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5/20/2008
Lance Burri: Irresistible force vs. immovable object
Both can’t exist at the same time. It’s a logical impossibility: if the force really is irresistible, it can knock down anything, so there can’t be such a thing as an immovable object. And vice versa.
Except…well, except in politics.
The Wisconsin GOP held their state convention over the weekend. As one might expect, the GOP’s presidential nominee (and his love/hate relationship with the Republican base) was on people's minds.
In convention speeches, they touted the virtues of McCain, including the so-called maverick streak that often left him at odds with the party's conservative base…
"I think he's better situated than (President) Bush was," said U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). "He has an independent streak in him and he has crossover appeal."
…Republican National Chairman Mike Duncan, who spoke Saturday, said McCain is "his own man" and pledged a strong effort here.
…(Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker) said on key issues, especially on the fiscal side, McCain's record is solidly conservative. Doubts from conservatives about McCain, Walker said, center on his stands on immigration and campaign finance reform. Doubts from conservatives may center on immigration and campaign finance reform, but they don’t end there. Of course, Sen. McCain’s record doesn’t end there, either. On foreign policy and budget issues, especially, he’s a candidate conservatives can wholeheartedly support.
Too bad we can’t just focus on those issues. On what we get with McCain, rather than what we don’t get.
Yeah, but. Conservatives are tired of being ignored. Tired of having to “settle.”
Yeah, but. It’s McCain or, probably, Obama. A partial conservative and a complete liberal: one of them will be President, like it or not.
Yeah, but. We’ve supported Republicans on a lesser-of-two-evils basis before. Where has that left us? On immigration, on entitlement spending, on pork, on good conservative governance?
Yeah, but the lesser evil is still better than the greater evil.
Yeah, but how can we force Republicans to govern like conservatives if we keep re-electing them no matter what they do?
Yeah, but imagine the damage Democrats can do with only two years in uncontested power. Judges, foreign policy, energy policy, entitlements.
Yeah, but maybe Republicans need a few years in the political wilderness, to remember why we give them power in the first place.
And around and around and around we go. You can’t move an immovable object. But you can’t stop an irresistible force!
We can hope, of course, that with one more good whipping at the polls, Republicans will get back to basics; remember that they’re not in Washington (or Madison) to work the cocktail circuit.
We can hope that Democrats, while in power, lose their way like Republicans have. We can hope that, over the longer run, losing now really is the best thing.
But that’s hope. Hope for change, which is the Democrats’ riff. We deal in reality on this side of the aisle, and reality says nobody gets everything they want.
The rule of thumb is: run to the Right in the primary, then to the Center for the general. That’s a rule for a reason: there aren’t enough true-believers on any side to consistently win. You must reach for the middle, which will always – always – make some true-believers mad.
McCain’s not a perfect conservative candidate. Neither was Dubya. Neither was Dubya’s dad. Neither was Reagan. If you’re waiting for the perfect candidate, you can keep waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
Meantime, we have one candidate with a history of strong foreign policy and hawkish budget policy. We have another who hasn’t been around long enough to have any history.
Take your pick.
Lance Burri works in the capitol and is a blogger at Badger Blog Alliance and LanceBurri.blogspot.com.
COMMENTS
Right on Lance! The more we hear and see of the two liberal condidates, the more I reallly fear them. We have no choice. And all Conservatives please remember, the liberals took over Congress in the last election because...because.....Republicans stayed home from the polls. The biggest push for next November is get out the vote. Vital!
John Hyland (Tue May 20 07:40:30 2008)
It must be hard for the Republicans to swallow John McBush (Maureen Dowd's colorful phrase, not mine). Certainly he has as much foreign policy experience as his mentor W. He now promises to dust off the "Mission Accomplished" banner in four years and hoist it high.
W. might be the greatest president we've had since P.T. Barnum. McBush promises to use hisx extensive foreign policy experience to follow in his footsteps.
Capitol Eye (Tue May 20 08:41:18 2008)
John McCain on the NRA - "The NRA is entitled to their advocacy. I don’t think they help the Republican Party at all, but I don’t think they should in any way play a major role in the Republican Party’s policy making."
John McCain on taxes - "I’m not giving tax cuts for the rich"
John McCain on taxes - Voted NO on $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years.
John McCain on taxes - "I am concerned that repeal of the estate tax would provide massive benefits solely to the wealthiest and highest-income taxpayers in the country"
John McCain on class warfare - "There are tax breaks and money for the richest in America and the very rich, but I think that it’s clear that there’s a growing gap between rich and poor in America, the haves and the have-nots."
McCain’s stated opposition to the Bush 2001 and 2003 tax cuts was largely based on socialist, class-warfare rhetoric — tax cuts for the rich, not for the middle class.
John McCain on immigration - Rated 18% by USBC, indicating an open-border stance.
Stephen Flynn (Tue May 20 08:42:24 2008)
I disagree, John (surprised?). The liberals took over congress because the conservatives went too far. They blew it big and the country is fed up. The R’s are about to lose congress again.
Our economy is where it is because of the 1994 Gingrich takeover of congress and culminating with the Bush tax cuts for the rich. See the Citizens for Tax Justice report HERE http://www.ctj.org/pdf/capgainsdivtaxcuts.pdf.
