All Your Base Are Belong To Us — The Kip Lange Homepage

I said listen before, but now I’m telling you to read. Read this piece by Jeff Jacoby that I’m about to put in here, and think about it. Because I think this column really, really, really hits the nail on the head.

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A CONSERVATIVE’S CASE FOR MCCAIN
By Jeff Jacoby
The Boston Globe

Sunday, February 3, 2008

It is not news that much of the conservative base bitterly opposes John McCain and is appalled that the man they consider a Republican apostate could soon be the GOP’s presidential nominee. From talk radio to the blogosphere to the conservative press, many on the right are outraged that what Mitt Romney last week called “the House that Reagan Built” — the modern Republican Party — might anoint as its standard-bearer the candidate who by their lights is the least likely to follow in the Gipper’s footsteps.

Conservatives bristle at the thought of a Republican president who might raise income and payroll taxes. Or enlarge the federal government instead of shrinking it. Or appoint Supreme Court justices who are anything but strict constructionists. Or grant a blanket amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.

Now, I don’t believe that a President McCain would do any of those things. But President Reagan did all of them. Reagan also provided arms to the Khomeini theocracy in Iran, presided over skyrocketing budget deficits, and ordered US troops to cut and run in the face of Islamist terror in the Middle East. McCain would be unlikely to commit any of those sins, either.

Does this mean that Reagan was not, in fact, a great conservative? Of course not. Nor does it mean that McCain has not given his critics on the right legitimate reasons to be disconcerted. My point is simply that the immaculate conservative leader for whom so many on the right yearn to vote is a fantasy; ideological purity and presidential politics are never a perfect fit. Conservatives who say that McCain is no Ronald Reagan are right, but Mitt Romney is no Ronald Reagan either. Neither is Mike Huckabee. And neither was the real — as opposed to the mythic — Ronald Reagan.

The conservative case against McCain is clear enough; I made it myself in some of these columns when he first ran for president eight years ago. The issues that have earned McCain the label of “maverick” — campaign-finance restrictions, global warming, the Bush tax cuts, immigration, judicial filibusters — are precisely what stick in the craw of the GOP conservative base.

But this year, the conservative case *for* McCain is vastly more compelling.

On the surpassing national-security issues of the day — confronting the threat from radical Islam and winning the war in Iraq — no one is more stalwart. Even McCain’s fiercest critics, such as conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, will say so. “The world’s bad guys,” Hewitt writes, “would never for a moment think he would blink in any showdown, or hesitate to strike back at any enemy with the audacity to try again to cripple the US through terror.”

True enough, McCain was never an agenda-driven movement conservative. But he “entered public life as a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution,” as he puts it, and on the whole his record has been that of a robust and committed conservative. He is a spending hawk and an enemy of pork and earmarks. He has never voted to increase taxes, and wants the Bush tax cuts made permanent for the best of reasons: “They worked.” He is a staunch free-trader and a champion of school choice. He is unabashedly prolife and pro-Second Amendment. He opposes same-sex marriage. He wants entitlements reined in and personal retirement accounts expanded.

McCain’s conservatism has usually been more a matter of gut instinct than of a rigorous intellectual worldview, and he has certainly deviated from Republican orthodoxy on some serious issues. For all that, his ratings from conservative watchdog groups have always been high. “Even with all the blemishes,” notes National Review, a leading journal of the right (and a backer of Romney), “McCain has a more consistent conservative record than Giuliani or Romney. . . . This is an abiding strength of his candidacy.”

As a lifelong conservative, I wish McCain evinced a greater understanding that limited government is indispensable to individual liberty. I wish he were more skeptical of politically-correct environmentalism, and less inclined to expand top-down regulation. Yet there is no candidate in either party who so thoroughly embodies the conservatism of American honor and tradition as McCain, nor any with greater moral authority to invoke it. For all his transgressions and backsliding, McCain radiates integrity and steadfastness, and if his heterodox stands have at times been infuriating, they also attest to his resolve. Time and again he has taken an unpopular stand and stuck with it, putting his career on the line when it would have been easier to go along with the crowd.

A perfect conservative he isn’t. But he is courageous and steady, a man of character and high standards, a genuine hero. If “the House that Reagan Built” is to be true this year to its best and highest ideals, it could do a lot worse than unite behind John McCain.

(Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for The Boston Globe.)

