"I Like Ike" -- but not Rush and Ann

John McCain (who's doing very well in tonight's primaries, by the way) isn't really my cup of tea. What I will grant him, however, is that he's a Republican with the traditional beliefs of a Republican. Not the "borrow and spend," neo-Conservative, damn the Bill of Rights, "the poor deserve their poverty," sort of Republican we've seen in the last few years. Ironically, because he sticks to the traditional beliefs of the Republican party, McCain's been damned as a RINO (Republican in Name Only) by today's idealogues.

Tonight, I bring a guest speaker to the Northwest Corner. An older guy with a military career behind him. A lifelong, "I Like Ike" Republican, a supporter of Barry Goldwater, a guy who even voted for the "W" in 2000. He supports McCain now, and spells out just what's wrong with today's Republican party.

I might suggest that if General Eisenhower were alive in 2008, he'd be running as a Democrat. He'd have to -- today's Republican party would never nominate him.

Here's what our anonymous guest speaker had to say in the on-line edition of today's New York Times:

I am a former conservative. I knew what I wanted to conserve–strong National defense, and I made a career of active military service. I voted for Goldwater and I consider Ike to be the greatest president by far of my adult life. I voted for Bush in 2000, but now consider his administration to be hideously flawed and the worst in our history.

Now I ask, what do conservatives want to conserve. Apparently not the environment, not manufacturing jobs in the US, not the middle and working classes, nor labor unions. If they support Bush, then they don’t want to conserve the Constitution, the rule of law, respect for science, or even the English language. In my estimation, they want to conserve greed, bronze age supernatural mythology, and redneck bigotry against gays, reproductive freedom of choice, and Latino immigration. They want to conserve their disregard for the unfortunate in our society.

McCain is a National hero and was correct in condemning vermin bigots like Falwell, Robertson, and Dobson. McCain was correct in condemning the criminally inept conduct of the war by the arrogant Rumsfeld. McCain has been correct in matters that matter most to average Americans. Today’s conservatives are the remnants of the intolerant and poorly educated denizens of dixie and the Bible belt, and are not representative of concerned and aware Americans. Coulter, Limbaugh, and fox noise do not speak for true Americans.

— Posted by bigjimbo