McCain Gears Up for 2008 Presidential Campaign

In 1986, the illustrious Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate. I was asked to help with the campaign of the man who wanted to take his place. The man's name was John McCain. The GOP in Arizona saw McCain as a Vietnam War veteran, a statesman who'd served his country faithfully and was now willing to serve the State. Most people considered him a fiscal conservative compared to his opponents. John McCain won the election in 1986 - and that began a national political career that now spans more than 20 years.

In 2000, John McCain decided to run for President. I remember chatting with his wife Cindy at a fundraiser in Columbia, South Carolina. We discussed the uphill battle he would have in my very conservative pro-Bush state. In September, McCain shocked the GOP by winning the primary in New Hampshire over his opponent George Bush. Then came the McCain temper tantrum debacle in South Carolina. Despite the fact that he's been the media darling, his politics and personality have been on a downhill slide since the election in 2000. John McCain is not the same man he was in 1986.

This is a war veteran who was tortured in a Vietcommie POW camp, and now he is saying that what happened at Club Gitmo is similar or worse than what happened to him in the Hanoi Hilton. McCain attempts to explain that torture is not a reliable method of retrieving intelligence about the enemy, but there have been many published reports explaining how information gained at Gitmo has been used to foil terrorist plots. Water-boarding, in particular, has proven effective in breaking down the Islamo-facist bomb-making experts at Club Gitmo. The disgusting thing is that McCain's POW history has nothing to do with his comments. It is apparent that he simply wants media attention!

The people here in South Carolina have not forgotten what happened in 2000. That's why it is surprising that John McCain would be courting Lindsey Graham as his potential running mate. Graham replaced Strom Thurmond in 2002. But replacing popular senators is not the only thing the two have in common. They both serve on the Armed Services Committee in Washington. Graham made a name for himself during the Clinton impeachment hearings, but he is also not the same man he was in 1998. McCain and Graham are looking toward 2008 and following a page out of the Hillary Rodham playbook - and no respecting Conservative would vote for them.

Law Requires Arizonans to Show ID at the Polling Place

Arizona is hosting a primary election today, and it is noteworthy because it is the first time a state has enforced a new law requiring all would-be voters to show identification at the polling place. Thousands of Arizonans are expected to cast ballots in today's primary election, which represents the first statewide test of the law voters overwhelmingly approved in 2004. As an educated Conservative, I applaud the efforts of Arizona's Secretary of State to eliminate voter fraud. More states should adopt the same Voter Identification law!

Arizona implemented the touch-screen technology for the 2004 elections. Also during that year, the voters approved Proposition 200. This new law has been called "a defense of citizen rights" - and supporters have long argued the measure guards against vote fraud. It was a proposition the Dumocrats in Arizona fought against vigorously claiming that it would only hurt minorities. They even filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stall enforcement of the law, but the court upheld the will of the people. Imagine that!

In order to vote today, the participant must show either a valid Arizona driver's license or a state-issued ID card. Election officials also will accept tribal enrollment cards and other valid federal, state or local government identification issued in the U.S. If photo ID is not available, the registrar (I used to be one in Pima County) will accept two pieces of identification with the voter's name and address, including an Arizona vehicle registration certificate, an Indian census card, bank and credit union statements and utility bills.

The claim of the Dumocrats in this situation is merely another prime example of Liberal stupidity. And it won't end after the election today: At last count, more than 2.5 million residents were eligible to vote. Since this is a mid-term election (and also a September Primary as opposed to the November General election), turnout is expected to be rock bottom. Of course, the Dumocrats will attempt to twist this to make it look like Proposition 200 caused the disinterest. States without the law will also experience significant voter apathy during the mid-term.

Liberal Dumocrat Message: 9/11 Deaths are Meaningless

From sea to shining sea today, the people of these United States are remembering the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Today is the five year anniversary of the attack on American soil - and Americans are once again reaching deep within to sympathize with the loss of loved ones at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in a field just outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Well, all Americans except for the Liberal Dumocrats! The Dumocrats are using memorial events today to help raise support for the mid-term elections in two months. As an American I am outraged by this stupidity!

A prime example of this utter stupidity is what happened at the memorial event in Arlington, Virginia - the location of the terrorist attack using the 184 passengers aboard American Flight 77 to crash into the Pentagon. The event included the annual 5K run sponsored by the Arlington Police/Sheriff/Fire departments as well as addresses by public service officials. One of the speakers was U.S. Representative Jim Moran. Dim Jim did not talk about national security (of course, the Dumocrats know they are weak on national security). Instead, he focused on the only message these Liberals will spout these days: Bush is bad! We know the Liberal agenda, and we can smell it from here!

Less than a minute after Dim Jim took the stage, he started in with the line from the 2006 Liberal playbook: Bush is bad. The Dumocrats don't want to talk about a War on Terrorism. The Liberal media wants to sell this as a War in Iraq. Dim Jim had no intention of honoring the lives that were lost at the Pentagon, much less the lives of those who were in the Trade Center and on American Flight 77. If you're a Conservative, you can imagine what the relatives of the victims felt about Jim's comments. One relative in particular was so outraged that she spoke up at the Arlington event. "My brother died on 9/11, you creep! Don't make this political!"

And what was the response of the Liberal wackos attending the Dim Jim "political rally" after hearing the disgust of the relative? A few of them told her to shut up. "Your brother is not important! You are not important! Now just let him speak..." they told her. They sent her away in tears. House Majority Leader John Boehner said it clearly: "Democrats are more concerned with protecting terrorists than they are with protecting the American people." The Dumocrats don't want to admit that 9/11 happened... or they try to say that George Bush caused the entire tragedy (when Slick Willy is the true culprit). It's all about getting elected in November.