The Maverick--John McCain

John McCain likes the label maverick. He sees himself as an independent, unconventional individual who will not allow anyone else to tell him what to do. I like that in the Senator. However, there are some questions that must be asked about things he has done. I even like it when he reaches across the aisle and works with members of the other party but I must question the hands he shakes.

McCain-Feingold is a biggy for a number of reasons. Anyone associated with politics knows that while you are working on something like McCain-Feingold others are working on ways to get around it. The ink wasn't dry on this legislation before Richard Gephart told allies of the Democrat Party that things like the 537s that we see would be allowed and in place. Lo and behold they were but John Q. Citizen was left out in the dark. Feingold is one of the most liberal senators in the Senate. Why did McCain do this, something he now kind of regrets, and why did he select Feingold as his partner? Why wasn't another Republican on the bill? Why wasn't a more moderate Democrat on the bill?

Then there is the matter of the McCain-Kennedy amnesty of illegal immigrants bill. McCain now says he gets it and he favors border security first. Senator what you must say is "I am not in favor of amnesty".
Of all people why Kennedy particularly if you want the conservative vote in November of 2008. Remember when Bush reached out to Kennedy on the No Child Left Behind bill. The moment things started going south on that legislation it became the Bush No Child Left Behind Bill. Does McCain really believe Kennedy will stay with him? Last time I looked Kennedy was endorsing Obama.

Senator McCain has additional problems to overcome. While his life time American Conservative Union rating was touted at 85% last year it was 65%. His rating has been declining for a number of years.

McCain's pro-life stance is questionable. He is a supporter of research on embryo stem cell research. He supports this despite the fact that all the evidence is pointing toward adult stem cell research for a success story.

His stand on the Second Amendment is shaky. While I have yet to see a rating from the National Rifle Association, I believe it will come out around a C. This can cost him big time in a lot of states including Pennsylvania.

Then there is his hooking of his wagon to the global warming star. Within a year or two, maybe sooner, this issue will be seen for what it is, the greatest hoax on the American public. The tide has already started to turn as reports are now coming out indicating that we will most likely see global cooling. I'll wait to see that one too before running out for my heavy sweaters. Does the climate change, you betcha. Is it cyclical? Yes it is. Can we really do anything about it? Not really.

So there we have it. Three candidates running for President of the United States, are you happy with them? Has the thought passed through you mind, can't we do better? Hard to tell which one to vote for because they all look alike from my perspective. Not a classical conservative in the bunch.