This is not time for Republican Apathy

Seeing that it appears that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) will be the Republican candidate for President in 2008, there have been a plethora of different reactions from the Republican Party. Some, like myself, are happy with the results. Others are not estatic about the results, but are glad that the process is over and understand McCain is a conservative with a few liberal positions, not the other way around. However some, whom Liddy called the "suicide bomber wing of the GOP", will refuse to support McCain at all and, in Ms. Coulter's case, will vote for Clinton, saying that McCain is either identical or worse than Clinton.

This is not only wrong, but suicidal.

First off let's understand something. McCain is not identical or even close to Clinton in political ideology. I mean Coulter, who is known for her exaggerations, needs to get serious.

McCain received a lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union of 82% and an 83% rating from the Christian Coalition, a socially conservative group. According to Voteview.com, McCain had the second most conservative record of the 109th Congress.

http://voteview.com/SEN109.HTM

Clinton receives a lifetime rating of 9 from the American Conservative Union and the Almanac of American Politics rated her 75% liberal with only 20% conservative.

Obama has received a lifetime rating of 8 from the American Conservative Union and was designated the "Most Liberal Senator of 2007" from the National Journal.

So all this talk about them being identical is a joke.

Now some have said that they will just refuse to vote at all or even vote for Clinton to "show their disgust" with the GOP. This frankly is irresponsible as conservatives and as Americans.

1. Democratic Congress + Democratic Presidential = Leftism Abound.

Let's understand that now that the Democrats control the majority of the Congress, and are likely to pick up more seats later, there will be virtually nothing the GOP can do to stop the Democratic political agenda. However with a Republican President, some measures can be stopped and reversed. Conservative policies will have a bit of a fighting chance and perhaps with the help of the White House, we can win back the Congress. Voter apathy will do neither.

2. Refusing to Vote Pragmatically = Irresponsible citizen.

It's the simple fact that this is not a peaceful, easy time in American history. Perhaps if we lived in a Calvin Coolidge style period of American politics, this would not be as important of a choice. However several issues face the American people that warrant and demand our attention.

a. We are in a war.

It sounds so cliche doesn't it? "Oh we're in a war, so shush." It's been used as an excuse for many things and for overlooking things we shouldn't. However there's no overlooking the fact that we are at war and this is crucial. Governor Romney had enough foresight to understand that Americans cannot remain divided and apathetic in the face of two opposing candidates that call for surrender in Iraq, which would result in a Vietnam style fall out, costing us our security in the chaos and the lives of thousands if not more. American honor, security and standing in the Muslim world will be ruined. Can we honestly have two candidates who are so adamantly opposed to American victory in Iraq and who have absolutely no experience in military matters? Are we willing to sacrifice our security and possibly the lives of thousands just so we can "feel good" about our votes? Can you imagine Republicans in 1864 voting down Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War just so they could feel good about their votes? Or how about during WW2? We cannot endanger America's security just so we can gratify ourselves.

b. Judicial Philosophy in America. Now more than ever the old-style conservative way of interpreting the Constitution, as the Framers wrote it, has come under attack. This isn't mere rhetoric but a simple, though depressiing fact. President Bush has made some great headway in confirming experienced, knowledgable conservative judges who will return to this judicial philosophy as enshrined in the Constitution. However will a Democratic majority in Congress, and with several elderly judges and who will possibly retire, now more than ever we cannot afford the likes of Obama or Clinton in the White House to nominate and confirm judges who will stamp their political ideology on the writings of the Founders and Framers.

c. Governmental Deficit. It's a simple fact that our government is deep in debt. With the government firmly controlled by Democrats for what could very well be a long time, we will be further bankrupted by continuous, harmful, and bloated government programs such as socialized medicine, expansive failed social programs and so forth.

d. Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Repealed? This piece of landmark legislation could very well be threatened which would cost the lives of thousands of our most vulnerable and innocent.

The list goes on and on. This is a mere summary. Don't being an indifferent (i.e irresponsible) voter.

Vote.

John McCain is the man.

1st. John McCain is an American Hero

John McCain graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. He became what is called an unrestricted officer of the line, who specialized in naval attack aircraft. He was stationed on the USS Enterprise and the USS Intrepid. He served on alerty duty during the Cuban Missle Crisis and the American blockade. Just as US involvement in Vietnam started, he requested a combat assignment. He served in Vietnam on the USS Forrestal and flew attack missions against North Vietnamese combat forces and fostered a reputation as a serious naval combat aviator. He also was present at the "USS Forrest Fire" incident when a Zuni naval rocket struck McCain's Skyhawk causing a huge fire and damage to the ship and McCain saved the life of one of his comrades, despite a bomb from his aircraft going off striking him in the chest. By October of 1967, he had flown a total of 22 combat missions. On October 26, 1967 he took part in a major raid against North Vietnam, but was shot down over Hanoi. He nearly drowned in a lake, where he was fished out and nearly beaten to death. They gave him marginal medical attention. He lost 50 pounds, his hair turned white and he was in a chest cast. His fellow cell mates (including Bud Day, a medal of honor recipient) didn't think he'd last the week. He remained in solitary confinement for two years. Because his father was a famous American admiral, they tried releasing him for propaganda, but he refused until all of his men were released. In August of 1968, they began torturing him and beating him. To this day he cannot raise his arms above his head. During his time in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, he refused to meet anti-war activists. Altogether he spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war. He underwent nine months of painful physical therapy and began to fly again, despite concerns from doctors. He then became Executive Officer and then Commanding Officer of the VA-174 Hellrazors, the East Coast A-7 Corsair II Navy training squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Cecil Field outside Jacksonville in Florida and the largest attack squadron in the Navy. McCain's leadership abilities were credited with turning around a mediocre unit, improving its aircraft readiness and pilot safety metrics and winning the squadron its first Meritorious Unit Commendation. He attained the rank of Captain, one before admiral, and was awarded with the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Huckabee on the other hand has not served in the US military at any time.