In many cases the Dems are no better, so get used to the see-saw.
Lance says "Doubts from conservatives may center on immigration and campaign finance reform....", and only campaign reform can clean up our system and let us get back to voting for candidates on the basis of ideology. I'll be voting for McCain because of his vows to fix the system, and fortunately he's the R's only choice coming up.
Jack Lohman (Tue May 20 10:34:56 2008)
I think we are both correct. I know that here in Appleton, the Republican vote was way down. This was from poll watchers. Our people. The only thing we can correct as voters, however, is getting out to vote. We can't go back and change what happened in the last few years except get on the backs of the politicians to get it right in the future. And if they are liberal...no chance. A big conservative turn-out could change things. Now you can't disagree with that. Right!
John Hyland (Tue May 20 11:08:49 2008)
A big turnout will help McCain, John, but I doubt that it will get him elected. Even when things were good our state went to the Democratic presidential candidates. Under the current economic mess it will just be a loss by a wider margin (though if McCain quits trying to woo the far right he stands a chance of getting more of the middle votes).
From my personal standpoint I'd like to see the R's lose both the State Assembly and Senate.
We -- both the public and the state's businesses -- disparately need health care reform and the R's are too much in bed with the insurance industry to fix it. Only a complete changeover will correct it, though if the Dems fail I'll be back in 2010 supporting the R's.
Jack Lohman (Tue May 20 11:45:22 2008)
I will be voting for Ron Paul. He's the only candidate blackballed by the media; you can guess why. It is interesting that the Nevada Republican convention was CANCELLED when they realized the overwhelming support for Paul. As far as I am concerned the only difference between the Rep. and Dem parties, is the Reps can lie better. (I do support individual candidates if they are truly conservative.)
I could never trust someone that teamed up with Feingold (campaign finance "reform"). Those two are surely not unaware that the very first such laws passed in this country, were passed to SILENCE POLITICAL OPPONENTS, as indeed the present set of regulations has done. (I know of small conservative PACs that had to give up due to regs.)
Remember, it was only about 3 months before Lincoln's election, that he was considered a dead duck.
emily matthews (Tue May 20 11:47:44 2008)
Emily, the McCain-Feingold bill is what it is because McConnell and DeLay gutted it before it got signed by Bush. McCain supports "optional" public funding of campaigns, and you should too. Under that system the candidates (including Libertarians) can opt for a public grant and not be beholden to special interests, which drives up spending and taxes.
And before you criticize it, understand that it'd only cost $5 and $10 per taxpayer per year (state and federal) to implement. Compared to the $1300 and $3000 these systems are currently costing us. That's one very big bargain.
See more at http://MoneyedPoliticians.net
and
http://www.wicleanelections.org
Jack Lohman (Tue May 20 12:44:26 2008)
How come I can't get this many comments when I post at my own blog?
Emily, I have the utmost respect for your plan to vote for Paul, even though he has zero chance to win. I do wonder whether you'd have such a high opinion of him if he'd been subjected to the kind of scrutiny to which a Presidential campaign subjects a candidate. Something tells me we'd learn a lot we don't know now.
Stephen, so you're saying he can reach out to moderates?
Capitol Eye (if that is, in fact, your real name), Ha! McBush! Hilarious! By making that wonderfully snarky comparison between Bush and McCain, you almost made me forget about Obama's complete lack of foreign policy experience!
Lance Burri (Tue May 20 18:21:36 2008)
Barry Goldwater, the last true conservative. I don't recognize what a conservative is today.
dave allen (Tue May 20 19:49:47 2008)
Dave, you are a very well-informed guy - and I for one very much appreciate your insights. But.... I just can't resist asking (even though it's not one bit fair, just sassy) - do you really think you'd recognize a conservative when you run in to one?
Jo E. (Tue May 20 19:59:58)
Well, not physically of course. But, I grew up at a time when conservative meant something else than it does today. So I don't know what "conservative" means today.
dave allen (Tue May 20 20:49:47 2008)
Lance, I can tell you my high opinion of Paul was fixed by my knowledge of his consistent efforts to sound the alarm, and to fight against, the NAIS--an unconstitutional attempt by the govt to track animal owners.
NAIS is fascism: it would force us to microchip our animals AT OUR EXPENSE, and to report all our animals' movements (and hence ours) to Big Bro, thus making our animals part of a national herd. They'd have the control, we'd have the expense--fascism. (But the factory farms would be exempted!) And the chips cause cancer...
NAIS was cooked up by Clinton admin, and pushed by Bush admin. It's not "about disease"- eartags never stopped a disease, and they are adequate for ID. It's not "about food safety"--you'd have to look at packing plants for that. It's about driving small producers out of business, forcing a market for the microships that nobody seems to want, and seeing how far govt can get w-its fascist schemes. (They want to chip us next.)
I could go on, but won't, re. other issues Ron Paul stands out on. You can do your own investigating any time--but it takes TIME and EFFORT, but too many people won't do that, so they rely on mass media's analyses.
emily matthews (Wed May 21 07:21:03 2008)
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