Is McCain putting himself before country?
Friday, October 10, 2008
John Cole, at Balloon Juice has posted a very important discussion on the current state of the John McCain campaign. Please go there. Read the post entitled: "Beyond Ugly", watch the video, and discuss.
Has the McCain campaign become dangerous or are commentators just being alarmist?
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UPDATE:
Some blogs, including Greenwald and some in the foreign press are picking up on the alarming trend at McCain rallies, but still not enough from the MSM.
A commentator at the Baltimore Sun has posted a column denouncing what is happening. Let's hope it ends up in the regular press.
17 comments:
You aren't making me feel better about things Bob...
Once again, as a somewhat ignorant young libertarian, I have to say that McCain, himself, has ALWAYS appeared dangerous to me.
The fact that his campaign is taking this negative tone and that there is this much anger and BS accusation etc flowing in and around his campaign only makes the situation in our country worse! And obviously only strengthens my resolve to not vote for McCain (the larger the split becomes, the more likely I am to vote for Barr over Obama).
Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, might be happy about what's going on. He might be feeling that he was going to get his revolution, 147 years too late though...
Oh btw... please by ALL MEANS rip my comments in political discussion apart! I yield to the common greater experience that you guys have, and as I try to take a more active roll both in politics and out political discussions, I would love to hear what you guys have to say about what I say!
"...I would love to hear what you guys have to say about what I say!
Oh, don't you worry. As a person who has been ripped apart, I can guarantee that few people hold too much back. We are respectful, but will respectfully call you an idiot when we see it.
“…the larger the split becomes, the more likely I am to vote for Barr over Obama”.
Barr? What the f*&k are you thinking? A Libertarian is just a pot-smoking Republican. Might as well vote for McCain, as a vote for a third party will have the same effect of getting McCain elected.
As the split becomes larger? What a great way to ease up on the gas and lose a race.
How’s that?
Here, b_mac. This will help make you feel better.
This is even better.
"A Libertarian is just a pot-smoking Republican."
You obviously have not met me... ;-)
And in all fairness, a Libertarian doesn't give a rat's ass who marries who, what you do with your embryos, what drugs I put in my body, wanted to stay the hell out of Iraq in the first place, etc. I understand your point, but I don't feel it's completely valid.
I've been torn by voting for one of the two major parties for the last two elections when I really wanted to vote Libertarian on principal. In the past I've felt that my vote was "wasted" on a third-party, and that if I was not helping to elect the lesser of two evils, than I was helping the greater of those evils win! I don't feel the same right now because I think Obama can win without me. I take your point about easing up on the gas to heart for sure, but I feel like I finally have an opportunity to vote how I feel for once!
And the Pres race has always been the only race where I've been willing to compromise my beliefs for. I've voted Libertarian on every other race where they had a candidate, because I really believe we need a different view! Not that I'm advocating for a 3-party system, more hoping that the Libertarians can replace the Republicans. Wishful thinking I know...
"...hoping that the Libertarians can replace the Republicans.
This is where I see the libertarian's as pot-smoking Republicans. The Republicans, especially Bob Barr have invaded the libertarian party, not the other way around.
Bob Barr is not, by any means a libertarian. He is a staunch conservative in the Bush mold, or any other in whacko in the Republican party.
Many people confuse "populist Republican" for a "Libertarian." Most self-proclaimed libertarians are populist republicans. Thanks to Karl Rove.
Libertarians take "republican small-government" sentiments to the extreme. True libertarians are "small government" to the point where it almost doesn't exist except for the most basic services. No intrusion, etc. They are sort of the antithesis of themselves; you often hear them railing about even their own role and attempting to minimize it.
These other Libertarian poseurs are every bit as big-ass government as my proud, fellow Democrats!
/tongue_being_planted_in_cheek
And I, personally, don't consider myself one of the Libertarian posers! My views about libertarianism are basically that it is the exact opposite of socialism, on the up/down part of the spectrum, not the left/right.
I do feel the FEDERAL government should be reduced to the absolute minimum necessary to defend this country (not to police the world) and it's constitution. Let the states do what they will below that as long as they don't violate each others rights or the constitution! I'm not for going back to a "Confederation of States", we tried that once and it failed. But I honestly think our federal gov't has bloated and failed.
I admit I should look more into Barr's politics, but for me a vote for a Libertarian candidate is a vote for the Libertarian platform, at least up until the point where a Lib has a viable chance of winning, in which case I'll have to weigh the candidates against each other.
But, in all honesty, it bothers me to see '"republican small-government" sentiments to the extreme' as the understood "position" of the Libertarian party. Libs are neither left nor right, they are up, as opposed to a socialist being down! The "spectrum" does not apply, there are two variables in play (social/personal issues and economic issues) and so instead of a left/right spectrum what we really have is an X-Y graph, a diamond with Reps at right, Libs at top, Dems at left, and Socs at bottom.
This is where I'm at
But I think Smitty might be right, I'm just a DFH...
Hmm, I guess I sound like a bit of a nutjob though, don't I?
Sorry to get us so far off topic!
A Libertarian is just a pot-smoking Republican.
Heh, great concise way to sum 'em up.
Anyone check out those videos?
Anderson Cooper is a dickwad. That piece is a great example of how lazy or biased the media has become. There is no way that the campaigns can keep out all of the kooks and blowhards. I have seen some videos of creepy Obama supporters (I may do a blog entry on them just for fun). If you saw the entire exchange between McCain and the first guy ranting about socialists, McCain was critical of his comments, saying Obama was an honorable man, a patriot, and a good family man.
I do feel the FEDERAL government should be reduced to the absolute minimum necessary to defend this country (not to police the world) and it's constitution. Let the states do what they will below that as long as they don't violate each others rights or the constitution!
You sound more like a cross between a conservative and a small 'l' libertarian. AFAIK, the Libertarians are just as concerned about states actions as they are about federal action. The kind of government that the hardcore Libertarians want is not workable, IMO. I suppose ther is no way to tell. Despite all their praise for the founding fathers, their type of government has never existed anywhere in the world.
I like their stances on things like civil liberties and crime, but I don't buy into a regulation free market, nor do I think we should eliminate environmental laws and consumer safety regulations.
"McCain was critical of his comments, saying Obama was an honorable man, a patriot, and a good family man."
That was his most recent comment. It took several days for McCain to do the right thing. I was considering posting it, but haven’t had the time yet.
I was starting to wonder if this was just a few lunatics, out there. Unfortunately, there were too many instances of these people in the crowd and McCain, Palin and McCain's wife stoked the fires and said nothing to condemn the crazies...until yesterdays comment by McCain.
Well Steves, you might be right. I want to clarify my position on the states though... I only care about what MY state does, and I want MY state to be as Libertarian as can be. I think it's up to me to find the state that best matches my beliefs (give me time, in no position to move any time soon) and if people want to live in a conservative state, move to TX, want Liberal move to CA. Of course that all breaks down if I want to vacation in TX and smoke a joint while I'm there...
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