After months of uncertainty, Sen. John McCain; Ariz., has emerged as the presumptive Republican nominee for the presidency. Despite victories across the country from New Hampshire to California, many Republicans still have a difficult time accepting McCain as the standard bearer for their party. Popular commentators such as Rush Limbaugh have spent every breath attacking McCain's conservative credentials. As heartening as it is to see that Americans are capable of thinking for themselves, these attacks on McCain's record are unwarranted and stem from his willingness to work with Democrats.
It is unfortunate, but we have come to accept that much of what we hear the candidates say during will never come to pass. Even more unfortunately, some of the more cynical candidates make claims that they know are impossible. Gov. Mike Huckabee's support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage is as unrealistic as it is unnecessary. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has asserted that all illegal immigrants in the United States should be deported, though he has been silent on how such an impossible task might be achieved.
McCain has taken a great deal of heat from Republicans for the immigration bill he attempted to push through Congress last year. While the immigration bill was far from perfect, McCain remains the only candidate, Democrat or Republican, who can claim that he has taken action on the immigration problem. In an ideal world, perhaps Romney's plan to deport all illegals would be the most desirable course of action, but in the real world, McCain's effort, though flawed, represented his commitment to working with Democrats to actually get things done.
To those who dislike McCain because they believe his willingness to compromise with Democrats makes him less of a Republican, I can only wonder what, then, makes a successful politician. From 2000 to 2006, the GOP controlled both Congress and the presidency, yet what did they accomplish? Conservative talking points from balancing the budget to fixing Social Security fell by the wayside and were forgotten. When they controlled virtually everything, Republicans failed to produce a solution to illegal immigration. Is it so wrong, then, that McCain took it upon himself to see what Democrats and Republicans could accomplish together?
This same pragmatism led McCain to oppose then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's strategy in Iraq. McCain's belief that a shock and awe campaign would be woefully inadequate has since been vindicated. Conservatives who took issue with McCain's criticism at the time are strangely silent now. As the McCain-backed troop surge continues to prove effective in Iraq, it seems clear that McCain provides the military expertise.
Even McCain's support for lower taxes has come under attack. McCain has explained his opposition was because it makes no sense to cut taxes while funding a war. And, judging by the country's national debt, he was correct. Apart from this break for a quick breath of common sense, McCain has consistently voted with conservatives, earning an 83 percent approval rating from the American Conservative Union and a 72 percent approval rating from the National Taxpayers Union. In fact, the NTU notes that McCain's spending proposal was significantly less than those of the so-called "true conservatives" in the race, namely Govs. Huckabee and Romney.
McCain was not my first choice, and he may not have been yours, either. But to brandish him, as Ann Coulter and her ilk have done, as less conservative than Hillary Clinton, is a travesty. McCain's conservative record speaks for itself, and Republicans should be proud to unite behind a leader as proven and intelligent as John McCain.
Shane Carley is a freshman in the School of International Service and a conservative columnist for The Eagle.
