An Open Letter from Richard Viguerie to John McCain: Conservatives Can Also Play the Maverick Game
Written by ConservativeHQ NewsBureau on August 20, 2008, 02:48 PM
August 20, 2008

    (Manassas, Virginia)  The following is an open letter from Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, to Senator John McCain in regard to news reports that the Republican presidential candidate may select a vice presidential running mate who supports abortions rights:

    Dear Senator McCain:

    The buzz in recent days has been that some of your key aides were calling national and state GOP leaders to alert them to the possibility that you were seriously considering a pro-abortion running mate and to take their temperature on such a selection. 

    As Dan Henninger of the Wall Street Journal asked:  Are you politically “stupid” or do you care little for conservative principles?

    It also shows that you don’t understand why the Republican brand has taken a massive beating in recent years.  You clearly don’t comprehend why millions of conservatives are off the Republican reservation and sitting on the political sidelines.

    Your indication that you’re willing to put a person who has a clear, unequivocal pro-abortion record within a heartbeat of the presidency is alarming.

    Pro-life conservatives understand that, to change the laws to protect innocent life, first and foremost, we need good, articulate leadership--from the president and vice president.

    To put it as simply and clearly as I can, most Republican leaders at the national and state level have betrayed, abandoned, and sold out the principles that define conservatism.  Talk of selecting a pro-abortion liberal Republican (Tom Ridge) or, even worse, a pro-abortion liberal Democrat (Joe Lieberman) drives the Republican brand lower and lower.

    Your apparent interest in selecting a running mate who is out of sync ideologically with the vast majority of conservatives reinforces the image of the Republican Party as a party without principle and dedicated to one proposition above all others – the seeking, acquiring, obtaining, and holding onto power.

    Senator McCain, you are exceedingly proud of being a political maverick – you wear it as a badge of honor.

    Well, poke the base of the Republican Party – the conservatives – in the eye one more time by choosing a pro-abortion vice presidential candidate and conservatives will show you that two can play the maverick game. 

    Conservatives are people with proudly held principles.  We’re now waiting to see if you share our principles.

Sincerely,

Richard A. Viguerie
Chairman, ConservativeHQ.com

--30--

NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (The Nation magazine) and one of the “conservatives of the century” (The Washington Times).  His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books), which, Jerome Corsi wrote in WorldNetDaily, is "destined to become a classic of conservative thinking" and "may be the most important conservative book written in the last quarter century."
Search

