A Comment on the Current State of the Primaries

With Super Tuesday hours away, and McCain apparently in a comfortable lead, the general mood amongst the right-leaning commentariat and blogosphere seems to be sit down, shut up, and accept the inevitable coronation of McCain.

Which I don't understand, frankly.

Having had the opportunity to see Governor Mitt Romney in action during the 2002 Winter Olympics, I have not understood the animus he has faced. Accused from the beginning as a flip-flopper, his record does not bear it out. When the Massachusetts Supreme Court read into the state constitution the right to homosexual marriage, Romney criticized the move.

When action on health-care was demanded, Romney worked on a compromise market-friendly solution. Is that solution perfect? No. But remember this - Romney had to satisfy a Democratic legislature. That Romney was able to accomplish this should be noted to his favor, not his detriment, especially at a time when a majority of Americans will embrace any solution that will reduce their growing medical costs. Any.

(Hillarycare will be back. Do Republicans have anything to counter it?)

Those do not take note of his executive skill. Romney stepped to the helm of an ailing Olympic organization and led it to the Games to not lose money in decades, and a credit to Utah's reputation. And Romney's.

Is Senator John McCain a bad guy? No. His military service is a source of inspiration. But his recent political career is a source of frustration.

When his leadership was needed on the Republican domestic agenda, McCain simply wsn't there. It's one thing to occasionally disagree; I can tolerate that. But again and again McCain has worked to emplace legislation that ran contrary to my views. More aggravating for me is that his views seem to mirror those of the press, rather than any constituency. His stance on the supposed "torture" controversy being a good example - whose views were being represented? Let's be realistic here - the inmates of Guantanamo are hardly wayward Afghani boy scouts. They are hardened killers, who are ready and willing to visit horrors (far greater than any punishment we dare inflict) any any they deem an enemy. That subjecting these barbarians to sleep deprivation constitutes is laughable - and McCain could have done much to clarify this debate. But he did not, and more's the pity.

Couple that with his anti-business populist twaddle he has been selling in the last couple of debates, and McCain leaves me cold.

McCain's stance on the war in Iraq is heartening, and his rallying ws a great help. He could have had the same effect and brought sanity to the "torture" debate - but he didn't.

WHEN it comes to the final weighing, Romney's record shows that he is willing to work for and advocate for the things I believe in. McCain's record is less straightforward - will he stand up to years in the hot seat over Iraq? And will he respect the viewpoints of the Republican Party that will take him to the dance, or ditch them in the parking lot for the editors of the New York Times?

That I'm not sure is a problem for McCain. One that he has so far shown no interest in remedying.

Romney, on the other hand has endured some low and odd blows in his campaign. This race is showing some troubling fault lines in the American psyche; that members of the LDS Church (a church which I happily belong to) have recieved some odd, bad-faith criticism in this day in age may cause some Mormons to question their political affiliations, or at least look more skeptically at those who purport to be their allies.**

Romney's record, standing up for fundamental conservative principles during the Massachusetts gay marriage shows me he will stand for the things I believe in.

Which is why Romney has my vote.




**This is not to say all criticism of Romney was in bad faith, or even ill-founded. Nor should this be construed to say that the LDS Church is infallible - it is run and operated by mere mortals, inspired by God. People make mistakes. But there has been some truly vile statements made by men and women who would be shocked to hear such disparagements made against a race or ethnic group. Such is the quality of intellectuals in this modern age. (Article6 Blog is a good place to explore this different side of the 2008 elections.)

One Mean and Nasty War

Mark Steyn, writing today in National Review:

"We should beware anyone who seeks to explain 9/11 by using the words “each other”: They posit a grubby equivalence between the perpetrator and the victim — that the “failure to understand” derives from the culpability of both parties. The 9/11 killers were treated very well in the United States: They were ushered into the country on the high-speed visa express program the State Department felt was appropriate for young Saudi males. They were treated cordially everywhere they went. The lapdancers at the clubs they frequented in the weeks before the Big Day gave them a good time — or good enough, considering what lousy tippers they were. September 11th didn’t happen because we were insufficient in our love to Mohammed Atta."

