Here’s where I stand on the election in November.
If John McCain is the Republican nominee, I will vote for Hillary Clinton.
No, I am not kidding. Yes, I have thought very hard about it. Yes, I have solid practical reasons. No, I can not currently be persuaded otherwise, especially if you decide that your best means of persuading me is to call me deranged and to accuse me of being irrational and stupid.
I am not a Republican. I am a conservative. There is a difference. It’s high time I did my part to remind people of that fact.
UPDATE: George Maneo of Babalublog has walked, too. Read the comments carefully to see how condescending the folks are who are trying to change his mind as if he is some drooling idiot who hasn’t paid one bit of attention to the race.
That’s the kind of crap I’ve been talking about. Don’t sit here and say “But Jimmie, what about the war?”. You know why? I’m not stupid. Even assuming that Hillary Clinton acts completely against her campaign (in which her hawkish ways have cost her support) and decided to pull out of Iraq on January 21st, it’ll take the better part of a year to get our people out of there. General Petraeus won’t stop fighting for that year and there’s no one dumb enough to order him to stop. No one.
And guess what? Even President Bush has been saying that we should be seeing some measurable drawdowns in Iraq by the end of next year. General Petraeus has been saying the same darned thing. So has the Iraqi President. The two policies aren’t terribly different and no amount of your saying otherwise can change that.
So, seriously. Stop it.
UPDATE 2: Roger L Simon misses the point completely.
You know, one would think that before lecturing conservatives, you might try listening to what their complaints really are instead of guessing at them.
Thought about calling you names and being irrational but…
I’ve thought hard and long about this same situation, I have come to a different conclusion but similar as that I cannot vote for McCain and will not, I cannot vote for Hillary as I won’t be a part of placing another Clinton in the White house.
My choice will be to not vote for a presidential candidate with the choices placed before me.
You can always write in a candidate, no?
I’m waiting for 3rd party nominations, and will make a decision when that happens. I cannot vote for McCain or Hillary. I’d like to sit the whole thing out and pretend it never happened, but I’ve got a senate race I must vote in. Certainly don’t want Al Franken(stein) to be my senator.
Write in a candidate, vote third party or choose to not vote for the presidential election…while still voting on senate races and local races.
It’s all the same, no candidate is available, as for a 3rd party nominee, I do not see one I can get behind even though I have choose that option in the past…
Jesse Ventura, Ross Perot
Exactly.
And not just that. Over the last six-plus years, we haven’t had to sacrifice a single thing unless we’ve worn a uniform. I REFUSE to leave the men and women who have sacrificed *everything* (while America is navel-gazing at keyboards) at the mercy of a military-hating HRC or a quasi-socialist empty-suit pacifist (Obamessiah). To do anything else would be the most supremely selfish and short-sighted act imaginable in the election.
McCain could be another which would not elect strong judges.
Tell that to Ted Olson, Steven Calabresi, and Miguel Estrada.
Tell that to Robert Bork, whom McCain strongly defended.
Tell that to David Souter, in whom McCain was bitterly disappointed because he felt Souter was only nominated in order to avoid “another bloodbath” like there was with Bork.
Go ahead, tell them. You know better than they do, right?
I don’t know…the election may be reversible in 2012, but the SCOTUS appointees will affect us for the next 20-40 years. Are you willing to risk that?
As a Southern Californian and a Conservative and a Romney supporter (just for the record) my vote in the fall election will be washed away in the tsunami of liberal Cali voters.
Even if I decided to vote for McCain it really wouldn’t matter…California will go to the Hildebeast.
So, that leaves me with the thought that So. Cal Conservatives should unite and send a message to the elitist Republican establishment.
How we send that ‘message’ is unclear…not voting for McCain and supporting a third party Conservative candidate instead, is possible.
Don’t vote Democrat though…at the very least do a write-in….that way, a distinction is evident.
As to the SCOTUS appointees…Juan ‘Mexico First’ McAmnesty is already on the record stating that ‘Alito is too conservative’…
The Libs will get him to support someone uh, less conservative so, I just don’t think it’s a viable argument…
Throwing away my vote on the Libertarians if it comes to that (as it appears it almost certainly will). The party is insane on the border and national defense but I agree with them on almost every other principle, and I just can’t make myself to choose between a Douche and a Turd, as the South Park guys would put it.
I keep hearing about the court, and while it is a valid concern is it just talk.
John Roberts
Antonin Scalia
Clarence Thomas
Samual Alito
4-consistent judges who will hold to the constitution.
—————————————–
John Stevens-appointed by Ford: could retire?
Anthony Kennedy-appointed by Reagan; should remain on the court next 4 to 8 years
David Souter-appointed by Bush 1 should remain on court next 4 to 8 years
Ruth Ginsburg-appointed by Clinton: could retire
Stephen Breyer-appointed by clinton, should remain for 4 to 8 more years
———————————————
Of the 5 justices listed directly above 3 were selected by republican presidents. Most likely 2 will retire in the next 4 years which will not effect the makeup of the court significantly. Note, with strong previous conservative candidates it should be a non-issue this election cycle, McCain could be another which would not elect strong judges. G. Bush did an excellent job with his candidates.
[...] choices are not pleasant. I’ll probably write more on the choice and expand on this post perhaps this evening. To be quite frank, I’m carrying around my own little storm cloud and [...]
Dark storm clouds are the weather coverage today in WNC, but it’s also the way I feel about the up coming election.
May I change my mind? Possibly, but right now a man with principles I initially respected is no longer in the race (FT). The man who is not a strong conservative in all aspects but should be fiscally sound did not perform well on Tuesday.
Finally we are down to McCain, and as a 23 or so year veteran of washington who has made a habit of siding with liberal policies wants my vote.
The War, The Supreme Court, a socialist in the whithouse, or 4 to 8 more years of clinton.
I have reconciled with myself that it is time to stand on principle, live with the concequences and TRUST that this United states will be able to recover because of the american spirit no matter what happens in Washington over the next 4 years. We survived 1976-1980, as well as the early 60s.
We lose the war on terror if you don’t support McCain. He is very right in that arena as he is wrong on many others. He is the nominee, and if you don’t vote for him you get Hillary or Obama in 2008. Your choice, your vote.
But I want to win this war, we can fix the domestic issues after we have won the war. Iraq isn’t the only place we are fighting, it is a global pandemic of Islamic extremism and letting your hurt feeling usher a Clinton back in the White House is a recipe for disaster.
So vote for Clinton in November if you wish, but if she wins I’m dropping my military retirement paperwork as soon as I am eligible and I’ll write a book on how the conservatives lost the war because McCain hurt their feelings.
[...] ease of reference, I want to link a couple other recent posts on the same topic. Here’s where I talk a bit about the “what about Iraq” argument (though it is has a lot more snark than this [...]
redleg, I don’t believe you can make that assertion as firmly as you have. I seem to have some evidence that Iraq may not be as imperiled as you would have me believe with President Clinton.