If Not Hillary, Then McCain? Really?

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That line is what we in the biz call a logical fallacy. As logical fallacies go, it's pretty innocuous, even comical. I picture an apoplectic bureaucrat somewhere screaming into the face of the 987th person to come to the window and ask, "What's wrong with my Driver's Manual?"

A far more dangerous logical fallacy is all the rage now, and it has a lot to do with intentionally blank pages. The press has given John McCain a free ride for years now, and as a result, 45% of Hillary Clinton's supporters have something like this to say:

If Hillary Clinton doesn't win, I will vote for McCain in November.

It is a happy accident that David Knowles wrote about this phenomenon earlier today, unbeknownst to me. This serves as an excellent companion to that story.

Now, I understand disappointment, and a certain amount of bitterness toward an opponent in a hard-fought contest, but this makes about as much sense as rooting for the Red Sox if the Yankees lose, unless you're Rudy Giuliani, or saying that if you can't have your favorite flavor of ice cream, you'll take cyanide instead.

My theory is that many of these voters have the same general idea about McCain that the rest of America does, that he's a free-thinking, maverick moderate who even leans to the left here and there, a great down-the-middle choice. Let's test that theory out. This poll is for Hillary Clinton supporters only. Take it, and then read on.



Now, let's try to fill in some of those blank pages. First of all, I must make two basic assumptions: - There are many substantive reasons for your support of Hillary Clinton - Your decision to support McCain is predicated on a belief that he is not that divergent from Hillary Clinton where it counts, and even leans liberal in some cases.

Let's see how well McCain and Hillary stack up.

Reproductive Choice

Hillary: A woman's right to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is a core Democratic value, and is such a linchpin in Hillary's campaign that she attacked Obama on choice back in January, despite the fact that the Illinois Senator is absolutely pro-choice.

McCain: Many Republicans try to mask their extremism on choice for the general election by using coded language like, "I will appoint strict constructionist judges to the Supreme Court."

Rudy Giuliani is a good example of this. Guys like that are a roll of the dice. Reagan, for example, disapointed a lot of conservatives with his appointments.

McCain, however, tattoos his extremism all over his platform, saying:

John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states.

I've seen people say, "I'll take my chances on Roe." You do realize these are lifetime appointmentsm don't you?

Can you go from being pro-choice to inviting John McCain under the stirrups to peer into your uterus and decide what you and your doctor can and can't do?

The Economy

Hillary: Proposes taxe relief for the middle class and repealing the Bush tax cuts on the most wealthy Americans. She also wants to end the billions of dollars being spent each month in Iraq, which the current administration doesn't even include in its budget.

McCain: An admitted novice on economics, it shows. His idea of tax relief for the "middle class" is to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax, which only affects people making more than $150,000.00 a year.

After speaking out passionately against George Bush's tax cuts, he voted to pass them, and now wants to make them permanent.

Then, of course, there's Iraq. He claims he was misquoted on the "100 years" thing, but his explanation is no better.

Healthcare

Hillary: Plans to provide universal health insurance to all, while maintaining incentives for employers to continue to provide insurance to employees making less than a quarter-mil a year.

McCain: Plans to take away tax incentives to employers who provide healthcare to employees, to the tune of about $12,000 a year, in order to pay for a $5000.00 tax credit with which to purchase a more expensive, less comprehensive plan on the individual market. He hopes that costs will be controlled by the invisible hand of the market. I feel that hand every time I go to the gas station, and I want to turn my head and cough.

He also wants to rid the market of "needless and costly regulations." You know, like the one that says that if you get really sick or pregnant, your insurance company can't dig up your application, look for an undotted "i", and retroactively cancel your policy, making you pay back every dime they ever laid out for claims. What a pain in the ass that rule is!


Smears and Associations

If this kind of thing floats your boat, you should probably stick to voting for Sanjaya, but here goes.

Hillary: Has been linked to every factor in the decline of Western Civilization, up to and including those "Head On" commercials.

McCain: Since the press have given him a free ride, and I possess neither the inclination nor the hypocrisy to dig up the kinds of weak associations that get used against Democrats like Hillary, I'll just go with what little they have reported. Jerry Falwell and Pastor John Hagee, whose endorsements McCain sought and received, both said that America deserved 9/11.




Then, there's the herbally monikered Rod Parsley, who believes America was founded to destroy Islam, and is McCain's "Spiritual Guide."

Back to Hagee for a second. I'm from a long line of Irish, Catholic (I am not practicing), working-class Democrats My Dad was a carpenter. My people are spread all over this country, from the Northeast, throughout the Midwest, and I can tell you fact positive that none of them goes to mass on Sundays to fellowship with The Great Whore. That's Hagee's pet name for the Catholic church.

So, let's take that poll again. There's a lot more where that came from, but let's see if this is enough.



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John McCain: The Audacity of 'Nope!'

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