6 February 2008
Choosing Party Over the Constitution
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: Constitution in Peril; Judaeo-Christian Values Under Attack; Presidential Election 2008; Rejecting Herd Mentality .
I appreciate all that Sean Hannity and other talk show hosts are doing to stand up for values and the Constitution. I would like to throw something out there for them to consider. Should we save the Republican Party even if it contributes to losing ground on the Constitution?
I listened to Sean today respond to callers asking who to vote for in a general election if McCain is the GOP nominee. Sean asked a question that I thought hard about. “Is who you pick as Commander-in-Chief important enough for you to support McCain?”
Since we are in Iraq, we need to win Iraq for our future safety. I believe if Romney were Commander-in-Chief, he would not have McCain’s mentality of being willing to stay in Iraq for a hundred years. I believe he would go to work to accomplish a fast win and then turn the country over to its own people. He would teach and inspire Iraqis to step up to the plate. But wouldn’t it be better to have McCain than a Democrat who wants to immediately raise a white flag and leaving the Iraqi people to a possible massacre? Sean has implied that this is his leaning.
Having studied the first and second World Wars, I understand the frustrations of the German people by the unfair treatment they received politically at the end of WWI. They were put in an economic vise that was destroying their nation. Hitler rose as a hero who would stand up to those who would bring his people to their knees. This must have been seen as the most important issue, even superseding political freedoms. Get behind Hitler if you are a patriot.
Now we are being asked to get behind John McCain because he will continue the war. I am not equating Senator McCain with Hitler, I’m simply drawing a comparison of priorities. Where will we be if we win the war and lose many of our freedoms; if we save the party and lose the bulk of the Constitution? My priorities are different. I put my country and her future well-being over the war and over the party. This in no way means we don’t feel the Republican Party is unimportant nor does it imply we will leave. We want to hold onto the things that make this party crucial to America.
Personally, I doubt the Democrats will want to be blamed for another slaughter as happened when we withdrew from Vietnam. My hope for the war is that it is over quickly and successfully. My greater hope is to keep a cohesive conservative base because without this, there is no hope for our Republic.
Mark Levin says that McCain is sitting on a one legged stool. I agree and believe that this kind of a stool could break, and will at least tip.
Levin has called a spade a spade. He says that McCain supports socialism. Levin says we will fight to the very end of this primary process. If we lose we lose. But we will not stop trying to change the tide of socialism.
We will spread the word and position ourselves to pick up the pieces when the socialists bring this nation crashing down. My husband and I have decided to support Romney completely, and if he does not win the nomination, we will write in his name.
26 Comments so far...
T. Fan Says:
6 February 2008 at 5:52 pm.
I knew I couldn’t vote for McCain but I wasn’t sure how to explain it completely. That’s it. Thanks and I will now have to decide whether to put in Mitt or Fred.
Terrie Soberg Says:
6 February 2008 at 6:03 pm.
Who to vote for if our favorite candidate does not take the nomination is a topic of conversation all over the place today. I wanted to share the following from Glenn Beck:
After last night, Glenn is having a hard time making sense of things
these days. McCain is the guy switching around his views like John
Kerry yet Mitt Romney is the flip flopper. McCain is going to be the
GOP nominee despite having his name stamped all over such fine liberal
bills as McCain/Feingold, McCain/Kennedy and McCain/Lieberman. Glenn
resorts to drastic measures for answers: a
shrink.
Rock and a hard place
With McCain a shoe-in for the nomination, that leaves true
conservatives stuck between a rock and a hard place. McCain vs. Hillary
or Obama. It’s like choosing between getting stabbed to death or
getting shot at point blank. Either way you are going to die, but you
have to pick one. Glenn says he would vote for Hillary before he voted
for McCain. Stu says wouldn’t vote for Hillary or McCain,
while Dan says he’d probably suck it up and vote for McCain. What would
you do?
Matt Says:
6 February 2008 at 6:13 pm.
I already made my decision to vote for Mitt one way or another. I would never vote McCain.
Cameron Says:
6 February 2008 at 7:12 pm.
I’m not going to make a final decision yet. I want to focus on Mitt right now. I was a little surprised by the Hitler thing but it makes a sick sort of sense. We can get so worked up we get our priorities messed with. Like the analogy Joy gave about the civilizations that killed each other off because their hatred became the most important thing in their life. Not that we want war with the jihadists because of hatred, we want to preserve our freedom. But the focus of just war without the work back here at home to preserve the freedoms would be fruitless.
