Why This Conservative Will Not Vote For John McCain

Now that John McCain has become the Republican nominee for president, conservatives will have to ask themselves whether they will vote for party or for principle. Of the Republican nominees running for president, John McCain was arguably the most liberal of them. McCain's candidacy is problematic because he can fundamentally change the underlying principles of the Republican Party on several issues.

Tax Cuts: While McCain now says that the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 should be extended, he voted against both of them. Even worse he used the same class warfare rhetoric employed by liberals by declaring that the tax cuts were "for the rich." Since the election of Ronald Reagan, the Republican Party has been the party of tax cuts. Under a President McCain, conservatives will see little, if any, push for the lowering of tax rates.

Immigration: John McCain has long been a proponent of extending legal status to those individuals who have come into America illegally. In fact, he was a primary sponsor of the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill that would have eventually legalized approximately 12 million illegal aliens. Conservatives who believe in the rule of law should also be troubled by McCain's recent refusal to state that he has learned his lesson from the downfall of his immigration bill and will veto any similar legislation as president.

Global Warming: McCain has stated that he believes man-made global warming is real and is doing serious damage to the environment. His problem to the solution comes right out of the Democrat playbook: more regulation of American business. Not only do true conservatives realize that the Earth's temperature is well within the recent temperature ranges it has experienced over thousands of years, but that the best way to deal with such a problem (even if you do not believe it exists) is with the free market.

Free Speech: McCain was the primary sponsor of the McCain-Feingold bill which was, we were told, supposed to get the money out of politics. In fact, the money flowing into the coffers of politicians is at an all time high and 527 orgainizations that operate outside the bill's parameters increase the amount of campaign money exponentially. In addition, the bill restricts free speech by preventing Americans from running political ads 30 days before an election. The McCain-Feingold bill is yet another example of politicians believing that simply passing a law will fix a problem, when in fact, more often than not, the problem becomes worse.

Judges: One of the most important decisions presidents must make is who they will nominate to the Supreme Court. Conservatives got an indication of who McCain would nominate to the Supreme Court when it was reported that McCain said that he would not nominate a justice such as Samuel Alito, a mainstream and reasonable conservative by any measure, because he was too conservative. In addition, McCain was a member of the Gang of 14 Senators who were instrumental in killing the nominations of several conservatives to federal judgeships. President George Bush has been good on judges, but there is little indication that a President McCain would nominate conservatives to the bench.

Just because McCain is a Republican does not mean he will advance conservative ideals and principles. In fact on the issues mentioned above McCain will redefine the Republican Party and make it harder for conservatives to eventually rise to power. This voter is unwilling to sacrifice his principles simply because the de facto leader of the Republican Party says he is a conservative. McCain's past actions reveal that he is at best a moderate and at worst a liberal. Just because he has an "R" next to his name does not mean he is worthy of the vote of conservatives.

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~ The Conservative Guy