We Must Prevail

Senator Joseph Lieberman, in National Review:

September 11, 2007, 7:35 a.m.

Washington’s Civilizational Choice
The freedom to survive.

By Joseph Lieberman

Today we remember those who lost their lives on that horrible day six years ago. We also honor the sacrifices of Americans in uniform who have bravely fought in the war that began on September 11, 2001.

The fact is that all freedom-loving people throughout the world are engaged in a struggle against the barbarism of Islamist extremism. This is not a battle between civilizations, but rather a battle for civilization.

The cause which we are fighting for is not a Republican cause or a Democratic cause. Our cause is the cause of defending liberty and freedom against a totalitarian movement that is the evil heir to the twin totalitarian threats of the 20th century. Islamist extremism, like fascism and communism, seeks to eliminate all of the ideals that free peoples cherish.

Just as during the World War II and the Cold War, our challenge today, is not to relent in this fight for liberty. And the central front in this war today is Iraq. You cannot be serious and strong in defeating those who attacked us on 9/11 if you counsel retreat in Iraq.

To pull the plug on progress in Iraq would hand our two most dangerous enemies in the world — al Qaeda and Iran — an extraordinary military and strategic victory. These are fateful days and critical decisions we are making about Iraq. We must make them with our eye on the safety of America's next generation. It is to the credit of President Bush that he has done that in the war against Islamist extremism. He has shown the courage and steadfastness to stand against the political passions of the moment.

As Ronald Reagan once said, now is the time for choosing. If we stand united through the months ahead, if we stand firm against the terrorists who want to drive us to retreat, the war in Iraq can be won and the lives of millions of people can be saved. But if we surrender to the barbarism of suicide bombers and abandon the heart of the Middle East to fanatics and killers, to al Qaeda and Iran, then all that our men and women in uniform have fought, and died for, will be lost, and we will be left a much less secure and free nation.

That is the choice we in Washington will make this fall. It is a choice not just about our foreign policy and our national security and our interests in the Middle East. It is about what our political leaders in both parties are prepared to stand for. It is about our soul as a nation. It is about who we are, and who we want to be.

Will this be the moment in history when America gives up — when al Qaeda breaks our will, when our enemies surge forward, when we turn our backs on our friends and begin a long retreat from our principles and promise as a nation? Or will this be the moment when America steps forward, when we pull together, when we hold fast to the courage of our convictions, when we begin to turn the tide toward victory in this long and difficult war?

History tells us that appeasement of evil leads to disaster. Our cause is freedom’s cause. Together, we must prevail.

— Joseph Lieberman is a United States senator (I.) from Connecticut.

Six Years After

It was six years ago today when the perfect blue skies of a September morning were shattered by the gravest terror attack this country has ever known, and the greatest attack on U.S. soil in our history.

Living here in Utah, the immediate effects were far removed, but the entire nation went to bed that night dreading what they would wake to on September 12th.

For me, time has tempered the fears, but I find the anger I had is still there, dormant but still potent, and easily reawakened. I'm not happy with everything that has happened, but I am more frustrated with us. That we are so easily distracted, and so quick to forget. In some cases, that is virtue, but not here. And I am annoyed that some want so fervently to forget, to wish it away; because 9/11 was a stark reminder that there is evil in this world, and it cannot be ignored. You can pretend it doesn't exist, but eventually it will come to you, and completely upset the carefully constructed order of needs and wants you have built for yourself.


Some remembrances:

National Review
Jonah Goldberg
Norman Podhoretz
Victor Davis Hanson

The guys at Argghhh! share their remembrances:
The Armorer
BillT

SteelJaw Scribe describes being in the Pentagon that morning:
Part 1
Part 2