Well, it all happened fast last night. Rudy’s campaign for President is over and he and I will be endorsing John McCain. I have admired McCain for many years, and supported him in the 2000 Primaries. He is a National Security/Foreign Policy hawk at the same level as Giuliani, and like him understands that Islamo-Nazi terrorism is the transcendent issue for America. I am hoping their friendship will open a “Cabinet door” for Rudy, perhaps as Homeland Security Secretary. McCain is a fiscal conservative in the truest sense; smaller government, balanced budgets (lower taxes, lower spending) and NO PORK. He is pro-life and pro-traditional family. He has taken some positions that I have disagreed with, but not many.

Those of you who know me realize I am basically an uber-conservative. I make no bones about it or apologize for it. What I am not is a Republican, or a shill for them. I am an anti-abortion, pro-military, pro-death penalty, anti-socialism, pro-democracy, anti-tyranny, pro-individual responsibility, “protect the innocent punish the guilty”
Patriot. What is killing me is the venom coming from the Right against McCain because he dared to go against the collective on a few issues. This is being spearheaded by the Limbaughs, Hannitys and Ingrams of the world. It is both sad and funny at the same time. They are calling McCain a liberal. A liberal!! And many people are swallowing that lie whole. There are said to be 3 “pillars” of conservatism: Foreign Policy, Economic and Social. Which one fits McCain? ALL OF THEM.

Here are the major issues that are dogging McCain for them:
1. McCain-Fiengold. IE “Campaign Finance Reform”
2. McCain-Kennedy. IE “Amnesty Bill”
3. McCain-Lieberman. IE “Cap and Trade on Greenhouse Gasses”
4. The "gang of 14".

Co-sponsoring legislation with a Democrat makes one a Democrat?? Give me a freakin break. Notice these are all attempts at actually doing something, not just talking about it.

Personally, I love the campaign finance effort. The country had been complaining about that for years, it is one of the main reasons Ross Perot got so many votes and Bill Clinton won in 1992! Nothing was done for 10 years until McCain took it upon himself to eliminate “soft money” from campaigns. Some bogusly claim that it infringes on 1st amendment rights to free speech. First off, money is not speech, no matter how you want to spin it. Restricting donations and what kinds of ads can be shown near an election have nothing to do with free speech whatsoever. The House and Senate debated it and passed it. President Bush signed it into law. I guess neither Bush nor his team of lawyers or the Justice Department thought it unconstitutional either. That’s because it’s not. This is just a case of sour grapes because soft money was a huge influence on BOTH parties. There is no denying there have been unintended consequences from it, key word being unintended. The rise of 501c4 loophole loving organizations like moveon.org is unfortunate, but it is no reason to reject the very good premise of campaign finance reform. McCain is to be commended for this, not condemned.

The “amnesty bill” was a mistake. I hated it, most of America from both sides hated it. That’s because there was a cry from all quarters that the borders must be closed first before anything else can be discussed. Stop the bleeding! To McCain’s credit, he has not changed his position, but has said, and I quote, “Look, the lesson I take from the last debate we were in, Bill, is I still support a comprehensive approach to immigration reform, but we've got to secure the borders. It has to be done first. As president, I would say that the governors have to certify that their borders -- the border state governors would have to certify that their borders are secure.” And, “"I understand why you would call it a, quote, shift. I say it is a lesson learned about what the American people's priorities are. And their priority is to secure the borders." This also covers the numerous dumb comments on this subject he made prior to learning that lesson.

Cap and Trade? Who really cares. No matter what your position on global warming is, it is undeniably better to produce less greenhouse gasses. This bill only rewards those companies who produce less, it does not punish anyone. Besides, there ain’t nothing wrong with Joe Lieberman.

The "gang of 14" is a problem?? This got 2 conservative Supreme Court justices confirmed! Would have never happened otherwise! See here for a more in-depth explanation: The Base is Wrong About the Gang of 14 - http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/01/the_base_is_wrong_about_the_ga.html

The only real issue I have with McCain today is his insistence on pronouncing that certain forms of interrogation will not be used against our enemies. This is just dumb. NEVER tell your enemy what you will not do to him. Keep that “in house”. I will overlook that as I completely trust our Military and our nation’s security in his hands.

It has gotten so bad that people will refuse to vote for McCain even if it means letting Hillary into the White House! But it’s not even that, I understand principles. What I don’t understand is labeling McCain the very same thing that he fights against. John McCain is an honorable, truth-telling, legitimate hero, who isn’t afraid to do what he thinks is right. He puts his country over his party, and that is exactly how it should be. It looks good for him right now going into Super Tuesday, so anyone yet to vote in their Primary please vote for Mr. McCain. Ignore the talking heads and use your common sense. I will be enthusiastically voting for John McCain on November 4th.