17 Reasons Why I Can't Vote for John McCain

Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican." If John McCain were a true Republican, I wouldn't be able to write this blog without violating this commandment, but he's not. John McCain seems to think the best way to beat the Democrats in November is to become one.

Here are 17 reasons I could not vote for John McCain:

1. McCain lacks knowledge and real world experience about the economy.

There are things a president can and can't do, but one of the things he most certainly can have an impact on is the economy. John McCain admits he has little knowledge about economic matters. Do we really want a president who can't help turn our economy around, particularly at this time with great economic challenges? Anytime McCain is asked an economic question, he looks like a deer caught in the headlights. He looks like how I'd react if you asked me about building a rocket ship...I wouldn't have a clue.

Admitting he's not an expert:


2. McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts.

As evidence of his lack of knowledge on economics, McCain was one of only two Republican senators who voted against the Bush tax cuts. To this day he stands by his vote, even though he now says he wants to vote to keep them permanent. If he's going to flip/flop on an issue, at least have the honesty to admit you were wrong.



3. McCain echoes Democratic class warfare arguments.

Today, McCain falsely says that he voted against the Bush tax cuts because he wanted spending cuts attached. This is simply not true. If you go back and hear what he said at the time, he said he opposed them because they were a tax break for "the rich," an argument taken right out of the Democrat's playbook. "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief." As recently as 2004, McCain said on Meet the Press, "I voted against the tax cuts because of the disproportionate amount that went to the wealthiest Americans. I would clearly support not extending those tax cuts in order to help address the deficit."

McCains weakness on economic issues is evident by his lack of understanding that lower taxes help the economy. Lower spending is certainly needed, but you don't bite off your nose to spite your face, and you don't vote against important tax-cutting legislation. He should have voted with his fellow Republicans for the tax cuts AND THEN continued to fight hard for spending cuts.

4. McCain limited free speech and helped Democratic candidates with his McCain/Feingold Bill.

It's interesting how McCain was willing to die for freedom as a soldier, only to become a politician and legislate that freedom away. If you don't like those negative ads you see running form 3rd-party groups, or if you think the media plays too big a role in who gets elected, you can blame McCain for that. When you try to limit personal freedoms, people will always find ways around those limits. Today, instead of hearing directly from the candidates, McCain/Feingold has limited their ability to share their message, turning it over to 3rd parties and the press. (Maybe McCain wanted to see this passed to keep him from the temptation of taking big money from people like Charles Keating again.)

5. McCain supported amnesty for all illegal immigrants.

Under the bill McCain supported, EVERY SINGLE illegal immigrant, unless a "criminal" (I guess just being in the country "illegally" isn't a crime?) would be pushed to the front of the line and could stay indefinitely in the country. So, according to McCain, if you come into the country illegally, you should be rewarded with a path to citizenship. That's not fair to the millions of foreigners who want to come into this country legally. I know of business professionals who have jumped through dozens and dozens of hoops for over ten years, paid tens of thousands of dollars, and played by the rules to be in this country and try to become a citizen LEGALLY. Why should those who broke our laws be given special privileges ahead of those who have obeyed them? Lastly, McCain says "I come from a boarder state, I know how to secure boarders." Then why hasn't he in the past 24 years he's been in Washington?

6. McCain sold out conservatives in appointing judges with his "Gang of 14."

John McCain, and his "Gang of 14," elevated senatorial privilege over efforts by the Bush administration to get conservative judges confirmed. He led this group that prevented conservatives from prohibiting the filibuster of judicial nominees.

7. McCain has consistently thwarted conservative efforts on domestic policy.

Listen to what Rick Santorum (R-PA) had to say about John McCain, "The bottom line is that I served 12 years with him, 6 years in the United States Senate as leader, one of the leaders of the Senate - the number-3 leader - who had the responsibility of trying to put together the conservative agenda, and almost at every turn on domestic policy, John McCain was not only against us, but leading the charge on the other side."

8. McCain is a good ol' boy Washington Insider.

Washington is completely broken. McCain has been there for nearly TWENTY FIVE YEARS! Think about that. What were YOU doing twenty five years ago? That's a long time to be in Washington, building up your old-boy network. The federal government in Washington is so messed up, we need someone from the OUTSIDE to help turn it around. If you're wondering why people like Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman are supporting McCain, they were both part of his Gang of 14. Even Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida, is known to often take the non-conservative position on issues, so it's no surprise he chose to endorse McCain.

9. McCain has sadly resorted to Clinton-like lies and deceit.

Read my last blog for more on this one. McCain, feeling desperate as Romney gained on him in the polls in Florida, started telling a bald-face lie and misrepresenting Romney's position on the war. Time magazine agrees that McCain had no evidence for which to make his claim about Romney. This reminds me of what the Clintons tried to do to Obama when they took his remarks about Ronald Reagan out of context. Here is how the National Review saw it, "...doesn't justify the rank dishonesty of [McCain's] attack on Romney over the weekend. It's so shamelessly unfair, it's the kind of thing you'd expect of Bill Clinton attacking Barack Obama. Clearly, McCain wants to change the topic from the economy. And since he's suffering from his 'straight-talk' about his relative lack of knowledge of and interest in the economy, he's trying to compensate with the opposite of straight talk—blatant distortions—about Romney's record."

