With conservatives leaning toward voting Democrat or not voting at all in November, McCain desperately needed a story.

McCain’s friends at the times accomplished two feats with one story last night. Since McCain is not going to win over a single independent vote not already in his camp, he needed to somehow attract gullible conservatives and Bill Clinton lovers. By attacking McCain as a philanderer the times gave McCain both.

Slick Willy fans will now see a bit of the former president in McCain; and talk radio will attempt to rile up conservatives against the left wing media, hoping McCain will be the benefactor.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but my reaction to the story was “so what”. Had it been John Doolittle or another conservative I would have been disappointed or felt betrayed as I did when the Gingrich story broke. But McCain? I don’t think he could possibly disappoint me anymore than he already has. I have absolutely no faith in him.

Good grief what has happened to our party? Any student of history will recognize the value of the two party system; this primary race demonstrates that the system is only a safe-guard and not a solution. The safeguard has likely failed us, leaving our country with the worst two candidates in the history of our nation.

We can still hold out hope that the remaining states realize McCain is an unacceptable candidate. This is not likely, but consider the delegate math. McCain needs roughly 37% of the remaining un-pledged delegates, this includes non-committed delegates from states that have already held their primaries. That’s a bigger chunk of the vote than he’s been getting in most contested states. We still have time for voters to wake up to the threat of a McCain candidacy. There is little hope for Romney or Huckabee to wrap up the vote prior to the convention, but it isn’t too late to take out McCain.

Should McCain win the nomination what is a principled conservative to do? McCain is a much bigger threat to conservatism than any liberal Democrat, but is it ethical to vote for somebody that is still an enemy to what you believe? Some conservative talking heads preach that we need to vote for McCain for no other reason than the courts, which only raises more concerns with McCain. I predict that should we be so unfortunate to see McCain elected, he will lecture us on why we need justices with moderate political views that believe the constitution is a living document.

The one compelling reason I’ve heard for voting for McCain is his age. If he were to bring on a true conservative as VP, we could hope his current diet of donuts and more donuts would relieve us of his leadership in short time. I’m predicting moderate Republican Governor Charlie Christ of Florida will be the VP nominee, so this won’t be an issue.

One last thought:
Placer County has a reputation of being a conservative area, but if we look at returns for the last few elections, this area is not actually very conservative. For example: in 2006 only 53% of Placer County voters supported parents having the right to know when a school takes their 12 year old daughter to have an abortion, Placer County’s only supervisor with a reputation of being conservative has endorsed a liberal candidate for congress, and yesterday McCain won here.

Perhaps the leftists in our party are correct: If the Republican Party is to remain viable, we need to accept the liberal ideas of the democrats and abandon the principles of Ronald Reagan.

The number one issue for Republicans in this race should be judges, based on John McCain’s past and current positions Republicans CANNOT trust him:

Global Warming, Affirmative Action, the International Criminal Court, Guantanomo, Tax-cuts, McCain-Feingold, the Gang of 14, Amnesty(or Z-Visa if you don’t like that word), Christian leaders are “agents of intolerance”. McCain has not admitted to being wrong on any of these issues, with the exception of an apology to Christians for attacking Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson as “agents of intolerance.” I’m sure the apology was as sincere as any of his other straight talk.

As a person who believes in repentance and forgiveness I should comment on why these issues prevent me from EVER supporting John McCain. I believe that a man can repent and be forgiven, but that doesn’t exempt him from facing consequences.

I will not vote for someone who has cheated on their wife, period. McCain cheated on his wife with a beautiful 25 year old with enough family money to launch his political career.

Believe what you want about his supposed straight talk. I am grateful to him for his service to our country, but I would never vote for him.

Just got a call from some California Firefighters group campaigning for the term limits measure. They claim to also have the support of the California Police Chiefs Association and some Highway Patrolman Association. Let’s see…Greedy/Corrupt unions and overpaid ticketwriters say yes, how should I vote?

McCandidate: 32%
Romney: 31%

Rasmussen Reports

Confessed to be in Romney’s corner but could anyone else tonight claim victory? They all had some nice zingers aimed at Romney but when it came down to it, Romney had the presence of a President. He was more articulate, confident, and passionate than anyone else on the stage, and he had a more masterful grasp of every issue that came up. I sure hope Fred Thompson will get behind the Romney campaign, for Fred’s sake. I’m sure he’s right on the issues but he has been unable to communicate it.

Favorite clip of the night was McCain responding to a question about what his principles were. His response was that they have been the same since the day he was sworn in as a cadet in the Navy. He goes on to describe placing his hand on the bible and swearing to blah, blah, blah… Said absolutely NOTHING about the constitution. Isn’t that in there? I predict talk radio will pick that up on Monday, they ought to.

Romney Win Makes a Statement

Since this story posted Romney had won 67% of the delegates.

Fred got 2 delegates, Huckabee wasn’t a blip on the radar…

Question: Why are Murders rarely solved in Iowa?

Answer: Everyone’s DNA is the same and there are no dental records.

My guy came in second in Iowa and this is posted with a tad bit of frustration. It is frankly surprising that Governor Huckabee was able to convince 34% of Iowas Republican voters to pull the lever for him. I could understand an honorable man like Fred Thompson, a hero like John McCain, or even the fanatical Ron Paul winning. What I can’t understand is how Huckabee was able to advertise himself as the “christian leader” and say, “Merry Christmas”, and have 34% of Iowa voters ignore his record of economic liberalism and dangerously questionable judgment. Nevermind, I couldn’t forgive letting McCain be our nominee either; Call me closed-minded but I’m partial to the 1st Amendment, tax-cuts, and a competent judiciary.

The only relief tonight is that 66% of the Republican voters in Iowa weren’t fooled into voting for a guy simply because he had a fish on his tailgate.

National Review Endorsement

I received an email from Eglund today blasting our Congressman. Knowing full well that Eglund has no chance of earning the party nomination I should remain quiet. There are many good conservatives that have donated to his campaign that I have no wish of offending; however today he went way too far…

When democrats couldn’t beat us at the polls they changed their tactics; instead of attacking our beliefs (which are popular among voters) they do everything they can to destroy the character of those championing our causes. They have done it to Bush, accusing him of the most dastardly deeds; they have all but ruined Tom Delay (an exceptional public servant), and they are trying to destroy our tremendously effective Congressman.

I have entertained the notion that the Congressman should do the party a favor, even though he is innocent, and step down. However, that thinking is completely wrong. I don’t support Congressman Doolittle out of any personal loyalty, I have never had a conversation with him. However, out of principle I would be a coward if I was not willing to stand up for a good man and fantastic Republican who has given so much to our cause. The only politicians who would be willing to run against the Congressman have given up not only fighting for a good, decent, and principled man, but for our cause. Is that the sort of person we want representing us in Washington, the kind that give up?

If Mr. Eglund were campaigning on the sole premise that Congressman Doolittle makes the Republican Party vulnerable to losing the seat I could sympathize. However his campaign has become dirty and hostile toward the congressman. If Mr. Eglund wishes to buy into the rhetoric of the left that is his right; and as conservatives we should be grateful he has shown his convictions before we could be fooled into voting for him.

Thank you Congressman Doolittle for your tireless efforts on our behalf.