I’m Comfortable with McCain as the Nominee

It appears that Senator John McCain will become the Republican nominee. Perhaps his nomination comes eight years too late, but it is finally happening, and I’m OK with that. Of course, my man is Huckabee. But, he doesn’t seem to have a chance now.

Quite a few people who call themselves Conservatives are upset over the prospect of a McCain nomination. Their first complaint, of course, is that McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts. He explains that he voted against them because they did not include spending cuts. Now, what’s more conservative than that? Instead of those spending cuts, Bush governed us into huge deficits that are now contributing to the decline of the Dollar which has caused inflation and hurts the middle class. A president McCain would have prevented that kind of deficit spending.

He did push for the immigration reform bill that many Conservatives complain would have given amnesty to illegal immigrants. Of course, Bush, who is praised by those same Conservatives, supported the same bill. That was a bad idea, particularly because the border needs to be secure before we start thinking about reforming immigration. McCain has learned his lesson and he is now saying the same thing.

McCain was calling for an increase in U.S. troops in Iraq long before anyone else. McCain even had to convince the White House a surge was a good idea. Many Conservatives were on the fence regarding the issue, but we now see that the surge has worked. Casualties are down in Iraq, the country is more stable, and the Iraqi government is taking control of its country. The surge has given us a new hope for victory in Iraq, and McCain deserves a great deal of the credit. McCain has done a better job at managing the war than Bush, and it's not even his job! There has been much talk lately about McCain’s accusations that Romney supported a time table for withdraw in Iraq. Since Romney is quite eloquent in his poli-speak, it is hard to tell what he supports, but one thing is clear, he was not fighting for a surge and a plan to victory like John McCain.

Unlike a certain other candidate on the Republican side (ahem), John McCain is a solid social conservative. He was pro-life when pro-life wasn’t cool.

Conservatives also complain that McCain is in favor of a Kyoto-style cap and trade system. I have mentioned here before that cap and trade works. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions without harming industry. It puts market forces to work to solve a global problem that threatens our economy, our standard of living, and our national security. It will stimulate industry to find new solutions to the problem of global warming. The world needs America to step up and face this challenge. Americans can solve this problem by bringing to bear the same kind of innovation and ingenuity that has made us the largest economy in the world. A cap and trade system will encourage American innovation. It will also bring new investment into nuclear power and renewable energy, and it will reduce our reliance on oil which we are currently buying from anti-American governments in unstable regions of the world. The most important thing here is that McCain is one of the few Republicans that realizes global warming is a problem and we must do something about it.

Another criticism of McCain regards his campaign finance reform. I agree that the McCain-Feingold bill was a bad idea. But, at least McCain realizes that the current campaign finance system, which gives a disproportionately large voice to lobbyists and special interests, is broken. Special interests are, by definition, more concerned about their own welfare than the general welfare of the United States. Unfortunately, they are the king-makers in American politics. Politicians at every level rely on them for the money they need to run a campaign, and when they get elected, their first concern is for those who helped them get elected. Special interests pay the piper, and he who pays the piper gets to call the tune.

My biggest problem with McCain is that he does not support fair trade, which I think is one of the biggest issues in this campaign. He does, however, support policies that will help ease the pain caused by globalization, and his other fiscal policies would do a great deal in improving our economy.

But, the most important thing to remember about John McCain: he’s not Romney. If my choice is between an honorable war hero or a slick car salesman, I choose the war hero. McCain is certainly not a perfect candidate (I doubt there is such a thing) but at least you know where he stands. Honor and integrity count a great deal for me and they are an important part to being a great president.

–J.E. Heath
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