The Political Inquirer

Many conservatives are uncomfortable with John McCain as the Republican nominee, and “Reading on Walden Bookstore” was kind enough to catalog a list of the reasons.  I thank hime for that, even though some of the objections distrubed me.   And while McCain may be too willing to expand federal regulatory powers, I feel the major criticisms of McCain from a “conservative” standpoint show more about the state of the GOP than anything else.

Let’s take a look at a couple of those issues “Walden” brought up:

4. Gay Marriage. McCain refuses to support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Look, true conservatives do not necessarily support the ban on gay marriage.  They may be morally opposed to homosexuality, but true conservatives don’t believe that kind of legislation is the government’s place.  The GOP should not be defined by its most religious members.  We should be about small government, not hating homosexuals.  That doesn’t mean banning gay marriage as an independent issue is right or wrong, but it should not be inextricably linked to the GOP.  It represents an expansion of government regulation and the legislation of morality.  Banning gay marriage because Christians are opposed to it is like banning carbon emissions because they get the environmentalists in a tizzy.  Lets not go down that slippery slope.

5. Stem cell research. McCain would relax restrictions on federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research, which critics consider tantamount to abortion.

The same is true of embryonic stem cell research.  The embryos used by today’s scientists are those already frozen in fertility clinic banks.   Thousands of these embryos will remain in those banks until they are destroyed.  If scientists can use something that is about the be trashed in order to help quadrapolegics or people with Parkinson’s, I’m more than willing to fund it.

Now you could argue that McCain is a liberal for supporting any federal research grants, and the libertarian streak in me would be inclined to agree.  But the argument specifically against embryonic stem cell research is based in religious, not political, values.  And like I noted above, legislating morality should not be the prerogative of a conservative.

2. Immigration. McCain has been a vocal supporter of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, although he now says he understands the border between the U.S. and Mexico must be sealed first.

Then there is the criticism that McCain is a liberal because of McCain-Kennedy.  Well we can’t throw out 12 million people.  That’s more than 10 times the amount of criminals we put away every year.  Catching, rounding up and deporting them all would be one of the most expensive operations ever undertaken by our government.  And even if we could, it’s bad politics.  We would be making sure the descendents of those 12 million illegals will always vote for anyone other than the GOP.

Also, the Senator from Arizona is the only Republican willing to say that the illegals are “God’s children, too”.  If the GOP is to be defined by its evangelicals, why does it oppose compassionate policies so strongly?

If these are the reasons to reject McCain, then they are reasons for me to reject the Right.  Republicans have failed to curb federal spending, stop a failed war, and let the deficit grow to a point where it is out of control.  And they have the gall to criticize McCain for not hating gay people enough?  Come on.

Let me be clearer.  Being for a ban on gay marriage is OK.  Banning federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is understandable.  Wanting to kick the illegals out is theoretically arguable.  But they are not strictly conservative viewpoints.  They are the twisted obsessions of an undereducated, evangelical base.  And as such, they should not be used as a case against McCain’s state as a conservative.