A Thank You Letter to Senator McCain from an ABM Republican

Dear Senator McCain:

I would never vote for you in a million years, but I want to thank you for doing whatever it is that you may have done to make the war in Iraq less of an issue in the 2008 presidential race.

And thanks for sparing other Republican candidates the agony of confronting an ill-conceived military strategy in Iraq (and those responsible for it) by trying to act all Commander in Chief-like.

Because of you, my candidate (the real conservative in this race) might actually stand a chance against Hillary or Obama this November. With Iraq off the table, he can now focus his campaign rhetoric on more important things.

Yours truly,
an A.B.M. (Anyone but McCain) Republican

Comments

[Boss429]

There's no way I could vote for McCain, and the dems aren't offering anything I'd vote for. If those are the choices then this country really is headed down the shitter. If those are the only options, and a batshit crazy supremicist from Texas runs as an independent, I'll vote independent just to make it quick & painless, god help us all!

[Jonspach]

Yeah... I'll go ahead and vote for McCain in that instance.

[Yojimbo]

If it comes down to McCain vs. Clinton, abstaining or voting for an independent only helps Clinton.

If you think four or eight years of Hillary backed by a Democratic controlled House and Senate would be better for U.S. than a McCain presidency then you are truly on the purple koolaid my friend.

And if Hillary is elected, she will get at least two Supreme Court nominations (again, backed by Democratic House and Senate).

Say hello to Justices Lani Guinier and Marian Wright Edelman.

And figure on whatever is left of Al Qaeda testing her resolve in a big way within a few days of the inaugural.

There is no perfect candidate, but there sure is the lesser of two evils.

[Beth]

Amen, Mrs. R. AMEN!

[Jeff H]

John McCain:

War hero? Check.

Staunch conservative? Um...

My choice for president? Where's the lever for "other Republican"?

[Mrs. R.]

Hey, Jeff, I feel your pain, but it's crunch time.

IMHO, the most important issue is the threat of radical Islam as it spreads through Africa, Asia, the South Pacific, parts of Europe, etc.

And of the three likely (viable) candidates, none of the others come close to McCain and, in fact, are downright scary when it comes to their grasp of/experience in such matters.

[Tim]

You don't think McCain's idea of bringing the detainees from Gitmo to the US and giving them all the rights of US civilian criminal defendants isn't scary? Boy,just wait 'til disovery. If we don't give up all our intel secrets in open court, we'll have to just let them go. And no sending them to their home countries, where the governments might be mean to them. Tell you what - why don't we hold the trials in YOUR hometown. Maybe when they're let free, they'll have a change of heart, and decide they love America. You can even have them over for a BBQ. No pork, please.

[Mrs. R.]

Tim,

What are the realities here?

John McCain said Guantanamo should be closed AFTER the detainees' cases were resolved and the detainees were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment, OR EXECUTED, or SENT BACK TO THEIR HOME COUNTRY.

Arizaona Congress Watch (2006)

"Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., agreed that the U.S. should ensure that no prisoner at Guantanamo is subjected to torture. But, he said, closing the prison is premature without a legal resolution to the prisoners’ cases."

Fox News Sunday (2006)

"It's not so much Guantanamo as it is the adjudication of these cases. You know, we seem to focus on the location rather than the situation. The situation is we've got hundreds of people down there, and there's no completion of their case.

I don't think they deserve a fair jury trial, don't get me wrong. But there's got to be some kind of adjudication so that we can decide to keep them for life, or execute them, depending on their crimes, or, if we don't have sufficient evidence, to send them back to whatever country they came from."

The bullshit circulating about McCain is so over the top, it's almost, I repeat, almost funny.

Let's nominate Romney instead so we can lose REALLY, REALL BIG in November. See what happens to Guantanamo then.

[Tim]

McCain wants to close Gitmo AFTER the detainees cases have been adjudicated? Apparently that was in 2006 and is, ahem, "no longer operative". Feast your eyes and ears on THIS reality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Co7x3A12s

Here's hoping Leavenworth is in your backyard. Glad it's not in mine. Say Hi! to Al Qaeda for me.

[Mrs. R.]

Tim,

You win. I'm gonna change my mind on McCain and vote for Romney.

Thank goodness Romney still has a chance to win the nomination and save the free world.

