karasoth's blog

By Larry Bernard

When it comes to the politicians I want representing me you don't have to agree with me 70% of the time, you don't have to agree with me 60% of the time. But their are ten issues that to me Matter.

I: I Have the Freedom to Speak, and the Freedom to associate so long as I'm not undertaking criminal conduct:
The Constitution is pretty clear on this issue but Senators Obama and McCain both fail and fail broadly on this issue. McCain-Feingold, Restricting public speech, even meddling with baseball (If roids in baseball are a problem, its a crime let the DEA handle it). Neither of these men respect my right to speak (and how I choose to donate is my speech as well) or the freedom for me to associate and govern my free associations myself.
II: I have the Freedom to own and use a gun so long as I am not a criminal, mentally disabled, or unable to be legally responsible. So long as I am not using it in commission of a crime:
McCain gets a C on gun rights but unfortunately I use the system they use in Grad School where a C is really an F. The Only Solace is Senator Obama is so bad on Guns he has passed Regular F and is now a holder of The Super F
III:We do not Nationalize Health Care.
McCain gets a C on this issue for talk. But again a C is failing. When other Senators and Congressmen fight the political mythology on Health Care they speak of the actual health care crisis. Whats really going on wrong in the Health Care system. McCain just says "ummmm Free market solutions." its that half assed attitude which will lead to the ruin of what is good (and a lot is good) in American health care. Again like with Gun issues the only Solace for the McCain campaign is Obama has a Super F. Which is frightening because in the Primaries he just had a D
IV:Humanity should grow, not decline:
This is a larger critique of John McCain and the contemporary view on Global warming. Lets set asside the is it/Is it not real bit for a moment. Energy equals wealth in a nut shell. By saying that people in the West should have less energy consumption your saying their should be less wealth in the west. By saying people in the third world should not be allowed to grow their energy consumption your saying you should damn those people to poverty for generations. Thats at its core an idea which is so contrary to capitalism its rather Ruinous. On this Standard McCain actually has the Super F because he wants to make people fail more and Obama only has an F
V:The United States of America is great:
America is an exceptional nation in the world, and in human history. And because of the good it has done and the good it will do America Deserves the best defense through Hard and Soft Power it can get. Here John McCain actually gets a passing grade an A-. Obama however gets an F+ (and he teases at getting a D)
VI:People should be Free to spend their money.
Buisnesses, families, individuals. Government should tax them as little as possible:
 Due to the Global Warming plan and John McCain's attacking the Bush Tax Cuts when he needs the political points with the New York Times he gets a C on this issue. Which is failure. Obama gets an F+ only because on a recent CNBC interview I saw he said he might raise taxes, more/Less/or not at all then he has promised.
VII:Judges should be appointed that respect the constitution and the rule of law:
McCain gets a B- here. Its still passing but because he has shown contempt for the first and second Amendments and I doubt he will appoint judges who are any better then he is. Likewise his own I like Alito/no I don't talk. Here Obama gets an F- and he is teasing a Super F
VIII:So long as States aren't being stupid you should respect Federalism:
If your California with Pot and Gay Marriage, or Oregon with Euthanasia you lose this right. On this issue John McCain has a Solid A. And Obama gets a Solid D- (because he thinks its ok for it to happen when it can subvert the laws in other states.)
IX: Criminals should be Punished for breaking the law:
McCain gets an A- on this one, due to his desire to grandstand with crusading against Criminals but Obama due to his years in Illinois in the legislature gets a D-
X: Unless Business and Capitalism is doing something illegal you shouldn't badmouth them:
You say "we need to pass reforms" fine and dandy I can go along with that. But when you attack drug companies and oil companies over their profits the way John McCain has you get a C and Obama gets another F

These are the 10 ways a politician will lose me.

Because what would make Conservative Republicans with Agina about him happy then making a Big Tax, Big Nanny State government Mayor his #2 on the ticket

June 11, 2008 --

Sen. John McCain praised Mayor Bloomberg yesterday - talking up Hizzoner as a strong candidate for governor and refusing to rule him out as a vice presidential candidate.

