Blue Collar Muse

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s true, I don’t understand the handwringing and pleading coming out of Campaign McCain and the GOP directed to the Right concerning the election of the GOP nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain.

McCain has, because of specific decisions, created for himself a reputation as a maverick. He has shown himself completely willing to break with the GOP and Conservatives, even on important issues, to follow the dictates of his conscience. This was true when wandering off the reservation put him in direct opposition to his constituents as in his support for the Immigration Reform bills recently crafted. It was also true when his choices impacted an issue often touted by the GOP and Conservatives as the most important facing our country, that of judicial appointments.

Far from being a drag on his candidacy, John McCain’s willingness to go his own way, braving and encouraging Republican criticism, appears to be a strong selling point for him. His independence and adherence to principle, even if it meant breaking with his party and peers, seem to be seen as a positive characteristic. It means McCain is his own man, not beholding to the GOP. It means he’s attractive to Moderates and Democrats since he’s willing to embrace their ideologies and work with them. It means, in short, he’s more electable than other Republican candidates. It pretty much has to be that way, doesn’t it? If all of that, and more, ISN’T true, why is he the nominee? Why has the GOP consistently praised his accomplishments, lauded his experience and tolerated his independence if they really don’t like it? It is inconceivable to me that McCain could have secured the nomination without the support and acceptance of the party elite. Those folks are anything but stupid. They vetted McCain carefully and decided his actions, past and present, represented positions and an attitude they could enthusiastically support at best or live with at worst. They found nothing wrong with McCain’s insistence on having and following his principles. In fact, they found it a valuable enough trait they wanted it in their nominee.

That being the case, you would think they really perceive that characteristic as valuable; in the political arena if nowhere else. You’d be wrong. One simply needs to look at the reaction to Conservative voters responding to McCain in the same way McCain responded to them. On any number of key issues, John McCain broke with a significant segment of the Republican Party. He believed his views on the matters were sufficiently correct and his GOP opponents’ sufficiently incorrect that he must, as a matter of principle, not merely disagree with them privately but break with them publicly. He was rewarded with the GOP nomination. If Conservatives do the same, if they reject McCain based on principle, they’re castigated for leading the country down the road to perdition.

John McCain isn’t the only person with strongly held principles. Americans are not only able to passionately hold specific values, they are encouraged to do so. So, if it is OK for John McCain to hold his principles so dear that his public breaks with the party mean the party and the country pay the price, why is suddenly wrong for voters to do the same? Why must Conservatives hold their collective nose, pull the lever for McCain and then scurry off to shower after the deed? Why isn’t the GOP as proud of independent thinking voters as they are of independent thinking candidates?

Publicly we’re told the stakes are high and the danger is real. Privately we’re told that, as bad as McCain may be, Obama is worse. We’re told the country and Conservatism might not survive a McCain defeat. As I recall, John McCain heard and disregarded those same arguments when he was following his principles. Now he and his surrogates are the ones making the argument and it rings just a little bit hollow. It sounds like that flawed parental argument, “Do as I say, not as I do!” It sounds as if McCain likes prescribing tough decisions for the country but objects when they might be prescribed for him.

Conservatives voting their principles and not their party are behaving just like John McCain. That behavior garnered him the GOP Presidential nomination. It garners those unwilling to drink the McCain Kool-Aid scorn and anger. The GOP should have known better. They should have seen this coming. Now, they need to be willing to live with their choice instead of demanding we live with it. Their nomination of a maverick shows they think a maverick can win. Evidently they didn’t think about what happens if you have a party full of mavericks and not just a ticket headed by one. It’s a bit late now to bemoan the choice. The GOP wanted John McCain and that’s who they got. If Conservatives step into the voting booth and reject McCain based on the very trait the GOP thought was his strength, the party will have no one but itself to blame. Putting principle before party is what John did to win. So why shouldn’t the rest of us ask, “WWJD?”.

Blue Collar Muse

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