Posted by
Jabra on Thursday, February 07, 2008 3:16:49 PM
To those of you who are already saying that to keep conservative unity we need to rally behind McCain let me quote the Club For Growth assessment of McCain's economic foundation.
While John McCain can easily point to a handful of pro-growth votes
over his twenty-four years in Congress, a deeper look at Senator
McCain's record and rhetoric, especially in recent years, ought to give
American taxpayers a long and hard pause.
To give credit where it's due, John McCain's record on spending,
school choice, and free trade is extremely positive. His go-it-alone
moralism sometimes results in pro-growth policies, as is the case in
his anti-pork crusades. However, this moralism often manifests itself
in the form of more government, less freedom, and a distrust of the
individual and the free market system. This is dramatically the case in
his opposition to the Bush tax cuts, his class-warfare rhetoric, his
occasional support for large-scale increased government regulation, his
willingness to raise Social Security taxes, and of course, his abysmal
record on political free speech.
Senator McCain's outspoken pursuit of anti-growth and
anti-free-market policies in the realms of taxes, regulation, and
campaign finance reveals a philosophical ambivalence, if not hostility,
about limited government and personal freedom. This ambivalence,
combined with a rebellious nature, often leaves taxpayers the victims
of his latest cause célèbre. Despite his positive votes-and there are
several-his negative positions have tainted, perhaps beyond repair, the
positive ones over his twenty-four years in Congress. The evidence of
his record and the virulence of his rhetoric suggest that American
taxpayers cannot expect consistently strong economic policies from a
McCain administration.
Conservatives still have a choice. They can ask Ron Paul to run as a third party independent and vote for him. As somebody who just gained citizenship in this great country I refuse to get stuck in the game of voting the best of the worst options. RP has all the qualities that McCain lacks, humility, devotion to principles, and an Economic agenda that will return America to economic greatness. Here is how the Club for Growth summarizes RP's economics
When it comes to limited government, there are few champions as
steadfast and principled as Representative Ron Paul. In the House of
Representatives, he plays a very useful role constantly challenging the
status quo and reminding his colleagues, despite their frequent
indifference, that our Constitution was meant to limit the power of
government. On taxes, regulation, and political free speech his record
is outstanding. While his recent pork votes are troubling, the vast
majority of his anti-spending votes reflect a longstanding desire to
cut government down to size. Ron Paul is, undoubtedly, ideologically committed to pro-growth
limited government policies.
It will be a shame if Ron Paul does not end up running for President as an Independent or even a Libertarian candidate. Some would say that if he does that then he will split the Republican vote and spoil McCain's campaign. I would say that otherwise our choice is between a Democrat and another Democrat. McCain can claim all he wants about being conservative but his history and his reputation as a maverick who is willing to cut deals and change his opinion on principles does not make me trust anything he says now to become President.