Right. It’s here. Today is the day John McCain will get his biggest chance to speak directly to the conservative base of the party and try to convince them (us, I guess, but he’s already convinced me) that he’s the guy to vote for; that “suicide voting” for Hillary as a conservative is insane, that John McCain will hold together the “house that Reagan built”.

He’s going straight into the belly of the beast — he’s speaking in front of CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference.

These are the hardcore conservatives. These are my brethren. My disgruntled brethren.

All I ask for both CPAC attendees and those who aren’t attending, but are CPAC sorts, who will see McCain’s speech, is to just listen to him. Give him the benefit of the doubt. For decades we have argued that conservatives are, contrary to common wisdom, more open-minded than liberals.

So let’s try to live up to that. Let’s prove it. That’s all I ask. I know many of you are having trouble swallowing some of McCain’s remarks and actions in the past. But McCain’s conservative record is there; he’s almost always in the 80s on conservative watchdog lists such as the ACU rating list, and almost near zero in the liberal column. Yes, he worked with Ted Kennedy on legislation. Do I like that? No. Do I think it’s that big a deal, though? No, no I don’t.

John McCain is an honest-to-god hero, a man who has accomplished more than any ordinary politician (are you listening to me, Ann Coulter, you stupid stick-figure bitch? *grumble* — sorry, I’m a Malkin guy, Coulter is just too stupid for even me to stomach, no matter how great an attack dog she is). This is a man who was offered release from a POW camp — and let someone else go in his place. Ask yourself — do you think Mitt Romney would have ever done that? Do you think Mitt even could have done that? Mitt Romney, who is stupid and sufficiently out of touch with reality enough to think that he can compare his sons campaigning for him for president to soldiers fighting in Iraq?

All I’m saying, my fellow conservatives, is that this man deserves to be listened to, at the very least. And not booed as soon as he takes the stage. I know he finished dead last in the CPAC 2007 straw poll, but times have changed, and McCain is our best chance to get a Republican (and, in my mind, a conservative) — frankly, in objective reality; the reality that exists outside of talk radio — into the White House.

Just listen. Keep an open mind. Please. I beg of you. I know, I know what McCain said about Alito. It sticks in my craw just like it sticks in yours. I know that we all know he made the wrong decision in limiting political free speech with his campaign finance “reform”.

But, for the love of God, do you think Hillary or Obama would appoint better justices to the Supreme Court? Do you really think that?

And I want you to do one other thing, my brethren. I want you to think about what happens if we get hit again on American soil by Islamic terrorists. I want you to ask yourself whom you’d rather have staring down the tyrants of this world. Who is more likely to blink first while staring down Islamic extremism? McCain, Romney, or Huckabee?

You know the answer.

Just listen. It’s all I ask. I have the greatest respect for CPAC, and I wish I was attending this year.

Listen. Examine his positions. Try to get past stupid things like the Alito remark. Try to remember that Reagan put liberal justices in the Supreme Court who have proved disastrous for conservatives.

Just listen. And no matter how much you hate that “maverick” label on McCain, do your homework. Look at his votes. Pick up a rating sheet from one of the conservative watchdog groups and scrutinize his conservative rating.

Just. Listen.

…by the comment from Jackie C in California right here.

There is no higher honor I can be accorded than to have actually changed someone’s mind through my writing. None. Period. Except maybe being appointed Emperor of All Pants.

And…all in all, not a bad night for McCain, not a bad night at all, really…

I was asked in a recent post to defend Belichick’s diva tantrum at the end of the Superbowl. I can’t. All I can say is I think Bill was outcoached bigtime and he knew it and he wanted off that field as fast as possible.

Because, let’s face it, this Pats loss was a breakdown in coaching. You have two weeks to practice, and you know two things for sure: One, the Giants are going to try to take Randy Moss off the board, and two, they are going to be rushing and blitzing Brady like crazy.

Knowing that, the offensive line should have been ready for the blitz packages. And they weren’t. Guys were coming straight up the middle at Brady. He had no time whatsoever. And while you can blame it on the offensive line, true, that offensive line has held before and it should have been at least ready for that pressure in some SMALL way. Blocks were just totally missed. And a lot of that comes from coaching.

Again, I think Belichick knew he had simply been outcoached and he wanted off that damn field as fast as possible.

As for no shots of the Pats crying or anything — I think, more than anything else, the Pats were stunned. Even though they came out flat (and there’s no debating that). Stunned rather than depressed, I think. Although I’m sure they’re also depressed. But I do give them credit for all of them freely admitting they were outplayed (and outcoached) in that Superbowl.

