We Never Learn…

Sometimes I have to wonder to myself where I belong.  I’ve have considered myself a conservative for quite some time now in my young adult life.  I’ve read so many different takes on what conservatism means and conservative philosophy.  The way I see it we believe in maximizing an individuals freedom within the boundaries of the constitution.  Without that very basic principle our country ceases to exist because there is nothing that goes beyond the foundational document of our great country.

I’m not going to go into all of the principles right now.  I will at some point, but right now I’m wondering if I even have a political party anymore.  I used to feel the republican party best identified with my ideas of America.  Now, I’m not so sure.  If I would have pulled a liberal and gone completely on emotion after John McCain won my home state of Florida I may have quit the party right then and there.  I’ll be honest at one point I said I would support John McCain out of fear of Hillary, but should it factor into my decision that I fear a McCain presidency as well?  John McCain represents almost literally nothing about conservatism.  Nearly every single liberal newspaper has endorsed him.  That doesn’t make me too confident in his conservative principles.  I keep hearing all over the news the question of “How does McCain win over conservatives?” and frankly if that doesn’t ring any bells with McCain supporters whom claim to be conservative then I don’t know what will to be honest. 

I’m normally an eternal optimist(as most conservatives are) and I can find the good in any republican candidate.  Any republican candidate including John McCain.  I agree with him about the war.  I agree with him about spending(although I doubt he really gets where the spending needs to be cut).  I also agree with him for the most part about his pro life voting record(even though he supports embryonic stem cell research).  However, it ends about right there.

The Senator votes against two vital tax cuts when our economy was hurting and uses liberal rhetoric to justify his votes.  He even teamed with senators Tom Daschle, Russ Feingold, and Jay Rockefeller to vote on amendments that would undermine the tax cuts. Did you get that?  He did all of this when our economy desperately needed these tax cuts.  I’m supposed to trust his judgment?  I’m supposed to believe he’s a conservative?  Tax cuts are more than just an economically intelligent approach.  It’s a moral good.  Letting people keep more of their money.  You are in a sense controlling their life when you have the power to judge whether their budget goes up or down.  How a “conservative” could vote against these cuts I do not know. 

He teamed with Ted Kennedy to co-sponsor a bill intended to seal the border.  However, this bill would have provided amnesty for millions upon millions of illegal immigration.  Conservatives are for the rule of law.  Conservatives are for their country having tight borders.  Conservatives are for the fairness of those who wish to play by the rules and get in line.  We don’t give those amnesty and say it’s not because we try to make them “pay a fine” and learn English.  They still get to stay here the whole time.  How do we enforce these laws?  The majority of people rejected this bill and he still tried to pass it quickly through the senate with as little debate as possible.   Is that the sign of a statesmen?  The bill wasn’t conservative in the first place, but then pushing it on an overwhelming majority of people that reject it?  Then on top of that he voted for Arlen Specter’s amendment to kill the border fence.  That doesn’t fall in line with common sense conservative views.

Finally what I’m going to mention in my short list verses the really, really long list of awful anti-conservative acts by Senator John McCain is the Stewardship act co-sponsored by Joe Lieberman.  This further shows me he needs to read a book on economics and quickly.  This is one of the most massive bills for government intervention into the private sector that I have seen.  This would be a disaster for the American economy.  According to the EIA phase 1 of this plan would increase gasoline prices by 9 percent in 2010 and 19 percent in 2025; natural-gas prices in the industrial and electric-power sectors by 21 percent in 2010 and 58 percent in 2025; and electricity prices by 35 percent in 2025.  As this plan was originally proposed in 2003 phase 1 would reduce GDP by $760 billion during 2004-2025.  It would also produce emission caps on major industries.  This would further change US policy towards the private sector.  Never before has the government regulated the emissions of carbon content of fuels or emissions.  Coal, oil, and natural gas provide America with over 80% of it’s energy and all are byproducts of carbon dioxide.  This will open the door to more government regulation and intervention into how we conduct business in this country.  It will also drive many jobs offshore to countries that do not have these kinds of standards.  This really isn’t rocket science, but once again McCain fails to understand some very easy to understand economic principle.  This kind of massive expansion in regulation is far from conservative principle.

So you’re probably wondering why I’m writing this piece.  I’m writing it because it seems that the republican nomination is headed towards John McCain.  I have shown a few reasons as to why John McCain is not, in my opinion, a conservative.  Is this the direction the republican party wishes to go?  Do we give up principles in order to work with liberals and appease the center?  If that’s the way we are going as a party then please drop me off at the next stop.  Hopefully in the future a conservative leader will rise up in the republican party, but it’s becoming more apparent that there isn’t enough room on this wagon for any conservatives.