First let me say that I am not yet giving up completely on Mike Huckabee, but I am a realist. Huckabee would need to get all of Romney’s delegates and win a sizable majority from here on out to win the nomination. That combination is not likely.
I would also like to go on record as saying that, from a conservative view point, things are not as bad as the press would have us believe. McCain may not be the most conservative candidate, but his positions are definitely on the conservative side of the spectrum. In fact, McCain supports winning in Iraq and continuing the fight against terror. He supports the current tax-cuts and wants to keep them permanent. He is opposed to same-sex marriage and government paid health care, and, although he has varied his exact position (as Romney has), he is pro-life and thinks that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. So what’s the problem?
Here it is. John McCain has issues with border security and his illegal immigration plan involves a form of amnesty (by another name). Frankly, his abilities to control the border in Arizona leave much to be desired and his “negotiations” with dems on “cross-party” legislation look more like he just lay down and let them take a steam-roller over him. To his credit, he seems to have heard the voice of the people concerning the border and illegal immigration and, although he hasn’t declared a change in position, he is now professing a change in priority. However, he desperately needs to learn that “negotiating” does not mean smile and nod while you let the other side do what ever they want.
Dennis Miller said the other day that the country seems to be “47% left, 47% right, and the elections are won in the 5% in the middle.” Forgiving the math error, McCain is better able to win the 5% in the middle than either Romney or Huckabee and maybe even better than Clinton or Obama. I have previously mentioned that I don’t like the idea of voting for an “electable candidate” over voting by issues, but I do believe in picking someone who is the closest to my view of the choices that are available. McCain is way closer than Obama or Clinton. This means we could end up with a GOP president (at least that is more conservative than the alternative).
Does this mean that true conservatives should surrender their positions and compromise in order to elect the most conservative choice we have? No! What it means is that conservatives have to fight the fight for family values and secure borders through the system with every tool we have available to us. If Clinton or Obama are elected we will be hard pressed to avoid government health care and all the other “programs” these liberals want to tax us to pay for. The tax burden will put our economy into a tailspin and the war on terror will escalate until it is being fought on American soil and, possibly, in our own back yards.
Truth be told, if McCain is president, we will have a safer country (and world), more conservative judges who will protect the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage, and lower taxes than either democrat he may be running against would provide.
