The Conservative Gambit: McCain or Not

Gambit is a term that originates in the game of chess.

The gambit can take dozens of forms and has been developed into an art over decades of play. It is a strategy that can be implemented in many ways, but it always involves the same basic choice... the same basic decision...

Gambit: to give up material in exchange for a long term positional advantage.

To offer a gambit or not... this is the decision that true conservatives are facing.

It is not an easy decision!

I have many friends who believe that it is "a no brainer"... you have to vote against Obama. And, since the only possible person to defeat Obama is McCain... then we must cast our vote for McCain. Then they immediately follow with their trump card ...

"Do you know how many Supreme Court Justices will retire over the course of a Barack Obama presidency?"

To be clear, this really is a powerful and scary argument. One that should not be taken lightly.

The Pro-Gambit POV

The pro-gambit side of the argument goes like this:

John McCain has NEVER been a true conservative ... of any flavor:

• He is not a free-market economic conservative
• He is certainly not a Christian conservative
• He isn't a Libertarian conservative
• He has not historically been a leader for judicial conservatism
• He has no foundational guiding strategy, only tactics driven by his gut

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.

Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."

Sun Tzu

At the end of the argument for the "can't vote for McCain" conservatives... they believe that McCain's.... tactics without strategy.... means that even if he wins the election, a "McCain GOP" win is just the noise before defeat for conservatives and for the GOP as they know it. Conservative principles defined and fought for during the Reagan years... refined and held dear by the likes of:

• The Cato Institute
• The Heritage Foundation
• The Family Research Council
• The Club for Growth
• etc...

... will be tarnished, dismantled and lost... for a generation or more!

They honor Sen. McCain's military service and sacrifice, but they DO NOT TRUST HIM!

The Conservative Gambit ... the stakes are high.