Why the best choice for the right is John McCain

Virginia’s Republican primary is now six days away, and when it comes, I will cast my vote for John McCain.  When I came to that conclusion, it was quite a shock to me; it clearly still is to many of my friends on the right side of the blogosphere.  Therefore, I feel compelled to explain why John McCain is the best choice for those of us on the right (or, if you prefer, the conservative choice).

First, I think I should address the notion of a brokered convention, since my good friend Jim Beck brought it up in the comments section of this post.  There was a time when I thought a brokered convention was likely, and perhaps even desirable, but no more.  For starters there is no way that a convention will not nominate one of the three surviving candidates.  The candidates themselves will not allow it, especially now that McCain is the clear front-runner.  Either Huckabee and Romney will work together to block McCain (and likely share the ticket) or McCain will make a deal with one of them.

Besides, is it really a good idea to put forth a name that the American people haven’t previously seen as a candidate?  That candidate would be at a terrible disadvantage in name recognition, and will start with zero money (and money will be necessary to help make up the name recognition problem).  Meanwhile, picking a candidate already rejected by the GOP electorate (say, Fred Thompson) would be a slap in the face to Republican voters – hardly a good move at the party convention!  Fred in particular had his chance, and he blew it fair and square.

So we are left with these three: McCain, Romney, and Huckabee; this makes the choice clear.  Huckabee cannot be trusted on government spending or taxes, and his inexperience on foreign policy has already led to some troublesome moments.  They were why I started an entire blog dedicated solely to his defeat. 

As for Mitt Romney, contrary to the wails of his erstwhile supporters, he went wobbly on Iraq, and thus disqualified himself.  Not even Huckabee did something this egregious.  Moreover, when I see Romney’s CEO mentality on display, I am constantly reminded that government is not a business; it requires a leader, not a manager.  I don’t see a leader in Romney.  What I do see is someone who thought running for President would be a good idea, and so he decided to jettison a very liberal record as Governor of Massachusetts and hope it worked.  Even so, how am I supposed to embrace as the great right hope a man who supports government-mandated health insurance, an “assault weapons” ban, and an industrial policy for the automobile industry?

That leaves McCain, and sadly, I fear many of us have succumbed to unnecessary despair about this.  In fact, McCain’s candidacy tells us just how far the right has come.  Think about it.  John McCain has had an excellent record in defense of pre-born children for 24 years (although admittedly not perfect; I, too, disagree with him on embryonic stem cell research), a second-to-Coburn history of battling pork-barrel spending, a group of economic advisers that includes the leading supply-sider (Kemp, Gramm, and Forbes), and a record that includes opposing the great entitlement debacle of our time – Medicare Part D.

A mere fifteen years ago, this would be a hard-right “extremist” with no shot of national office.  Today, he’s called a RINO.

Yes, I know McCain has high-profile splits with the party.  However, I don’t see any of his rivals seriously challenge either McCain-Feingold or the “global warming” nonsense.  Yes, he opposed the Bush tax cuts, but so did Romney, and while they were doing that, Huckabee all but begged the Arkansas legislature to send him tax hikes to sign.  All three are now talking about making the Bush tax cuts permanent, but only McCain has actually cast votes in favor of them (though I’ll admit only he had the opportunity).

As for illegal immigration, McCain seems to have been chastened, and understands that the border must be secure beforehe can try his hand at forgiving those already here for breaking the law.  Personally, I’d be tougher in illegal aliens, but I’ll buy the Brooklyn Bridge before I buy Huck and Romney’s recent conversions to the restrictionist side.

The fact is, all three men have records.  Are they perfect?  No, but John McCain is clearly the best of the the three, without question.

That is why I am voting for him on Tuesday, and why – my fellow Virginians who are reading this – I hope you vote for him, too.