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Originally Posted by LinkManDX  CSM: Although he does go against abortion (I'm personally against it in every case except for rape and incest), his policy actually is against banning same sex marriage, even though he wants to define marriage as between a man and a woman (See This). This is a distinct separation from President Bush, and a distinct moderate Republican stance. Lurch: He actually has vocally criticised not only Bush but the entire Republican party on the fiscal issue: This also shows his general dissatisfaction on the Republican party as it currently is. He is a moderate Republican, and George Bush is a evangelical, conservative Republican. In basic ideology they are different. You accuse me of not paying attention. I disagree. On Foreign Policy, I'm going to use Iran as an example, due to it being one of the if not the greatest foreign policy problems besides Iraq that we currently have. His policy on Iraq is that he would leave military action on the table, but would consult congressional leaders beforehand. Take that with a grain of salt, but at least he's willing to consult members of Congress before making a decision to go to Iran and fight (See [url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.iran.html]this). The point about the pastors you make is somewhat irrelevant as we have to look at what he himself believes to figure out what he himself believes, as we do with every candidate (Which is why I personally am sick and tired of the Jeremiah Wright controversy). Here's a quote showing his moderate beliefs on religion (Read: Not Religious Right): Bomby: Did India have a theological warfare going on that could tear apart a country? Did India have a dictator who was maleficent to the people? Did India have numerous bombings and attacks on their own people? We cannot draw a correlation between the two situations. |
He was pandering to the evangelical base saying he would put in socially conservative justices that would work to overturn Roe v Wade (which was actually 'overturned' in Casey but whatever) and (between the lines) promote other socially conservative platforms from the bench last week. Seems exactly the same as the Bush position IMO.
Vocally criticizing while getting behind him at every opportunity is inconsistant. I go with the insane pro-Bush voting record.
I can say I'm a social conservative gun-nut, but if I vote like an archliberal and contribute money to Planned Parenthood and anti-gun groups, I'm not. Much like this, McCain can say he's a moderate, but he's been doing everything in his power publically for the last two years to dispell this notion.
He, exactly like Bush, is unwilling to recognize the truth on the ground in Iraq: it is a civil war and we should have no part in it. Iran is more a danger now because we took out the only power buffer in the region, but I have major problems believing the same people that said Iraq had mobile labs and nuclear launches out of Bagdad were imminent. He's also perpetuating the myth that we are fighting al qaeda in Iraq, when the vast bulk of the fighting is sectarian forces in a civil war. He's also constantly perpetuating this fantasy that Iran is training and resending al Qaeda forces, which was debunked on all grounds. (I won't link to Mediamatters or some other watchdog group because I'll just laugh and let
FOXNEWS tell you).
I find it pretty deplorable to pander to hatemongers. There's a difference between sitting in a pew and having your preacher shout out things you don't agree with (sidenote: it's the equivalent of saying I'm anti-divorce because the local Catholic priest would rail about it every other week when I was a kid) and actively seeking out the endorsements of hatemongering hacks. Let's look at two of McCain's preachers (ignoring the easy target of Pat Robertson and the thankfully late Jerry Fawell):
Hagee (confirmed McCain approached him): Called Catholicism the "great whore" that drinks "the blood of the Jewish people." Also went on NPR and said Katrina was punishment for a gay parade and repeated this since then.
Parsley, whom McCain calls a "spiritual advisor": America was created to fight a holy war against Islam. Compares Planned Parenthood and other reproductive services to "nazis" and the KKK and claims that the US is an accessory to murder.
This is a guy who once called the religious right "agents of intolerance." He's courting them actively to seek their endorsements. That's what makes it important. He's seeking endorsements of people and their flocks (haha doublemeaning), and this comes back into play when they have their hands out if he gets elected.