Virginians for Fred Thompson/Virginia Fredhead State Coordinator Endorses John McCain for President
February 1, 2008
By: Neil Miller, Virginians for Fred Thompson
At the end of the day, John McCain will make a better President than Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Having campaigned for Fred Thompson for ten months, I now know a Reaganesque conservative up close. I saw firsthand how Conservative First Principles can guide a person to make decisions that I agree with at every turn. In this year of 2008, is anyone a perfect conservative, even Fred? No, but President Reagan was his own man and a man who wanted his Grand Old Party to be a Welcoming Party. The Reagan Coalition is big enough to support John McCain for President.
So, why did I decide to endorse Senator John McCain for President. There are three distinct moments in January 2008 that confirmed to me that I could support Senator McCain.
(1) On the evening of the New Hampshire GOP primary, a Slate reporter, John Dickerson, was allowed to observe John McCain in the Senator's Nassua, NH hotel room. Once the TV announced that Senator McCain had won th GOP Primary, McCain showed no visible emotion. Then, the eyes of his beautiful wife, Cindy, began to fill with tears. McCain continued to play with a green rubber band. After the room erupted in cheers, Senator McCain finally said, "Great News." As the reporter observed Senator McCain through all of this, Senator McCain's speech writer, Mark Salter, leaned over to the Slate Reporter, smiled and said: "Too Tough To Die."
These four words sum up so many things for me including why I admire John McCain as a person with character. Character matters. Not only did Senator McCain survive as a POW for five years in Vietnam, but in the past year, he showed that he is not a quitter. When people wrote off his campaign, including yours truly, McCain flew coach, carried his own luggage and persevered. This is the sign of a real winner. Click here to read the Slate article.
(2) A seminal issue as to why I did not originally support John McCain over Fred Thompson was the issue of immigration. While watching a NH TownHall meeting right before the NH Primary one night on C-SPAN replayed at about 2:00A.M., I saw this exact question posed to Senator McCain. "Why should we trust you now on immigration?" As one of the many Young Republicans who flooded the U.S. Senate switchboard as well as Senator Webb's and Warner's district office phone lines with angry calls over the immigration bill proposed in the Senate, I too was hesitant as a conservative to come over to support Senator John McCain. When I watched him answer that New Hampshire voter, I saw the look of an honest, genuine man. McCain responded, "I get it." He went on to say how "He has heard the American people" and coming from a border State, he would require the border to be secured FIRST and require each Governor to certify that his or her border was secured before moving forward on the immigraion issue. Now, there is a question as to what will happen with the 12 million or so illegal immigrants already in the United States, but I am hopeful that he will adopt Fred Thompson's position of allowing attrition, in part, to cure this problem. One thing that is encouraging and shows that Conservatives are winning this debate is that during the Democratic Debate last night, even they mentioned how all immigrants should learn English. So, things are moving forward.
(3) Lastly, when we ventured down to Columbia, SC that last weekend before the January 19, 2008 GOP primary, I happened to run into Senator Lindsay Graham and his campaign manager in our hotel near the elevator. He didn't remember me, but as part of the Virginia delegation to the 2004 Republican National Convention, VA and SC were in the same Manhattan hotel, we had met there. When I mentioned that my wife and I were down in Columbia to support Fred Thompson, Senator Graham didn't cast me off or say anything untoward, but he was exceptionally kind and invited me to join his team for Senator McCain. You can tell a lot about people by the company they keep and Senator Lindsay Graham made a difference with me that late night at about 11:00PM with his kind gesture.
In addition, here are three additional Conservative issues important to me and John McCain's views on these three topics:
(1) Wants to Make the Tax Cuts Permanent.
Pro-Growth Agenda
John McCain believes taxes should be low, simple, and fair and has a track record of commitment to these principles.
Keep Tax Rates Low: Entrepreneurs are at the heart of American innovation, growth and prosperity. Entrepreneurs create the ultimate job security -- a new, better opportunity if your current job goes away. Entrepreneurs should not be taxed into submission. John McCain will make the Bush income and investment tax cuts permanent, keeping income tax rates at their current level and fighting the Democrats' plans for a crippling tax increase in 2011. Left to their devices, Democrats will impose a massive $100 billion tax hike, almost $700 per taxpayer every year.
Wasteful spending in Washington has gone from irresponsible to indefensible. Right now, even the government reports that one-fifth of programs are receiving failing marks. John McCain will restore the trust that Americans have lost in their government spending their hard earned money wisely. (John McCain's detailed government reform plan may be found here.)
(2) Supports the Pro-Life Movement.
Overturning Roe v. Wade
John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.
However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion. Once the question is returned to the states, the fight for life will be one of courage and compassion - the courage of a pregnant mother to bring her child into the world and the compassion of civil society to meet her needs and those of her newborn baby. The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level. As John McCain has publicly noted, "At its core, abortion is a human tragedy. To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level."
(3) Supports the Second Amendment.
John McCain believes that the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right that we have a sacred duty to protect. We have a responsibility to ensure that criminals who violate the law are prosecuted to the fullest, rather than restricting the rights of law abiding citizens. Gun control is a proven failure in fighting crime. Law abiding citizens should not be asked to give up their rights because of criminals - criminals who ignore gun control laws anyway.
Please email me if you would like to support John McCain 2008 campaign in Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia is holding its Republican 2008 Presidential Primary tomorrow, February 12, 2008! 
