McCain A Poor Representative Of Republican Party
By: Rob Casapulla, University of Connecticut/Daily Campus Online
Posted: 1/28/08

In recent history, the Republican Party has stood for three chief things above all else - life, lower taxes and a strong national defense program. So why on Earth do people think John McCain can and should be the Republican nominee for President? As far as I am concerned McCain is good on one of the three requirements to be a Republican President. He supports the military, but then so does everyone else in the Republican field.

Granted, McCain is a war hero and his service in Vietnam should never be forgotten or belittled. However this is just one thing that McCain brings to the table. Being a veteran means that he can provide a unique view to the table, but it by no way means that he should be guaranteed the nomination of a party, nor does it guarantee that he will be elected in the general election. The Democrats tried this with John Kerry - it didn't go so well for him. Bob Dole is a decorated veteran; he has received two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star. As a result of his war injuries his right arm was paralyzed and he still does not have full movement in the arm. Sound familiar? In 1996 the senator from Kansas was massacred in the general election by a Clinton, weird how history may tend to repeat itself. In 1992 President George H.W. Bush, former head of the CIA, Vice-President for eight years, President for four years, and a renowned WWII veteran lost to the smooth-talking Bill Clinton.

Voting for someone only because they are a veteran is absurd. Imagine if people voted soley for a candidate for President just because the candidate is black or female - it's just plain crazy.

So it's established that McCain has a military background and supports the military, yet on the other issues that involve national security McCain falls flat. He supports criminal trials for the terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay. He was also one of the main forces behind the failed illegal immigration amnesty bill - sorry, the failed "comprehensive immigration reform" bill. McCain's National Director of Hispanic Outreach, Juan Hernandez, has said "We must not only have a free flow of goods and services but also start working for a free flow of people." So while the entire nation is calling a solution to the immigration problem, at the very least a securing the border, McCain's campaign has called for the free flow of people through those borders.

McCain has said repeatedly since he ran for the Republican nomination in 2000, that he does not support the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That pretty much takes care of any questions about where McCain stands on abortion. Back during the 2000 campaign, when pro-life groups began to question McCain's commitment to the pro-life cause, McCain bravely stood up to them - accusing them of opposing him because they were afraid of his campaign finance reform plan. Well it's either that or the anti-abortion groups were wary because the man running for the pro-life party's nomination for president doesn't oppose the Supreme Court decision that has allowed 46 million abortions since 1973. You can decide what their real motives are.

As for taxes, McCain opposes President Bush's tax cuts, because they leave out the majority of Americans who need them the most. Apparently, McCain got a copy of the talking points that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards all use to criticize tax cuts. Other than former Rhode Island senator Lincoln Chafee, who is no longer even pretending to be a Republican, McCain is the only member of the party to oppose Bush's tax cuts. This is the kind of behavior that lets the New York Times editorial board laud McCain for being a "maverick" and principled. McCain won the primary endorsement from the Times convincing the one Republican in Manhattan - who was on the fence between McCain and Rudy Giuliani - to go with the lesser Republican. In other news that should have Republicans just jumping to vote for McCain, Bill Clinton has been going around saying that McCain and Hillary are "very close." That's right, Republicans love the Clintons and if we can't have another Clinton in the White House we at least want a close friend of the family - say, does anyone know if Monica is available?

Unfortunately for McCain, Republicans don't want a "maverick" from their party to become their nominee for President. Republicans want someone who at the very least adheres to the foundation of the party's platform.

So if we check in with the list of the three things that the Republican Party unequivocally expects in their presidential candidate, also known as the foundation of the party platform, McCain is scoring a .5 out of three - but I'll round it to one because he is old.
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