McCain Isn't Right For The Right

National Review Online: Uncertainty Over GOP Candidate's Views Makes Him A Risk To His Party

(National Review Online)  This column was written by Deroy Murdock

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There is plenty to admire about Senator John McCain (R., Ariz.). His torturous Vietnam experience demands the deepest respect. His eternal vigilance against absurd and costly government boondoggles is unsurpassed. And he forcefully backed President Bush’s military surge, such that a largely pacified and increasingly functional Iraq lately has drifted from the front pages.

But plenty more about McCain argues against his presidential bid. McCain diligently has stymied conservative, free-market policies. While he generally is appropriately hawkish overseas, he is dangerously soft on captured terrorists. And, thanks to the McCain Uncertainty Principle, it often is anyone’s guess whether he will support the Right or sandbag its efforts.

McCain famously opposed President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. “No,” he told Rich Lowry on Hannity and Colmes last December 28, those votes were not mistakes. Rather than simply disinfect Washington’s cash-for-favors culture, McCain-Feingold muzzles free speech within two months of Election Day - precisely when speech should be freest. Last summer’s permissive McCain-Kennedy bill turbocharged conservative rage over illegal immigration.

But McCain’s legislative rap sheet is longer and laden with lesser-known apostasies:

As barrels of oil oscillate between $90 and $100, and rising energy prices make driving, flying, and heating costlier, GOP voters should know that McCain rejected drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge at least four times. Had April 2002 legislation prevailed “to reduce dependence on foreign sources of crude oil and energy…and to promote national security,” an area the size of Washington-Dulles Airport would augment Earth’s petroleum supply. Instead, McCain joined Hillary Clinton and John Edwards to defeat this measure. Thus, U.S. wallets are lighter, the economy is running out of gas, and America pumps increasing billions into OPEC - some of which fuels car bombs.

The McCain-Lieberman bill would combat alleged “global warming” by making power producers pay to exceed government-imposed limits on carbon dioxide emissions. The John Locke Foundation’s Roy Cordato cited a July 2007 Environmental Protection Agency letter to McCain measuring McCain-Lieberman’s de facto energy tax: “The present value of the cumulative reduction in real GDP for the 2012-2030 period ranges from $660 billion to $2.1 trillion,” EPA calculates. For 2012 to 2050, that figure is $1.6 trillion to $5.2 trillion.

McCain voted to extend President Bush’s ’01 and ’03 tax cuts and now wants them permanent. Still, among Republicans, only he and Lincoln Chaffee - Rhode Island’s defeated arch-RINO - originally spurned them. As McCain told NBC’s Tim Russert on April 11, 2004: “I voted against the tax cuts because of the disproportionate amount that went to the wealthiest Americans.”

McCain opposed the Death Tax’s repeal in 2002. Also, he backed former Senator Tom Daschle’s (D., South Dakota) 1998 motion to waive the Budget Act and approve Big Tobacco’s Master Settlement Agreement that included a 282 percent, $1.10-per-pack cigarette-tax hike.

“I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues,” McCain admitted to Wall Street Journal editorialist Stephen Moore in November 2005. “I still need to be educated.”

McCain vocally resists waterboarding, even though that interrogation technique finally elicited intelligence from taciturn al-Qaeda leaders and September 11 conspirators Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheik Mohammed. Their revelations helped U.S. officials capture and imprison at least 10 hardened Islamo-fascist terrorists - including the architects of the deadly U.S.S. Cole and Bali nightclub bombings - who collectively had murdered 3,216 and wounded 8,795.

(Click here for details on this Islamo-butchery.)

“The way Senator McCain has equated waterboarding with torture, the way he seems to equate it with what was done to him in the Hanoi Hilton - to me, it hurts us in the eyes of the world,” New York Congressman Peter King tells me. “It shows, really, a lack of familiarity with just how tough this enemy is.”

“The fact is we are talking about 35 to 40 seconds of severe discomfort to a terrorist on the one hand, and on the other hand saving the lives of potentially thousands of Americans,” King says by phone. “From information I’ve seen, waterboarding does work. Waterboarding has saved thousands of American lives. For me, the moral issue is how could we not waterboard if we know it’s going to save the lives of thousands of Americans?”

“I strongly supported John McCain in 2000,” adds the House Homeland Security Committee’s ranking Republican. But “what John McCain has said about Guantanamo and waterboarding made me stand with Rudy Giuliani.”

It would be bad enough if McCain merely voted against key conservative and free-market priorities. But as he did regarding military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees in fall 2006, he erupted from nowhere and ambushed Republicans.

“I served 12 years with him, six years in the Senate as one of the leaders of the Senate,” former Senator Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) told radio host Mark Levin January 10. “John McCain was not only against us, but leading the charge on the other side.” Santorum ominously warned: “There’s nothing worse than having a Democratic Congress and a Republican president who would act like a Democrat in matters that are important to conservatives.”

[perception5]

Some see private enterprise, the economy, as a predatory target to be shot , others as a cow to be milked ,but a few are those [ MITT ROMNEY ] who see it as a stury horse pulling the wagon .

GO MITT ! aka Mr. Economy and aka Mr. Fixer.

America is the largest enterprise in the world and only Mitt Romney is qualified to run that enterprise, no question about it!

John McCain represents the "old guard" in Washington DC, Mitt represents the "new guard" for a broken Washington.

