John McCain: Yes
January 30, 2008
The handwriting would seem to be on the wall, and though I plan, on Super Tuesday, to cast my vote for Mike Huckabee, let’s be honest: this race is going to come down to John McCain and Mitt Romney. I take a lot of satisfaction in the fact that Huck went from being an unknown, 9-10 months ago when I began blogging for him, to outlasting both Rudy Giuliani (the presumptive nominee not that long ago), and Fred Thompson, who for a couple of months was the darling of the party. I’ll always wonder if Fred’s presence in the South Carolina primary cost Huck the win (I really, really believe that it did), and if winning SC would have given him more momentum heading into Florida. Still, he was beaten pretty soundly yesterday, and despite my generally optimistic bent, and the fact that a lot of Southern states are in the Super Tuesday primary, it seems clear that Huck’s accomplishments this time around will be limited to either becoming the VEEP nominee and/or positioning himself for 2012.
That leaves us Flip Flopney or John McCain. I could support either one in the general election. If I believed Flopney were everything he says he is (conservative), then he’d be a better choice, but I just don’t trust him, and more importantly, I think McCain is more electable than Flip. The remaining question is, is John McCain conservative enough to get my vote, and the answer is “yes”. I just looked up his lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, which details his voting record in the U.S. Senate. It’s 82+%. That’s not nearly perfect, but it’s not “liberal” either; it’s more conservative than a decent number of Republican senators, at least 12-14 as I recall. On many social issues, McCain is conservative, with a strong pro-life record. I trust his defense instincts (while not being thrilled with his record on the borders).
But here’s the deal: we cannot afford to have Mrs. Bill Clinton or Barack Obama in the White House. There are a variety of reasons why this is true, but for the pro-lifers among us, remember that we are one Supreme Court Justice away, likely, from the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Barring the unexpected, the next opening on the Court will almost certainly be one of the liberal members, either Justice Stevens or Justice Ginsburg or even that little clown Souter. Granted, getting a constructionist past a Democrat-controlled Senate won’t be easy, but they can’t hold out forever; you just keep nominating constructionists until the public tires of the Democrat game-playing and subterfuge, and we get, for the first time in memory, a majority of justices who actually believe the Constitution is the law of the land.
The polls (which do shift, I recognize) suggest that McCain is better positioned to beat the Dems. I’m willing to concede the (somewhat marginal, IMHO) difference between McCain and Romney for the gain of a greater likelihood of winning the general election. It’ll do no good to have a conservative nominee if that person can only manage 48% of the vote.
And that is why I can vote, albeit somewhat reluctantly, for John McCain.
This Just Makes Me Giggle
January 29, 2008
One by One, Angry Liberals Turn Their Backs on Team Clinton
Best line is from Tom Daschle: “… this backbiting, bitter give-and-take that we’re beginning to see more and more of, especially from the Clinton campaign. It’s wrong. Everybody know it’s wrong and it’s got to stop … It’s not presidential. It’s not in keeping with the image of a former president.”
Since when, Tom, did Bill Clinton ever do anything that was “presidential”, or “in keeping with the image of …president”???
More on “Does Jesus Matter Anymore?”
January 28, 2008
A brief follow-up to yesterday’s post regarding Ms. Jefferts Schori and the off-track direction of the Episcopal Church; I found this quote, via 9Marks that was worthy of repeating:
It is necessary, however, to emphasize that the church should not claim power and jurisdiction in every area of life, including social issues. There are greater calls on our compassion than even the most horrible physical sufferings, and no other body is charged with looking after meeting those greater needs and showing that kind of compassion than the local church.[44] It would be just like Satan and the world to desire the church to abstain from her role of proclaiming the exclusivity of Christ to become another welfare organization, when God did not give the church that function in Scripture. Ken Jones said it well at a CHBC Henry Forum. He said,
“If the church never offers a single hot meal but preaches the gospel, then she is true to her calling. But if all she does is offer hot meals and dances in the neighborhood and gives away clothes but never preaches the gospel – she’s not a church…The church is not called to economically empower anybody, but it is called to deliver the message of reconciliation. But my concern is that…we are defining ourselves…by the programs that we offer and not the message we preach.”
Pardon Me, Madame Bishop: Does Jesus Matter Anymore?
January 27, 2008
The Most Rev. Bishop Jefferts-Schori, new head of the Episcopal Church in America, was in my hometown of Roanoke this week, and here’s the article about her visit:
Bishop Conveys Message of Activism
How’d you like this line?
In her address, she barely mentioned the traditional church mission of saving souls.
How ’bout this response?
Her activist message resonated with Southwest Virginia pastors such as Vince Carroll, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Richlands. “She reminds me of something the Apostle Paul said, ‘The poor will always be with you.’ But you damn well better do something to help them out.” Uhh-HUH. I’m scratching my head for chapter and verse on this one.
It’s about feeding the hungry, debt reduction, hounding politicians, yada, yada. Some of these things are important, to be absolutely sure; we cannot divorce social concern from the gospel of Jesus. But neither can we divorce the gospel of Jesus from social concern, something Ms. Jefferts-Schori apparently felt disinclined to mention. I’m guessing because it’s something she doesn’t believe. If we remove the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus from our mission as a church, or relegate it to secondary status, focusing instead on “humanitarian work”, well, what are we doing that Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, et al can’t do just as well? And thus if that’s our mission, and others can perform it just as well, does Jesus matter anymore?
Liberal theology kills churches, mutates the gospel of Jesus into mere social do-goodism, and sends people to hell.
Mrs. Bill Clinton’s First Nights in the White House
January 26, 2008
Hillary Clinton gets elected President and is spending her first night in the White House. She has waited so long……….
The ghost of George Washington appears, and Hillary says,
“How can I best serve my country?”
Washington says, “Never tell a lie.”
“Ouch!” Says Hillary, “I don’t know about that.”
The next night, the ghost of Thomas Jefferson appears…
Hillary says, “How can I best serve my country?”
Jefferson says,
“Listen to the people.”
“Ohhh! I really don’t want to do that.”
On the third night, the ghost of Abe Lincoln appears…
Hillary says, “How can I best serve my country?”
Lincoln says,
“Go to the theater”
Flip Flopney: Conservative?
January 23, 2008
Not according to this article, which suggests the ole Flip is wiling to Jello himself into whatever position would seem to be advantageous at the moment. I just don’t really trust the guy.
So What Do Rush and Sean Do Now?
January 22, 2008
Having savaged Mike Huckabee, I guess they’ve effectively got one horse left in the race, Flip Flopney, and he’s anything but a sure bet. Supposing Flip doesn’t get the nomination, will we see these and other conservative pundits begin a massive backpedal, in order to help America avoid the disaster that awaits should any of the spectacularly-unqualified Democrat candidates win?
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
