John McCain's understanding of basic U.S. history is laughable at the very least and borderline disturbing. Tonight is the second time I've heard a member of the Palin-McCain campaign claim to be a Federalist.
At some point in the past few weeks, I can't remember when, Sarah Palin claimed that she opposed big government and that made her a Federalist.
In the debate tonight, John McCain made the same claim.
Let's get the facts straight here: the Federalist party was the party of Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. They favored a strong federal government and were opposed in that fact by the Democratic-Republicans, most notable among them Thomas Jefferson.
This may be carping, but shouldn't a Presidential nominee have a basic understanding of the politics of the founding fathers?
I won't hold Palin to this standard because God will guide her to the right side of this debate. But McCain... McCain's history grade must have been what dragged him to the bottom of the class at the Naval Academy. Maybe if government would have stayed out of education he would have learned that Federalists support a strong federal government.
At any rate, I was shocked that John McCain stated he opposed Roe v. Wade because it was a states rights issue. Hello? Federalist much? We don't believe that states can make that choice!
I guess the key question I need answered after tonight's debate is the following: are General Petraeus and Joe the Plumber Federalists or not? Because if they believe in a strong federal government they are obviously socialists.