Looking at the Palin decision, one has to wonder where John McCain has gone. It is interesting that a man who withstood 5 1/2 years of poor treatment from the Viet Cong can be broken decades later by the Republican Party. We are given a front row seat to the disintigration of a man who might have once stood for something.
The overriding question is why.
Now I'm not some Polyanna that totally believes that politicians don't do things or take stances that prolong or enhance their careers. Sometimes they take a position b/c it is popular, though wrong (Iraq War, anyone?) Other times, it is b/c it will benefit one of their campaign contributors. Whether it was fact or fiction, once promoted into the "Maverick" role, McCain really had a chance to do something.
I will admit, there were times before the 2000 election that I liked a lot of what McCain had to say. When it came to choice, while definitely not pro-choice, McCain made statements to the fact that he did not believe Roe v. Wade should be overturned, and in fact, did not see himself in the business of having it overturned. In regards to spending and the Bush tax cuts, McCain criticized the Republican Congress and Bush, which resulted in a huge amount of blowback his way. His response was classic, and shows what is wrong with the Republican Party these days. "I just remember a time when we were supposed to be fiscal conservatives..."
There are a lot of things I disagree with about the Republican Platform, but there was a time that I thought, "Hell, if the Dems can't win one, having McCain as President wouldn't be all that bad. At least he can win."
Flash forward to 2008. The Republican brand is trash, and openly admitted to by all Republicans, including members of the party serving in office. The economy is in trouble from mismanagement under Republican tenure, and people are scared and tired of the intrusion of the Religious Right so far into our government. We need to look no farther than the Dept. of Justice as to see how the cross of Church and State can be so harmful.
Wouldn't this have been a great time for someone to say, "Hey, let's get back to what we were supposed to be about. Individual rights and liberties, the absence of government from our daily lives, non-intervention in foreign matters and fiscal responsibility."
Why McCain refused to pick up that mantle will puzzle me for years. As it is a position he spent a tremendous amount of time and energy positioning himself for. When getting the traditional blowback from Republicans, he could have easily said, "We've tried it your way, and we are all wiping pie off our faces. We are losing seats in ever election, and the Dems have put up a black candidate with limited experience. This is the only way we can win and get America to trust us." Would the religious nuts really have voted Dem? Of course not
Now we see the poor judgment of McCain. He has pandered to every portion of the party he used to denounce. He has taken every hardline stance of his party with glee, even in the face of knowledge that America has had enough of it. This bastion of integrity has taken on every thug from the Bush team that not only smeared him and his military service (and the service of another vet, John Kerry), but also personally attacked his family. Who is this guy?
McCain knows torture is wrong and leads to false information, like the information they got out of him, yet now he supports it. He knows offshore drilling isn't going to help us with our energy problems, but he's got to get those donations. He once understood what could happen when you let the "agents of intolerance" in the door, now he gives speeches at their universities. He realizes that you can't spend more than you take in, but now he is for big government and exotic military adventures abroad, at the same time cutting tax revenue at home.
Finally, we get to Palin. After ridiculing Obama for his lack of experience, stating the necessity for being tried and true in the realm of not only foreign affairs, but in being commander-in-chief, he picks someone with no foreign policy experience. Why? B/C he wants to pander to the Religious Right. The man who touted putting country first puts this nation in peril solely for the purpose of winning an election. At the same time, this selection for VP shows two of his worst traits:
- His willingness to make rash decisions at the drop of a hat; and
- His willingness to pander to the groups he once decried.
He has truly become everything he said he used to despise. While he may try to sell this as showing his "Maverickyness" it shows exactly the opposite. I wonder if McCain ever realizes that the persona presented in 2000 could have won this election. I wonder if the Republicans realize how far they have strayed from what they proclaim to believe, and how their insistence on this criteria of abortion and evangelism will keep them from ever fielding a decent candidate that can truly help this country.
I apologize that there is not a ton of Dem red meat in this diary. I support Obama and his positions and truly believe that he is the best choice, and McCain, even in his 2000 incarnation would have been second best. It is just truly sad to see what the Republican Party not only does to this country, but the people within it.