Blog Comments

John
Don't you see this is a brilliant political maneuver. . . floating the possibility of a pro abort as VP then shunning that road and bonding with the base when he picks a pro-lifer.
Bill
And this, is where you lost me. I'm unsubscribing now, because I don't think this is what the national debate should be about. I am so tired of this dead horse being beaten with dead babies. I would love to see an election where gay rights, and abortion, were never discussed. I personally don't care about either of them, and they don't even come close to the most important issues of our day.
Doyle Martin
Maybe McCain was just playing a mind game on us, pretending this but meaning that, but the buzz indicated that a lot of people were being asked. If McCain was just playing with our heads, then I don't want him as President. It is long past the game stage. Indeed, I felt so strongly about the Ridge possibility that, yesterday, I sent a letter to McCain's right-hand buddy, Lindsey Graham, here in South Carolina, telling him that if McCain chose Ridge, the conservatives would abandon him in droves and he would lose the election. He can be a maverick, but not on my dime. Contrary to what "Bill" said earlier, abortion is still a litmus test for conservative Republicans, not just an old issue about which no one cares. I care. Millions of others care. Millions of others were aborted and had no chance to care. McCain had better realize that he was the second choice for most Americans who will vote for him.
Bruce
I agree with Bill above... the abortion issue is a red herring that I could care less about. This proves that Mr. Viguerie is part of the problem. Nobody seems to want to talk about the REAL issues facing us. How about the potential for National bankruptcy?
Argo
Great letter. It is not us, but the Bills and Bruces above that are ruining what was once the conservative party - the Republicans. People that don't care - or "couldn't care less" - about the sactity of life are not conservatives anyway. If McCain wants to call himself a conservative, he should care about conservative principles. Unless he thinks he can win a national election without conservatives. People that are liberal will elect the liberal candidate, not the half-liberal - AKA "The Maverick".
Daniel Jansen
This is a Great letter regardless to what Bill and Bruce think. Instead of storming out you should perhaps suggest issues that matter to you in a second or follow-up letter. If you want a politician to listen to you, you have to make them and this letter definitely hit the spot.
dan
You make me crazy. Abortion is sick, but not voting for McCain if he picks a pro-choice as a second hand is like voting for Obama a pro-choice guy. Wow, this is crazy. McCain needs to do what it takes to get into office to avoid Obama and his socialist party to take over and put liberal judges in place. Get a clue McCain has a strong record of pro-life and it makes he think that Obama is going to win because you all are pandered to. Sick. Don't vote, let my kids suffer from you stupidity and selfishness. McCain is the man. I hope he picks a middle of the road guy. This country needs to come together and not drive apart. Obama can't do that and neither can McCain/Rommney. This country is more than just abortion. This party used to understand that. Now it is either pro-life or you aren't a real conservative. Please,abortion is evil and nothing less. Obama in office will just push that fact.
Jeff
There is one judge and I would not stand in front of that judge and renounce my faith, by ignoring McCains possible decision to elect a running mate that disagrees with our moral beliefs means that we are willing to ignore our responsbilities as conservatives and play a political game for our economic gain. I am not willing to make that sacrafice. Do we want a leader that stands for something or do we want a leader that cannot stand at all. If we cannot trust that our leader will make the right decision on this matter, how can we trust that he will make the right decisions in other areas that may be specifically more important to you!
Dan
Wow - I know what it means to be conserviate - it doesn't mean being a monolithic ideologue. I have strong convictions on a number of moral issues but that doesn't mean that I refuse to vote because the best electable candidate does not absolutely agree with me on one or two issues. I view such an absolute position as nothing less than an endorsement for the lesser electable candidate.
Jay
I agree with Mr. Viguerie's sentiments. It's time that conservatives stood up and put the GOP on notice that we will not be reduced to the equivalent of the Democrat's Black Caucus: a bloc that only gets lip service once every 4 years only to be later stabbed in the back because of our misguided support of those who betray us. I don't buy this "if you don't support liberal Republicans, you're supporting Democrats" nonsense. All this has got us in the end are Democrats with an 'R' by their name. We cannot let this continue. And if it means losing a few elections, then so be it. The GOP has lost its way and it's up to we conservatives to get it back on track. In this election cycle, I'm simply not voting for the liberals...especially those who have an 'R' by their name. To be perfectly blunt (and to borrow a line from Ronald Reagan), "I didn't leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left me."
Ken
Mr. Viguerie is right. The conservatives need to face the truth that they are being sold out if McCain picks a non-conservative as a running mate. Bush is a "pro-life" conservative, yet Planned Parenthood got about 100 million dollars a year from the Federal Gov. which he could have stopped. You cannot disrespect life and expect God - that's right - God - to bless this nation. We need to start building the Constitution Party or some other party up so we can stick together and stop being hoodwinked by these slick politicians who could care less about us or our values.
Bob
People, people. It is not about winning, but about doing the right thing. Compromise is politics, doing what is right is statesmanship, and what this country needs is fewer politicians and at least a couple of statesmen. I have voted Republican ever since I was old enough to vote but only because there was not a viable Conservative Party as an alternative to the lesser of two evils. I know American history is not taught in our schools anymore, but there must be some of you who have heard of Patrick Henry, who said "Give me Liberty or give me Death!" Then there is the man who said, "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees". Forget situational ethics, if a thing is wrong it is wrong, now, today, and forever. I will probably fight nausea all the way to the polling booth and vote Republican (not McCain) simply to save this country from the clutches of Karl Marx's "useful idiot" Liberals, but I hope to live long enough to be able to vote for a real conservative under a Conservative Party banner someday.
Dan
Correct politics is compromise. If you're not willing to compromise, run for office. Why is it that to be conservative you must think like all the others. McCain will put in constitutionalists. The Courts are what we need to protect not the office of President. Please if anyone thinks there is balance of power with a liberal court then you must be crazy. So since my choices are to vote for Obama or McCain because if not for one of them then I might as well just not vote. So a McCain with a moderate out look and a States right mentality is 180 degrees away from Obama. I wish we got back to the Conservative party that used to define our party. Lets face it though Obama wont do anything but hurt our values.
13 Found

New Comment




simple_captcha.jpg
(type the code from the image)