Topic: Presidential Campaign 2008
Who Is The Traditional Conservative? No, John McCain doesn't have a traditional Republican record.by Christopher Espinal
(Conservative)
Monday, February 4, 2008
Conservatives, including me, have discussed John McCain's conservatism. People tend to forget the meaning of a conservative politician.
I view traditional conservatives as individuals who do two different things to spending and big Federal government: vetoing all spending bills, and most especially, cutting all incentives to spend.
One cannot live without the other.
Although our current President may have vetoed spending bills, he did not cut incentives to spend. He didn't downsize government even with a Republican congress.
Why is cutting spending incentives more important than vetoing or voting against spending: because the incentives are what allow more of these propositions to happen. They are what stifle free markets and small businesses.
Incentives for more spending occur when the government assumes responsibility over more tasks. The federal government should empower the states and local government to take over education and other matters that don't conflict with national security and private contracts.
That is the real fight of the traditional conservative!
John McCain may vote against spending for most programs but he has never voted to abolish incentives and empower states rights.
I may not necessarily believe his liberalism is an issue, but when you have a "straight talker" flat out lying about his conservatism, then the truth should disclose.
This brings up more questions: who was the most conservative candidate all along, and can Mitt Romney be called a true conservative himself?
Mitt Romney seems to have changed his position on a lot of issues; they are probably all for convenience. His record is not all that tradition either!
The most conservative candidates are Congressman Ron Paul and former candidate Senator Fred Thompson. Too bad one is badly ignored and the other couldn't garner votes from such a huge hype!
What are left for us are three closet liberals and a paleo-conservative (or a traditional conservative) struggling to get attention. Hopefully Mitt Romney seriously has changed his positions on economic policy!
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2008 Christopher Espinal, all rights reserved.
Published: Monday, February 4, 2008
Last modified: Monday, February 4, 2008
The views expressed in this
article are those of Christopher Espinal only and do not represent
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employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
I'm voting for Ron Paul - however, I hope Mitt Romney bests John McCain. Romney is my begrudging 2nd choice. I don't necessarily trust him, but he certainly seems better than McCain.
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2008 Christopher Espinal, all rights reserved.