 

But I am sure people on here will tell me why his saying such a thing shouldn't bother conservatives

Obama is now flip flopping on his pledge to only use Public Money if the Republican Canidate did the same

And then he tried  removed it from the Internet

Obama citing an old article based on a Press Release from the city of Chicago

Ayers Advised Chicago Mayor Richard Daley On School Reform Issues. Bill “Ayers is now mainstream — an educator with distinguished professor status. He has written three books about education and has advised Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley on the subject of school reform.” [AP, 10/14/01]

 

Shouldn't we be talking about how Obama's sense of "Mainstream" is out of touch with most of America. I am pretty sure a man who wishes he committed more acts of terror and is an apologist for arab terrorists isn't what most people would consider Mainstream

Over at the Weekly Standard They site a poll which shows most Americans are like me when it comes to oil drilling

When Americans are asked what steps should be taken to reduce gas prices, no consensus appears, but somewhat surprisingly, a majority favor imposing price controls, by a 53% to 45% margin. Americans also support releasing supplies from the federal government's strategic petroleum reserve (58%) and drilling in U.S. coastal and wilderness areas now off limits (57%). On the other hand, a majority oppose rationing gasoline (79%), re-instituting the 55 mph speed limit (56%), and suspending the federal tax on gasoline for the summer (52%)...

Ironically, the intensity with which Americans see oil companies as "gas price villains" may be fading a little, according to opinions respondents volunteered in a new Gallup Poll, conducted May 19-21. Over the past year, the percentage of Americans blaming the oil companies for skyrocketing gas prices fell from 34% to 20%; the percentage pointing to oil refinery problems fell from 16% to 9%; and those attributing the increase in prices to problems in the Middle East and the Iraq war fell from 13% to 8%.

 

I was one of those Floridians who in the days of Gas Prices under two dollars a gallon didn't want drilling of the shore. But now with Prices where they are I want that stuff taken out so we can get some Relief. We have some talk about this from our congressional canidates but we as a party need to beat this in to the heads of ordinary folks. Republicans want to push down gas prices by creating more supply, Democrats want to curb your demand by pushing prices up through taxes.

That to me is a winning message

While this site does have a tendancy to go off the deep end with some truly fringe ideas there are in this mud some true pearls which we must examine about the man who wants to be our next President.

 

McCain, however, does not think so highly of the POW/MIA families and activists who openly challenge the U.S. government's POW/MIA policy, many of whom walked the halls of Congress during the Vietnam War years demanding America's prisoners of war, including POW McCain, not be forgotten.

McCain, as a member of the 1992 Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, took the lead in demanding a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the POW/MIA activists and their organizations. He accused the activists of fraud because in some of their fund-raising literature the activists claimed the U.S. government knowingly left U.S. POWs behind after the Vietnam War and that some remain alive today.

McCain openly attacked the activists telling the press, "The people who have done these things are not zealots in a good cause. They are the most craven, most cynical and most despicable human beings to ever run a scam." The Justice Department did investigate the POW/MIA activists and their organizations and found no reason to charge any POW/MIA activist.

 

John McCain then attacked ordinary Americans for lobbying congress on an issue they believed in. He accused them of committing criminal acts and tried to lean the force of the US government on them. Many of these same people fought for John McCain and his brothers in Hanoi when they were POWs. Did John McCain say "If there were POWS there we would join with you but there is no evidence that there are" if he did we would see a demonstration of character and class from John McCain. Here we see the same John McCain we saw when republicans opposed him on Campaign Finance Reform, Global Warming, And Amnesty for illegal immigrants.

they even paint the picture of John McCain's signature hated issue amongst Republicans (McCain-Feingold) as more crass oppertunism for John McCain

