Tone Deft wrote:McCain is by and large the same as Bush.
You and I have disagreed on McCain before. I will concede that the closer we get to the election, the more correct you are in your statement.
However, I'll say again that this has not always been the case. The McCain of today is not the McCain of 4 years ago and certainly not the same guy he was 8 years ago. He's listened to his hack advisors and suddenly put on his lame Conservative jacket in order to attract the Bible Thumpers. That's a shame. Like it or not, he was a serious Centrist for years; though admittedly with a slight lean towards the conservative.
-He used to be one of the more rational, moderate Republicans. I believe that if he wins the election, he will go back to this position.
-He's reached across the aisle more than just about every other member of Congress - Democrat or Republican.
-He's the only member of Congress who has consistently fought the military industrial complex time and time again - smashing down ENORMOUS spending bills for jets and bombs that we don't need. This achievement cannot be overlooked. It's an important one. Not one congressman or senator has fought these guys more. He's a follower of Eisenhower; who fucking hated the war profiteers with a passion.
-His (former?) policy on immigration (which seems to waver quite a bit) is actually more humane and tolerant than most Dems. Obama, in fact, still has no clear policy on immigration. None. Not one clear set of rules and regulations. The McCain-Kennedy Immigration Reform Bill was a landmark example of two politicians who actually gave a damn about the issue, and it sucked that it was shot down.
A Republican working with a Kennedy?? Unheard of....yet, there's McCain. Can you imagine Bush ever reaching out to Kennedy? I think not. The last serious Republican who even tried to work with Ted Kennedy was Richard Nixon; when they tried to team up on Nixon's Comprehensive Health Insurance Act. It was a groundbreaking piece of legislation that echoed Hillary's plan. (Kennedy remarked recently that he should have done more to help push Nixon's plan through.)
-Of the two candidates, he's come out in support of nuclear power the strongest. Make no mistake, this nation is in for a world of hurt unless we re-adopt nuclear power as our main source of energy in this country. Nearly every nation in Europe now runs their homes and industry off around 80% nuclear power. That's an issue that I'm willing to grant the Europeans full props. Obama, unfortunately, is still listening to the anti-Nuke kooks in this country. If it's good enough and safe enough for the French - arguably the Greenest Nation on the planet except for one or two very tiny Scandinavian countries - it's good enough for us.
-Before his recent flip flop, he repeatedly condemned waterboarding and other forms of torture; where most Republicans (and a huge number of Dems) have lacked the moral courage to do so. A large number of Democrats still, in fact, have not come out in condemnation of this act of torture.
And, once again, the most important indication that McCain is NOT Bush? Rush Limbaugh still can't fucking stand him. That's practically an endorsement in and of itself.
There's a whole slew of individual issues that I could get into that point to a man that consistently went against the Republican grain. The party came to hate him. A lot. Basically still does.
This isn't me saying that he's got my vote. He doesn't. I'm just not going to jump on the McCain Is A Raging Bush Clone Asshole bandwagon. Even as he becomes more conservative in his election rhetoric by the hour, his track record speaks for itself. In spite of his flaws, I respect the guy - and that's not something I'm willing to say for most Republicans.
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