John McCain: Should Liberals Vote for John McCain?

Should leftists vote for John McCain:  from a strictly pragmatic point of view I think so.

 

This is the converse of why some conservatives, including me, cannot vote for John McCain.  Now it is true that I cannot stomach voting for Barack Obama, but John McCain is NOT the Barack Obama of the Republican Party.  Those leftists who cannot stomach voting for John McCain, for pragmatic reasons, should not delude themselves that it is because McCain is a conservative.  They are just showing a revulsion for voting for ANY Republican--somewhat irrational of them, but nobody said they were rational people.

 

Assuming that John McCain is slightly more conservative than Barack Obama, which is a safe--if not entirely certain--assumption, will the RESULT of a McCain Presidency be more conservative?  As I have said in this blog, making the conservative case AGAINST John McCain, I doubt it.  John McCain keeps saying that he is going to "reach across the aisle" and get things done, TRASHING the Republican Party for failing to do that in the past and letting the American people down   If McCain is President, REPUBLICANS are not going to be able to stop him  Democrats will control the Congress.  To get anything done (which McCain PROMISES), McCain is going to have to go along with almost anything they want.  Unlike Obama, McCain has SHOWN already that he is willing to do that--throwing conservatives under the bus with apparent enjoyment. 

 

If Barack Obama is President, however, you can expect Republicans to fight him hard.  Oh, he will have a big Democratic majority in Congress, but it is going to be a NERVOUS majority.  That is because there will be NOWHERE TO HIDE.  Democrats will be clearly responsible for it all.  Failure will be on their head--no way around it.  And failure is pretty likely.  Look at Nancy Pelosi and Congress right now!!!  Congress has an "approval rating" of 9% (these poll numbers are meaningless, but the point is valid).  Right now, Democrats can blame it on Republicans.   If Barack Obama is President, that loophole disappears.

 

That is the major reason leftists should vote for John McCain.  They will probably get MORE leftist policies into law with John McCain as President than with Barack Obama as President.  But the more important, long term benefit, is that John McCain and those evil Republicans can be BLAMED for everything that goes wrong.  New terror attack?  Blame John McCain and the Republicans.  Economic problems (almost always are SOME)?  BLAME John McCain and the Republicans.   People frustrated by modern life?  BLAME John McCain and the Republicans.   War in Afghanistan goes bad?  BLAME John  McCain and the Republicans.  War in Iraq turns out to have been an obvious faiure?  BLAME John McCain and the Republicans (instead of Barack Obama taking the blame by pulling our troops out--perhaps no faster than John McCain would have done)?  BLAME John McCain and the Republicans.  In a worst case scenario, leftists get MOST of what they want with John McCain as President, with NO RISK.

 

Even as to war and peace, there is NO indication that John McCain will involve us more in war than Barack Obama.  Obama has already PROMISED to INCREASE the number of people in the military QUICKLY.  He has further PROMISED to send ("redeploy") more combat troops to AFGHANISTAN.  Afghanistan has, historically, been the GRAVE of more foreign armies, including the modern Soviet Union, than almost any other place. Iraq is not even close.  Yes, John McCain is more likely to keep us fighting longer in Iraq.  But we are WINNING there.  mcCain might actually withdraw combat troops about as fast as Obama, and it hardly matters if we are in Iraq IF AMERICANS ARE NOT BEING KILLED THERE.  More Americans are now being killed in Afghanistan, where Obama promises to INCREASE troops.  Furhter, if Obama is President WITHDRAWING troops, and things go WRONG, what will he do?  Is it not likely we will suddenly be back in a violent, deadly WAR in Iraq as Obama tries to escape BLAME for Iraq turning out badly?  I think it is.

 

All of the above are not even the BEST reasons for leftists to vote for John McCain.  The absolute BEST reason is that John McCain will destroy the CONSERVATIVE movement for at least a generation.  As I have said repeatedly, McCain ENJOYS trashing conservatives, and will surely do so as President.  Moreover, a mere victory by McCain will (falsely) tell Republicans that the way to "win" is to vote for LIBERAL REPUBLICANS.  If the McCain Presidency FAILS, leftists will increase in power.  Even if it succeeds, leftists are going to be able to point to all of those LEFTIST policies that McCain and a Democratic Congress get through.  Conservatives are going to be left out in the cold--without a leader (assuming no surprise as the VP pick by McCain) and without a prayer.  The President of the party that is supposedly "theirs" will be constantly TRASHING them.  It will make the experience of the ancient Jews in exile look tame by comparison. 

 

Now DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS want Barack Obama to win.  Politicians want POWER.  Most of them probably don't even believe much of what they SAY (although maybe more of them than Republican politicians these days).  They want the PERKS of their party controlling the White House.

 

Ideological leftists, or just moderate leftists, should want their IDEAS to prevail.  They should want to DEFEAT conservatives.  Electing John McCain is the best way to accomplish that.  As I said, electing John McCain is hardly like electing Rush Limbaugh (the closest I can come to the Barack Obama equivalent on the right).  There is really NOT much reason for leftists to have stomach trouble in voting for John McCain for pragmatic reasons  (including the pragmatic reason that Barack Obama is likely to let the far, loony left get so far out of control as to discredit leftists for a long time). 

 

Full disclosure:  It will give me SOME pleasure if John McCain is elected President, simply because of the media and leftist (those who fail to realize the logic of the above) WAILING about "racist" America and how the Republicans stole another election.  I am afraid that guilty pleasure is NOT going to make up for the endless PAIN a McCain Presidency is going to cause me, conservatives, and the country.  But I will not deny that I will get some joy out of seeing the media and leftists cry.  That is why this election is "no lose" for me, as well as "no win".  If Barack Obama wins, I can console myself with my conviction that he will pave the way for a conservative RENAISSANCE, and return from the wilderness.  If John McCain wins, I can console myself with the thought that at least Barack Obama LOST.  "No lose" AND "no win".

 

P.S.  If John McCain wins, I think it WILL be because a lot of moderate leftists vote for him.  Yes, conservatives who can't stand Barack Obama are mostly--not me--going to vote for John McCain.  But he is NOT going to get an enthusiastic turnout from those people.  As stated above, even pretty extreme leftists might (should?) logically vote for John McCain.  But for moderate leftists, of the kind who are not wedded to the Democratic Party, John McCain is the logical choice.  Further, I am convinced those are the people upon whom McCain is RELYING to win the Presidency.