2nd. McCain has extensive military experience and knowledge.

In a time of global war, we must have a commander-in-chief, who has experience. McCain, as seen above, has attained an extremely high rank in the US Navy, served in several combat missions, has been awarded with several military honors, served as a POW for five years, lead combat squadrons and studied at the US Naval Academy and the National War College. He is no chicken hawk.

As mentioned before, Huckabee has no military experience or national security experience as governor or preacher.

3rd. McCain stands against political corruption.

Though at first, while a junior senator, he was involved with the Keating Five S&L Scandal, he paid back the money before it was investigated and was found innocent by the Senate Ethics Committee. "The appearance of it was wrong. It's a wrong appearance when a group of senators appear in a meeting with a group of regulators, because it conveys the impression of undue and improper influence. And it was the wrong thing to do." Since then he has opposed several acts he believed to swindle the American people and campaigned against lobbyist politics, much the chargrin of some political leaders. He also led on the way on exposing the Abramoff Scandal.

Huckabee on the other hand, shortly before announcing his candidacy for the President of the United States, ordered that the drives of 83 computers and 4 servers be erased during his transition phase in leaving office. According to Claire Bailey, director of the Arkansas Department of Information Systems, the governor’s office chose a combination of writing over the data and destroying the hard drives. Early in Huckabee's term as governor, documents, e-mails and memos stored on hard drives just like the ones that were destroyed formed the basis of embarrassing stories about Huckabee, including a 1998 story in the Arkansas Times detailing how Huckabee and his family were using the $60,000-a-year Governor's Mansion fund as their personal piggy bank.

4th. McCain is a Proven Leader and Refomer.

In addition to be a senior US Naval officer and leading large combat squadrons, he also served on the Committe of Interior Affairs, the Select Committee on Aging, and the Select Republican Task Force on Indian Affairs, all as a freshmen Congressman. As a Senator he served on the Armed Forces Committee (who better?), the Commerce Committee, and the Indian Affairs Committee. During the nomination for President George H. W. Bush, he was seen as a possible VP to Bush and was head of the Veterans for Bush organization. He then served on the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs (once again, who better?). He also worked with Democrats to get them to compromise on their filibuster in 2005 and has experience working with bipartisans to get the job done. During the 2000 election he narrowly lost to President George W. Bush, but went on to campaign for Bush in 00 and again in 04. He has won large newspaper nominations from promient Iowa and New Hampshire newspapers.

Huckabee, on the other hand, barely won the special election for liuetenant governor, which he was from 1993-1995. In 96 he ran for Senate again, earlier he had lost in 92, this time winning the Republican nomination, but he left the nomination to fill in as the governor of Arkansas for the disgraced Tucker. He has virtually no foreign policy or federal experience.

5th. McCain is a proven Conservative.

McCain has been a life-long Republican and received a very high 82% rating from the Amerian Conservative Union and received a 100% rating from the Cato Institute on free trade. He has stood for private social security accounts, opposition to socialized health care, supporting school vouchers, supporting the death penalty, supporting mandatory sentencing, and supporting welfare reform. He has stood for American interests in the world, by standing for the Iraq War, and stood in opposition to Iran's participation in the 2006 World Cup for their President's anti-Semetic remarks. He also stood in support for Israel's attack on Islamic terrorists in southern Lebanon. Also he has been one of the Senate's biggest opponents of pork barrel spending, and opposes the ethanol special interest in Iowa for demanding tax payer money. He also received a 0% rating from the pro-abortion NARAL group and receives a high 83% from the Christian Coalition and supports intelligent design in schools.

Huckabee, while socially conservative, is hardly a conservative in general. He has supported conservation taxes, and increased state spending 65.3 percent from 1996 to 2004. During his tenure, the number of state government workers in Arkansas increased over 20 percent, and the state’s general obligation debt increased by approx. $1 billion. Most of the 94 tax cuts were small deductions initiated by the state legislature, whereas he has initiated five large tax increases forcing the Club for Growth to label him a liberal. He also has a lackluster record on free trade. Betsy Hagan, Arkansas director of the conservative Eagle Forum and a key backer of his early runs for office, was once "his No. 1 fan." She was bitterly disappointed with his record. "He was pro-life and pro-gun, but otherwise a liberal," she says. "Just like Bill Clinton he will charm you, but don't be surprised if he takes a completely different turn in office." Phyllis Schlafly, president of the national Eagle Forum, is even more blunt. "He destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas, and left the Republican Party a shambles."

6th. John McCain Does not tow the Party Line.

McCain holds onto his convictions despite the fact they may be unpopular at the time. He stood against corrupt campaign financing, and reached across the aisle to Senator Feingold to do so. He stands for responisble comprehensive immigration reform, despite some cries from within the GOP for harsher legislation. He also supported the administration's surge in Iraq earlier this year, despite that some Republicans began to abandon the war in Iraq because it was unpopular. He also criticized Donald Rumsfeld for not putting in enough troops.

Huckabee on the other hand, has virtually no experience in this matter. During his run for office in Arkansas, Dick Morris, his Democratic and former Clinton adviser, said that he had modified his campaign to appeal to more people in Arkansas.

In short, McCain is a proven hero, commander, leader, reformer, conservative and maverick. Huckabee is none of these things.