The International House of Bacon

So I’m conflicted about John McCain at this point. I admit it. Ultimately, I’m interested in conservative politicians, and McCain decidedly isn’t one - he’s been wrong on taxes, inconsistent on the judiciary, is in the big-government “conservatism” mold of George W. Bush, has a questionable Constitutional record (to be generous), and is highly interested in further regulatory madness.

On the other hand, he might not actually govern this way. He’s a relatively stand-up guy - “Straight-Talk Express” is a load of hooey, but I do respect his ability to tell it how it is when it matters (as hideous as the 100 year in Iraq comment may sound to some people, it is the most honest and realistic thing I’ve heard about Iraq in this campaign so far), especially on the war, even if it’s not a major issue for me this go ’round. This RedState.com piece on McCain is very compelling in a number of ways for me, especially given that it was written when Romney still had a fighting chance. There’s plenty to like about McCain even if you don’t like McCain.

There’s a lot I have to attempt to at least forgive McCain for - McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act being the worst offender. It goes beyond that, though: things as simple as ANWR drilling are opposed, yet he’s been criticized in a few circles of not necessarily coming to thoughtful conclusions on other positions. Hell, (same link) he’s even said that he’s not all that well-educated on economics. That’s probably the biggest issue facing this country over the next four years. Apparently taking on Don Luskin will help him here, but seriously.

But the most nagging problem I have is that I honestly feel that, both strategically and politically, McCain is a better choice for the party he’s running against than the party he’s going to be nominated for. Strategically because I have a completely unsupported opinion that the winner of this campaign on either side will likely have a Carter-like effect on their party’s landscape. Politically because McCain’s political positions, especially recently, speak more to a Democratic point of view than a Republican one: regulation of speech and financial contributions, derision of strict constructionist judicial nominees, hysterical knee-jerk political reaction to current events (and that’s only issues I care about - ask a Republican about immigration and border control sometime). Even today, a regulatory boxing agency championed by McCain passed the Senate. Hell, McCain may have toyed with switching parties, and it doesn’t even sound ridiculous. That the media has been completely behind McCain to this point only helps. After all, how else does he get more anti-war votes than any other Republican candidate? If the media can get behind him as much as they have, he can’t be that bad, right?

Or look at it another way, especially since most people reading this at this point are liberal/Democrat/both: Take the war and abortion out of the equation (two issues that really won’t be significantly affected by who wins in November, no matter how much you might want it to), and would you really be uncomfortable? Really?

Here’s the thing: for conservatives to accept McCain, we need to cross our fingers that he a) can be “educated” economically and b) actually nominates palatable judges who aren’t going to pull a Souter. That’s the bare minimum. I’m not sure I can do that with confidence. Compare that to the Democratic nominees - as the Senate is unlikely to get a supermajority, at least the GOP can filibuster poor judicial nominees in the meantime, and can play hardball with the budget. If the GOP has taught us anything under Bush, capitulating for the sake of party unity is always on the table, and for the Congressional Republicans to bend here and there for a President McCain on issues that Republicans are traditionally against is a definite fear. And in the unlikely event that the Republicans take the Senate back? Yikes.

So convince me. I’m relatively comfortable with sitting it out or helping ballot access up here on the local level, but if I can at least slow our march toward disaster, I can be convinced.