Sad Times for McCain, Sad Times for the GOP

To your great relief (of this I am sure), I have returned.

I haven’t updated this blog for quite a few weeks now. The hiatus was originally scheduled and began with my vacation to Washington D.C. It just so happens that the break in blogging became a bit more extended then originally anticipated. This was for various reasons, none of which I'm going to get in to right now because, frankly, all responsible reasons are fairly mundane. Before we continue, however, I want to direct you to the photo tour that I threw together using pictures that I took while in the Nation’s Capital.

The D.C. Photo Tour as developed by “DCRunningMan,” as I thought was an appropriate self-title, can be accessed HERE. I really encourage you to check it out. Despite the dire predictions forecasted that I would despise my time spent amongst D.C.’s population of America-haters, I had – admittedly – a great time. For that reason, if none other, I would really appreciate you checking out the Photo Tour. Thanks.

Moving on…

For a lesser man, the dilemma that I currently face would cause an insurmountable obstacle for tonight’s writing: I have no necessary topic in mind. But, alas, it takes a lot more then a lack of focus to prohibit me from writing effectively (although that description may surely be in question). I must admit, though, that I did just complete an epic text that I posted on my personal blog hosted on MySpace. Because of the writing fatigue from that endeavor, I can’t promise the continuity of this blog.

But I’ll try.

One thing that is floating through my head however: I sustain a deeply ingrained sinking feeling whenever I read news concerning Senator John McCain’s failing campaign. I must remind everyone that before learning of Fred Thompson’s presidential desires, Senator McCain was, far and away, my choice for Republican candidate for President. And I still believe that he is an excellent choice for Republicans. He just is not as good a choice as Fred Thompson.

I heard a Democrat pollster on Fox News last night try to attribute McCain’s recent failures to his continued support for the Iraq War. I feel that this is simply incorrect. Republicans have turned from Senator McCain because of the twisted piece of legislation that he presented as solution to our country’s illegal immigration issue that stems from our southern border. This single issue has been “hot-button” in recent times and most Republicans have a very decided idea of, at least, what they do not want to see happen. Much like nearly all Republicans are against abortion, nearly all Republicans are against amnesty for illegal immigrants. And, in the legislation presented by McCain, it sure seemed like he was sitting opposite this view point. It was this issue, and most certainly not the war, that has killed his campaign. This issue also caused Senator McCain to step into a bed occupied by Republican arch-enemy Ted Kennedy. The proposed legislation and the strange bedfellow has been a one-two punch combo strong enough to knock out the most resilient of campaigns.

And that is exactly what happened in this case.

But I argue this: the immigration issue is not a paramount conservative topic. How can I justify this statement? Before justification, let me go a step further: had this topic become hotly debated at any time other then such a pivotal one for presidential hopefuls, I highly doubt it would have such significant prominence.

I know that a lot of people that read here share my conservative beliefs. And because of these conservative values, I am sure a lot of you are probably thinking that I am going mad. But consider this: off the top of my head, there are only a few stabilizing pillars that I believe are absolutely vital for one to build a Republican structure:

• Strong National Defense
• Lower Taxes (or, at least, no raising of existing taxes)
• Pro-Life
• The Right to Bare Arms

In my assessment, one can not claim to be a Conservative or, at least a Republican, without upholding these core values. This list would have been seen as absolutely asinine as little as ten years ago because of the omission of this formerly needed value:

• Limited Bureaucratic Growth

However, the Republican Party has changed. It has reacted to the needs of a nation that is currently being lethally threatened. This has caused the need to develop additional government agencies that I feel can do some good for this country if given the proper opportunities. Certain personal freedoms (and I don’t like putting it this way) may have succumb to the needs of National Defense at the hands of the Republican Party. But this is not exactly the Republican Party of old. It is one that has matured and realized that needed governmental growth can effectively occur. The Party that respects all the freedoms of all of its citizens has been the one most responsible for “intruding” on some of these freedoms recently. But these intrusions have come because of the foremost needs of national security; the first tenant of the Party as it currently stands in my assessment.

In no list, as described now, or as would have been written ten years ago, is illegal immigration an issue that dictates your affiliation as either Left or Right. At the very least, it is far from the top of any list of this kind that it may reach. This issue is simply so powerfully affecting campaigns today because of its timing. And this, in my assessment, is really unfortunate for Senator McCain and really unfortunate for the Republican Party.

Because, after all, Senator McCain is awfully strong and influential on the following issues:

• Strong National Defense
• Lower Taxes (or, at least, no raising of existing taxes)
• Pro-Life
• The Right to Bare Arms

Again, I feel that Fred Thompson is the better choice for the current needs of our Party as the situation stands today. But, really, Senator McCain is not far behind him. And, surely, he is a much better second choice then Giuliani or Romney. Giuliani doesn’t support the Right to Bare Arms (in fact, he has gone out of his way to oppose such a right) and he is admittedly Pro-Choice. And, given Romney’s unscheduled “epiphanies,” it is difficult to gauge where he stands on any of these issues. But I wouldn’t bet the house on the Conservative values of an individual that governed the same state that produces Kennedys.

So, to Mr. Thompson, I say “Run, Fred, Run.” But to the Republican Party, I say “Let’s not put all our eggs in one basket.” There is a lot of campaigning left to do. I would rather see a battle between two vetted Conservatives – McCain and Thompson – that produces a candidate most qualified then I would want a battle between two individuals that most Conservatives are adverse to – Giuliani and Romney – that produces a candidate that is simply the lesser of two evils.

Anyway…

Did I say something about lacking focus tonight? I retract that statement. Thanks for your time.