to survive. Nuclear can. Second, we get most of our oil from the middle east, an area of the world where we aren't very popular. The ability to generate our own power and get away from having to buy much of our oil from people who may want to do us harm would be amazing, and nuclear is the option that allows this to happen. John McCain is the only candidate to come out strongly for nuclear power, and for that I support him.

Finally, McCain is a moderate. The two Democratic candidates are rather liberal (Obama was rated the most liberal senator in 2007, Hildog is one of the most hated Democrats in the world among Republicans and many Independants). A moderate like John McCain has the unique ability to not only get the conservative vote (especially if they get their heads out of their asses), but also grab a majority of the Independant vote. He could even grab a small portion of the Democratic vote if Hildog is the nominee from people who just don't like the Clintons. McCain is, by far, the most electable Republican in November. If Republicans want to hold onto the White House in 2009 and beyond, they will rally around John McCain in 2008.