Yesterday we examined Senator John McCain’s stances on abortion, and the fact that he has usually supported the repeal of Roe vs. Wade. This is obviously a very hot issue for social conservatives. It is an issue that McCain needs to put to rest by the general election as part of a strategy to secure the conservative bloc.

Next we discussed budgets and fiscal conservatism. I argued that I thought Romney would be better in this area, and I still do. I think the senator would be wise to consider Romney as a running mate.

McCain pointed out that he was part of the original Reagan Revolution, and that is true. He also pointed out that he had an old veto pen that Pres. Reagan gave him, and that he couldn’t wait to use it as part of his promise to veto pork barrel bills that come across his desk. He also assured us that he was all for tax cuts and spending restraints; all good things.

And, as I mentioned yesterday, there can be no doubt that he would be more economically conservative than Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Hussein Obama, or even Huckabee.

So that brings us up to today. The first topic on the agenda today is civil rights. Again I will be referencing statements and quotes from ontheissues.org. First up under civil rights: “don’t ask, don’t tell.” As an old military man, McCain might have an opinion on this issue. Here’s what he said at the 2007 GOP debate at Saint Anselm College Jun 3, 2007 .

“We have the best-trained, most professional, best- equipped, most efficient, most wonderful military in the history of this country, and I'm proud of every one of them. There just aren't enough of them. So I think it would be a terrific mistake to even reopen the issue. The policy is working. And I am convinced that that's the way we can maintain this greatest military. Let's not tamper with them.”

M.R.O. says: Now, far be it from me to be opinionated on a matter, but it would kind of kill the spirit of this blog if I wasn‘t. I say that Sen. McCain is right on the money here. First and foremost, we need to retain every single military man and woman that we possibly can right now. Wartime is not a time to even open a dialog about an issue like this.

Secondly, our military is professional. I’m sure that, just like in every other walk of life, there are homosexuals in the military. Nonetheless, they have marched across the Iraqi desert twice now and kicked Saddam’s butt: in 1992 in “Desert Storm,” and again, and this time for good, in “Iraqi Freedom.” And lest we forget, they did a helluva job in taking out the Taliban in Afghanistan. I think the policy that’s in place is the right one.

Confederate flag on top of capitol was wrong; in front is ok

Q: Should South Carolina be free to fly the Confederate flag from state buildings. In 2000, you said yes. You have since called that one of your worst examples of political cowardice. That flag is still flying in front of the Statehouse. Should it come down?

A: It is not flying on top of the capitol. Yes, I was wrong when I said that I believed that it was up to the state of South Carolina. Now, after long negotiation amongst most parties, there is an agreement that that flag no longer flies on top of the capitol of the state of South Carolina.
Source: 2007 Republican Debate in South Carolina May 15, 2007

Q: It is flying in FRONT of the capitol now.

A: Almost all parties involved in those negotiations believe that that's a reasonable solution to this issue. I support it. I still believe that it should not have flown over the capitol, and I was wrong when I said that it was a state issue. But now I think it has been settled, and I think it's time that we all moved on, on this issue -- especially the people of South Carolina.
Source: 2007 Republican Debate in South Carolina May 15, 2007

M.R.O. says: I know that this is a touchy subject for a lot of people; a lot more so than it should be. Now, I will grant that the Confederate flag has been bastardized into meaning a lot of things. It has been used by the KKK and various other stupid, radical, “right-wing” groups. However, the fact is that the flag was a symbol of unity for states that dearly believed in states’ rights. I think the senator is wrong here. I feel it is a state issue if and where they want to fly a Confederate flag. However, this is by far not a make-or-break issue for me in this presidential race.

Leave gay marriage to the states

Gay Marriage - Believes it's an issue best left up to the states. While in the Senate McCain voted "No" on a constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.
Hate Crimes - While in the Senate, McCain voted no on extending the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation.
Job Protection - Voted no on prohibiting job discrimination based upon sexual orientation.

M.R.O. says: I think the senator got two out of three here…not too bad. Ordinarily, I feel that issues like gay marriage, abortion, and a host of others should be left up to the sates. However, in the case of gay marriage, we have a Constitutional issue which cannot be overlooked.

