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Charles Jaco has written opinion and commentary pieces for dozens of magazines and newspapers. Each week, read and comment on a fresh on-line version. The discussion page enables you to share your view points world wide. If you would like to make a comment go to the " Join the discussion" link below. If you would like to view past editorials visit the Editorial Archive.
Editorial: 2/11/2000 Three words of advice to the GOP wingnuts opposing John McCain because he isn't
ideologically pure enough---know your history. The first lesson starts with the Greek
king Pyrrhus. In 279 BC, his army defeated the Romans at the battle of Asculum. But
the Roman legions had ripped his forces to shreds. After the battle, he leaned on his
spear, surveyed the carnage, and said "Another victory like this and we are finished."
At that moment, the term "phyrric victory" entered the language, meaning a victory that
amounted to a defeat.
Fast forward to 1996, when another commander was considering a run for President.
The right wing Republican true beleivers, led by Paul Weyrich and Howard Phillips, led
the campaign against Colin Powell. Powell, they sniffed, wasn't pure on issues like
affirmative action and abortion. Never mind that the black general could have guaranteed
the Republicans and their overall philosophy a lock on the White House. Powell decided
trying for the GOP nomination was more trouble than it was worth. The rest--Bob Dole,
a second Clinton term, Monicagate--is history.
They're at it again, this time targeting John McCain, led by George W. Bush's
hard-right advisors and the Heinrich Himmler of broadcasting, Rush Limbaugh. Never mind
that McCain is fervedly supported by conservatives like South Carolina Rep. Lindsay
Graham, one of the House impeachment managers. Never mind that much of McCain's brain
trust comes from the staff of the Southern Partisan magazine, a publication that looks
at the Republican Party as the re-incarnation of Jefferson Davis's cabinet.
Nooo, the right whines, McCain still isn't pure enough. He says he's opposed to
abortion, but we don't beleive him. He says he's a true-blue conservative on economic
issues, but we don't beleive him. And in the most tortured stretch of illogic yet,
they've criticized McCain for being soft on defense and veteran's issues. Let's see.
While McCain was having his fingernails ripped out by the North Vietnamese for five
and a half years, Dubyah was flying jets for the Texas National Guard, Limbaugh was
enjoying 4-F status some people still find suspicious, and Trent Lott was a male
cheerleader at Ole Miss. Ahem.
The main objection to McCain seems to be that a number of independents and
Democrats are crossing over to vote for him in open primary states like New Hampshire
and South Carolina. Gasp. According to the reasoning of the paranoid talk radio
fringe, that amounts to a conspiracy to nominate a weak McCain over a strong George W.
Those of us who try to make a living in the novelist game know that you should
never let the facts get in the way of a good plot. And the plot of pinko Democrats and
spineless independents to nominate McCain is too good to resist. But accepting that
means ignoring several facts.
One--independents outnumber either Democrats or Republicans this year. The fact
that they're willing to vote for McCain in the primaries makes it a pretty good bet,
although not a sure one, that they'd vote for him come November. Two--some Democrats
are being the electoral equivalent of Johnathan Pollard. But many aren't. Many are
simply looking for good character after Clinton. And others are the same kinds of
Democrats who voted for Ronald Reagan. Remember, Dutch's appeal had less to do with
policy than with personality. Working class blue collar Democrats liked the guy.
Three--every preliminary poll I've seen (and this far before the election, they're
all preliminary) shows McCain beating either Gore or Bradley by a margin greater than
anything Bush can muster. McCain, to put it bluntly, may be the best chance the
Republicans have to stop a third Clintonesque term.
The feeling is growing that Bush's operatives and the GOP hard cases are trying
the same thing Ho Chi Minh's minions attempted: to break McCain. Voters remember
this kind of thing. The smart money still says Bush, his organization, and his
mammoth campaign war chest will still get the Republican nomination. But if this
kind of drivel continues, voters may take it out on Bush.
Maybe the right-wing spear carriers for Bush could bring a real spear to the
GOP convention in Philly. That way Bush could lean on it, survey the carnage, and
meditate on the price of temporary victory.
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