A Bridge Too Far
Ann Coulter says she would vote for Hillary Clinton over John McCain.
I admire Ann's sharp mind and even sharper wit when she doesn't go over the line. Here, in my view, she has.
Anyone who is a regular reader of this blog knows that I am no particular fan of John McCain for all the reasons I regularly lay out -- campaign finance, immigration, opposition to the Bush tax cuts, terrorist interrogation, Gang of 14, and the rest. I have written (here and here and here, too) in terms that make my distaste clear for much of what John McCain stands for. I am unhappy at the thought of his becoming the GOP nominee, and possibly America's president.
But I'm unhappier yet with the prospect of either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama holding the office. It's hard for me to understand how Ann Coulter thinks America is benefited by having either Clinton or Obama in the Oval Office.
Many purists occasionally decide to sit out an election -- or cast a protest vote for a third-party candidate -- in the hopes that things will get so bad under the rule of the opposition that voters will "get it" and sweep conservatives wholesale into office. That was the thinking that informed much of Ross Perot's vote in 1992 -- and that's how Bill Clinton and his wife came to national prominence in the first place.
As I noted today on "Morning in America With Bill Bennett", conservatives rightly expect moderates like Christie Todd Whitman and John Danforth to support Republican nominees when the party's voters have selected conservatives. How can conservatives demand that support if, when the party has picked someone who's not a conservative, they refuse to reciprocate?
There is no way that Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama wouldn't be worse than John McCain. The difference is that conservatives like Bill Bennett, Ted Olson, Phil Gramm and Jack Kemp may have some influence with McCain . . . and they have none at all with Clinton.
I want a president who understands the threat of Islamofascist terrorism and is 100% committed to keeping the people I love safe. John McCain meets that minimum threshold, and for that reason, should push come to shove, I will hold my nose and vote for him.
If Ann Coulter loves her country and values its security more than she dislikes John McCain, she will, too.
I admire Ann's sharp mind and even sharper wit when she doesn't go over the line. Here, in my view, she has.
Anyone who is a regular reader of this blog knows that I am no particular fan of John McCain for all the reasons I regularly lay out -- campaign finance, immigration, opposition to the Bush tax cuts, terrorist interrogation, Gang of 14, and the rest. I have written (here and here and here, too) in terms that make my distaste clear for much of what John McCain stands for. I am unhappy at the thought of his becoming the GOP nominee, and possibly America's president.
But I'm unhappier yet with the prospect of either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama holding the office. It's hard for me to understand how Ann Coulter thinks America is benefited by having either Clinton or Obama in the Oval Office.
Many purists occasionally decide to sit out an election -- or cast a protest vote for a third-party candidate -- in the hopes that things will get so bad under the rule of the opposition that voters will "get it" and sweep conservatives wholesale into office. That was the thinking that informed much of Ross Perot's vote in 1992 -- and that's how Bill Clinton and his wife came to national prominence in the first place.
As I noted today on "Morning in America With Bill Bennett", conservatives rightly expect moderates like Christie Todd Whitman and John Danforth to support Republican nominees when the party's voters have selected conservatives. How can conservatives demand that support if, when the party has picked someone who's not a conservative, they refuse to reciprocate?
There is no way that Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama wouldn't be worse than John McCain. The difference is that conservatives like Bill Bennett, Ted Olson, Phil Gramm and Jack Kemp may have some influence with McCain . . . and they have none at all with Clinton.
I want a president who understands the threat of Islamofascist terrorism and is 100% committed to keeping the people I love safe. John McCain meets that minimum threshold, and for that reason, should push come to shove, I will hold my nose and vote for him.
If Ann Coulter loves her country and values its security more than she dislikes John McCain, she will, too.
posted by LadybugUSA at 5:56 PM
10 Comments:
Carol - found you via my hero Bill Bennett - I couldn't have said it better!!!!!! While I am a McCain supporter -- I was and will be ready to stand with Romney if he is the party's nominee. You are my kind of "loyal conservative"
Thank goodness I can still find pragmatic realists in the conservative wing of the party. I had almost lost heart. Nice work, Carol!
As much as Hiliary and Obama scare me I think President McCain will a do lot more damage to the country due to his ability to get bi-partisan support, McCain-Feingold 2.0, Fairness doctrine anyone? At least a Democratic President would likely face strong opposition from Republican Congressmen.
I will cast my vote based not just on policies, but on character.
Despite Carol's determination to turn her readers against him, I think McCain has integrity, trustworthiness and ethics.
Slick Willie and wife do not.
I have not heard or seen the Ann Coulter clip, but I seriously doubt that she'd either vote for the Dem nominee or allow that Dem to win by not voting for the GOP nominee, even if it's McCain. It's just her being Ann.
McCain is not my first choice either, and I cannot figure out Ann Coulter's line of reasoning. Maybe one of her barbed zingers is hidden within. Does she think the country as we know it will last through a Hillary or Barack first term? McCain, as distasteful as his Presidency seems to me, would be a 1,000 times better than Barack or Hillary and the damage to the courts and our National defence they would inflict.
I could never in a million years vote for McCain. He is NOT a conservative. His policies would be almost as bad for this country as a democrat's. If he is the Republican nominee, I will sit out the general election.
Oh and McCain has integrity? HA! What a laugh! Anyone remember his recent out and out lie about Mitt Romney's positions on withdrawing troops from Iraq? Lying out of desperation because you're afraid of your component is the mark of a man with integrity? Give me a break!
I'm so far to the right I make Pat Buchanan look like an LBJ cabinet member. My first choice was Fred Thompson but Fred didn't make it.
So, if the majority of Republican primary voters select John McCain or whoever then I will vote for him in the general election.
Falling on one's sword is not an option in these scary times.
I meant opponent, not "component." I obviously had work on my brain!
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