"Republican Sen. John McCain reported a net worth of at least $830,705 but possibly as much as $1.2 million or more, excluding personal residences . . . McCain listed his wife, Cindy, as the source of most of his assets. . . the bulk of McCain's assets consisted of stock in three Glendale firms - Hensley & Co., a beer distributorship headed by his father-in-law; Western Leasing Co., which leases trucks and equipment; and Eagle Enterprises, which invests in real estate and stock." The Phoenix Gazette - May 19, 1987

"So why has Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., gone to unprecedented lengths to block reform of the Senate campaign finance system? Why does he oppose letting this important matter even come to a vote? Perhaps it's because he is a prime beneficiary of the special interest funding of congressional elections. "McCain raised over $2.5 million for his 1986 election . . . more than $760,000 of his campaign funds came from political action committee (PACs) . . . especially disturbing are the contributions to McCain's campaign coffers from PACs outside of Arizona." The Phoenix Gazette - December 8, 1987

"While Sen. John McCain's wife and father-in-law were investing with Charles H. Keating, Jr. in a shopping center, McCain was helping Keating battle federal regulators who questioned his operation of Lincoln Savings and Loan . . . [photo caption] Documents show that Sen. John McCain's wife, Cindy, and father-in-law, James W. Hensley (second from right) are the largest investors in Fountain Square Shopping Center. Their partnership is managed by subsidiaries of American Continental Corp., run by Charles H. Keating, Jr. (right). But John McCain contends there was no conflict in his helping Keating battle federal regulators." The Arizona Republic - October 8, 1989

"Sen. John McCain had more than a constituent relationship with Charles H. Keating, Jr. prior to 1987 . . . the McCains - sometimes with their daughter and baby sitter - made at least nine trips at Keating's expense from August 1984 to August 1986 aboard either Keating's American Continental Corporation's jet or chartered planes and helicopters owned by Resorts International. Three of the trips were for vacations at Keating's luxurious retreat in the Bahamas." The Arizona Republic - October 8, 1989

John McCain when it was to his benefit rolled in the mud. But when he pitched in to help out a major investment partner of his family and got hit on the nose for it he then decided "If I can't play no one else can" this is another aspect of his Character that serves him poorly as a Senator and will serve us poorly if he is a President.

And when Reporters asked that legitimate question, just as when McCain was asked legitimate questions about his Immigration Amnesty Plan John McCain became a bully

"McCain, in a radio talk-show appearance last week condemned disclosures of his family's ties to Keating as "irresponsible journalism." The Arizona Republic - October 17, 1989

" . . . both in telephone conversations with reporters and on a live radio talk show, the Republican senator was far from calm. He was agitated. Angry. And the way he dealt with unpleasant questions was to bully the questioners . . . 'You're a liar,' McCain snapped Sept. 29 when an Arizona Republic reporter asked him about business ties between his wife, Cindy McCain, and Keating . . . 'That's the spouse's involvement, you idiot,' McCain sneered later in the same conversation. 'You do understand English, don't you?' ". . . Not content with just bullying reporters, McCain tried belittling them: 'It's up to you to find that out, kids.' . . . McCain wasn't talking to liars. He wasn't talking to juveniles. The senator was talking to two reporters." The Arizona Republic - October 17, 1989

 

Again 1989 John McCain, to the same John McCain who calls fellow Senators Sailor words and tells people who don't like his plans to make their own or shut up. There isn't a change in his character it is just bad character and bad leadership

Nor is there evidence of John and Cindy McCain showing compassion or a drive to help people who suffered in Vietnam

"As a 100 percent, service-connected, disabled ex-prisoner of war, I sought help from John McCain when he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and I needed help in regard to a claim for back service-connected disability compensation. I did so because I thought that as an ex-POW himself he could relate to my problem. When I could not reach him via letters to his office, I wrote to his home address. That was a very enlightening experience . . . my letter, addressed to the congressman, was opened by his wife, Cindy. She didn't like what she read, so she wrote me a nasty letter. Apparently John McCain isn't even capable of communicating on a one-to-one basis with someone who was a POW and returned from his experience in far worse physical condition than John McCain returned from his experience . . . M. "Shane" Schoenborn." The Phoenix Gazette - November 4, 1989