Cavetrollhead Says:
6 February 2008 at 7:28 pm.
I am going to sound like a broken record because I have said this several times. But now it is under the right blog, so here I go again:
The republican party is drifting left. (scratch that- turning sharp left) And the Washington establishment is ramming McCain down our throats. What to do? If we vote for McCain, we are sending a message that we will go along with it.
If we refuse to vote for McCain in the general, we send a message that we will not capitulate.
Why is the message we send so important? The republican party is the last bastion of conservativism. It is our ONLY political power. If we allow the party to go left and compromise our principles, we lose forever our political power.
So our choice is clear. We refuse to vote McCain in the general and thereby yank the party back to the Right. If not, we say goodbye to any power we have had.
This isn’t about Rs and Ds. It is about Right and wrong.
Joy Bischoff Says:
6 February 2008 at 7:41 pm.
Beautifully and squarely put, Cavetrollhead 
Stumpy Says:
6 February 2008 at 8:14 pm.
Gonna chime in here. I was taught as a little nipper that the power came from we the people, not them the bosses. Those establishment types are full of themselves. You folks get that message out there that they forgot their lessons from grammar school.
E.E. Says:
6 February 2008 at 8:22 pm.
Stumpy, I am curious if you would ever consider voting for McCain?
Stumpy Says:
6 February 2008 at 8:42 pm.
Come on girl! Dont you know there is jist one thing that would make me get behind McCain. That would be if he bent over so I could give him his licking. After that Id send him to his room til after the convention.
Pickles Says:
6 February 2008 at 9:25 pm.
Hi Stumpy. That made a great picture, you whipping McCain. I love you. Say hi to Cat for me but don’t get bit.
Me and my friends have been talking a lot about what to do about the election. Some of them are for Mitt like me and some are for Obama and a couple for Paul. None of us would vote for Hillary or McCain no matter what. We can all tell they are in with the groups we don’t trust. Not sure yet what I would do if Mitt wasn’t in but one thing I was thinking about was writing his name in. But for now we will still fight for him.
The Realist Says:
6 February 2008 at 9:58 pm.
I do pride myself in being a realist. But I hope that doesn’t mean I can’t learn. Two weeks ago I would have said we have to be realistic and see that McCain is the only way to stop Hillary. I am looking at everything different now. Reading this blog and then your comments, especially Cavetrollhead has changed my mind. I can’t support McCain because I see that realistically there is no way I can signal the party leaders that it is okay for them to do our thinking for us and tell us to shut up and get in line. I guess I should add Stumpy to my list because he is right. The party leaders should reflect the party…WE THE PEOPLE! How do we get them to listen? Our vote. That’s what they tell us. Now they are telling us to vote for McCain so we show unity and don’t make waves. They can go to hell.
Peter Says:
6 February 2008 at 10:16 pm.
Now don’t get mad. I’m just trying to understand your blog, Joy. Two questions.
First, does this mean you may not stay in the republican party?
Second, are you seriously calling McCain Hitler? Do you think he is that bad? Do you think that kind of name calling is going to help evangelicals flock to you?
Joy Bischoff Says:
6 February 2008 at 10:23 pm.
Peter, I am glad I was working on the site when you commented. I can’t tell you how fast I edited my blog once I read your comment. Thank you. And to make sure I am clear for you, yes I am staying in the Republican Party, and no I am not calling McCain a Hitler. I was drawing a comparison regarding priorities, as my blog now says. Thanks again.
Cavetrollhead Says:
6 February 2008 at 10:51 pm.
Hey Peter,
Reagan once said that he didn’t leave the democratic party, the democratic party left him.
Having said that, we can’t leave the republican party because there is no one to the right of The R.
So we only have one choice- to take the party back in Reagan’s name. Voting for McCain in the general is capitulation to the left. Where are we going to go when that happens? We will lose our only political power. We are being boiled slowly, and I am not going to get cozy.
Roy Bischoff Says:
6 February 2008 at 11:09 pm.
I just got a chance to read this. As you read in the blog, Joy and I already discussed what we would do. I think if we refuse to vote for McCain allowing Hillary to resume office, I mean take office, in four years there should be no question that we need a true conservative in office. I think we have to take the long view and not sell ourselves short nor mortgage our children’s future. We need some politicians who will take the long view and start doing some hard things instead of just trying to stave things off for a little bit longer to make sure they can stay in power.
Cavetrollhead Says:
7 February 2008 at 1:35 am.
By the way, thanks The Realist. I appreciate the positive feedback. I got pretty carried away on election night. Kind of felt I may have lost some credibility with my frothing at the mouth.
Romneyite Says:
7 February 2008 at 1:47 am.
If McCain gets the nomination then I will write in Mitt Romney. I will not and cannot vote for John McCain.
