The Discerning Texan

The title of this piece should be: McCain's Charm is Offensive. I am not referring to his everyday demeanor as much as I am referring to his refusal to expose today's Democrats for what they are: Stalinists in disguise.

Here is the reality--I see no way John McCain becomes President of the United States without doing two things:

1. Turn to his base, not theirs - if Maverick has a hope in hell of winning it will be because enough conservatives are mobilized to get out and vote for him. In this respect words are great, but actions are much better. McCain has already done enough over the years to tickle the fancy of moderates and independents; McCain's Senate votes this session must reflect the common-sense views and values of the Conservative wing of the Republican Party--and his stances on the campaign trail must focus on the items that Conservatives care the most about: market-based solutions, smaller Federal Government, enforcing our existing laws, policing our borders, and naming and defeating the Global Islamist threat. McCain is not loved by movement conservatives. However, he can influence the turnout of movement conservatives, without whom he has not a prayer of winning. But he'd better get busy.
2. Man up - Whenever reporters have approached McCain about his Democrat opponents, he simply has refused to criticize nor say anything negative about either Hillary or His Holiness.
   

To repeat the point above, many conservatives are very reluctant to support John McCain, who they have seen repeatedly stab them in the back over the years. But those same conservatives--given the time, information, and proper exposure of just exactly what Obama and Hillary stand for (Marxist values, Enormous government, Huge tax increases, Economic meltdown, and surrender to our enemies...)--McCain could turn out conservative voters who otherwise are inclined to sit this one out in protest.

Distasteful as it may be, the only way McCain wins this year is to make sure that the alternative appears to the electorate as so abominable, so against everything America stands for, that to elect one of these two Stalinists would be suicidal. And yes, that means going negative when it is called for.

McCain needs to do his own "Arizona two-step": he must cultivate his own conservative strengths (and de-emphasize those areas where he has been wanting in the past); AND he needs to then distinguish those (Conservative) beliefs from the neo-Marxist values and beliefs of his Democrat opponent. The only way to do that is to not be timid or afraid of calling Hillary and Barack for who they really are. And if doing so is seen by the MSM as "negative", who cares? The public does not want a President who simply cowers before the media or rules by opinion polls; if that were true they would have voted for Kerry in 2004. What the vast majority of Americans do want is someone standing boldly for the same values that won Reagan landslide victories twice: SMALL government. Boldness in foreign policy, not fear. Insisting on law an order at home, including putting a stop to the "sanctuary cities" movement. Stressing English as the official American language. Emphasizing market solutions for keeping our health care the best in the world. Harvesting our own energy resources. And not bowing to Global Warmist hysteria or ceding our soverignity to Global entities who hate us.

The Democrats have shown there is no corruption they will not undertake (voting lawsuits, ACORN election fraud, accepting campaign money from foreign individuals and governments, etc..) to win. Republicans must rightly be seen as distancing from corruption--including standing firmly against earmarks. But for McCain to leave the obvious corruption and shortcomings of his opponents to lie there unanswered and unexposed is a losing proposition. If John McCain wants to win this fall, he needs to take the lead in showing the electorate who these people really are. He needs to do it, because the media won't do it.

Fortunately, no matter which Democrat wins, this will not be difficult to do. When it comes to corruption, both Obama and Clinton are target-rich environments. But in politics, you simply cannot allow golden opportunities to expose your opponents' weaknesses pass. When McCain plays his cutesy little games of "I'm not going to criticize", he looks weak-kneed and impotent. The reason McCain was able to come back from his deep deficit last year was his outspoken and non-apologetic support of the President's and General Petraeus' surge, which went against the tide of what virtually every other public figure (including many Republicans) was saying. If he is afraid to do the same now when it comes to showing America how catastrophic an Obama or Hillary Presidency would be, he (and we) will reap the whirlwind in November.