We also saw back in the 2000 campaign other demonstrations of the temper and lack of character of John McCain

In fact, Major Burch's organization, the National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition, is hardly a "fringe" outfit. Founded in 1983 as the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition expressly to force the federal government to address the Agent Orange fiasco, the Coalition took the lead in writing the legislation and garnering House and Senate co-sponsors. The Coalition was the only non-chartered veterans organization permitted to testify before the United States House of Representatives.

As Burch says, "Our Coalition was then and is now 'cutting edge.' We want results for our veterans 'now' - while they're alive. We don't want or need more phony studies and delays."

Tom Burch is a former Green Beret and a member of the Judge Advocate Corps, who served in Vietnam and received the Bronze Star in 1968. He is a past department commander of the Washington D.C. Veterans of Foreign Wars. The VFW, along with the American Legion, is considered the most "mainstream" veteran's group.

....

1) According to Burch, beginning in 1984 when the coalition sought co-sponsors for the Agent Orange bill, John McCain refused to sign on. When Burch and his men asked other members of the House to co-sponsor, these congressmen would invariably ask, "Has John McCain signed on to this bill?" When told that McCain had not it was believed, as often happens on the Hill in matters like this, that McCain was against the bill.

It was only after more than two hundred congress members expressed their support for the bill and final passage was assured that McCain finally agreed to come on board. But McCain's foot-dragging and initial reluctance made the coalition's work much more difficult and delayed the veterans' final victory.

2) In 1988 the coalition led the charge for "Judicial Review," a new system whereby veterans rejected for benefits by the Veterans Administration would have the same right to appeal as Social Security recipients have. Again, the coalition members working the halls of Congress asking for co-sponsors to the bill found McCain in opposition.

The senator from Arizona never signed on.

3) In 1991 when new evidence of living American servicemen missing in Vietnam surfaced, the coalition - in conjunction with those "mainstream" veterans organizations, the VFW and American Legion - led the charge for a Senate Select Committee to investigate whether or not any American POWs were left behind in Southeast Asia and whether some might still be alive. All these veterans groups wanted a senate panel instead of an executive branch panel because no one believed the executive branch could be trusted to investigate itself.

Senator McCain initially opposed the Senate committee. Later, when the Senate ultimately created the panel, McCain was appointed a member.

4) As a member of the Senate POW Committee, McCain "distinguished himself" by repeatedly insulting wives, mothers and children of POWs and MIAs and accusing many veterans groups fighting for the POW cause of "making a living off this issue." He made similar charges in the South Carolina primary when the National Right to Life Committee endorsed Bush: "It is a shame when they take a cause and turn it into a business."

5) Tom Burch's District of Columbia law partner is Adrian Cronauer, made famous by Robin Williams' portrayal in the movie "Good Morning Vietnam." When the presidential campaign was heating up last month, Cronauer asked for a meeting with McCain to discuss veterans' issues. The answer came back from McCain's office: "The Senator says he will not meet with you."

6) And when word leaked out that Tom Burch and the coalition were going to endorse George W. Bush, McCain campaign operative and fellow former POW, Orson Swindle, called Burch and said, "We will destroy you."

While I am quoting from one source on the Character of John McCain we only need to look at his more recent actions to know that this is the MO he has operated in, and while likely operated on in the future.

So with these prior bad acts in mind why should any republican trust that John McCain has the character to lead us?

I found two sites. One that asked for John McCain's stances in 2004 and the 2008 Campaign website.

