Define Loyalty

I've been getting grief for not supporting John McCain. Some may say, in fact, I'm being dangerous or petty at the expense of our nation by not being a dutiful Republican. As if surely any Republican President is better than any Democrat President. Most will say that it's selfish to just let Obama win the White House simply because I differ from our nominee. What with a more-than-likely Democrat House and Senate, stepping aside and letting Obama win will shut us totally out of power and give him free reign to do as he pleases, after all.

They ask: Where is my party loyalty?

The answer: My party loyalty is exactly why I am seeking the defeat of John McCain. To say he's never quite been a dutiful Republican himself and go off to detail a list of myriad instances that prove this would be boring, time-consuming, and wasteful, so instead we'll just admit the sky is blue and point to the fact that his Title of Maverick has been well-earned and has stuck for good reason. In defense of myself I point to having a respect for intellectual honesty, principle, and future longevity over holding onto power for power's sake.

What good is party loyalty if it means supporting the most disloyal among us? Supporting the most rogue, political species who made his name by publicly and repeatedly thwarting that which brought us to the Republican Party to begin with? What good is party loyalty itself if all it means is that, at day's end, you'll just show up and vote for whomever has the (R) by his name? Party loyalty is in the midst of being reduced to symbolism. True party loyalty lies in protecting, defending, and advancing your philosophy and practice. Not in simply towing the party line; any fool can do that. True party loyalty means doing what is right, at all times, even if it means you lose.

If there ever were a time where we needed a big loss, it is now. Republicans generally get elected when they run for office on the bases of conservatism. What's conservatism in my view? Conservatism is essentially the victory of realism over idealism. In other words, conservatism is practical solutions to problems. Beholding pragmatism as the core to conservatism is right and it is how we win elections. The past several years, though, we've seen a shift from this proven identity of conservatism to a more simplistic and superficial adoption of American symbols to stand in place of our precious pragmatism. Gone are intellectual debates by devoted advocates. Reason has expired and all that is done is calculated to win the short term. In are ushered the flag and patriotic song to stand in the place of reason and tenet, all the while political stunts, smears, and schemes are now rival to that of the Democrats, who long ago sold their soul to hold higher office. Ripe now are both sides with plenty of platitudes masquerading as Change and Straight Talk.

This is the third election in a row I've been told is the most important election of our lifetime. Only this time we're guaranteed a true change. Either Obama is fresh and new and the future is full of hope, or McCain is the maverick reformer who is going to clean up Washington D.C. Either we get the first non-white President in American history, or we get the first ever female Vice President in American history. All of this is merely symbolic. We have again image hiding reality. Obama radiates an aura of newness, of never-before-seen means of leading the nation, of solving our problems, curing our ills, yet his record and proposals are steeped in 1930s liberal ideology. McCain trumpets himself as the original change agent, the maverick, and as a reformer. Granted I admire McCain's crusade against pork and earmarks, the rest of his record is genuinely not very conservative, and his antics are those of a lifelong politician, and one dedicated to promoting his stature by attracting liberal media attention with the catnip of bashing his fellow Republicans. Looking behind the masks, we have an what's-old-is-new-again candidate who, without his identity, wouldn't even be a contender versus just another typical politician who is old hat.

The state of the Republican party is in very bad shape. We've placed 7 of the 9 Supreme Court justices and our property rights are under assault while terrorists and enemy combatants are granted constitutional rights? You gotta be kidding me! Government spending is higher than ever, inflation is running rampant and the dollar is deflated, weak, and left undefended. We've expanded government to its largest state by adding a totally redundant, entirely unnecessary bureaucracy, and new entitlements at a time when smaller, less gluttonous, more efficient government and entitlement reform were needed. I've been using this analogy: We're like an old, creaky plane lumbering down the runway, trying to get up to speed on 3 flat tires. In the cockpit sit an old pilot with health concerns whose maneuvers we never much liked and at his side is a co-pilot who doesn't even know how to fly (country last). We can either hop aboard this plane and hope it gets up to speed to lift off before we run out of room (and if it does take flight then Lord help us we don't crash), or we can power down, turn back, taxi back down the tarmac, pull into the hangar and begin building a new plane. I want the new plane.

Not only will being shut out of national power in the White House, Senate, and House be good for Republicans by forcing us to recapture our essence, but it will spare us from a drab and phony future of upcoming senators and congressmen who would otherwise be obligated to advocate for a President McCain's agenda, which if his record is any indicator, and it is, will be one that is Democrat-minus-one. Furthermore, we have the perfect person to oversee our reconstruction. Mark Twain couldn't fictionalize a better character to rebuild the party than Mitt Romney. His record, if it's any indicator, and it is, has proven tried and true to be one devoted to pragmatic solutions to all problems. Not only would he be an ace articulator of our philosophy, but the perfect foil to President Obama on TV for four years. Afterall he is the candidate most actual Republicans favored until the perfect storm of a crowded field, badly broken brand, open primaries, and religious bigotry yielded a fractured conservative base, resulting in the nomination falling out of a tree and into the lap of Senator McCain. We were hurt by those in our party who have fallen to parochial identity and symbolism over substance and meaning. In other words, we Republicans are turning into the Pharisees of our day.

We're at a point where we can let petty symbolism triumph over prinicple, or we can take a knee, fall on our sword, hit rock bottom. I don't believe that--regardless of anyone's political persuasion--anyone benefits when both parties resemble each other. And so, this is why I believe it's best for the party and the nation for John McCain to lose. And this is why I've ventured into the blogosophere for the first time. I urge all those who feel similarly about what John McCain means to the future potential of our party to join me. We can be the mavericks now. Secure our own future. Defeat McCain. All in favor say aye.