Common Sense Advice

My purpose here is not to try to persuade the McCain supporters to abandon their candidate, however mistaken I may feel that he is on several issues. The point is to address the self defeating aspect of the McCain campaign, the one that appears eager to suppress continued efforts by Republicans working for Ron Paul (my candidate) or Mike Huckabee, to win support in the remaining Republican Primaries. Such efforts can only lead to ill will among those of us enthusiastically trying to boost other candidates. Yet of even greater potential impact, they appear to indicate an unwillingness to debate stands which should be debated; they appear an effort to sweep differences under the carpet, rather than face them, so that at some point Republicans may come together again on the basis of mutual respect, and a genuine effort to find common ground.

The argument that the McCain campaign is now certain to win, is hardly convincing. A lot can happen between now and the Convention. But whether or not McCain in likely to win, it is just plain silly to suggest that any campaign needs more than a couple of months in the fall to reach maximum potential. On the contrary, the perception of endless campaigning is offensive to much of the public; indeed, calculated to turn off many people who might otherwise vote Republican. And if McCain is afraid to debate his Republican foes, how confident is he that he can debate his Democratic Party foes.

Now I realize that the Senator does not have a consistent philosophy. He does not seem to comprehend the context of his ideas on foreign policy; nor many aspects of economics. But a continued intra party debate could help him overcome these deficiencies.

I am not going to be a hypocrite. Of course, my hope is that McCain will stumble before the Convention. If he does, the numbers of Republicans who will listen to what Dr. Paul has to say will certainly increase. But the damage that McCain will or will not do to Republican prospects should be a matter of interest to all Republicans. If we can't defeat McCain, we must at least try to educate him.

As for the Paul issues, see http://pages.prodigy.net/krtq73aa/decision.htm

William Flax
Cincinnati, Ohio
krtq73aa@prodigy.net