[Razzl]

The only entity at risk is NRO, whose extremist right-wing world view can''t possibly prevail in this election in the hands of any candidate. Risk is when you have something to lose: the GOP lost this election 2 years ago, so anything or anyone that shakes up the pace of the collapse can only be an opportunity, not a "risk".

If you think Rick Santorum is an example of a conservative whose ideas could prevail in this election, and if you''re still talking up Bush''s torture policies, then NRO''s advocacy is the risk to the party, not McCain''s campaign trail success.

[dmgenet]

This article is exactly why McCain should get the Republican nomination for President. He is the center that is needed in the Republican party to stop its descent into neo-conservatism that, at its core, believes that there is no compromise and win at ANY cost.

They are dangerous and slimy people masquerading as Republicans. They are simply put, Radicals, that will put power and money above the needs of this country. Some of them actually think (using the trickle down theory no doubt) feel that this is best for the country. Yet their no compromise attitude has tainted domestic and foreign policy and is pointing us toward fascism in the name of fear.

McCain has the character to resist those who want us to help us collide with destiny instead of working together for the benefit of this glorious country.

[brianbwb-2009]

McCain Isn''t Right For The Right

If he were, he would already be dead meat, America is done with intolerance, warmongering, perversion, and corruption. The day of the almost Nazis is finally coming to an end.

The sad part is, so is the country.

[ksjeff-2009]

If the National Review condemns McCain, then perhaps he deserves a second look for President. But if Rick Santorum condemns him, then he might just make a great President.

[ksjeff-2009]

How pathetic that the National Review would endorse torture. McCain WAS tortured, and he knows that America cannot take the moral high ground and continue to torture terrorists, or anyone else. Only SICK conservatives would advocate torture. Shame on the national Review.

[ubrew12]

dmgenet said: "They [neocons] are dangerous and slimy people masquerading as Republicans. They are simply put, Radicals, that will put power and money above the needs of this country."
I believe they are anarchists. Grover Norquist famously told people he wanted to drag the gov''t into a bathtub and drown it. If that''s not a definition of anarchy, I don''t know what is. And Bush has done his best to make that dream come true (thru the war and the natl debt).

[gkc99]

The Nether Republican O*riface doesn''t like John McCain because he doesn''t fall in line with the anointed power structure of the Repugniscum Party, now the U.S. Fascist Party, and doesn''t make an easy mark for manipulation by the Puppeteers current pulling the strings on Howdy Doody Bushit. We might as well call Romney "Mitt Bushit" as he''s just a slightly smarter clone of the Chimp-in-Chief.

No wonder the O*riface backs Mitt. He''s their boy.

[stokeybob]

He is the One World Order crowds number one boy, is he not?

[winghunter]

None of the four stooges are right for the right. They''ve reinvented themselves and can only last as long as their records are not known.

Do you really think the Dims would allow this to remain that way?

Find out BEFORE they tell you;

Candidate Research - Know Who You''re Voting For ( The Easy Way ) http://tinyurl.com/2sowta

[imnho]

If the ****** decided to raise hell after the end of the surge, then talking about which is the best republican candate is going to be academic. I think they are just laying low.

President Hillary does have an interesting ring to it.

[doctor--o]

Just keep pushing further and further to the right.
I''m sure the ''philosophical purists'' think that''s a good thing. Which is why many of us have left you never to return again.

Seeing for the first time ever how really truly bad it is under complete Republican control is the only good thing to come out of this wretched administration.

The Republicans are doing more damage to themselves than anyone else could possibly do. I''m sure you will be proud when the party is only crazy extremist kooks, the factually ignorant, and absurdly wealthy.

[marine_girl6]

I am proud of all the Military over in Iraq. Some people may believe that the war in Iraq is wrong... Well guess what people, War has been happening way before our time. It''s natural, there will always be war no matter where you go. Don''t believe what all the news says also... Iraq and Kuwait arn''t as bad as the news tells us it is.

[ov442]

I think McCain''s biggest faults are that he let himself be subjugated by Bush and Rove and signed on to most of his political war fallacies.
His worst attribute is that he keeps equating a withdrawal of troops with "Surrender" and "Cut and RUN".
Every combat veteran from Vietnam on back knows that we have had thousands of military troop withdrawals from the beginning of our nation. Yet McCain acts like bringing our troops home is like saying "ok heres my white flag, take my weapons, take my land and take me prisoner and torture me" or "ok, im scared, im turning and running, and im dropping my gun and pack so i can run faster"
He degrades and Insults every Veteran in history for such horrible talk.
I wonder what all the US Marines from the 1st Division that fought their way out of Chosin resevoir in Korea think about what he says. He calls them cowards, he calls them surrendering losers. For that alone he deserves No veteran''s vote

[ov442]

It''''s natural, there will always be war no matter where you go. Don''''t believe what all the news says also... Iraq and Kuwait arn''''t as bad as the news tells us it is. Posted by Marine_Girl6

A) youre right, war is natural, because people are always striving to kill others so they can rule in power. BUT, its not natural for our country to go Start Wars like Iraq. Bush even said himself in an interview with Ireland broadcasting, we gave Saddam an ultimatum - "disarm, and divulge your WMD programs" or we would attack.... umm. duh? he didnt do that because... he didnt have any.
B) The New is far more trustworthy to report whats going on, than the Military or White house which has shown from day 1 that they are trying to keep all bad news a secret and they lie about good news.
C) "Kuwait? isnt as bad as the news says it is"? what in the world are YOU watching? No one cares about whats going on in Kuwait. No one reports on it. odd.