The March and the Grudge

Post Selection Blues:  Because before the election, comes the selection.  This is what we see happening on the right, as those on the far right reject John McCain as the presumptive Republican nominee.  This sentiment accounts for Mike Huckabee’s recent rise in the polls.  It’s the anti-McCain vote.  But it’s all good news for me, though.  I like Huckabee, but I like McCain more, as stated on this website.  I think the struggle at hand is ultimately positive for the moderate-right, where I personally fall ideologically.  I am having difficulty, though, calling myself Republican because I have problems identifying with the ultra-conservatives that oppose McCain.  This is due to the blues of having to narrow down the Party’s pick to one selection, and asking, “Oh, no, what have we done?”

So, I believe, the post selection blues on the right is about to spread over to the left.  Barack Obama is crushing Hillary Clinton, plain and simple, cutting deep into her constituency.  Last night, he swept the “Potomac Primary,” and surpassed Hillary in total delegate count.  He is effectively seizing the crown from Clinton, who supposed she was the Anointed One, the Liberal Savior of the country.  I believe Barack Obama is going to take this position, which will leave the Democrats asking the question, “Oh, no, what have we done?”

All of this, of course, is going to make Hillary Clinton a sad, sore loser.  Look at the David Shuster controversy for details.  She will prove to be so whiny when the tide officially turns, that her cold, calculating side will emerge, and she will do anything to defeat Obama; which brings up the Super Delegates argument.  Can you imagine the country’s reaction if Obama wins the Party’s popular vote, wins all General Delegates, but loses due to Super Delegates swinging the vote?  Merely being a Democrat, though, doesn’t necessarily make you a supporter of democracy.

At this point I would like to digress and discuss a large but silent presence on the left, former Vice President and Presidential candidate, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Senator Al Gore.  If Hillary is selected as the Democratic candidate, who would Al Gore endorse for President?  Think about it.  Let me use a simple equation of Gore’s sentiment:  Global warming concern + Lieberman – Clinton = McCain.

It’s difficult to assume though, because the parties think differently.  You may have heard it said before, that Democrats fall in love, and Republicans fall in line.  This is evident on both sides, at this point.  I like Obama’s hopefulness, but I fear his rhetoric.  Let me say this:  Be afraid of this march.  This is a march into tyranny, and I am not being facetious.  Where, exactly, is Obama on policy issues?  Furthermore, what, exactly, has he said about “Islamic extremism?”  Remember the “Talk with Iran, Invade Pakistan” platform he had six months ago?  How about his proposed sex-ed for preschoolers?  Nobody remembers this, because he doesn’t talk about it anymore.  Lately, he has proposed a National Service Program, giving college students scholarships in exchange for mandatory service to the U.S. government in the Peace Corps, doubling its size, and making 100 hours of national service mandatory.  This, however, is unconstitutional; see the 13th Amendment.  Is Obama the JFK of our generation, or is he the next Jimmy Carter?  Is there anything more to his policy than hope, or is it merely audacity?  But he gives great speeches!  “Oh, no, what have we done?”

I waited awhile before commenting on this presidential race; I guess that’s best, since I am actually not supposed to.  If you look at my first post regarding this nomination season, “The Race is On,” posted 10 January, I equated Hillary to LBJ and Obama to Robert Kennedy, and “endorsed” John McCain.  That was before John Edwards quit, before MLK Day, before Hillary compared herself to LBJ (and consequentially, Obama to MLK), and before Obama was endorsed by the Kennedys (by Senator Ted Kennedy and JFK’s descendents, at least).  That was also when there were five viable contenders in the Republican race.  After last night, barring disaster, there is truly only one, and that is John McCain.

But it’s “Bash McCain Time” back at the ranch.  Who needs these ultra-conservatives, or an American Conservative Union score (an absurdity), or some xenophobic anti-immigrant platform, complete with a language amendment (see earlier post), or social policies and its various amendments that will abandon Americans, when you can unite a country with common sense?  What means more to CPAC anyway; freedom, or conservatism?  John McCain bases his decision-making on freedom, something very dear to him for obvious reasons.  Freedom is more important than laws, and a march backwards in social freedoms is just as bad as a march backwards in economic freedoms; both will land you in the arms of tyranny.  Who needs Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, or Laura Ingraham, when you have a nation built around freedom and common sense?  Government is only supposed to do for people what they cannot do for themselves.  See my chart below to measure your own domestic ideology, and determine where the candidates might lie.  Consider the words of Ronald Reagan, in his 1964 speech, “A Time for Choosing”:  “You and I are told increasingly that we have to choose between a left or right, but I would like to suggest that there is no such thing as a left or right.  There is only an up or down–up to a man’s age-old dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order–or down to the ant heap totalitarianism, and regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.”

Common sense is wisdom with its sleeves rolled up. – Kyle Farnsworth