Just keeding.

Yes, McCain restated/changed his position on logistics. So what? Do you think these detainees can be imprisoned for life or executed by the American military on Cuban soil once their fates have been decided?

I also noticed that the video started and ended rather abruptly, indicating that it was a plucked piece out of context rather than an complete response.

Too bad Romney never addresses any of these issues with much specificity. But that would require a pair.

Since McCain is such an al-Qaeda lover, maybe someone should tell him that the Petraeus strategy he pushed for(when no one else had the courage to do) has resulted in the death and capture of hundreds of al-Qaeda members in Iraq.

Check out Michael Yon's latest...

News Flash: Al Qaeda is on the run

[Tim]

Logistics? He said he would close Gitmo because "it's become a symbol, which is very bad for America". Oh noes!!! World Opinion would be against us!!! The "International Community" would be aghast!!!! Logistics, indeed.

[Mrs. R.]

Tim,

Just curious...are you for Romney or Paul? And don't say Fred or Rudy because that's pure fantasy.

Or maybe you're going to vote for Hillary out of spite, or stay home.

I'd love it if you said "Romney", BTW.

[Tim]

I'm for Romney over McCain, McCain over any Democrat, but really wish that Rudy had gained some traction. McCain really frustrates me over 'torture' because he of all candidates should know what torture really is, and waterboarding isn't it. Nor are barking, but not biting, dogs. Or 'stress postions' and sleep deprivation. Also, I can NOT forgive McCain for eviscerating the First Amendment. Political speech is the first and foremost type of speech the amendment was designed for - the right to criticize the government without fear of retribution, at any time. It's kinda stupid if the only time you can't talk about politician is election time. Oh, and then there's the Gang of 14, and Amnesty that isn't Amnesty if you don't use the word Amnesty. Add in the fact that McCain will stab his Republican colleagues in the back if it will get him favorable treatment from Chris Matthews and company, and you have a self-aggrandizing, untrustworthy weasel of a man. I can't wait to see his face when he becomes the nominee, the media does a 180 on him, and he's gone from being the Most Holy Maverick to just another Republican enemy of the people. What do you want to bet his involvement with the Keating 5 suddenly becomes relevant to his fitness for the Oval Office, the way it isn't now?

[Mrs. R.]

Tim,

At least you know who McCain is, and while you may not like a lot of the positions he's taken over the years, he doesn't hide or wither and he is a man of character.

I've disagreed (understatement) with various positions he's taken on domestic issues but not on the most important one, the war in Iraq (and related national security threats).

John and I have done a dozen or so posts on McCain, not flattering ones (on the subjects you've raised, as a matter of fact) on this blog, and I at my previous blog.

As for the waterboarding, I actually heard on CNN after the debate tonight that McCain was quoted as saying that if he were waterboarded he wouldn't consider it torture, but refused to elaborate further.

In the course of my life, I've found that I can like/ have respect for people I may disagree with on some issues - and the contrary, as well...there are a lot of people I may share some views with, but I don't much care for, respect, or trust as far as I could throw them.

That's life.

For me, McCain fits the former and Romney the latter.

As for Rudy, I actually volunteered twice (three times if you count a follow-up e-mail inquiry on their volunteer effort) for his campaign last spring but was never contacted. Having worked for several other campaigns, this was a bad sign as far as I was concerned, i.e., that he was not running a very smart or well-organized campaign.

Why waste a bundle of money on ads seeking donations and volunteers if you don't want volunteers? When you get solicitations in the mail for donations, but no one contacts you to volunteer, it looks like the candidate is only interested your the money.

No presidential campaign is ever successful without a large well-organized volunteer effort. You'd think someone running for president would know that.

And when I heard Romney was turning away volunteers in favor of hired help to do the grunt work, like making phone calls, canvassing door to door, etc., that struck me as extremely odd. What? He doesn't trust the people willing to bust their asses for him?

And it turns out my instincts on both Fred and Rudy (several months ago)were on target. So I'm trusting my instincts. And my instincts on Romney tells me he's the Republican version of John Edwards.

And some of the things he has said/done over the months are so weird, I just can't consider him presidential material.

(Check out some of the YouTube videos of him flipping, flopping, pandering, and lying over the years - and saying weird things).