02/08/2008
A few weeks before Super Tuesday, my friend Howard Phillips asked me who I thought the Republican Presidential nominee would be. I predicted John McCain. With the results of Super Tuesday now history, most political pundits are also predicting that the Arizona senator will gain the Republican nomination for President. And with Mitt Romney now out of the race, McCain is all but assured the nomination. One did not need to be a seer to figure this one out.
For one thing, President George W. Bush all but destroyed whatever conservative influence was left in the GOP. Peggy Noonan is right about that. (See Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, WSJ, January 25, 2008)
Furthermore, the capitulation and compromise of principle by the Religious Right has also significantly sealed the death warrant of conservatism within the GOP. For the sake of not offending George Bush or losing whatever seat at the table the various leaders of the Religious Right felt they had, their spirit of resistance waned to the point that the very name "Christian Conservative" has lost all meaning, not to mention power.
As a result, Republicans have come to accept Big Government, runaway federal spending, the Welfare State, the Warfare State, the Nanny State, empire-building, gargantuan trade and budget deficits, warrantless eavesdropping, the loss of 4th Amendment rights, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.
Therefore, how could anyone expect the vast majority of Republican voters to suddenly rediscover a huge commitment of conviction to conservative principles? Add to that question the fact that there is only one true conservative/constitutionalist who made it to the Republican primaries: Congressman Ron Paul. And virtually the entire media and political establishment pummeled Congressman Paul to the point that his limited success in the race can be categorized as nothing short of miraculous.
Make no mistake about it: the Establishment wants one of its own to succeed George Bush. In order for that to happen, they must manipulate the primaries to ensure that, no matter who wins in November, one of their fellow elitists will still wield power in Washington, D.C. On the Democratic side, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fit the bill. And on the Republican side, John McCain is the ultimate insider.
A long-standing member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), John McCain will pursue the goals and ambitions of the globalists with a vengeance. As Pat Buchanan said recently, "John McCain will make Dick Cheney look like Gandhi." Buchanan is right on with that prediction.
Despite a liberal, Big Government track record, many Republican "conservatives" who have always been critical of John McCain are already beginning to warm up to him, feeling that his nomination is inevitable. Include in this list such notables as Grover Norquist, Tony Perkins, and fellow CFR member Richard Land.
Fortunately, not all of the conservative "talking heads" have jumped on the McCain bandwagon. Include in this list: Ann Coulter, who said she would campaign for Hillary Clinton if McCain is the Republican nominee; James Dobson, who said he would never vote for John McCain — no matter what; and Mr. Republican Cheerleader himself, Rush Limbaugh.
Then there is Mike Huckabee: the candidate to whom the evangelical George Bush robots have gravitated. Huckabee is every bit the Big Government liberal that is John McCain. In fact, Huckabee and McCain have developed a very close friendship, according to numerous sources. Many are even predicting that Huckabee will be McCain’s running mate, in order to dupe evangelicals into accepting the McCain candidacy. (I have been saying this myself for months.) Even Rob Schenck said this about Huckabee: "After careful and prayerful consideration, I have concluded that an evangelical vote for Mike Huckabee is a vote for John McCain, and a vote for John McCain will be a disaster for this country."
But just who is this man, John McCain?
John McCain’s father and grandfather were both admirals in the U.S. Navy. John was schooled in one of the most elite boarding schools in America. He graduated from the Naval Academy where he ranked 894th out of 899 students.
According to Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief, February 1, 2008, "[John McCain] used nepotism to get ahead: When he was rejected by the National War College, he used his father’s contacts with the Secretary of the Navy to make them reconsider." Skousen also notes that "McCain cheated on his first wife after she had a severe accident. He then divorced her and married his multi-millionaire mistress, whose daddy bought McCain a spot in the Congress."
It has also never been explained why the son and grandson of Navy admirals would not rise to the rank of Admiral himself. (He exited the Navy as a Captain.) Was it his numerous adulterous affairs or his violent temper? Or both?
John McCain’s biographer Robert Timberg chronicles McCain’s numerous sexual affairs with subordinates both when he was an Executive Officer and later Squadron Commander. Obviously, such fraternization is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Skousen and many others have chronicled McCain’s violent temper. Even as a young man, McCain was "a strikingly violent man." Timberg quotes McCain describing his propensity for violence, even as a youngster, saying, "At the smallest provocation I would go off into a mad frenzy, and then suddenly crash to the floor unconscious."[In Faith Of My Fathers]
McCain says his vicious temper was transformed after being held as a Prisoner of War by the North Vietnamese. There is no doubt that John McCain was tortured by his Vietnamese captors, but it also seems clear, by both the written and oral records of many, that McCain spent the bulk of his captivity collaborating with his captors.
