Looking at McCain’s CPAC speech is an interesting thing – it shows one a very conservative agenda, an agenda conservatives would agree with. Did I ever think that this agenda would come out of John McCain, no , I did not. As a long time Libertarian, I thought that John McCain was a standard Republican who would say he was conservative, but then once in office, he would begin his “Maverick” style, and destroy the faith put into him. I’m not so sure I believe that anymore.
In his speech he opens by saying that he has not always been the best conservative. He also notes that he can not win the general election without the support of the conservative base of the Republican party. He further goes to say that his values have not changed for 25 years:
“I believe today, as I believed twenty-five years ago, in small government; fiscal discipline; low taxes; a strong defense, judges who enforce, and not make, our laws; the social values that are the true source of our strength; and, generally, the steadfast defense of our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which I have defended my entire career as God-given to the born and unborn.”
That’s a fairly conservative set of values. I agree with him on the fact that we need fiscal discipline, that low taxes help the economy, that judges should enforce the law, and that we should reign in judicial activism. Those are not the kind of things I would expect him to do once in office, but now I’m taking a second look at this man.
He does a quick take on Immigration, saying that he accepts that America must secure the borders first, and then plan on what to do with those already here. The next step in his speech is significant, because it really lines up what this election is all about:
” Whomever the Democrats nominate, they would govern this country in a way that will, in my opinion, take this country backward to the days when government felt empowered to take from us our freedom to decide for ourselves the course and quality of our lives; to substitute the muddled judgment of large and expanding federal bureaucracies for the common sense and values of the American people; to the timidity and wishful thinking of a time when we averted our eyes from terrible threats to our security that were so plainly gathering strength abroad.”
Again, there’s not much to argue with him there. The fact of this election is clear – the candidates are looking for the mandate from the people about where this country will go. This is most likely going to be one of the biggest voter turnouts in history, and quite possibly will define the American political landscape for years to come. Voters realize this, and they are responding in their record turnouts at the primaries. McCain sees that to truly get the party behind him, he has to set out and make clear that he will stand by the conservative values that make the Republicans Republican.
“Senator Clinton and Senator Obama want to increase the size of the federal government. I intend to reduce it. I will not sign a bill with earmarks in it, any earmarks in it. I will fight for the line item veto, and I will not permit any expansion whatsoever of the entitlement programs that are bankrupting us. On the contrary, I intend to reform those programs so that government is no longer in that habit of making promises to Americans it does not have the means to keep.”
Conservatism 101 – Fiscal Responsibility. McCain is making a very nice policy position here. Americans are fed up with a government that is wasteful, over bloated, and not doing what it should be with the vast amount of money it takes up. This is a message that Independents and Conservative voters want to hear. Someone who will go to Washington and clean up the fiscal mess that has occurred. And his record is clear, he is a hawk on spending, always trying to cut out measures he views as wasteful. Americans like that, and they appreciate it.
“Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I intend to cut them. I will start by making the Bush tax cuts permanent. I will cut corporate tax rates from 35 to 25% to keep industries and jobs in this country. I will end the Alternate Minimum Tax. And I won't let a Democratic Congress raise your taxes and choke the growth of our economy. They will offer a big government solution to health care insurance coverage. I intend to address the problem with free market solutions and with respect for the freedom of individuals to make important choices for themselves. They will appoint to the federal bench judges who are intent on achieving political changes that the American people cannot be convinced to accept through the election of their representatives. I intend to nominate judges who have proven themselves worthy of our trust that they take as their sole responsibility the enforcement of laws made by the people's elected representatives, judges of the character and quality of Justices Roberts and Alito, judges who can be relied upon to respect the values of the people whose rights, laws and property they are sworn to defend.”
Conservatism 102 – Low Taxes and Responsible Judges
All hail McCain for ending the AMT. American families have been struck by this one for so long, and it is time to rid it from our shores. For those who don’t know what it is, the AMT is the Alternative Minimum Tax. Introduced in 1969, it was meant to be beneficial – to require those who are very wealthy and able to take huge deductions and thus not pay much income tax, will still be required to pay tax at a rate of 26 or 28 percent. The problem comes from the law itself. It was never indexed to inflation. Thus as inflation rises, those who fall under the tax also increase. Thus, many people who were never intended to pay the tax, are now paying the tax. The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) said in a report released in 2004 that:
"Over the coming decade, a growing number of taxpayers will become liable for the AMT. In 2010, if nothing is changed, one in five taxpayers will have AMT liability and nearly every married taxpayer with income between $100,000 and $500,000 will owe the alternative tax. Rather than affecting only high-income taxpayers who would otherwise pay no tax, the AMT has extended its reach to many upper-middle-income households. As an increasing number of taxpayers incur the AMT, pressures to reduce or eliminate the tax are likely to grow."
And while McCain is being slammed for not supporting the first two rounds of Bush tax cuts, he says that he did it because no one cut spending as well as cut taxes. This is a good reason not vote for it, because it doesn’t make sense to diminish revenue collection, with out reducing what the revenue is used for. That would only make the government more in-debt than it already is. It is also a wise move to use the names of Justices Robert and Alito when talking about the Supreme Court. Both are viewed as very wise choices to the bench, and are expected to do there duties well. The big problem coming up in this election for many Conservatives is judicial activism. With the possibility of three Supreme Court seats going up for grabs in the next few years, whoever is president has the possibility of either A.) ensuring a conservative court for years to come – or B.) ensuring a more liberal court for years to come. This is a point that McCain must make again, and again, pointing to this fact, and asking Conservatives if they really want three more Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s on the Court.
And finally his biggest credential – war.
“They won't recognize and seriously address the threat posed by an Iran with nuclear ambitions to our ally, Israel, and the region. I intend to make unmistakably clear to Iran we will not permit a government that espouses the destruction of the State of Israel as its fondest wish and pledges undying enmity to the United States to possess the weapons to advance their malevolent ambitions. Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will concede to our critics that our own actions to defend against its threats are responsible for fomenting the terrible evil of radical Islamic extremism, and their resolve to combat it will be as flawed as their judgment. I intend to defeat that threat by staying on offense and by marshaling every relevant agency of our government, and our allies, in the urgent necessity of defending the values, virtues and security of free people against those who despise all that is good about us.”
McCain is the war boy, there is not doubt about it, and he is the undisputed national security expert out of those running for the office of President. And there is another point that will be brought up in a later post, Iraq. He can really make something out of Iraq.
So, from a conservative standpoint – McCain’s CPAC speech is very good. And looking at his website, it appears to be a very conservative agenda. As such, McCain now has to make up with the conservative base, and seek redemption for McCain-Feingold, which many conservatives view as a limit on free speech, and more McCain-Kennedy, the flawed Immigration reform bill. I don’t see much problem with the Bush tax cuts, because it will eventually make sense to the base why he did that.
Thus, in the end, can I support John McCain. As a Libertarian, I don’t like any of these candidates, Republican or Democrat, and as such, I view each one on their merits and where they will take the country. For a conservative , there is a lot better than John McCain (if only Thompson had had energy.), but you know what, there are a lot worse as well. As such, I truly believe that most conservatives are wrong, and that McCain won’t be the end of the world. After reading his speeches and reviewing his stands, I think that the party will be just fine with him as a nominee. Could he still not be the nominee – possibly, a situation I’m going to look into later, but for now, presuming he gets the nomination, I believe that most conservatives will be able to rally behind him. Will it be enough to defeat Obama or Clinton – that remains to be seen.
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