2004:

 

In 2004 The National Political Awareness Test (NPAT) asked candidates which items they would support if elected. Items included economic and policy issues, both domestic and foreign. Here are the highlights of John McCain's responses to the questions. John McCain on Abortion * Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape, when the life of the woman is endangered. * The "partial-birth" abortion should not be permitted. * Organizations that advocate or perform abortions should not be publicly funded

 2008:

 

Overturning Roe v. Wade John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat. However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion. Once the question is returned to the states, the fight for life will be one of courage and compassion - the courage of a pregnant mother to bring her child into the world and the compassion of civil society to meet her needs and those of her newborn baby. The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level. As John McCain has publicly noted, "At its core, abortion is a human tragedy. To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level."

So we see McCain is now (as opposed to 2000) committed to ending Roe V Wade but in reality we don't see John McCain as a Strong Candidate on the Pro-Life issue because he isn't.

On Gay Marriage we see a similar thing

2008:

 

Protecting Marriage As president, John McCain would nominate judges who understand that the role of the Court is not to subvert the rights of the people by legislating from the bench. Critical to Constitutional balance is ensuring that, where state and local governments do act to preserve the traditional family, the Courts must not overstep their authority and thwart the Constitutional right of the people to decide this question. The family represents the foundation of Western Civilization and civil society and John McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It is only this definition that sufficiently recognizes the vital and unique role played by mothers and fathers in the raising of children, and the role of the family in shaping, stabilizing, and strengthening communities and our nation. As with most issues vital to the preservation and health of civil society, the basic responsibility for preserving and strengthening the family should reside at the level of government closest to the people. In their wisdom, the Founding Fathers reserved for the States the authority and responsibility to protect and strengthen the vital institutions of our civil society. They did so to ensure that the voices of America's families could not be ignored by an indifferent national government or suffocated through filibusters and clever legislative maneuvering in Congress.

And now 2004:

John McCain on Same Sex Marriages

• Same-sex couples should be allowed to form civil unions. Marriage should be restricted to a union only between a man and a woman.

While he focuses on the core issues of politically popular irritation in the Judges we don't see at the core what John McCain thinks. We see a whole lot of platitudes. Now me personally I consider a lot of issues more important then Abortion, and I view Gay Marriage as an assault against traditional marriage and one where the end of that pardigm shift and how it would change our society is unknown. But I look at this and I don't see John McCain as a conservative like me, nor do I see him as a person who is even like me. Whereas he is running against a canidate who makes people feel rightly or wrongly like he is one of us (the Us depending on who he reaches out to). John McCain can't win if he doesn't open up and show us who he really is

One of the major problems Republicans have over Democrats is the fact we as Republicans have been united behind ideas we call “Conservative” and Democrats over ideas we call “Liberal”. If you spend time studying political science you learn that the truth is something very much different. Wikipedia provides us with some good starting points for discussion

 

Liberal conservatism is a political philosophy which generally means combining elements of "conservatism" with elements of "liberalism". As these latter two terms have had different meanings over time and across countries, liberal conservatism also has a wide variety of meanings. Historically, it often referred to the combination of economic liberalism, which champions laissez-faire markets, with the classical conservative concern for established tradition, respect for authority and religious values. In this way it contrasted itself with classical liberalism, which supported freedom for the individual in both the economic and social spheres. Over time, the general conservative ideology in many countries adopted economic liberal arguments and this sense of the term "liberal conservatism" fell out of use, and "conservatism" was simply used instead. This is also the case in countries where liberal economic ideas have been the tradition, such as the United States, and are thus considered "conservative". In other countries where liberal conservative movements have entered the political mainstream, the terms "liberal" and "conservative" may become synonymous (as in Australia, in Italy and in Spain). The liberal conservative tradition in the United States combines the economic individualism of the classical liberals with a Burkean form of conservatism (which has also become part of the American conservative tradition, for example in the writings of Russell Kirk).

