New mantra: “McCain would be worse, but. . .”

The partisanship has been bad here for a while. IMHO it has reached its nadir in the last few days. With three frontrunners, we have a decision to make as a community. If we continue to go negative, then each candidate will be savaged in two thirds of the diaries posted.

Result: All the groundless accusations, tendentious distinctions, and false parsings the Republican nominee needs will be laid out for them on a platter. And the label they will put in each one will be: “Even the liberal Daily Kos said that. . .”

My solution: Go negative if you must.

But kick John McCain first.

Sure, we don’t know for sure McCain will be the nominee. But look at these headlines:
Rasmussen: McCain Takes Narrow Lead In South Carolina and Poll: McCain Ahead In Michigan.

This week, after finding out that we almost went to war with Iran because someone on "Coalition warship 73" decided they wanted to be the next USS Vincennesand fabricate evidence that some Iranian speedboats were threatening to ram it, we're in danger of forgetting who the real enemy is:

In response, McCain said, "That old, eh, that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran" — which elicited laughter from the crowd. McCain then chuckled before briefly singing — to the tune of the chorus of the Beach Boys' classic "Barbara Ann" — "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, anyway, ah ...."

The audience responded with more laughter.

So here’s my plea. Say something negative about another Democrat’s position on [insert issue here]. But find out what John McCain’s position is on [insert issue here] and mention how completely immoral that position would be first. Consider it a brief daily meditation, to keep us all from forgetting what's really at stake.

•  Enlightenment

  Is not a goal, it is a process.

  by MarkC on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 07:40:29 AM PDT

•  If you really want to beat McCain

  Elect John Edwards.  Everytime I hear the viable bull**** I want to scream because the only Democrat, the only one who beats McCain is Edwards.  

  by ceenatoli on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 07:40:58 AM PDT

  •  Congratulations

    On nearly perfect snark.

    by MarkC on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 07:44:48 AM PDT

  •  With all due respect

    The whole "only candidate who can beat X" is a bullshit argument - FROM ANY DEMOCRATIC CAMP.

    H2H polls this far out are absolutely, entirely, and completely worthless.

    I mean - we just polls in a race-visible state with all the media attention in the world, with all the candidates more or less talking to every voter in the whole state turn out to be wrong...

    ...and you're telling me we should look at GE horserace polls for states that still haven't woken up to realize it's an election year?

    Sorry.  There are plenty of good argument for JRE - this ain't one of them (and for the record, I'm an Obama supporter that thinks he's a landscape changer on par with what Reagan did for the GOP... but I don't think that's a good reason to vote Obama, either).

    by zonk on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 07:47:48 AM PDT

    •  I worry about that " friendly"

      populist-seeming Huckabee on the general election ballot in our crucial Tampa Bay area much more than McCain.  McCain is certainly liked better than Romney but Obama has the crucial "Independent" support for the general election.

      by mjd in florida on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 08:10:55 AM PDT

      •  I very much want McCain to be the nominee

        as it will be McCain or Huckabee.

        by mjd in florida on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 08:16:04 AM PDT

      •  Didn't McCain just get more independents than

        Obama in New Hampshire

        by ceenatoli on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 08:20:33 AM PDT

        •  He took a share of them in the primary

          but had it been our Florida primary, (with our "Indy's" allowed to vote) with Obama supposedly having a big lead, some would have voted AGAINST Romney.   Romney is really despised around here.  

          by mjd in florida on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 08:32:22 AM PDT

          •  Ok explain it away any way you want to but

            bottom line is that where independents were allowed to vote, they voted for McCain over Obama.  This is exactly what would happen in the general.  

            by ceenatoli on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 08:36:54 AM PDT

            •  Not in my Tampa Bay area!

              by mjd in florida on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 08:39:52 AM PDT

•  McCain is a clown.

  The ones who really worry me are the hawks among the Dem would-be nominees.

  by Lepanto on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 07:47:23 AM PDT

•  You need to research

  I wrote a diary a year ago. McCain's positions are bizarre and inconsistent. http://www.ontheissues.org/...

  He hates trains, fawns at the religious right every other cycle, and does a lot of other things just to be ornery. But the truth is the press loves him. He was getting so much free time on cable before a couple months ago, it was sickening.

  McCain believes he deserves to be president. It's the exact opposite of what he would have said a decade ago--or Clinton or Obama say now, that they want to do some good.

  But in the end, he'd be chewed by either Obama or Clinton in a debate. He's a bumper sticker kinda Republican.

  by MrMichaelMT on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 08:02:45 AM PDT

  •  What do I need to research?

    I humbly submit that the point of this diary was missed somehere in the Big Sky state.

    by MarkC on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 08:41:06 AM PDT

    •  The royal "you"

      meaning all those supposed independents who keep saying to me "He's republican but at least he's honest/moral/ethical..." Just go back and click the inconsistencies to carry to the donut shop.

      by MrMichaelMT on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 08:57:32 AM PDT

      •  At this point

        You should seriously consider going back to the diary and reading it.

        I link to a story showing that McCain and what he represents is the dangerously hawkish, and so we should attack him as much as we attack the other Democratic candidates.

        Are you saying he wouldn't be a bad president because he's inconsistent?

        I also link to stories showing he is ahead in two of the next two major primaries, after winning New Hampshire.

        Are you saying that, despite the fact that Republicans nominated George Bush the last two presidential elections, because McCain is inconsistent he won't get the Republican nomination?

        So what do I need to research?

        by MarkC on Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 09:03:00 AM PDT