Hillary or Bust

Why McCain?

When you hear what various Obama Democrats are saying in the media, you can tell that most of them absolutely do not get why many of us are pledging not to vote for Obama in November.

The perpetual rallying cry goes along these lines:

If you care about ending the war in Iraq and womens’ reproductive rights, then the choice is clear: You must vote for Obama.

Or:

If you care about the issues Hillary cares about, then you should honor her issues and vote for Obama.

Well, these sentiments, as impassioned as they are, truly and totally miss the point. Many of us who feel disenfranchised by the Democratic primaries aren’t even necessarily going to vote for McCain (we may write Hillary in or vote third party). But the outcome is clear: We do not want Obama to win the presidency. We think McCain is the better choice. For those who just don’t get it, here is my list of reasons why I would rather have McCain as president:

1. “Ending the war” is not the only issue that progressives care about.

You heard right. Shocker, eh? Well, I was personally opposed to the war at the beginning, but since then I have had mixed feelings about it at best. At this particular time it is not my main concern with this election cycle. My bigger concern is the economy. I also feel it would be a disaster to just pull troops out right now based on a bunch of protesters. We need to plan our exit strategy very carefully.

2. Reproductive rights are not my main issue as a woman. Sexism is.

What happened to Hillary in the primaries is the most abhorrent, horrifying smack in the face I’ve seen to women’s progress ever in my lifetime. I am also not concerned about losing Roe v. Wade. We did not lose it under eight years of Bush. Congress has the power to stop appointments to the Supreme Court. We can also work to secure abortion rights on the state level. This should not be the sole basis for my vote.

3. Statements on issues don’t matter: Character and experience does.

I don’t care what Obama says he believes on a variety of “issues.” First, if you hadn’t noticed already, he’s already backtracked on quite a few biggies, including using public campaign money and FISA. Second, anyone who has checked out his past objectively sees a path of corruption, pandering, and voter suppression (removing his opponents off the ballot in his first election). Obama appears to look down on Americans and despise our country.

McCain, on the other hand, is clearly a patriotic public servant who has been sacrificing for this country since he was a young man and went through hell as a POW. McCain is humble, service-oriented, and obviously cares about America. Obama, on the other hand, appears to care about putting himself into power. (Why else would you run for president in a country you disliked so much that you wouldn’t even put your hand over your heart for the Pledge of Allegiance?)

McCain is not perfect and he is a bit old school and conservative, but I’d rather have a mature, conservative man as President who loves this country with a passion, than a junior senator who has a chip on his shoulder and a huge ego.

I may disagree with McCain on issues, but I have respect for him. I may agree with Obama with certain issues on the surface, but I don’t trust that he’ll follow through on his pledges. I just don’t trust Obama.

Bottom line: I trust McCain to do what he thinks is best for our country, even if his choice is not my initial choice. I may not be right all the time anyway. The issues facing us right now are very complex, and I can’t just say that the progressive view is by default always the right one.

4. Mccain is a moderate Republican.

The neo-cons hate McCain. That is reason enough for me to vote for him. I believe it is important to support moderate Republicans in an effort to bring that party back from the brink of religious neo-fascism. This is why I, as a registered Democrat, voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger in the last California election. Moderate Republicans are good for this country, if just that they help bring us back to center.

5. McCain understands climate change and independence from foreign oil are important issues.

While I don’t necessarily agree with some of McCain’s positions on things such as offshore drilling, I am open enough to realize that our energy crisis is so severe that we may need to make some compromises. At least he recognizes that the environment is something we need to look out for, while also looking towards securing America’s independence from foreign oil. Obama has not even proven himself to be more progressive than McCain in this arena: Obama is also pro-nuclear energy, and he voted for the Cheney Energy Bill that McCain voted against.

6. The biggest reason of them all: Democracy must be upheld.

The most important reason, however, for my support of McCain over Obama is this:

The Democratic Party threw democracy out the window by pushing Obama down our throats. They did this in the following manner:

* They looked aside while caucus intimidation and fraud went on, which favored Obama.

* They allowed the disproportionate appointment of delegates from said caucuses, making Obama appear to have a much higher margin of support than he had.

* They disenfranchised the voters of Florida by only giving them half the delegate votes.

* They stole some of Clinton’s delegates in Michigan and gave some to Obama; furthermore, they gave all uncommitted votes to Obama, which was equally not fair.

* After all was said and done, and Hillary had won the popular vote in the primary states, and with a very close race, the Democratic leaders foisted Obama on us as the anointed nominee, instead of waiting for the convention to allow a floor vote, which would have been the fairer thing to do in what was a TIE.

Based on that last point alone, I cannot vote for Obama, because the nomination was not won fairly or democratically. For those who think that “issues” matter, why can’t you understand that for some of us, the issue of DEMOCRACY is the first and foremost issue, that supersedes all others?

You know, you can get an abortion in China, but you don’t have any freedom. So please don’t cite “abortion” at me as the reason I should vote for Obama. To me, a vote for Obama is a vote against democracy.

Some progressives are so completely full of hate for anyone who is a Republican that they can’t acknowledge that all Republicans aren’t bad people. Quite a few Republicans are good people. I would rather vote for a good Republican than a bad Democrat. How hard is that to understand? I don’t think in such black-and-white terms that I can’t find some good in some conservatives. They provide much needed balance, as long as they don’t go too far to the right. (Going too far to the left is just as bad, in my opinion.)

For those reasons above (and there are even more), I am supporting McCain after much thought and deliberation. This is not about being bitter or even angry anymore. This is about electing the better man to be president, and supporting our democracy.

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