McCain No Longer Needs to Pretend He's a Conservative

I had no prior comment on the Arizona U.S. Senate primary. The incumbent Se. John McCain had an honorable career in the military but has been unpredictable and often misguided as a senator. His opponent, J.D. Hayworth, was a relatively good congressman. He was strong on some issues but hardly a fiscal conservative. Because of the strong antipathy to the out of control spending in DC, Hayworth was unlikely to beat McCain. McCain's weak point was his support for open borders and no enforcement of immigration laws. McCain did a couple TV ads pretending to care about border security and based on tonight's voting he fooled enough people to secure the GOP nomination. Now, that the primary is behind him don't be surprised to see McCain tilt back to the left on several issues.

Beyond my distaste for McCain's incessant need to be loved by the media, I'm just personally opposed to career politicians in general. With six year terms of office, the Senate is more prone to this problem. McCain is better than Bob Byrd or Ted Kennedy but I'm equally opposed to any of them holding office for life.

Honesty is Taking a Lengthy Vacation

We are just over 100 days away from the mid-term elections and it is getting obvious that honesty will be on an extended vacation until after the elections are held. There are several recent examples showing the Democrats desperate to stave off massive losses will be engaging is even more lying than usual.

First this past weekend DNC chair Howard Dean was on the various Sunday shows lying both about the economy and the episode involving Shirley Sherrod. I could almost give him a pass on lying about the economy since he may stupidly believe the blame Bush rhetoric he was spewing. However, his claims that the Sherrod silliness proves FOX news is racist was a lie that reeked of desperation.

Then you have Rep. Joe Sestak D-PA (who I must sadly admit is a former Navy guy) had the gall to say with a straight face that he didn't know if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was a liberal or not. (H/T King Shamus)

This isn't limited to Democrats. Though Democrats have greater reason to be desperate this November, some Republicans aren't being exactly honest either. For example, facing a stiff primary challenge from J.D. Hayworth, born-again conservative John McCain is pretending he cares about border security. The long time advocate of an amnesty based comprehensive immigration policy will likely fool enough voters with his recent conversion. Once he gets past this election, I fully expect him to return to being a regular pain in the neck to conservatives.

Always remember to look further than their words. Verify their claims. Examine their past votes and actions. Don't believe a claim of fiscal discipline if their votes were almost always for more spending.

An Important Question to Ask Before Voting for a Republican

While I'm opposed to most of the policies of the current party in power, don't assume all Republicans are necessarily a big improvement. Some will pay lip service to being concerned about spending and then will move to DC and then play along to get along. One question to ask to get some insight into the candidate is to ask them whether they will listen to former senator Trent Lott (lobbyist on behalf of the ruling/spending class) or Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). Here is an article to get a sense of what Lott thinks of the Tea Party movement.

Any possible shred of doubt remaining in anybody's mind about former Senate GOP leader Trent Lott's true allegiance have now been definitively removed: Lott is a paid tool of the Washington Establishment who hates the Tea Party and all other insurgents who have had it with politics-as-usual.

"We don't need a lot of Jim DeMint disciples. As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them," Lott told The Washington Post in an incredibly revealing story.

Sen. Jim DeMint, of course, is the South Carolina conservative Republican who last year formed the Senate Conservatives Fund to back precisely the kind of insurgent conservative Senate candidates most feared by the Lotts of the world. . . . . It's the same old story that such GOPers want the votes of "the base" but they don't want to do what the Tea Partiers and a clear majority of their fellow Americans, want them to do.

Several of the Republican senators are of Lott's ilk and not much better than the Democrats. John McCain and Lindsey Graham among others will talk the talk every few years when concerned about reelection. However, once safely back in DC they go back to thinking they know better than the rubes who voted for them.