Why the election matters

Many Republican voters and pundits have expressed dissatisfaction with John McCain as the presumptive nominee for president—in fact, conservatives expressed dissatisfaction with all the party's presidential candidates at one point or another.

While few Republicans are likely to follow Ann Coulter's demagoguery and vote for Hillary Clinton, several people I've talked to are considering voting for a third party candidate as a "protest vote" because they are unhappy with McCain. While most conservative voters are still likely to punch the ballot for McCain come November, the greater danger for the Republican nominees comes before Election Day. McCain's electoral prospects wane if conservatives and the Republican base remain lukewarm about the election. The campaign contributions, volunteers, and grassroots activity, or lack thereof, of conservative activists is as critical to the election outcome as their vote.

Rush Limbaugh recently commented that "there's an 80% chance the Democrats are going to have 60 seats in the Senate following the November elections … If the Democrats get 60 seats then it really doesn't matter who the president is." But if the Democrats have a filibuster-proof Senate, it matters more who the next president is. McCain may not be able to push through his agenda, but Obama or Hillary receive the red carpet. President McCain, with his veto, would be the last line of defense against the Democrats' agenda. Despite the antipathy of many conservatives and Republican voters towards McCain, there are huge differences between the presumptive Republican nominee and Democrats.

Taxes: The next president can raise taxes by doing nothing. Because the Tax Cuts of 2001 and 2003 are set to expire, taxes will increase unless our next president signs a law extending or making permanent the tax rates. Given Hillary and Obama's pledges to end the "tax cuts on the rich" and plans to increase additional taxes, do you really think either would sign a bill extending the Bush tax cuts? While McCain voted against the tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, he has not only has he pledged to extend them, but has voted on multiple occasions to do so.

Health Care: We face a divergent path in health care reform – we can move toward socialized medicine or to free markets, choice, and competition. Hillary and Obama basically disagree over how quickly we move towards socialism. Meanwhile, McCain has introduced a fantastic health care plan – but hasn't talked about it enough - that includes tax credits for individual to use towards health care, allowing individuals to buy insurance across state lines, and Florida-style Medicaid reform to make Medicaid complement private insurance. McCain's plan is undoubtedly the best – even among Republican candidates since dispatched – moving us to market-based, consumer-driven reforms.

Abortion: On the abortion issue, the difference is pretty obvious. Voters have a choice between a staunch defender of the right to life who wants to overturn Roe v. Wade. and the most pro-abortion president in the history of our country. Either Clinton or Obama would fit that label, with Clinton opposing the ban on partial term abortion, and Obama running to her left, fighting the "born alive" legislation that would protect babies that survived attempted abortions from being put to death. Furthermore, with several very old Supreme Court justices due to retire soon, the next president will determine the future of the court for decades—choices that can't be reversed in 2012.

Economic Policy: Surprisingly, many have said McCain's weakness is on economic policy, but that is a strength. One area where most conservative laud McCain's efforts is his opposition to earmarks and pork projects. Obama and Clinton believe their earmarks and pork projects will revitalize the economy (or at least win them a few votes). McCain has been a champion of Social Security and Medicare reform and personal accounts. Obama and Clinton refuse to acknowledge a problem in our growing liabilities, or plan to raise taxes to pay for it, and want to expand entitlement spending. And McCain has long been supportive of free trade, while Hillary and Obama claim that trade barriers are needed to revitalize the US economy (this was also Herbert Hoover's plan in 1930; it turned a struggling economy into the Great Depression).

Many conservatives are angry they didn't have much say in the nomination process and hope that by voting against McCain will force the party to listen to them (Alan Keyes has taken this route, and James Dobson has threatened to). My question to anyone considering this route—is more abortions, higher taxes, socialized medicine, and the like worth the chance you might have more personal influence in four years?

Conservatives upset that McCain is the nominee should realize that none of the candidates who ran was all that great. Instead of sulking, conservatives need to get back to work at building the movement. Let's make sure that we get better choices next time around and by continue to fight for our principles.

Previous post on this topic:

McCain: More Conservative than Bush
McCain it is...
How Barack Obama became a frontrunner for President
McCain, Romney, or None of the Above
More on McCain v. Romney