It is more than interesting that former POW John McCain would use the power of his senate seat to stop the investigation and pursuit of American MIAs in Vietnam. What would possess a former naval officer to do such a thing? In fact, a group of Vietnam veterans has uploaded a web page dedicated to exposing the truth regarding John McCain’s record on this matter. See it at here.
That John McCain still has a vicious temper is well known. We can all remember him singing "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran," to the tune of the Beach Boys hit song "Barbara Ann." He also said North Korea should be threatened with "extinction." He often boasts of America’s 100-year war with Iraq and talks of pursuing enemies "to the gates of hell." There is no doubt, John McCain is one mad man.
Furthermore, McCain’s position on a host of issues is extremely problematic for the future of America. On immigration, John McCain joined with Ted Kennedy to sponsor an amnesty bill for illegal aliens. He voted to give social security dollars to illegal aliens. His Hispanic Outreach Director, Juan Hernandez, is a dual American-Mexican citizen widely known for his "Mexico First" declarations.
He repeatedly voted against the Bush tax cuts. He co-authored the McCain/Feingold campaign finance bill that was ruled to be an unconstitutional infringement of the First Amendment. Regarding the Second Amendment, the president of the NRA called John McCain the "worst 2nd Amendment candidate," and Gun Owners of America gives McCain a grade of F-.
John McCain co-sponsored the energy tax bill (along with his senate buddy Joe Lieberman), which would dramatically increase the cost of gasoline. He supports radical global warming legislation. He joined with Democrats (Gang of 14) to block the attempt to confirm conservative, strict constructionist judges. In 2000, he called Christian leaders "agents of intolerance." He has received the endorsement of the pro-abortion Republicans for Choice Political Action Committee. And let’s not forget that John McCain was ringleader of the infamous Keating Five ethical scandal, which cost taxpayers more than $160 billion.
Consider, too, the top donors to John McCain’s campaign. One will find many of the same multinational corporations that support Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton also supporting John McCain. Include in this list Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, and JP Morgan Chase & Co. (By comparison, the top contributors to Ron Paul’s campaign are [in order]: 1. Members of the U.S. Army, 2. Members of the U.S. Navy, 3. Members of the U.S. Air Force.) (And, in case one is interested, the same big Arkansas conglomerates that supported Bill Clinton also support Mike Huckabee.)
Even New York Post D.C. Bureau Chief Charles Hurt wrote, "[I]f history is any guide, the McCain we've seen of late on the campaign trail is the most conservative McCain we'll ever see."
To vote for John McCain is madness!
Therefore, both social and fiscal conservatives — along with evangelical Christians — will have no one from either the Republican or Democrat parties for whom to vote this November. What, then, will they do? To vote for the "lesser of two evils" is no longer a legitimate option. There is no lesser in a McCain versus Clinton/Obama race. In fact, Ann Coulter might be right that in such a race, Hillary is the lesser of two evils.
What, then, are we to do?
First, Ron Paul should abandon his bid for the Republican nomination and declare himself a candidate for the Constitution Party nomination. If he did, he would doubtless receive the nomination and his campaign would continue to build excitement, donations, and momentum right up to November. (Ron Paul’s supporters should do everything they can to influence Dr. Paul to shake off the dust of the GOP and lead his fellow constitutionalists on a mighty crusade for a Third Party victory!)
Should Ron Paul decide to remain in the McCain-led GOP, conservatives and constitutionalists should rally around the most viable option available to them. And that option is to support the Constitution Party nominee, whoever he is. (They will select their nominee in April in Kansas City, Missouri.) As the nation’s third largest political party, the CP has the potential to be on all 50 state ballots and it is absolutely certain that the CP will nominate a constitutionalist candidate in the similitude of Ron Paul.
One thing is certain: with John McCain as the GOP standard-bearer, Christian conservatives and constitutionalists cannot vote for either the Republican or Democrat candidate this year. Staying home and not voting is an admission of defeat and should be dismissed out-of-hand.
2008 just might be the year to break the two-party stranglehold on American politics and vote for an independent conservative constitutionalist. And the platform and vehicle for this revolution already exists in the Constitution Party.
Dr. Chuck Baldwin is the pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. He hosts a weekly radio show. His website is here.
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