In my humble opinion, the reason that John McCain lost the election and the reason that the Rockefeller-wing of the Republican Party finds themselves outdistanced by a bunch of re-tread Clintonistas and  far-left liberal democrats …

is that both the Republican Party and John McCain in particular are afraid of fighting for their cause – full out and with all of the tools at their disposal.

The are simply too cowardly to stand up and say “this is what the Republican Party stands for, this is what I stand for – and you can join me if you wish.”

It seems that the leadership, if you can even call it that, wants to soften their rhetoric so as to attract that great mass of “middle Americans” who have great disdain for politics and the dirty infighting it takes to win elections.

The very same electorate that seems to respond better to negative ads rather than ones containing positions and messages.

Quite simply put: John McCain responded to conditions instead of boldly articulating a Reagan-like vision. He petered out in the end – a shadow of a candidate limping along next to a vibrant, forceful Sarah Palin – the only candidate in the election, outside of marginal players like Alan Keyes, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich whose opinions were expressed forcefully. While these somewhat off-beat characters had little or no chance to attract a national audience, McCain chose to play gentleman rather than fight like a politician; losing sight of the fact that he needed to win before he could engage the country on his reform package.

An overall disappointing performance as that of the late Fred Thompson, fading until all that was left was only a smile without substance.

The thought that John McCain wants to become the elder statesman and a guiding hand of a re-vamped Republican Party sickens me. Let McCain and his best friends: weak-kneed Lindsey Graham (R-NC) and liberal democrat Joe Lieberman (I-CT) fade into obscurity while the Party is helmed by people like Michael Steele, Bobby Jindal and other conservatives.

McCain wants to give Obama a break .,.

According to Politico.com …

McCain scolds GOP for whacking Obama

“In a surprising rebuke to the warriors who fought for him through tough times, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday sided with President-elect Barack Obama and scolded the Republican National Committee for fanning the Illinois corruption scandal.”

“On ABC’s ‘This Week,’ host George Stephanopoulos asked: ‘The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Mike Duncan, has been highly critical of the way President- elect Obama has dealt with this.’ 
‘He's had a statement every single day, saying that the Obama team should reveal all contacts they've had with Governor [Rod] Blagojevich. He says that Obama's promise of transparency to the American people is now being tested. Do you agree with that?’”

“McCain replied: “I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary. You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody — right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary.”

Correct me if I am wrong, but …

Didn’t the democrats jump on every financial and sexual peccadillo associated with Republicans? Did they not vigorously and viciously pursue these matters in the media – often without pause?

Wasn’t it the democrats who continuously highlighted  President George Bush’s cronyism and their rather incompetent and corrupt handling of Administrative agencies? The firing of the U.S. Attorneys – even though every Administration seem to do more or less of the same thing? The perversion of  the Justice Department under Alberto Gonzales?

I do not see where the Republicans should ease off and not exploit the corruption in the democrat party and,  in particular, the Chicago machine. After all, wasn’t it widely alleged that Richard Nixon lost to John Kennedy because the Chicago machine had rigged the Illinois vote that put Kennedy in the White House.

Not only John McCain …

This is the same gentlemanly behavior exhibited by the Bushes – becoming RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) while they supported causes more likely to be championed by far left liberal democrats. Immigration comes to mind. To appear to a large segment of illegal interlopers – to promise some form of path to citizenship in exchange for future votes and the current Hispanic vote – was boneheaded. Those in the Hispanic demographic who are conservative will join us for our message – not for the future promise of further destroying the nation’s infrastructure by importing more poverty and illiteracy.

I am tired of the go-along to get-along culture …

It seems that this nation has devolved into a cult of celebrity and name-value politicians which are feted more for their telegenic appearance and oratorical skills than they are for their vision – supported by concrete ideas.

The Senate is a gentleman’s club – and unfortunately a club which has lost its way in the hyper-partisan bickering across the aisle. 

At the tipping point …

Make no mistake, our country is at an historic crossroads … the point when we will have institutionalized corruption to the point that it is accepted behavior. And McCain seems to be mitigating any democrat attempt to soften the impact of what has just occurred.

I don’t really consider Blagojevich’s attempt to sell a Senate Seat to be all that bad – they have been for sale to the highest bidder for a very long time. What is more blatant is the rampant corruption of his Administration and the degree to which the people of Chicago and the State of Illinois accepted this theft of public funds and the promotion of special interests as everyday fact.

Our nation seems to be at a tipping point, when every piece of public business requires high-priced lawyers, lobbyists, friends of politicians and campaign contributions in order to move forward. And mostly for the benefit of the special interests paying the freight. Little or no concern is expended on the public except when the time for an election nears.

We have just gone through one of the longest Presidential election cycles in history … and it appears that the President-elect, even before he takes office, is considering exactly what he needs to do to secure a second term.

Enough of McCain and his well-bred ilk. Yes, I admire John McCain for his past actions and the strength of character he has shown as a prisoner of war. But I admire him less and less as a politician as the days go on. He needs to stand up to the democrats and point to corruption. He needs to make the distinction that we are not cut from the same cloth and that the past actions of the Republican Party (such as the profligate spending, cronyism, pandering to special interests, etc.) were aberrations and that they are  a thing of the past as we move forward.

Is this the truth or not?

Time will tell if President-elect Obama was the only virgin to emerge from the political whorehouse that is Chicago politics.

Meanwhile, we need to weed out those potentially corrupt democrats before handing them the keys to the family car and the password to our national bank account.

If John McCain does not support Republicans in differentiating themselves from democrats – let him retire to his well-ordered and well-deserved life.

What can YOU do?

Demand that President-elect Barack Obama fulfill his pledge to be the most open and ethical Administration in the history of the United States. (Whoops, didn’t Nancy Pelosi promise the same thing as the democrat Speaker of the House of Representatives?)

Do not even consider that Barack Obama and his Chicago Machine pals like Rahm Emanuel were not part of the overall corruption without a closer inspection. Perhaps President-elect Obama is relatively clean. Let him prove it by making the tapes, transcripts and agendas of his people available to the duly sworn U.S. attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald – and to instruct the Justice Department to keep him on during this coming Administration in order to finish the work he has apparently started.

Stop electing crooked politicians and vote for those who have the least previous contact with government unless they are known or suspected to be corrupt.

Re-call politicians who avoid the doing the people’s business in favor of personal prestige, power and profits. 

It is time to throw the bums on both sides of the aisle out.

-- steve

Quote of the day:  “The problem with beetles in a dung heap is that, while they may realize that they are beetles, they accept their environment as being normal.” -- steve

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

McCain scolds GOP for whacking Obama - Mike Allen - Politico.com