And this is also important

Conservative liberals differ from social liberals for some main reasons: * First, they are more concerned with economic liberalism, adopting libertarian or neo-liberal policies, while the second ones tend to be more keen on Keynesian solutions and on higher taxes, though still supporting individual liberty as well as decentralization. Conservative liberals, in contrast, are staunch supporters of the free-market, small government, less bureaucracy, deregulation, privatizations and the lowering of taxes, often proposing the flat tax or the fair tax. * Second, they are usually socially liberal on such social issues as same-sex marriage, abortion, and euthanasia but may place less emphasis on them than do most social liberals. * Third, they are mostly strong supporters of economic globalization and tend to be more skeptical about international organizations like the United Nations or European Union[citation needed]. Most conservative liberals support the foreign policy of the United States and, in NATO-member states support that political alliance[citation needed]. * Fourth, conservative liberals are often in favor of stricter punishment of illegal immigrants and are usually tolerant but not enthusiastic about multiculturalism, of which social liberals are strong supporters. Conservative liberals often identify as law and order-parties, which are tougher on crime and support higher levels of punishment and are more committed to fighting terrorism, while social liberals tend to emphasize prevention and are more committed to civil rights. * Fifth, historically, conservative liberals tended to be more skeptical about universal suffrage than social or classical liberals[citation needed]. One should not confuse conservative liberalism with liberal conservatism; indeed, the latter is a variant of conservatism. Liberal conservatives tend to be more committed to authority, tradition and established religion, while conservative liberals are supporters of the separation between church and state. However it is possible to classify some parties as both conservative-liberal and liberal-conservative. Conservative liberalism differs from libertarianism in several ways. First it is far less radical in its economic program. Second it is supportive of an active defense policy and military interventions in contrast to the libertarian non-interventionist policy. Most conservative liberals supported the American-led interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan[citation needed]. Second conservative liberals are tough on crime and are more willing to sacrifice civil liberties to fight terrorism and crime[citation needed].

If we were to examine American Conservatism we see a fusion of both Conservative Liberals and Liberal Conservatives within the tradition of American Conservatism. As the two wikipedia articles point out while their are clear differences in both of these schools of thought they do bare a great deal of similarities. Which is why Individuals like Ronald Reagan, and Newt Gingrich were very good at leading American Conservatism forward. However in approaching Liberal Conservatism we also have a third group that is Conservative on Social issues and how the government intersects with Society. This group on the surface one could (and some are arguing this point) has no connection to the other two. But this Social Conservative group comes from an age of our culture where Christianity (their religion of choice) and Protestant Christianity (their particular Christianity of choice) is driven not around the community but around the individual. While Individuals in this Christian tradition do come togther to work on projects, they don't focus on a larger collective identity. Only with Catholicsm (where we see competition with the Democratic party) does the communal side of Christianity grow in Strength. So Individualism united all three wings of American Conservatism. Respect for the family and their ability to act unites all three wings. Though when we get into strengthening the family in areas like gay marriage some aspects of American Conservatism grow weaker. Smaller government unites two outside of the box but when linked with smaller taxes and respect for the family American Conservatism is again united.Respect for the rule of law unites two wings of the party out of the box again, and with some tweaking Conservative Liberals come to the table as they may have issues when Law and Order politics is played with what they deem unjust laws. A Foriegn policy driven on American Exceptionalism unites the Liberal Conservatices and the Conservative Liberals and depending on the mission can unite all of the wings of American Conservatism.

So the key ideas at the largest level which make the American Conservatism we know and love all still sell well today when you start to examine what American Conservatism really is, and where its ideas come from. You see big ideas which the Republican Party isn't running on and you see the Republican party being rejected by conservatives who don't vote for a Obamamination offering Free Healthcare, Free Job Training, and a Free Pony they just stay home. And instead of saying "why are we losing Republicans" we see a Republican party say "why are we losing Americans" When the ideas which made the Republican party great in 1980 and 1994 are still relevant and potent to Americans if we would simply have a party that applies them. The Libertarian Party will peal off some of the Conservative Liberals and the Liberal Conservatives in this election if the Republican party does not get on the Stage at the National Convention and be a American Conservative party.