Shall Not Be Questioned

Over at Keyboard and a .45:

We are going to have a choice in the general election. A choice between a far left statist, and a left leaning statist (quiet possibly a left leaning, authoritarian statist). This makes me sick. It also makes me angry, but not angry enough to just say “forget it” and sit the whole process out.

We have legislators to elect. Since we have pretty much lost the White House already, we have to work even harder to get rid of the dead wood and elect quality representatives on Capitol Hill. Look to your local elections, and fight the good fight.

That’s good advice.  The best thing we can do to advance our cause is work to get politicians elected at the local level who support liberty.  They’ll eventually work their way up to leadership positions.

Jeff sounds about as depressed as I am.  I should note that my mind is not yet made up about what to do, but you’ll all be exposed to my thought processes as time wears on, in all it’s horror.  Jeff says:

Here’s an unpleasant prediction: Hillary or Barack will be the next president. Watch for “sensible” gun control laws to strip away our remaining rights. Better stock up on incandescent light bulbs ’cause they’ll be illegal, too. Kiss trans-fats goodbye.

I think we have to seriously start considering the prospect of what a Obillery presidency will mean for us, and start preparing for it.   I’m not seeing energized Republicans out there, I’m seeing Republicans who are already acting like the 2008 election is lost now that Fred is out.  The big question I will be asking myself over the next few months is whether there’s any real difference between McCain and Romney that warrants me not throwing my vote away.  In the general election I’ll be asking the same thing compared to Obillery.

I am willing to throw my vote away in either a protest vote, or leaving the presidential ballot unchecked.  But I will have a powerful incentive against doing so considering who the Democrat will be.  I’m willing to be wooed.

1992:

So, people are angry at Bush for not being a real conservative, it’s looking like this Clinton thing has some real momentum, and it’s quite likely we’re likely to have a quirky independent candidate enter the race.

2008:

So, people are angry at Bush for not being a real conservative, it’s looking like this Clinton thing has some real momentum, and it’s quite likely we’re likely to have a quirky independent candidate enter the race.

Will Ron Paul enter the race as an independent?  I can’t figure out any other reason why he’s sitting on that war chest while pulling single digits in the delegate count.  I think he will.  We remember what happened when the GOP vote split in 1992.  The same thing could happen in 2008.

What I really want to know is where the gun vote is?  Huckabee hasn’t had much appeal outside of evangelicals, many of whom are concerned about gun rights as well, but Huckabee hasn’t run on that message, other than talking about hunting.  Fred and Ron Paul were the only real pro-gun candidates in the race, and both of them combined don’t add up to Huckabee’s Delegate count by a long shot.  Are a lot of gun owners voting for McCain in the primary?  For Romney?   I doubt it, but it’s possible.

Want to know why the GOP is such a fair weather friend to gun owners? It looks to me like we’re not voting in the primaries, or are actively supporting candidates in the primaries who have crappy records on the issue compared to other candidates.  If gun owners were voting their issue, Fred would be doing better than he is, and would still be in the race.  Gun owners need to be more involved in the primary politics of both parties if we want to stop voting lesser of two evils candidates.  That’s really the only way to change the direction of the party.   One can vote third party, but that didn’t work out for the malcontents of 1992.  I don’t think it will work out too well in 2008 either.

We have blown our chance in the primary, and that’s going to mean getting behind a ho-hum compromise candidate, or handing the keys to the White House to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.  The choice is ours.

Some people are seemingly mystified that conservative bloggers are thinking seriously about McCain now that Fred’s out. Others are suggesting the Republic doesn’t deserve to live at this point. I’m not counting myself in either of those camps.

It may make me alone among gun bloggers, but I’m here to suggest that John McCain isn’t bad enough to justify handing the election to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, henceforth to be called Obillery for convenience sake.

Take for instance, the American Conservative Union’s ratings of the candidates. McCain has a rating of 83. Hillary has a rating of 9. Obama has a rating of 8. What about on guns? I don’t think any of us have any doubt about Obillery will do in regards to guns. McCain has at least always opposed the assault weapons ban. Romney has said he’s in favor of a new one. Romney has said he supports Massachusetts’ fascist gun control laws. McCain’s voting record on guns overall is a mixed bag.

This isn’t anything to get excited about, and McCain is going to have to work hard to make peace with the base, including gun owners, if he wants to have a sure shot at beating Obillery in November. Without a doubt the campaign finance reform act is his biggest sin, and it’s hard to get over. I trust McCain on fiscal issues, foreign policy issues, and believe he’d put better candidates on the federal court than Obillery.

My only other choice at this point is Romney, and I don’t trust him on anything. I also don’t think Romney has any appeal with Independent voters, who you need to win this day in age. Where else do I go? Stay home? Don’t say Ron Paul. He has 6 delegates total so far. He’s not going to win the nomination, and even if he did win the nomination, he’s not going to win the election. Ron might hope to be the spoiler in an independent or third party run, and the GOP might even deserve that. But I think we all either need to start thinking who we can live with, or start getting used to saying “President Clinton” again, and enjoy our guns while we can still possess them.

I agree with Countertop, agreeing with Mark Corallo.  Fred is a shitty politician, which is why we all liked him.  He was willing to speak principles when everyone else was looking for sound bites.  He was willing to level with people rather than trying to tell them what they wanted to hear.

It’s a sad statement on our political climate that it doomed him to defeat, but in this day in age, we need a candidate who believes what Fred believes, and who can talk Fred’s talk, but who can also present those principles in such a way that it makes an emotional connection with voters.  That was one of Ronald Reagan’s real talents, and also, whether we want to admit it or not, one of Bill Clinton’s as well.

Fred’s departure has destroyed all my optimism for 2008, but I will continue to look for a candidate who can carry a message of freedom, limited government, federalism, and adherence to this country’s founding principles to the unwashed masses of voters.  It’s sad though, that 2008 will not be that year.

God, please let it be so.