Angst

There's been a lot of hand wringing and angst amongst my fellow conservatives over the rise of John McCain as the presumptive GOP nominee. Some have even seen his rise as the death of conservatism.

Do these people really think so little of our cause? Our beliefs? Their fellows?

I understand where the angst comes from - but I'm not here to argue about whether a "good" conservative can vote for McCain or if one who does is actually a "bad" conservative (or, as is implied in many quarters, not a conservative at all).

My beef with these arguments, at the end of the day, is how demeaning and belittling they are to those of us who are in the conservative "movement" (whatever THAT even means).

How in the world can people imply, with a straight face, that conservative beliefs and ideals will fly out the window with the election of John McCain? How in the world can they think so little of the various causes and supporters of those causes in America, to think they would just *poof* disappear?

So on Wednesday, November 5, the pro-life movement will cease to exist? The tax reform movement will cease to exist? The home-school network, the private property rights, the defense of marriage, the kill-the-death-taxers will just crumple and die? They will just curl up into a fetal position and take whatever whipping given to them by the Moderate Establishment President John McCain and the RNC?

Give me a break. Anyone who tries to make that argument, in my opinion, simply doesn't have a real working knowledge of these groups, the people running them, the members and most importantly the passion that drives them.

I don't know if John McCain will be good for the conservative movement. Maybe (likely?) he won't be. But I'm not prepared to write the obituary for the conservative movement yet. Maybe, just maybe, we've been too fragmented and he'll accomplish something unforeseen - he'll unite us.