As Yogi Berra once said, it's deja vu all over again.
I first noticed Senator John McCain during the latter years of the Clinton administration. He frequently appeared on CNN to comment on the hot issue of the day, and the more I heard him, the more often I agreed with his viewpoint. That's unusual for me -- I almost never agree with any Republican on anything. By 1998, I decided there were two Republicans I would vote for if either ran for president: McCain and Colin Powell. Both were more conservative than I am, but neither seemed to be inextricably mired in the usual GOP dogma.
In 2000, I was ready to vote for McCain against Al Gore, and voted for him in the Texas Republican primary. My vote didn't change a goddamned thing, though.
During the eight years of Bush/Cheney/Rove that followed, it became obvious McCain desperately wanted to be president, and would do anything to make conservative Republicans like him. He held on to a few principles related to campaign finance reform, but was seldom willing to stray off the reservation. Meanwhile, Colin Powell joined the administration and was used to shill for the invasion of Iraq. By 2008, the odds were against me ever voting for a Republican presidential candidate. My short list of good Republicans kept getting shorter.
In 2008, McCain finally won the GOP nomination he coveted, but by then he was an empty shell, nothing like the McCain I admired in 2000. I believed he was sure to beat somebody named Barack Hussein Obama, and I started rationalizing. How bad could things be? Once he was in the White House, McCain would stop pandering to the worst elements in the GOP and I could like him again. I imagined him choosing a moderate like Tom Ridge as a running mate.
Then McCain announced Sarah Palin as his VP choice. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. Holy fucking shit. Now I knew McCain was too far over the edge and he was never coming back.
Another presidential election is near. I never admired Mitt Romney as much as I admired McCain in 1998-2000, even as much as I admired Huntsman this year. But next to goddamned bottom-feeders like Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich, Cain and Santorum, Romney looked like a decent alternative. I wouldn't vote for him, but could tolerate him if he won. Mitt is like McCain in 2000 -- desperate, and willing to suck the asses he needs to suck to become president. But I rationalized again: After he finally achieves his dream, he'll go back to being Moderate Massachusetts Mormon Mitt, and start showing the tea squeakers who's boss in the Republican Party.
Nope.
Republicans didn't like McCain in 2008, and they don't like Romney this year. Four years ago, McCain was so pathetic he was willing to play sidekick to future tea party darling Palin. This year, Romney is so pathetic he'll play sidekick to new tea party darling Paul Ryan. Haven't we seen this movie already? Obama ended the presidential dreams of McCain and Palin. Can he do the same for Ryan/Romney?
I first noticed Senator John McCain during the latter years of the Clinton administration. He frequently appeared on CNN to comment on the hot issue of the day, and the more I heard him, the more often I agreed with his viewpoint. That's unusual for me -- I almost never agree with any Republican on anything. By 1998, I decided there were two Republicans I would vote for if either ran for president: McCain and Colin Powell. Both were more conservative than I am, but neither seemed to be inextricably mired in the usual GOP dogma.
In 2000, I was ready to vote for McCain against Al Gore, and voted for him in the Texas Republican primary. My vote didn't change a goddamned thing, though.
During the eight years of Bush/Cheney/Rove that followed, it became obvious McCain desperately wanted to be president, and would do anything to make conservative Republicans like him. He held on to a few principles related to campaign finance reform, but was seldom willing to stray off the reservation. Meanwhile, Colin Powell joined the administration and was used to shill for the invasion of Iraq. By 2008, the odds were against me ever voting for a Republican presidential candidate. My short list of good Republicans kept getting shorter.
In 2008, McCain finally won the GOP nomination he coveted, but by then he was an empty shell, nothing like the McCain I admired in 2000. I believed he was sure to beat somebody named Barack Hussein Obama, and I started rationalizing. How bad could things be? Once he was in the White House, McCain would stop pandering to the worst elements in the GOP and I could like him again. I imagined him choosing a moderate like Tom Ridge as a running mate.
Then McCain announced Sarah Palin as his VP choice. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. Holy fucking shit. Now I knew McCain was too far over the edge and he was never coming back.
Another presidential election is near. I never admired Mitt Romney as much as I admired McCain in 1998-2000, even as much as I admired Huntsman this year. But next to goddamned bottom-feeders like Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich, Cain and Santorum, Romney looked like a decent alternative. I wouldn't vote for him, but could tolerate him if he won. Mitt is like McCain in 2000 -- desperate, and willing to suck the asses he needs to suck to become president. But I rationalized again: After he finally achieves his dream, he'll go back to being Moderate Massachusetts Mormon Mitt, and start showing the tea squeakers who's boss in the Republican Party.
Nope.
Republicans didn't like McCain in 2008, and they don't like Romney this year. Four years ago, McCain was so pathetic he was willing to play sidekick to future tea party darling Palin. This year, Romney is so pathetic he'll play sidekick to new tea party darling Paul Ryan. Haven't we seen this movie already? Obama ended the presidential dreams of McCain and Palin. Can he do the same for Ryan/Romney?
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