Yep! By all accounts that is exactly what happened. It happened on Friday of last week at a town hall style gathering when McCain tried to calm a man concerned about raising his child with Obama as President. McCain is reported to have said that Barack Obama " … is a "decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States." It was at about this point in the McCain Campaign when the McCain train went completely off the rails it was only partially on up to that point.
I have been monitoring the blogoshere since that happened and I must tell you, if you don't already know, those remarks, in support of Mr. Obama, began a firestorm of dissent against Mr. McCain among his own reluctant supporters.
Conservatives who had made their minds up to hold their noses and vote for McCain, go home and take a shower, are now re-evaluating that decision and many are walking away from McCain … in droves. It is not what one could describe as a trickle … it is more like a dam burst. To say there has been a backlash against McCain would be the understatement of the year.
For conservatives, making the decision to go against their conscious and support McCain was a heart-rending exercise. Some of us have simply refused to do it from the very beginning, myself included. I would not even entertain the notion of supporting McCain. But for a few weeks it appeared that most republican conservatives had decided to do just that in order to keep a man, they honestly believe is a socialist, out of the White House.
Appointments to the US Supreme Court are extremely high on the list of concerns for conservatives and that was one of the arguments employed to persuade conservatives to support McCain. But now, conservatives are asking themselves, what guarantees do they have that McCain WOULD appoint conservative nominees to fill the coming vacancies n the SCOTUS? The honest answer is NONE! What about moderate nominees? The answer is the same. Remember, A President McCain would likely have a democrat controlled Senate for at least two years.
McCain is a lot of things … but he is not conservative. So, please do not insult conservatives by referring to him as such.
Mr. McCain's show of support for Obama last week was the last straw for many conservative voters. In fact conservative hardliners consider it "the straw that broke the camel's back". Already upset at being pressured, by fellow republicans, regaling them with: "a refusal to vote for McCain is a vote for Obama", many rightwing conservatives have simply left the field. They can no longer be counted as probable voters for McCain. They're going to "stay home."
This conservative will be voting on Election Day. I won't be voting for McCain, however. I will write in the name of a conservative I believe the leading lights in the GOP rejected in their ill-advised attempt to redefine conservatism and, in so doing, change the face of the Republican Party. Oh, in the end, they will have accomplished something. Unfortunately, for the country, they will have ushered in European style socialism and become accomplices in the death of representative democracy and capitalism in America.
J. D. Longstreet is a conservative Southern American (A native sandlapper and an adopted Tar Heel) with a deep passion for the history, heritage, and culture of the southern states of America. At the same time he is a deeply loyal American believing strongly in "America First".
He is a thirty-year veteran of the broadcasting business, as an "in the field" and "on-air" news reporter (contributing to radio, TV, and newspapers) and a conservative broadcast commentator.
Longstreet is a veteran of the US Army and US Army Reserve. He is a member of the American Legion and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. A lifelong Christian, Longstreet subscribes to "old Lutheranism" to express and exercise his faith.
In addition to appearing at WEBCommentary, J.D. Longstreet's articles are posted as:
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