McCain's Madness?

C.T.

In the middle of a Democratic meltdown, one that could deliver the general election to McCain, are Republican strategists practicing the fine art of Liberal buffoonery? McCain, in an address to the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles, attempted to walk to the other side of the aisle. It seems that the Senator and his staff are not content courting their Republican base, but also want to gather up some Left leaning votes .

It was said of McCain that he practiced his campaigning through the primaries backwards. Meaning that he went after Moderates first and then grabbed up his base, the Conservatives. That is wrong, McCain did grab up his base support first, then went after the one's who could make or break his campaign, again, the Conservatives. Is he now alienating those same potential supporters and voters?

After a somewhat honest, attractive, and successful speech at C.P.A.C., McCain followed up on the problem that he has had since he alienated most Republicans. He invoked the name of Burke, the Father of the American conservative movement, and Ronald Reagan, one of its pillars.

And like you, I understand, as Edmund Burke observed, that "whenever a
separation is made between liberty and justice, neither is safe." [1]

I have also always believed like you in the wisdom of Ronald
Reagan who wanted and warned in an address to this conference in 1975 -- he said, "A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency or simply to swell its numbers." [1]

At his address to the W.A.C. we see less of the "neoconservative" McCain and more of the moderate, left leaning.

He said the government should close its prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and "work with our allies to forge a new international understanding" on how to treat detainees. He said Americans needed to be "good stewards of our planet," and urged steps to limit greenhouse gas emissions. [2]

Senator McCain said nothing new about these stances that we have not already heard. Most informed voters know McCain wants Gitmo shut down and is Global Warming friendly, at the least. On Iraq, he did not back down on his stances concerning continuing the war. What he did do, that I consider intelligent, was appeal to the Left's emotional thought process.

"We have incurred a moral responsibility in Iraq," he said. "It would be an
unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people and consign them to the horrendous violence, ethnic cleaning and possibly genocide that would follow a reckless, irresponsible and premature withdrawal." [2]

Short of immediate troop withdrawl, we all know this will have no effect on ardent anti-war supporters. But I propose, as it is easy to see, that it was designed for those potential Democratic crossover voters, Moderates, and Independents, who are on the fence about the war. But, there still is the question of whether or not their will be a net gain of support from these groups. Will this counter the loss of Conservatives who might be reminded of what they viewed as McCain's reckless behavior in the past? In lieu of the Obama incidents and Hillary's last name being Clinton, I would think that many Republicans, whom would not have voted for McCain, were strongly considering throwing a vote his way in the election.

Could there be a backlash? There will be some loss of Conservative support, that is just a given. They probably would not have voted out of protest against McCain's candidacy or would have looked for a reason not to support him. Either way, I am fairly certain, that their numbers are few. Besides, the level of supporters drawn from events like this one, coupled with the Democrats who will not vote for either Obama or Hillary, will counter the loss with great ease.

The one thing to keep in mind, is that this is not an exploration of McCain's philosophies but of his tactics to draw in support to shore up his campaign. McCain, in my humble opinion, is still a RINO who is nowhere near a Conservative. He may not be the best hope for the Republican movement, but as I have pointed out in earlier posts, he is the best hope for the fiber of this country.

C.T.

[1] McCain Addresses Conservatives at Convention
[2] McCain stresses cooperation in L.A. speech on foreign policy