McCain and the right

Far be it for me to spill more virtual ink on the relationship of
Senator McCain's and the conservative wing of the Republican party.
However, it strikes me as fascinating just how many litmus tests the
conservative wing of the party have before a candidate can be excepted
as the presidential nominee.

Taxes, national defense, judges, anti-abortion, border security. Every
issue is a hot button for this end of the party. A major fault of
his, in their eyes, is the issue of border security and immigration
reform. McCain sees these issues correctly as intertwined.
Conservatives in the party see only border security. There is no
second part of their platform. Despite the realities of a worker
shortage facing American Agro-business and the displayed need for more
low skill workers in our economy all they seem to want is more fencing
and more patrols.

What about the immigration policy our nation employs? What about the
American ideal of open borders and doors being open to immigrants of
all backgrounds. Our stength comes from our diversity, and as Senator
McCain has stated "they are all God's children."

Rush, Hannity, and Coulter represent the far side if their party.
People seem to forget the era when talk radio was on the fringe. We've
lived in an age where talk radio got an undue amount of voice and
political power for it's listeners.

John McCain represents the moderate wing of the Republican party. One
can only hope he can stick to those principals that got him this far.
2000 was a different time, when weary of Clinton the nation wanted
strict conservatism. Now the nation seems to be screaming for
moderation, and in a field of candidates vying to be as far to the
right as possible and as much like Ronald Reagan as possible. McCain
offered only what he has always been. Rush and the rest may just have
to sit this one out.