In 1976 the republican establishment arranged for Ford to be the nominee, and the same happened in 1996 with Bob Dole. Neither candidate had the support of the conservative base, and they both lost.
This year's election is turning out to be quite the same. The republican establishment is under the firm belief that the public wants a more liberal republican to lead the party into the future. And they think that John McCain is the man.
He has said again and again, "I am reaching across the isle, and I'm going to work with democrats for the better of the country. I'm going to give the people what they want, as opposed to what's best for them."
I paraphrased there, but that pretty much sums up John McCain.
Ann Coulter told Sean Hannity that if McCain is the republican nominee she would campaign for Hilary. Rush said he might not even vote. Sean Hannity is strongly urging his voters to support Romney, but I've yet to hear him say he will not vote for McCain.
So, should we not vote for a McCain nominee, if he is indeed the nominee?
If John McCain is elected president, it's pretty well obvious that the republican movement as we know it today will be over. The republican party created by William Buckley Jr. and Ronald Reagan and later Newt Gingrich will be over.
Here's why. If, and this is a big if, John McCain is the republican nominee, and if he is elected president, there is a possibility that a liberal republican could be in office for the next four election cycles. That is 16 years.
How do I get to that. Chances are he will have another liberal republican as his running mate, if he doesn't "cross the isle" and select his good friend Joseph Leiberman. And, chances are that running mate will be someone like Rudy Guliani.
Rudy Guliani then would be the president in waiting.
Then again, if McCain loses and Hillary wins, the belief among conservatives is that her liberal tax and spend programs will bandrupt the nation and lead revolution that will have American begging for a conservative, much like what happened in 1980 when a conservative Ronald Reagan won in a landslide.
While there is a good chance this would be the picture if McCain lost to Hillary or Obama, there would be two big risks involved.
One would be: what if a strong conservative republican does not come out of the shadows to be available in 2012 to bail out the country from all the things liberals did to screw it up?
And, aside from that, there is a possibility that three Supreme Court vacancies will need to be filled. Do republicans want risk turning this court back into a liberal court, and have rulings be made by non-originalsists. This would be a major setback that would set the conservative movement way back.
Likewise, there is also no guarantee that McCaini will nominate conservative judges, as he has said that he will nominate judges like Roberts who don't wear their conservatism on their sleaves.
That wouldn't be so bad per se, but what if these Robert-esk judges turn out to be suporters of the pro choice movement, or turn out to be non-originalist judges.
And, if McCain is going to raise taxes, support government regulation of businesses to stop global warming, and, in turn, ruin the economy, perhaps Rush is right in that we would rather have a democrat in office doing these things so a that republicans can regain momentum in 2012.
You see, that's where we stand as a party right now. This is a conundrum that might leave many conservatives at home on election day.
Me, on the other hand, I don't like to play these kind of games. If McCain is the candidate, I will support him hands down, and I think Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity should do the same.
It's not about party, it's about principal. In my opinion, if Hilary and Obama accomplish their goals as president, we will have a lot more mud to walk through than McCain could ever accomplish.
McCain will support our troops. That is unquestioned. Neither Hilary nor Obama will pull the troops, I'm convinced of that. However, they will not support the war unquestionably as McCain will. That we know for sure.
And, as conservatives like Rush have duly noted many times before, there is nothing more important that defense of our country. And I'm willing to set aside some of my principals to win the war on terror.
I think the conservative radio pundits would agree with me there.
So, while I think it's great that Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Rush and other conservative voices are being honest, I think it's a good idea for them to vote for whomever the republican nominee is.
The alternative may prove far more disasterous for our nation that, say, John McCain.
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