Q&A Friday #17: What If A RINO Gets The Nomination In ’08?

03 Jun, 2005 by John Hawkins

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Question: “What should I do if a wishy washy RINO gets the nomination in ’08? I doubt someone like McCain will get it, but there are plenty of other people who are just as bad in my opinion who could very be nominated. I am not someone who feels that I have to vote for a diehard rock solid conservative every time. I understand sometimes that getting an “R” in the White House is of utmost importance, even if that “R” is really an “r”. I most certainly won’t vote for Hillary (or 99% of the other Democrats who might run). But I’m just afraid that the Republicans will nominate someone who makes me ill to even think of in the Oval Office. Do I vote for them anyways, vote third party, or not vote at all. Keep in mind I live in Texas, so odds are it won’t matter too much. For me it’s more of a philosphical question.” — bungoman85

Answer: “There’s a time and a place for everything, and it’s called college.” — Chef from South Park

There’s also a time and place to do everything you can to insure the defeat of a particular Republican candidate and it’s called the “primaries.” If a Republican survives the primaries, you should vote for him unless there are extraordinary circumstances involved.

Does that mean I would hold my nose and vote for McCain, whom I absolutely despise, if he were running against Hillary? Yes. But, it also means I have no problem with spending the length of the Republican primaries putting the boots to him on RWN.

That may be hard to swallow for some people, but think about: are you really going to be happier putting a Democrat like Hillary in office? Look back at Bush, Sr. and Bob Dole: were either of them great candidates? No way. Did the idea of another 4 years of Bush, Sr. or a Dole presidency set any conservative hearts atwitter? No. But come on, you don’t think we’d have been better off having those guys in office than Bill Clinton?

But, don’t get too worried yet. With the growing strength and influence of the conservative media, I don’t think we’re going to have a RINO running in the top slot in 2008. With Fox, talk radio, the conservative mags, and the blogosphere on the case, a McCain or Giuliani just isn’t going to be able to run the gauntlet in the primaries because Republicans will be too well informed to fall for a quick right-wing makeover.