Article IV, Section I of the United States Constitution talks about, “full faith and credit.” Now, the meaning of “full faith and credit” is: n. the provision in Article IV, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution which states: ‘Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records and judicial proceedings of every other state.’ Thus, a judgment in a lawsuit or a criminal conviction rendered in one state shall be recognized and enforced in any other state, so long as the original judgment was reached by due process of law. Each state has a process for obtaining an enforceable judgment based on a ‘foreign’ (out-of-state) judgment.” (From dictionary.law.com)

These next two paragraphs are from an article I wrote titled “Support the Federal Marriage Amendment." Normally, in issues such as this, I am a staunch supporter of states’ rights to make such decisions. And to be completely honest, I would prefer that this decision be left exclusively to the individual states. However, the United States Constitution makes this option impossible. Due to the “Full Faith and Credit Clause” in the Constitution, even if homosexual marriage is illegal in my beloved Kentucky, if a gay couple were to get married in a liberal state such as Massachusetts and then move here, because of Full Faith and Credit, Kentucky would have to recognize the “marriage.”

For a state which, by a vote of the people, does not allow marriage between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, to be forced to recognize such a union as legal is just wrong. It is a great irony that a federal amendment to the Constitution would actually be the very thing that would protect the rights of the 50 states, but that’s the way this would work.

However, I am with the senator on voting against special hate crimes protection for homosexuals. I believe there are plenty of laws on the books to deal with crime. And, as I have pointed out many times, a crime is a crime is a crime.

As for voting no on prohibiting job discrimination based upon sexual orientation, I am with him here, too. There are certain situations where it would just be inappropriate to hire a gay man…for day care centers, for instance. Or elementary school gym teachers. They may be fine humans, but I am personally not ready to accept a gay gym teacher hanging out in the locker room with my son. Call me a homophobe if you wish, but that’s where I am.

Q: Does posting the Ten Commandments in schools invalidate the religious expression of children who are not in the Judeo-Christian heritage?

A: We begin our proceedings every day in the US Senate with a prayer. Now, it doesn’t have the beneficial effect that some desire, but it seems to be acceptable for the Senate to do that. Virtues [like telling the truth are] exemplified in the Ten Commandments. They could be and should be taught in every school in America.
Source: GOP Debate in Johnston, Iowa Jan 16, 2000

M.R.O. says: Do you hear that, Christian conservatives? Sen. McCain supports posting the Ten Commandments in schools. And rightfully so. This country and its Constitution were built on Judeo-Christian beliefs. Those beliefs saw us through a lot of tough times in our 200 years of existence before we started banning God from the public arena. The Ten Commandments are sound, moral principles, and our children would be better off if they were taught to practice them.

Hollywood should voluntarily self-censor sex and violence

McCain called on Hollywood to adopt voluntary standards to limit excessive violence and sexual content in entertainment media. His “Appeal to Hollywood” calls for the entertainment industry to devise a code of conduct modeled after the code the National Association of Broadcasters followed for 30 years. “Media industry leaders should voluntarily commit to reining in the toxic mix of sex and violence that has come to dominate so many media products which negatively affect our children today,” he said.
Source: Press Release: “Media Violence” Jul 21, 1999

M.R.O. says: Since it does not call for government censorship of the garbage that Hollywood creates, this is not so much a civil rights issue as a moral one. However, I agree so whole-heartedly with the senator’s stance that I wanted to include it. Ontheissues.org has it listed under civil rights, so that is why I threw it in here.

Affirmative action OK for specific programs, but no quotas

-The federal government should continue affirmative action programs only if such programs do not include quotas.
-The Federal Government should consider affirmative action programs if ordered by a court to rectify specific programs.
Source: Project Vote Smart, 1998, www.vote-smart.org Jul 2, 1998

M.R.O. says: I would have to know more specifics on his stance before I could make an intellectual commentary. However, I will say that I think affirmative action was a positive thing in its day. I think now, though, that it has accomplished its purpose, and actually has become a form of reverse-discrimination.

I in no way feel that a person should get a job based on the color of their skin, be it white, black, or polka-dot. What matters is the education and experience of the candidate. Are we not, as a nation, saying that very thing during this presidential election?

I would really have liked to cover more than just civil rights in this article. However, civil rights is a tedious subject which covers a broad range of issues. I dare not try to tackle any other political positions in this article, lest I lose your attention and your readership. Maybe I can add another article before the day is up.

Until next time, Opinionators-