From Larry Kudlow:
Sen. John McCain moved decisively to the supply-side Tuesday in a strong speech to the National Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C. For investors, small-business owner-operators, and the vast majority of middle-class Americans who go to work every day and are concerned about Sen. McCain’s tax vision, this speech is good news. Big Mac is the taxpayer-friendly candidate.
The Republican candidate for president embraced low-tax-rate incentives to grow the economy, promising a combination of pro-growth tax reform and simplification along with significant spending restraint. He has called himself a foot soldier in the Reagan revolution. This tax speech clinches it.
When contrasted with Obama’s Carteresque program of high taxes, high spending and a new “era of limits”, it becomes clear that McCain is the man who believes in America, and the ability of Americans to forge ahead in an increasingly competitive world. And in seeing this, we conservatives should really start to smoke the peace pipe in earnest with John McCain – sure, we don’t like CFR and we’re still seething over the judicial issue (additionally, many are upset over McCain’s immigration proposal from 2007 – but I’m not one of them, as I backed it), but outside of these issues, McCain is our man – and certainly a solid choice in contrast to the disaster Obama promises us.
We conservatives have to entirely step out of the realm of theory and into the world of practical politics – we won’t ever get all we want, but we must try to get as much as we can…to quibble over side issues while the central issues are in danger is foolish. Do we want a powerful America? Do we want a prosperous America? Do we want a free America? Do we want an America which protects the family? Then we have to do what we can to obtain these things – and if that means we have to sometimes put a part of our project on the back burner, then that is just how it will have to be. As my grandfather used to say, better to have 10% of something than 100% of nothing – and McCain is actually offering us 90% of what we want! And, actually, more than that.
You see, for too long we’ve tended to cede the popular debate on economics to the liberals – while we prove, again and again, that supply side economics works, we still get crushed in the debate because the left is able to craft a plausible fairy tale about Evil Corporations fighting against Selfless Liberals who fight for the Consumer and the Children. McCain is willing to go toe to toe with the liberals on this issue, but he understands that it doesn’t do us any good to fight for free markets while even appearing to defend corporate bosses who (a) don’t care about free markets and (b) tend to shovel money at any politician – even an ultra leftist – who will give them an unfair advantage in the market. So, fight for low taxes – but also hold CEO’s feet to the fire for their boneheaded decisions (most notably of late, of course, the sub-prime meltdown); we know that a free market will fix whatever ailes the market, but we should also insist that those running the show are held responsible when through greed or incompetance they cause problems which adversely affect everyone; more CEO accountability and the market won’t have to fix as many problems, right?
The more McCain speaks, the more I like what I see – and the more willing I am to go to bat for him. Time for conservatism to completely grow up and cast aside the nattering classes who aren’t satisfied with anything short of perfection – in a contest between a leftist lawyer and a war hero, who do you really think is the better candidate?
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