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THE FOUNDATION: REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT

“The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”  — George Washington

INSIGHT

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”  — Albert Einstein

OPINION IN BRIEF

“Because [John] McCain is a ‘maverick’  — the media encomium reserved for Republicans who reject important Republican principles — he would be a conciliatory president. He has indeed worked with Ted Kennedy on immigration reform, with Russ Feingold on restricting political speech (McCain-Feingold) and with Kennedy and John Edwards — a trial lawyer drawn to an enlargement of opportunities for litigation — on the ‘patients’ bill of rights.’ McCain is, however, an unlikely conciliator because he is quick to denigrate the motives, and hence the characters, of those who oppose him. He promiscuously accuses others of ‘corruption,’ the ubiquity of which he says justifies McCain-Feingold’s expansive government regulation of the quantity, timing and content of campaign speech. McCain says he would nominate Supreme Court justices similar to Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts and Sam Alito. But how likely is he to nominate jurists who resemble those four: They consider his signature achievement constitutionally dubious.”  — George Will

POLITICAL FUTURES

“Looking forward to the next presidency, we see that Justice Stevens is 87, Justice Ginsburg 74, Justices Kennedy and Scalia 71, Justice Breyer 69 and Justice Souter 68. Perhaps all will be sitting in January 2013. Perhaps all will be retired. Voters who care about the Supreme Court ought to assume that the next president will have an impact on the future course of the Supreme Court greater than any president in modern times. The Court of course affects every aspect of American life, from the conduct of the war to the protection of the unborn, the right to worship and speak freely, the right to bear arms and the right to be free from intrusive governmental oversight. The Court can chose to protect private property or, as has been the case for decades, almost completely ignore this foundational right. The Court is the country’s future in many respects, and the president is the keeper of the court.”  — Hugh Hewitt

CAMPAIGN WATCH

“In the primaries, every Republican candidate is measured against an ideal ‘Mr. Conservative,’ much as women of the court once measured men against the ideal of a knight in shining armor (and as Democrats measure their candidates against a standard of total contempt for George W. Bush). Hence every flaw is identified as lethal. John McCain was an authentic war hero, whose heroism was refined in the torture chambers of the Hanoi Hilton. Independents like him, but he enrages ‘pure’ conservatives for his compromises on campaign finance reform and immigration. ‘Straight talk’ is never ‘pure.’ Mitt Romney sounds good on the social issues, but his views arrived a little too late to be fully trusted. His attempts at humor sound forced against the spontaneous wit of the Gipper. Rudy Giuliani’s tough stance on the Islamist terror threat reassures conservatives, but three wives (and the manner of his second divorce), and his views on social issues make him difficult for many conservatives to take. Mike Huckabee is steadfast on most social issues, but can’t decide whether he wants to be the national leader or the national pastor; he didn’t earn many converts with his pitch from the pulpit to amend the Constitution to make it more ‘godly.’ The leading Republican candidates offer big talk on fiscal conservatism, but their records are mixed.”  — Suzanne Fields

FOR THE RECORD

“The conservative movement constitutes an alliance of those who accept unchangeable facts rather than trying to wish fantasy into reality, remake human nature, or avoid economic tradeoffs. Traditionalists embrace timeless morals, even when they deny one immediate gratification. Libertarians embrace the sovereignty of consumer demand and the sometimes-disorienting effects of technological change, even when the result isn’t to one’s personal liking. And hawks embrace the reality that America lives in a dangerous neighborhood, one full of bullies, pirates, and fanatics who respond to gestures of good will with contempt, larceny, and brutality.”  — John Hood

THE GIPPER

“Speech delivery counts for little on the world stage unless you have convictions and, yes, the vision to see beyond the front row seats. The Democrats may remember their lines, but how quickly they forget the lessons of the past. I have witnessed five major wars in my lifetime, and I know how swiftly storm clouds can gather on a peaceful horizon. The next time a Saddam Hussein takes over a Kuwait, or North Korea brandishes a nuclear weapon, will we be ready to respond? In the end, it all comes down to leadership. That is what this country is looking for now. It was leadership here at home that gave us strong American influence abroad and the collapse of imperial Communism. Great nations have responsibilities to lead, and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile because they might just wind up lowering our flag.”  — Ronald Reagan
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RE: THE LEFT

“I wrote not long ago about Bill as the ‘Clinton Albatross,’ but now it is more apt to compare him to an attack dog unleashed. His (not her) victory speech in Nevada was quite extraordinary: He went on and on, while she stood next to him, mute. He gloated over her comeback, took digs at the other candidates, referenced himself of course, and was reluctant to give up his iron grip on the microphone...Bill s ubiquity on the campaign — sharp partisan attacks and caricatures, misinformation about his own record, fiery outbursts to reporters — is quite unprecedented for an emeritus president, especially one who had so carefully cultivated his image as a global insider and international humanitarian. If between 2001 and 2008 the Clinton legacy was something to be defended by all Democrats, Hillary s candidacy and Bill s unseemly behavior are calling it into question. Who knows — soon Democrats themselves, either Obama supporters or disillusioned Clintonites, may grudgingly concede to critics, ‘Yeah, you were right about that guy all along.’ If Bill keeps up the attack on Obama, he may become the first unblack president.”  — Victor Davis Hanson

FAMILY

“Christian conservative views and small government views logically go together. The key is realizing that growth in governmental ‘human services’ has come in part through the recognition of real problems. When a guy and a gal shack up, it’s not purely a personal matter. That’s because one result, a certain percentage of the time, is likely to be a child with a single mom, and that child at some point is likely to receive governmental support. Or look at divorce: When children are involved, a judge’s custody decision determines where they should live, where they should go to school, and sometimes what language they should speak. The kids are at physical risk: the growth of governmental child protection agencies parallels the surge in broken families... Overall, family non-formation or malformation leaves kids more likely to mess up in school or drop out. Teens with an absent parent are more likely to commit crimes or get pregnant. They are more likely to have mental and sometimes physical health problems. All of this leads to bigger government... Social conservatism makes possible fiscal conservatism.”  — Marvin Olasky

