Cut out the ‘middle,’ man!

It turns out that outside our beautiful People’s Republic of Bloomingrad, most of the rest of the country is still politically – ahem – right.

In the latest George Washington University Battleground national survey of “registered ‘likely’ voters,” 59 percent said they were very or somewhat conservative, compared with only 36 percent who identified as very or somewhat liberal. The two Reagan landslides and the 1994 Republican Revolution – in which the GOP took control of Congress for the first time in 40 years, largely thanks to the unashamedly conservative leadership of Congressman Newt Gingrich, should be more than enough evidence that conservatism wins elections when it’s on the ballot.

That the Democrats regained both Houses in 2006 after years of fiscal irresponsibility under GOP rule shows that Republicans are doomed to defeat when they don’t run – and govern – as conservatives. And yet inexplicably, John McCain – who earned his nickname of “maverick” by repeatedly bucking the stated goals of his party – continues to present himself as a lukewarm, bipartisan moderate.

Did you notice how easily and eagerly all those Democratic names rolled off his tongue during the debate last Tuesday? Russ Feingold. Ted Kennedy. Joe Lieberman. Tip O’Neil. Al Gore (well, he didn’t explicitly mention Gore, but he sure did his best impression of him during the climate change question). The only reason he didn’t lavish praise upon Barack Obama is that the Illinois senator happens to be his opponent in this election.

McCain shouldn’t be talking about working with Democrats, but rather defeating them. Of course, compromise is part of politics, and once you’re in office you have to be able to work with people with whom you disagree.

But this is an election, and he’s running as a Republican. If people want a liberal, they’ll vote for the Democrat. McCain would be dominating if he’d just show some conservative leadership. But when his own base has trouble distinguishing him from our ideological opponents, it’s hard to get real revved up.

The thought of McCain rolling into Washington on the “Straight Talk Express” to produce bipartisan solutions with the folks whose interventionist policies contributed to the financial crisis is a bit unnerving. So far, only resistance to Obama’s extreme liberalism and enthusiasm over the outspokenly conservative Sarah Palin have kept McCain’s campaign afloat.

Sen. McCain, please: Tell us you’ll no longer support socialist policies of government intervention and bailouts, but that instead you’ll promote pro-growth strategies, starting with a moratorium on capital gains taxes.

Assure us that you’ll appoint strict constructionist judges who’ll follow our Constitution as it’s written. Tell us that regarding children, you’ll support life when it’s time for them to be born and choice when it’s time for them to go to school. Tell us you’ll finally secure our borders and never grant amnesty to illegal immigrants. Tell us that you’ll wring the oil out of Alaska like a sponge.  

Conservatives, let the McCain campaign know that you want him spending his time representing your values rather than trying to prove how bipartisan he is. We can hold him accountable after he’s won the election.