There are still many people who have serious policy disagreements with John McCain. I am one of those people. It is possible to believe that McCain is wrong on many of the issues conservative activists and talk show hosts care about, and still find him to be worthy of respect for his military service to our country. McCain doesn’t make it easy to like him, and conservatives are having a tough time trying to accept that he might be our nominee. I’m fighting that possibility myself.
But we can’t start attacking McCain’s military service. He’s wrong on so many issues. Let’s stick to arguments about policy, and leave the personal mudslinging to the nutroots and the Clinton campaign. We shouldn’t be ok with this message:
I found this picture on Race42008.com. It’s a picture that one of their bloggers took at a Mitt Romney event. People have strong feelings about illegal immigration. I understand that, but comparing John McCain to Benedict Arnold is wrong, and we shouldn’t have to resort to this type of personal attack. John McCain served our country honorably in the military, and he deserves our respect for that, if for no other reason.
Conservative thinker Thomas Sowell recently compared McCain to Benedict Arnold in a recent article . Perhaps this is where this fashion victim got their inspiration from.
Now before you throw Sowell under the proverbial bus, let me tell you that Sowell was making the point that McCain has betrayed conservatives and the Republican party. And by bringing up Arnold he was pointing out that honorable military service is not a lifelong “get out of jail free card” that can be used whenever questions are raised.
“When confronted with any of his misdeeds, Senator McCain tends to fall back on his record as a war hero in Vietnam.Lets talk sense. Benedict Arnold was a war hero but that did not exempt him from condemnation for his later betrayal. Being a war hero is not a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card. And becoming president of the United States is not a matter of rewarding an individual for past services.”
The comparison may be harsh, to your way of thinking, but often times a little hyperbole can effectively be used to make a point. I had no problem with Sowell’s comparison in context, but this guy with the sign is pretty clearly over the top.
However, the basic point stands. McCain’s military service doesn’t render him immune from legitimate concerns about his troubled and troublesome track record.
I’m not arguing that his military service renders him immune from all criticism. There are plenty of reasons to oppose the nomination of John McCain, and we should always point out reasons why Mitt Romney would be closer to what conservatives want to represent the Republican party. I just don’t think we have to get personal on that level, implying that McCain is a traitor because of his views on illegal immigration. (Although I must tell you that there are others who feel this way.) The original poster thought the sign was out of bounds, and so do I.