CULTURE

“For a couple of hundred years, foreigners have been flocking to the shores of this most welcoming of nations. They would bring along their art and music along with their cuisine, but they adapted their ways in order that their children and their children s children would acclimate and be full-fledged Americans... But somewhere along the way, there was a sea change. Now we have that oddest of strange creatures known as the dual citizen and we have millions of people living here who apparently have no particular loyalty to this country and are being encouraged to retain their own language and their old ways. ‘Press one for Spanish, two for English’ has become commonplace. Teenagers who have never even set foot in Mexico, Salvador and Guatemala, demonstrate in our streets while carrying foreign flags, and we re all supposed to respect them or be labeled as bigots and xenophobes. American citizens who are being taxed to death to support illegal aliens are called racists if they object to footing the bill for health care and education for millions of freeloading ingrates who insist they re only reclaiming land that is rightfully theirs. On top of all that, our kids are being brainwashed in their schools into accepting that the only truly evil society on the face of the earth isn t North Korea, Iran, China or Syria, but their own...[T]olerance is the greatest of all virtues, but only so long as it s not tolerance of anything American.”  — Burt Prelutsky

LIBERTY

“Once the government gains control over energy decisions, do we really think they will relinquish it after manmade global warming is realized to be a false alarm? It has been said that whoever controls energy, controls life. Right now, the free market (which means you) controls those decisions. Do we need to remind ourselves how well things went in the former Soviet Union when the bureaucrats made the economic decisions, rather than letting the collective will of the people, expressed though a free market, govern the economy?... What will people do when they realize that going along with the 56-percent scientific majority has resulted in them giving up much of their personal freedom in the process? I wouldn’t trade that freedom for any presidential candidate.”  — climatologist Roy Spencer

SELECT READER COMMENTS

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“I want to thank The Patriot’s editors for the outstanding job you do every Friday with the Digest. It is, indeed, both informative and entertaining. I would like to specifically thank Mr. Alexander for his remarkably lucid and balanced profile of John McCain. I am no supporter of McCain, and am glad to know his rating in The Patriot’s ranking of candidates is, as Alexander noted, ‘halfway between Reagan and Lenin.’ You rightly noted his stalwart support of our armed forces and critical operations in Iraq, but also his left-of-center positions on critical domestic issues like taxation, and seminal constitutional issues like free speech. Bravo Zulu from a career Marine aviator!”  — San Diego, California
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“Your analysis of John McCain is dead on. It is hard for me to believe that once upon a time he was ‘my guy’ before George Bush seemed to come out of the woodwork and get the nomination. Back then he had a different take on the Second Amendment. His website declared ‘You shouldn’t need a permit to exercise a right.’ Since I am a strong proponent of gun rights, he had me on his side. Over the years however, he has consistently shown his gun-grabber tendencies. I could not vote for John McCain if he gets the nomination.”  — Brentwood, California

“How could The Patriot support John McCain? I am unsubscribing today.”  — Salt Lake City, Utah

Editor’s Reply: Don’t shoot the messenger until you have actually read the essay. As noted, “John McCain posts a solid, and decidedly unflattering ‘5’ in our ratings.” That is NOT an endorsement.

“McCain is not a Republican. You should have pointed this out. How could you rate him as high as a ‘5’? Keep up the good work.”  — St. James City, Florida

THE LAST WORD

“On Tuesday, millions of Florida voters will head for the polls. Being Floridians, many of them will become confused and drive into buildings, canals, cemeteries, other Floridians, etc. But some will actually make it to the polls, where they will cast ballots that will play a crucial role in the presidential election. Or, in the case of Democrats, not. It turns out that the 2008 Florida Democratic primary doesn’t count. Florida will be sending the same number of delegates to the 2008 Democratic convention as Uzbekistan. This may seem unfair, but there’s a simple, logical explanation: The whole primary system is insane. Consider the process so far: First, Iowa held ‘caucuses,’ in which Iowans gathered in small groups at night and engaged in some mysterious Iowan ritual that for all we know involves having intimate relations with corn. Right after that, Wyoming had a primary, but it was only for Republicans, because Wyoming Democrats (apparently, there are at least two) will hold their primary on March 8. Most of the candidates ignored Wyoming and focused on the New Hampshire primary, except Rudy Giuliani, who’s following a shrewd strategy, originally developed by the Miami Dolphins, of not entering the race until he has been mathematically eliminated. After New Hampshire came Michigan, where the ballot listed all the Republicans, but only certain Democrats — including Chris Dodd, who had already dropped out of the race — but not including Barack Obama or John Edwards. After Michigan came the Nevada caucuses, in which Hillary Clinton got more votes but Barack Obama got more delegates. (If you don’t understand how that could happen, then you have never been to a casino.) Then came the South Carolina Republican primary, which of course was not held on the same day as the South Carolina Democratic primary, which was Saturday. Then comes Florida, in which Republican voters will elect some delegates, although the total will only be half the number Florida was originally supposed to get. Meanwhile, Florida Democrats, as I mentioned, will have the same impact on their party’s nomination as if they fed their ballots to ducks. I am not making any of this up: This is our actual primary system, except (I hope) the part about the corn. We’re selecting candidates for the most important job in the world via a process that’s less rational than the one used to choose Miss Kumquat of Pasco County.”  — Dave Barry

Veritas vos Liberabit — Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for The Patriot’s editors and staff. (Please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm’s way around the world, and for their families — especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.)