OK, the time is now to let my fellow Opinionators in on the whole truth of John McCain’s stances while in public office. I know I have been pretty critical and disparaging of the man in the past. But as I have pointed out, this is a primary, and when you’re not backing a particular person, you tend to focus on the not-so-pretty side of their record.
To me, Romney was, and remains, a better choice. However, the Arizona Senator WILL be the Republican nominee, and as such, it is our DUTY as Republicans to coalesce around him and ensure he will win the White House. Believe me, if you think for one moment that Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Hussein Obama would be a better choice for this great land, you are sadly mistaken, and may need psychological help.
Now, you can go to the profile I did on McCain before to see the negative, but here I am going to focus on the positive, starting with an issue that is near and dear to most conservatives: abortion. As before, I will be borrowing from the website ontheissues.org.
In my previous “Profile…,” I pointed out that Sen. McCain said, “I think the respect and commitment to the rights of the unborn is something I've fought for, and it has a lot to do with national security. Because it says very much what kind of a country we are and our respect for human life, whether it be here in the US or anyplace else in the world. So I think it is connected.” (Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate Aug 5, 2007)
He is dead on here. Respect and commitment to the RIGHTS of the unborn is most definitely at the heart of social conservatives. It is also something that we’ll have to guard and protect with great vigilance. Being pro-life is more than a bunch of rhetoric, and we will have to hold the senator’s feet to the fire if he becomes our forty-fourth president.
I must admit, when it comes to repealing Roe v. Wade, the senator has me a bit perplexed. In August, 1999, Sen. McCain said, “I’d love to see a point where Roe vs. Wade is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe vs. Wade, which would then force women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.” However, his spokesman quickly pointed out that McCain had (at that time) a “seventeen year voting record of supporting efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade. He does that currently, and will continue to do that as president.”
But then on Jan. 22, 2000, just five months later, the senator took a much stauncher stand. According to an article in the Boston Globe, “McCain said he thought Roe v. Wade should be overturned and said he would support exceptions to a ban on abortion in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is in danger.” In this quote, he is getting closer to the conservative heart, although some would suggest there be no exeption for rape and incest, since there is always the alternative of adoption.
As for the health of the mother, I think there are good arguments for both sides on this matter. Either way you go, you are sacrificing one life for that of another, a very tough call for someone on the outside looking in. However, I have got to tell you that, as a father of two lovely girls, if God forbid, there came a circumstance where I had to decide if one of them would die, or I would…I would have to die.
Yes, the life of a mother is a tough call for those on the outside looking in, but for those of us on the inside, at least those of us who are conservative, it would never really be a choice at all. I know very few women, if any, who would not give up their life so that their child could have his.
The Right Opinion on this issue is that Roe should be overturned outright. In cases of rape or incest, the mother should have the choice of either keeping the child or putting it up for adoption. If the mother’s life is at risk, it should be a matter of personal choice between the mother, her family, and her God.
With his stance on abortion, however, I think that Sen. McCain makes himself a little more palatable to conservative voters. The following is his voting record as concerns abortion according to On The Issues:
*Supports repealing Roe v. Wade. (May 2007) *Voted YES on barring HHS grants to organizations that perform abortions. (Oct 2007)* Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007)* Voted YES on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. (Jul 2006) *Voted NO on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. *(Mar 2005) Voted YES on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime. (Mar 2004) *Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions except for maternal life. (Mar 2003) *Voted YES on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions. (Jun 2000) *Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions. (Oct 1999) *Voted YES on banning human cloning. (Feb 1998) *RATED 0% BY NARAL, INDICATING A PRO-LIFE VOTING RECORD (emphasis added)(Dec 2003) *Expand embryonic stem cell research. (Jun 2004) *Rated 75% by the NRLC, indicating a mixed record on abortion. (Dec 2006)
Concerning the budget and economy, I will let you read McCain’s words for yourself, as they appear on the ontheissues.org website.
Q: Are Americans better off than they were eight years ago?
A: You could argue that Americans overall are better off, because we have had a pretty good prosperous time, with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things have happened. A lot of jobs have been created. But let's have some straight talk. Things are tough right now. Americans are uncertain about this housing crisis. Americans are uncertain about the economy, as we see the stock market bounce up and down. But I think what we're trying to do to fix this economy is important. We've got to address the subprime housing problem. We need to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which I voted for twice to do so. I think we need to eliminate the alternate minimum tax.
Source: 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley Jan 31, 2008
Q: Is it a problem for your campaign that the economy is now the most important issue, one that, by your own acknowledgement, you are not well versed on?
A: Actually, I don't know where you got that quote from. I'm very well versed in economics. I was there at the Reagan Revolution. I was there just after we enacted the first tax cuts and the restraints on spending. I was chairman of the Commerce Committee in the Senate, which addresses virtually every major economic issue that affects the US. I'm very well versed on economics. That's why I have a strong team around me that respect my views and my vision. And that's why The Wall Street Journal, in a survey of economists recently, that the majority of economists thought that I could handle the nation's economy best. And I have been a consistent fighter to restrain spending and to cut taxes. And my credentials & my experience & my knowledge of these economic issues, I think, are extensive. And I would match them against anybody who's running.
