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February 26, 2008
The Republican Pick
First off: Baby Carmen wears a diaper and drinks from a bottle but has the ability to say "stop it?" That's either one really smart infant or one really slowly-developing toddler.
Stantis is still complaining about McCain because he wrote this before the conservatives were told they have to like him now as CJo pointed out yesterday. Carmen/Stantis doesn't like that McCain didn't always fall in lock step with the Republican leadership - that in the past he had this little habit of thinking for himself every once in a while. Hasn't Stantis been paying attention the last 7 years? That's the old McCain! The new one is Bush 3!
It's a shame that Stantis and other Republicans don't fully appreciate why McCain did what he did back then. Since he was a part of the Keating Five during the savings and loan scandal, he had to play the part of "reformer" and "straight talker" to try and salvage his career. He dodged a bullet when things fell apart, so much like Eddie Haskell he had to pretend to fly right and work with the other side so people accepted that he really was a "new man." No more cheating for this former Fifth Keating! He's a maverick!
So you conservatives need to appreciate that all of that "poking" he did was just an act. Look at the guy's record. Yeah, there were a few times he crossed the aisle to work with the Democrats (funny, but aren't the Republicans the ones now saying we're supposed to work together - why are they complaining about McCain having done that in the past?). But he didn't really MEAN it. He's always been a neo-conservative. He just couldn't proudly wear it on his sleeve.
People tend to forget that while McCain ran as a moderate conservative in 2000, so did Bush. But McCain had a history of working with the Dems in the Senate (not really, but that was his reputation - I mean come on, is working with Joe Lieberman working with the Dems?), and Bush was a clean slate. That's why I'm loving the way Rush and Hannity are frothing at the mouth about McCain - they spent all of the 2000 election campaigning against the guy, and now they're supposed to forget all that and support him? Not bloody likely, at least not until they finally get the message that he's not going away.
Apparently Rush, Hannity, and Stantis haven't been paying close attention the last few years. Yeah, McCain was asked by John Kerry to be his running mate in 2004 (keep in mind that Joe Lieberman actually was the VP nominee in 2000, so guys who pretend to be moderates seem to be their choice) - but days later he was hugging Bush and endorsing the guy that smeared him in South Carolina in 2000.
Since then McCain has been a full-blown, out-in-the-open neo-con, openly saying we need to bomb Iran, he wants to make the tax cuts permanent, and just endorsed torture(?!?!?!). The Real McCain is FINALLY coming back out, but Stantis and Co. are reluctant to wrap their arms around him. But give him a little while - about two weeks from when that New York Times story came out revealing that McCain is in bed with the lobbyists.
It's funny - watching conservatives whine about McCain really is like watching little kids pick on each other. Stantis actually nailed it this time around (it's not funny, but he's right on). McCain didn't always hang out with the kool kids. So now he must be punished. Of course they'll still let him hang with them - but first, he's got to be given the cold shoulder until he brings them something they want. Maybe he can sneak them an extra couple cookies or a few juice boxes, like promising even more tax cuts and saying he'll bomb Iran within six months of taking office. Then those Republicans like Stantis will come around - you just need to give the baby his bottle and he'll suck all day.
Comments
As you know I don't like McCain. I disagree with him on many major issues, Iraq in particular. For me the only appeal he ever had was his honesty, and that has been turned on its head by his recent pandering to the far right against his values in order to win votes. And I agree he is more like the "true conservatives" than they would give him credit for. Sure he voted for the Democratic position a couple of times, but does that mean his multitude of votes for the Republican position on a wide range of issues should be ignored? I say no.
In spite of all of this, I must say, once again, that I would not trust that NY Times article about the lobbyist too much. Maybe he did have an extramarital affair with her, but the evidence (and two former FCC officials) support the conclusion that McCain did nothing wrong. In fact, one of the most notable parts of his career in the Senate, other than Keating Five, has been his strong tendency to constantly fight the will of special interests and lobbyists in the Senate. So regardless of whether he was literally in bed with a lobbyist or not, I would say that metaphorically he has not been in bed with the lobbyists.
It is refreshing that all three of the remaining viable candidates for president are strongly opposed to bowing to the special interests and the lobbyists. What is not refreshing is McCain's neocon, Bush-like stances on so many of the issues. That's why I would never support him -- not because of some fabricated article in the New York Times.
Personally I found that seeing Carmen as a baby, a toddler, and a small child before seeing her as the big ol' elementary schooler she is today was very strange. I thought the poking thing was odd and a little hard to understand as well.
Posted by: Chris at February 26, 2008 07:24 PM
