There’s an old saying that you can judge a man by the company he keeps. In that same vein, you can judge a political candidate by the endorsements he receives. Not so much the endorsement, I guess, but by who is making the endorsement. If there were a judge on the ballot, for example, and I had never heard of him before BUT I knew that he had the endorsement of NARAL, it doesn’t matter what else I learn about him – I’m probably not going to be voting for him.
When Kerry ran against Bush in 2004, I was surprised at the number of times Kerry said he agreed with John McCain on some particular issue. I thought this was a curious strategy: I mean, I know why he kept saying it – he wanted people to think his ideas weren’t radically liberal because he agreed with a Republican about something. But as far as I know, McCain was backing Bush that year.
Anyway, I heard on Fox News this morning that former VP hopeful, Joseph Lieberman (Independent Senator – CT) was endorsing John McCain for president. Not just in the primaries, but for the 2008 election as well.
Now, I know Liebermann is a lot more moderate than most Democrats. For example, he does back our presence in Iraq and the War on Terror in general, which has earned him the scorn of many Democrat colleagues. In his last Senate race, the Democrat Party backed his opponent causing Liebermann to switch from a Democrat to an Independent. But as I listened to him on Fox News, he continuously referred to himself as a Democrat.
So now McCain has the endorsement of a self-proclaimed Democrat. Not a conservative Democrat like, say, Zel Miller - but Al Gore’s running mate in 2000. Doesn’t this speak volumes about how conservative McCain is (or rather, is not)?
Now I know he co-authored that radically unconstitutional campaign finance reform bill known as the McCain-Feingold Act (I can’t believe Bush didn’t veto this and it has even held up in court). Besides that though, he seemed fairly conservative on most other issues. Even so, I’ve always had an uneasy feeling about McCain. And after hearing Liebermann’s endorsement of him this morning, it just reaffirms what I’ve already felt.
I think maybe Liebermann should have waited until the general election to support McCain. His endorsement might help McCain in NH where there are a lot of independent voters, but it’s going to cost him conservative votes everywhere else. When you have liberal Democrats like Kerry siding with McCain on several issues, and now a moderate Democrat like Liebermann actually endorsing him, then there’s something the matter. If McCain should win the Republican primaries, I guess I’d rather have him then Hillary. But for now, I’ll stick with Huckabee.
When Kerry ran against Bush in 2004, I was surprised at the number of times Kerry said he agreed with John McCain on some particular issue. I thought this was a curious strategy: I mean, I know why he kept saying it – he wanted people to think his ideas weren’t radically liberal because he agreed with a Republican about something. But as far as I know, McCain was backing Bush that year.
Anyway, I heard on Fox News this morning that former VP hopeful, Joseph Lieberman (Independent Senator – CT) was endorsing John McCain for president. Not just in the primaries, but for the 2008 election as well.
Now, I know Liebermann is a lot more moderate than most Democrats. For example, he does back our presence in Iraq and the War on Terror in general, which has earned him the scorn of many Democrat colleagues. In his last Senate race, the Democrat Party backed his opponent causing Liebermann to switch from a Democrat to an Independent. But as I listened to him on Fox News, he continuously referred to himself as a Democrat.
So now McCain has the endorsement of a self-proclaimed Democrat. Not a conservative Democrat like, say, Zel Miller - but Al Gore’s running mate in 2000. Doesn’t this speak volumes about how conservative McCain is (or rather, is not)?
Now I know he co-authored that radically unconstitutional campaign finance reform bill known as the McCain-Feingold Act (I can’t believe Bush didn’t veto this and it has even held up in court). Besides that though, he seemed fairly conservative on most other issues. Even so, I’ve always had an uneasy feeling about McCain. And after hearing Liebermann’s endorsement of him this morning, it just reaffirms what I’ve already felt.
I think maybe Liebermann should have waited until the general election to support McCain. His endorsement might help McCain in NH where there are a lot of independent voters, but it’s going to cost him conservative votes everywhere else. When you have liberal Democrats like Kerry siding with McCain on several issues, and now a moderate Democrat like Liebermann actually endorsing him, then there’s something the matter. If McCain should win the Republican primaries, I guess I’d rather have him then Hillary. But for now, I’ll stick with Huckabee.
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