I don't know about you, but I've been doing a lot of head scratching lately. Being a conservative, and watching the recent financial fiasco, I'm left to wonder: just who is John McCain listening to? Now, I've noticed that older folk get a little hard of hearing. I watched it happen to my Dad and even now, at my relatively young age, I'm noticing the beginnings of it. But is everyone on McCain's staff the same age?
Watching President Bush, his administration, and the mainstream media (MSM) over the past week or so, I've concluded that they were all on the same page. There is only one solution for our failing economy and wall street woes: a bailout at tax payers expense. Oddly enough there was no discussion of a Plan A or B, let alone a Plan C. There's just one possible answer for this predicament: do the $700 billion dollar bailout or life as we know it ends. For some reason McCain heard that option, he supported it.
However, reading a conservative magazine and a couple of conservative blogs, and listening occasionally to conservative talk radio, it became apparent that there were plenty of other options to the proposed bailout. One option was to drop the capital gains tax for two years and flood the market with an enormous amount of cash. The experts did say that the market needed and infusion of cash, so that probably would have worked... without using tax payers money.
Why didn't this idea gain any traction? Well, the MSM didn't report it on TV or print it in newspapers. I'm assuming they didn't report it because of the continual feud between the MSM and conservative thinkers. So, an idea that might have solved our financial crisis without forcing the nation to take a socialistic step, is sadly lost to us.
Now, here's the most disappointing thing to me. John McCain courted conservatives saying he had our back. He hinted at this position by selecting Sarah Palin, which did satisfy a lot of us conservatives who really had no one to rally around until then. All that is fine and dandy, but with recent actions by the McCain camp leaves conservatives wondering: just who is John McCain listening to? Well, it's pretty obvious that he's not listening to conservatives. He simply supported the bailout plan discussed by the MSM. He supported President Bush's administration, even though most American's opposed it.
So what do we learn from all of this? McCain is an avowed moderate. He doesn't, and never has, seriously considered conservative thinking. His solutions are the same as those conjured up by big government intelligensia. It's sad really. He was given a gift... a real opportunity to offer something new and different... to take a stand as a "straight talker"... show a dynamically creative way to solve our financial crisis... and to set him apart from Obama's camp and Washington. But instead he obviously listened to the MSM and ended up exposing his age. McCain is hard of hearing, especially when it comes to listening to solutions offered by conservative thinkers.
Being a Basicguy and all, I'm probably not smart enough to comprehend McCain's greater plan. But I do know this, if McCain continues to be hard of hearing of conservative thought, conservatives will be hard of hearing of his... regardless of how many times he throws Governor Palin out there to satisfy them. It's not working. Unfortunately, McCain's aging hearing problem will guarantee a loss of more than hearing in November and carve a path for a disastrous Obama presidency.
McCain, where are your hearing aides?
5 comments:
Interesting thoughts, dad. Once I heard the bailpout was to be put on the shoulders of the taxpayers, I immediately became an opponent. However, I did no brainstorming or research to discover an alternative. I just complained. The difference between myself and McCain? It's his job to discover and propose alternatives to the American people. He clearly hasn't done that. One last question: Since when did the "Basic Guy" who just "basically speaks" become strictly a political blogger?
Good thoughts. Personally, I think McCain, Obama, the MSM, and most politicians are wanting this economic collapse. It's a great opportunity for them to institute socialism. "See, I told you capitalism doesn't work."
McCain is a simple socialist. But Obama is more than that. He's also a fascist. He wants to be a fearless leader, a ruler if you will, not a mere president.
In short, he frightens me.
I can help you understand McCain's greater plan...do whatever is popular enough to get elected. I'm sure most of the time spent going over the plan had nothing to do with whether it was the right thing for the American people but rather whether it was going to be the winning plan and therefore should he be backing it. There is a bit of a leadership vacuum in our nations capital and neither candidate is going to fill it. "The maverick" sure isn't looking like one right now and that other guy has made an obvious impression on conservatives (see Paul West's comment).
Hello everyone! Thanks for your input. Hoping not to appear one dimensional (a political blogger only, which I'm not, it's just the major issue for the time being), there's no question that anyone who runs for president will have an element of sticking their finger in the air to find which way the winds is blowing. I think they learn it from the political environment. However, knowing that, I'm more concerned with the hidden agenda that drives them. In this case, one agenda remains way more hidden than the other. Obama keeps hidden things that normally are shared by candidates... things that McCain made public long ago. That says something about his agenda. Some agendas are more open than others. I think Obama is hoping to keep it hidden by relying on charisma and charm. Everyone knows that the American presidency is decided mostly by "beauty pageant" rules, and Obama knows that. He is expecting victory because of it. In the end, though, I'd prefer the clunky and imperfect McCain over the charming, but hidden agenda Obama. With either, our only hope is that a sane congress will show up to do battle with any facist or socialist that shows up in the big house.
Hey, gang. Do any of you have any thoughts on Prop. 8 in California. Anne Bradshaw has a great post in her blog which I've copied on mine. I hope you'll take a look at it and pass it on to anyone you think might benefit.
Paul
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