Source: 2008 GOP debate in Boca Raton Florida Jan 24, 2008
M.R.O. says: Now, at this point, I am quite sure that Gov. Romney was still in it. I know he was, and I would dare argue that Romney, not McCain, would have been better on the economy. However, that point is now moot, and if what the senator says is correct, then I give him my economic blessings.
One thing is for sure, he would certainly be more of an economic hawk than Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Hussein Obama, or even Mike Huckabee for that matter. I have to give him this one. And he is right, he was there for the Reagan Revolution…and although some thought Reagan was nuts for “trickle-down economics," it worked!
Q: Why should we continue a Republican in the White House with the current kind of economic record?
A: I will, as president, veto every one of these big spending bills. I will impose some fiscal discipline. We will clean up our act and we will regain the confidence of the American people as being careful stewards of our tax dollars, and we will fix this problem with having to borrow money from China, then we will balance our budget, just like every governor in America has been required to do.
Source: 2008 GOP debate in Boca Raton Florida Jan 24, 2008
On the issue of reforming insurance to cover violent weather patterns, Sen. McCain proffered the following:
“As more and more violent weather patterns take place, people's homes are more and more in jeopardy. We can address it regionally. We can address it with the governors and the legislatures working with the federal government to have insurance spread across state lines, increasing the risk pool. We can reform insurance. I will call the regulators, the governors and the legislators and work together to provide every American that's in jeopardy to have the insurance that they need and deserve.”
Source: 2008 GOP debate in Boca Raton Florida Jan 24, 2008
At first blush, I was not sure I liked the idea of “hav(ing) insurance spread across state lines, increasing the risk pool.” My initial thought was, “hey, that will make my rates go up in order to provide Joe Blow with insurance.” However, on reflection, I think it may be a good idea. If Joe Blow has insurance, then he isn’t going to need tax-subsidized no-or low-interest loans to rebuild. And he won’t need tax monies to stay in a hotel while his home is rebuilt. So, I think with a little more detail, this may work.
Q: If we're talking about a recession in the next few months, in 2008, what kind of short-term, more immediate government fixes would you propose to try to keep the slowdown diminished or to reverse it? And would you support them even if they added to th government deficit?
A: The first thing we need to do is stop the out-of-control spending. Out-of-control spending is what caused the interest rates to rise. It causes people to be less able to afford to own their own homes. We need to stop the spending And the way we can get our budget under control is to have strong, fundamental fiscal underpinnings. The second thing that we need to do, of course, is stop spending $400 billion a year overseas to oil-producing countries that come right out of our economy immediately. Some of that money goes, unfortunately, to fund terrorist organizations. We've got to develop technologies to reduce this dependency on foreign oil, and eventually eliminate it, and stop this outflow of some $400 billion a year.
Source: 2008 GOP debate in S.C. sponsored by Fox News Jan 10, 2008
Well, I didn’t really hear a direct answer to the question on how to stop the bleeding in the short-term. However, I am totally with the senator that we HAVE to reduce dependence on foreign oil. These foreigners who wield the all-might oil sword have America by the, well, you know. We need immediate initiatives to become self-sufficient in this arena, so we can tell Ahmadinijad (sp)-you know, the Gilligan-looking guy in Iran, and his buddy, Hugo Chavez, where they can put their oil!
Q: Have Republicans forgotten how to control spending?
A: Absolutely. We let spending lurch completely out of control. As president of the United States, I'd take an old veto pen that Ronald Reagan gave me, and I'd veto every single pork barrel bill that comes across my desk. And we've got to stop it and stop it now. I look forward to it.
Source: 2007 GOP YouTube debate in St. Petersburg, Florida Nov 28, 2007
Now we’re talking turkey. Republicans have undoubtedly forgotten how to control spending, and it shows in every aspect of our economy. Yes, we have had war, and yes, we have had corporate scandal. But all this mess can’t be blamed on those factors alone. A lot of pork has been coming out of D.C., and I truly am impressed with McCain’s veto pen, given to him by the GREAT President Reagan. Not only will McCain veto SOME pork-barrel spending, he said “…I'd veto every single pork barrel bill that comes across my desk.” I love that kind of talk, as do most fiscal conservatives.
List of budgetary spending priorities
McCain would “maintain status” on spending for:
AIDS programs
Environmental programs
Foreign aid
Housing projects
Job training programs
Medicaid & Medicare
Student loan programs
McCain would “slightly increase” spending for:
Education (K-12)
Law enforcement
Military & Veterans Benefits
Border Control
McCain would “slightly decrease” spending for:
NASA
Welfare
McCain would eliminate spending for:
Arts funding
OK, kids, that does it for today’s lesson in McCain 101. In our next edition, we will look at John McCain and Civil Rights issues, and maybe more.
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