If John McCain is any indication of the direction the Republican party is going then consider me an ex-Republican.
Mac Says:
7 February 2008 at 8:38 am.
I’m with you Romneyite. I love the Republican party but I agree with the blog. I have to put my country before my party. Everyone talks about what a hero and good man John McCain is but that isn’t what I see. He makes my skin crawl. I am going to stand up against the establishment trying to shove him down our throats.
Cameron Says:
7 February 2008 at 8:49 am.
I wanted to share this statement by John Cronin at ER2008. After reading all of your comments and then this, I know now that even though I have always been a staunch Republican, that no amount of pressure will convince me to support John McCain. I still want to focus on trying to pull out a miracle for Mitt but I can’t stand on the sidelines any more on this issue. Thanks everyone and here is John’s comment:
We will punish the Republican hierarchy for pushing a fairly liberal Democrat, er, I mean Republican as the party’s nominee. I don’t want to punish the party’s rank and file, just RINO”S like Crist, Schwarzzenneger and Mel Martinez. Psychologists tell us that rewarding bad behavior encourages more bad behavior. How embarrassing would it be for the RINO leadership to have pushed McCain’s candidacy so brazenly, only to have real Republicans write-in Romney’s name en masse?
Angela Rogin Says:
7 February 2008 at 9:06 am.
Good morning, Mac. You and I usually seem to be the first ones around in the morning. I agree with your sentiments. Welcome aboard, Romneyite. I agree with everyone that I can’t support John McCain and I don’t believe he is a good man. I feel responsible for my vote and I will not listen to those who try and force me to pick a Washington Insider. We aren’t being given a choice with the front-runners in the Democratic party or with McCain. They are all insiders scared to death of people who will mess up their cozy nest as someone here called it. I pulled two paragraphs from the New York Times this morning to illustrate my point:
“Still, it is striking that in an election that has so far turned on the idea of change, the ultimate winner could very well be a United States senator, typically the epitome of the Washington elite.
“That is the big change,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, a former Tennessee governor who used two unsuccessful presidential bids as a springboard to the Senate. “The change is, that for the first time in recent history, Americans may be picking an insider to the run the country.”
Jesse Says:
7 February 2008 at 10:52 am.
This won’t be a surprise to anyone but in November I will be writing in Ron Paul’s name.
Jan W. Says:
7 February 2008 at 11:12 am.
I also am not sure whether I will write in Fred or Mitt but like all of you, I can’t morally support John McCain.
Pickles Says:
7 February 2008 at 11:48 am.
I WILL NEVER NEVER NEVER VOTE FOR MCVAIN!!!
rorin Says:
7 February 2008 at 1:02 pm.
I think most of us agree that the choices we are being left with aren’t very palatable so for me it is coming to to a choice of someone I don’t think should be president or, as many have suggested they will do, to write in the name of the candidate I support. My first inclination when it seemed as though McCain was likely to win the nomination was to not vote or to write in a candidate, but as I thought about it it seemed to me that either way I was simply sidestepping things and not really making a choice. Right now it is almost inevitable that either McCain, Clinton, or Obama will be our next president which to me is a choice between three evils but of different types. All true conservatives easily recognize the dangers that Clinton and Obama present to our country but many are shutting their eyes to the dangers of McCain. I believe his agenda his as damaging as the democratic candidates agendas but his is more subtle and hidden behind his war hero and patriot rhetoric. As I’ve considered this I am leaning a lot more towards voting Democratic because they are so obviously socialist and radical that I believe conservatives will unite against them if they are in office and we can stop much of the harm they would cause. On the other hand McCain could cause more damage because he proclaims himself a conservative which would confuse the conservative base enough to prevent solid opposition to his agendas. Going back to Hitler, I was asked recently if an election was between Hitler and Stalin would I vote for either of them or would a refuse to vote. As I thought about it I decided I would vote for Stalin because Hitler was more dangerous and subtle. With Stalin it was obvious what he wanted so he would be easier to stop because the people would rally against him. Obviously that example is overly simplified but I hope you get my point. In this election I am not going to vote for who I think will do the best job but rather for the candidate I think we can most easily prevent from doing too much damage.
Pickles Says:
7 February 2008 at 3:28 pm.
Rorin I have some friends who are supporting Obama. I really like him but I know his platform is really socialism. What you wrote is very intriguing and I am going to talk to my friends about it. I’m not sure what to do but I have time to decide. All I know for sure is that I won’t vote for McCain. I don’t trust what he says.
Cavetrollhead Says:
7 February 2008 at 3:44 pm.
I agree with Pickles in that what you wrote was interesting and good food for thought.
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