Ah well, there’s next year, and for those who be hatin’, remember, New England lost a #1 draft pick over Spygate — so it’s not like they’ve gone unpunished. And none of you have to worry about asterisks next to their perfect season, because — they lost.

I also happen to agree that the “greatest team ever” stuff was WAY over the top.

There, there, happy now? 🙂

And I thank you, GC, for not rubbing the loss in, especially given what I assume is a great affinity for the Giants (do you really like Coughlin, though?). You know the Perfect Season is the Holy Grail of football, and I thought I might get a chance to see it — and that’s a chance that literally comes around once in a lifetime.

I’m getting over it, though…and God, what an awful game the Patriots played. Awful. Although New York played a great game, I’m not taking anything away from that. Especially up front, blocking for Eli, which is where it really counted.

Okay. I’m not going to get much into the mess that Super Tuesday is turning into, but I will say this: conservatives are making a mistake. 80% of them appear to be going over to Romney.

Listen to me, for God’s sake, especially in the states where the polls are still open. LISTEN TO ME. Do you want Romney fighting Islamic extremism? Do you think he will actually do it? Who do you think the terrorists are more worried will win, Romney or McCain? McCain, dammit, MCCAIN.

Look, it’s a bitter pill to swallow when McCain makes remarks about not nominating judges like Alito. But neither did Reagan. Reagan also passed, I believe, the largest amnesty bill ever for illegal immigrants (and the Earth, amazingly, did NOT fall into the Sun).

VOTE MCCAIN. Romney will LOSE THE GENERAL. Romney is a WHORE. Romney is a Stepford Candidate.

Romney, my friends, is not even Bob Dole. Romney is John Kerry with darker hair and weird Mormon underpants. Perhaps not on policy, but that’s the overall vibe he projects. You think that’s going to win the general?

My fellow conservatives, I beg of you:

VOTE FOR MCCAIN.

And I’m out.

I’m playing around with my Quickcam, so, um, here, here’s me saying hello. Four meg file .wmv file.

Well, after a little bit of waiting, I got my hands on a Dualshock 3, the one with “rumble” (force-feedback) in it. Yeah, I know, it’s not released in the US for another couple of months; I shelled out an extra $20 or so to get one from Japan — it’s the exact same model the US one will be.

Quick impressions:

– The controller is now a good deal heavier, and I like it like that, personally. It feels much less like the previous Sixaxis — which pretty much feels like a cheap plastic toy. Feels good in your hands.

– The triggers have been modified slightly and I think the analog sticks may be a touch more accurate.

– As reported, there is now a sort of “directional” rumble; a bullet flies by to the left, you feel it on the left.

– The rumble is back, it’s great, but it’s not nearly as strong as it used to be.

– Charging time and battery life seem to mimic the original Sixaxis — that’s a good thing.

Now, some games are going to be releasing patches to update to rumble, some already have rumble built in (Kane & Lynch, Turok…), but some will never have rumble at all.

Now…here is a list of games that Sony says will support rumble in one fashion or another…

I like the thing. I really do.

And even though the Giants deserved the win, the Patriots *still* almost had them — that one play where they chased Eli all over the place and he hurled up that desperation pass that was caught in a circus catch…

One play, season down the drain.

Congratulations to the New York Giants fans, you folks outplayed us today. Not by much, New York was far from stellar, but they made the plays when they needed to and the Patriots did not.

Now, that being said:

The last 19 games did not happen. This season did not happen. I will not talk about it. We will, henceforth, refer to this as The Game That Shall Not Be Named. And we will NOT NAME IT.

That’s it. That’s all. I don’t want to talk about it. I won’t talk about it.

Okay, I know I said in one of my last posts that I was leaning Romney, but I’ve settled down since my beloved Rudy dropped out (perhaps for the best, given his wife’s personality) and now…it’s McCain. And I know I have said McCain ain’t the guy, but that was before the field narrowed.

My overriding issue is national defense and holding a firm line in the war on terror; not letting it descend into a “war on drugs” lip-service affair, which is what I think Romney would help do to the effort. McCain will hold the line on defense and Islamic extremism — and Iraq. His record is clear on that. Crystal.

Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe makes a compelling case for conservatives to rally behind McCain right here; I know Rush is foaming at the mouth about this stuff, but Rush ain’t always right (I think some of my fellow VRWC conspirators just fainted from me saying that).

There you go. For what it’s worth, Kip Lange now officially endorses John McCain for President. I’m not ecstatic about it, but he’s the best choice. I think if I even tried to vote Romney my central nervous system might completely melt down.

Okay. As John McCain would say, “My friends –” (everybody seems to be McCain’s friend to McCain)…we of the conservative ilk don’t have a viable candidate this time around.

It’s not the end of the world for the conservatives in the Republican party. We initially rallied around Rudy, I think, minus the hardcore Thompson fans or Huckabee’s siren song to evangelical conservatives. And really, we all know Mike Huckabee is not going to win the primary. And really, we all know, if he did, he’d get his ass round-house kicked (you brought the joke on yourself, Mike) with a force measuring 10.0 on the Norris Scale.

Right. So we had, as Peggy Noonan recently called in, a “bubbling stew” with candidates, those of us on the right.

Now there seem to be only a couple of chunks of meat left.

You’ve got Romney and McCain. All Huckabee will do is siphon delegates *off* of those two, especially in states where Independents can vote in any party’s primary.

A lot of conservatives are rallying around Romney. Okay, so I’ve mocked Romney my whole life — I have a Mormon problem, I guess. But given what the press calls McCain’s “maverick” status (which is code for “he’s liberal”) and his age and…well, people are worried about McCain being able to beat down a young and virile Barack Obama or a battle-tested woman with balls bigger than her ex-President husband.

I guess what I’m trying to say is — pass me the air sick bag, but I might have to vomit up a Romney ballot. I don’t like it, but it may well be the best shot the Republicans have got, I think.

This is not really the conventional wisdom, it seems; it seems McCain has “earned” the nomination, and it really feels like 1996. Sure, Rudy endorsed McCain when he dropped out, and he’s got other endorsements (although from some with shaky conservative streed cred like the Governator of California). And yeah, the press loves McCain, but the second he wins the primary — the press will jump all over him, just watch. Honeymoon over, gloves off.

Doesn’t he remind you of Bob Dole?

Not in manner, maybe. But remember, Dole ran as a “compromiser” — which he was — and that is exactly what McCain is running as (and he’s not hiding the bad connotation of the word, either, i.e. repeatedly settling for what’s not the best option). Both are old, as well, very old.

We chose Dole in this manner. Don’t my fellow VRWC folks remember this? We chose Dole, and it was a disaster. And we all felt about Dole the way we feel about McCain.

Which is why I think — ugh — I think — I might go Romney. It’s still up in the air, though, I need a little more time to think.

Ow. Ugly thing to have to type. “Go for Romney”. Ick. Did I actually say that? No…can’t be…

It’s too bad Jeb Bush can’t really run. 🙂 (I actually partially mean that, believe it or not)

Look, you don’t have to read McCain’s liberal history to understand why conservatives are wary of him; just listen to some recent comments regarding how he wouldn’t elect conservative judges like Alito to the courts. Guys, that’s a big issue. A BIG issue — who appoints those justices.

From John Fund:

More recently, Mr. McCain has told conservatives he would be happy to appoint the likes of Chief Justice John Roberts to the Supreme Court. But he indicated he might draw the line on a Samuel Alito, because “he wore his conservatism on his sleeve.”

And that is something a conservative really doesn’t want to hear. Besides, give me a break about Alito wearing his conservatism “on his sleeve”. Okay, he’s a strict constructionist, but…the guy is a good justice and we should be glad to have him in there.

So let’s see how things break. All I know is that McCain ain’t gonna get much of a reception at CPAC, the annual conservative pow-wow (after all, I believe last year they were handing out “No Rudy McRomney” buttons) — this will be one of his few chances to reach out to the conservatives en masse and McCain better watch out and be ready to defend his liberal record on taxes, global warming, and campaign finance “reform” (or rather, the throttling of political free speech).

I know CPAC cats. I don’t see them buying McCain’s rhetoric. I see them seething because there is no conservative to vote for. I mean, another thing about Huckabee — he’s a Big Government fan, period.

Where does this leave us? I dunno. Right now McCain has The Big Mo, as they say, and we’ll have to see if Romney can derail it by throwing fistfuls of money at him.

Ah well. At the end of the day, members of the choir, remember that it’s still better to have McCain or Romney in there than it is to have Obama or Clinton…