10. McCain, like the Democrats, disregards the economy in dealing with global warming.

The people in Michigan figured this one out, and is why Romney won easily there. McCain's ideas would have further handicapped our automobile industry. McCain wants to lay the burden of reducing CO2 emissions squarely on the American economy when it's a world problem. The 2003 McCain-Lieberman energy cap-and-trade bill would have increased energy costs for the average Florida family of four by $1,000.

11. McCain leans towards warmongering.

Read my last blog for more on McCain's position about the war in Iraq. He chides Romney for wanting to put pressure on the Iraqi government with plans and goals. I get this sense he wants the two wars we're already involved in to go on indefinitely, and can't wait to get his hands on Iran. I believe in negotiating from a position of strength, but that doesn't mean we write the Iraqi government a blank check and don't have a plan to win and withdraw. In his recent stump speeches in Florida, he talks about there being "more wars to come." (See video below.) The purpose for having a strong army and national defense is to AVOID wars. I want a president that will use our strength to keep us out of wars, not promise us more wars!

Listen to McCain promise us more wars:


12. McCain voted to keep us more dependent on foreign oil by voting against oil exploration in ANWR.

As we strive towards alternative fuels, we should at least buy us some time by getting off of foreign oil by utilizing the oil resources we have right here in America. Not only is McCain's position (as usual) opposite that of the Republican party, but he uses the harshest rhetoric of the left to convey that disagreement, saying that drilling in ANWR would be like strip mining Yellowstone, or drilling in the Everglades and the Grand Canyon. If we weren't as dependent on foreign oil, maybe McCain wouldn't need to be such a hawk in the Middle East.

13. McCain considered running as VP for Liberal Democrat John Kerry.

John McCain was offered the vice-presidential slot in the ticket by John Kerry and actually considered accepting running with Kerry against Bush-Cheney in 2004. Do you think Kerry made that offer because McCain is a strong, principled, mainstream conservative Republican? Do you think John Kerry would have ever made that same offer to Rudy, Mitt Romney or any other Republican? Do you think they would have even considered it?

14. McCain has a pessimistic, negative, and defeatist attitude

He calls it "straight talk," I call it defeatism. Instead of being optimistic and looking for a better way, his "straight talk" suggests we roll over and have to expect to lose jobs and fight more wars. No thanks! I want a president who believes in optimism and fighting for a better future, not just giving into the thinking of the past. If your president doesn't believe in a better economy and peace, how can we expect him to strive for it?

15. McCain can't control his temper.

McCain is well known for his hot temper. That's just not the image and temperament I want to have for the President of the United States and the guy with his finger on the nuclear trigger. Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who has known Senator John McCain for more than three decades, recently endorsed Mitt Romney for president. Cochran said his choice was prompted partly by his fear of how McCain might behave in the Oval Office, saying: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

McCain says "F-U" to fellow Republican colleague


16. McCain is a little "too" tight with many Democrats.

It's no surprise that Democrats like Joe Lieberman and Hillary Clinton, as well as liberal media like The New York Times, like and support John McCain. What's not to like for them? Other than his position on the war, he's a lot like them. Listen to what Bill Clinton recently said, “She [Hillary Clinton] and John McCain are very close. They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history and they’re afraid they’d put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other.” Reaching across the isle to work together is one thing, but embracing so many of their ideals is another.

McCain and Hillary


17. McCain can't win in Nov. against the Democrats.

In November two things will likely still be true: 1) the economy will be a major issue for all voters, and 2) even with the success with the surge, Americans will want to know we have a plan to eventually get out of Iraq. McCain is weak on both these points. He's weak on economy issues and continues to beat the war drum, when even today, after the success of the surge, the vast majority of American's are very unhappy with the war. The Democrats will have a field day with McCain, and they know it.

Unfortunately, if McCain wins the nomination, conservative Republicans will feel like you have to choose between two Democrats. The one area the Democrats and McCain will differ on is the war, which remains unpopular amongst the vast majority of Americans.

"I'm here to tell you, if [McCain]...gets the nomination, it's going to destroy the Republican Party, it's going to change it forever, be the end of it. A lot of people aren't going to vote. You watch." Rush Limbaugh

Conservative Republicans are being asked by John McCain to make a whole pile of compromises to support him. I think some will, but it will be unlikely that he will win the Presidency. I know the polls TODAY say McCain has the best chance against the Democrats come November, but I think he'll fail to rally the conservative support. Sure, some may vote for him rather than Clinton or Obama, but will they raise money and campaign hard for him?

I won't.

Kevin