Blogs For Victory

THere is much speculation – and much conservative heartache – over this concept. As for me, I’ll quote that really clever guy, myself, from January 2, 2006:

The United States has many problems facing it over the next ten yeas. In spite of assertions to the contrary in some quarters, we must reform Social Security and Medicare before they go bankrupt, or bankrupt the nation. We must get a handle on our energy shortages – both expansion of current sources and development of replacements demand our attention. We have to figure out what sort of immigration policy we are going to have. These are just some of the bigger issues we face – there are, of course, scores of lesser issues which also must be given their due time – but the most important issue facing the United States over the next ten years is the War on Terrorism. Literally millions of lives are at stake, as well as having the liberty of the world hanging in the balance. The War on Terrorism is a war we must win, and it is a war which will take at least another 5 to 10 years to win.

In five years, it will be January 2nd, 2011…President Bush will have been out of office for nearly two years. We know that President Bush will keep fighting this war no matter what right up to the end…but the end for President Bush comes on January 20th, 2009. Who shall take over on that day? Will that person be as determined upon fighting until victory? God help us all if he is not…

…McCain is just about my least favorite Republican and while Joe Lieberman is my favorite Democrat, he is quite the liberal, and this conservative doesn’t agree with either man all that much. But one thing we can know with fair certainty is that both men have the guts and determination to see this war through to victory. A man who spent time in the Hanoi Hilton isn’t going to quit when the going gets tough, and Joe Lieberman has stood up to his Party’s leftwing base when most center/liberal Democrats have cravenly given into it. So, I propose a ticket with John McCain and Joe Lieberman.

It is my view that a McCain/Lieberman ticket is not only just about unbeatable, but is a ticket which any smart politician will recognize as unbeatable. Only a full-blown fanatic would think of running against them – and that, in the end, is precisely what we want.

You see, it isn’t good enough in 2008 that a pro-victory candidate wins: he must win convincingly. War is called politics by another means, and there is massive truth in that. The politics of this war are that we must, as far as possible, show a united face to our armed enemies – this is the only way we’ll ever convince them of the hopelessness of their cause. Right now, outside observers could easily believe that there is a massive anti-war movement in the United States which, any day now, will force America to withdraw from the war and hand our enemies a victory. Truth is, the anti-war movement isn’t that large, and no amount of old hippies out there demonstrating are likely to change President Bush’s mind…but this does make fighting the war harder, and it’d be a lot easier if the President and Vice President on January 20th, 2009 can claim a mandate from a large majority of Americans.

While a McCain/Lieberman ticket might upset some of my fellow conservatives, I don’t think the political bleeding on the right will be even close to the number of centrist Democrats who will flock to a McCain/Lieberman ticket…

…Victory in war and the health of our political system may end up requiring a McCain/Lieberman ticket – and if we secure a crushing victory for pro-victory liberals, centrists and conservatives, then we will have entirely marginalized the left. Eventually, of course, a political contraption which includes Joe Lieberman and Jon Kyl will fly apart due to internal contradictions – but we only need such a thing to work for 6 years or so. This would allow us time to win the war – or do so much that even a defeatist couldn’t lose the war – as well as purging the left from our political discourse. Eventually the more liberal part of the new coalition splits off to form a replacement party for the Democrats, while the more conservative elements of the GOP remain in charge of the Party.

I don’t like the idea of President McCain all that much – he is too easily swayed by elite opinion makers (the guy is a major camera-hog and it gets him into trouble with the right time and again), while Joe Lieberman adheres to too many economic liberal positions. But this isn’t about winning one for the Party or even winning one for conservatism – this is about ensuring that the United States government has the leadership necessary to secure total victory. For the sake of the nation, all men of good will can certainly swallow a bit of gall and get on with the important things – we can always start arguing about levels of taxation at a later date; I’m a member of an organization which stands for God and Country – and that is motto I hope to genuinely live up to. Much as I like clear victories for my particular side, the fate of my nation is far more important.

Do keep in mind that this is the official position of no one but myself – I owe the concept to no one, and I am unaware of anyone other than my father who agrees with the idea. Nothing which has happened in the 2 years, 7 months since I wrote that has caused me to change my opinion about the worth of a McCain/Lieberman ticket.