Really?

Earlier this week, Mr. Tiahrt authored an Op-Ed piece in The Washington Times which he opens by writing, “Like most Americans I am grateful for Sen. John McCain’s heroic service as a fighter pilot, a prisoner of war and, for nearly a generation, a member of the House and the Senate.”


No writer, politician, Republican, Kansan, or even American should feel a need to write a sentence as blatantly and disingenuously foreboding as this one is, because no true Republican (or American) should ever voluntarily write what followed it. What followed was a shallow and vain attempt to attack Senator McCain for continuing to lead the Republican Party in the direction that McCain believes it should be taken.


I don’t know if Mr. Tiahrt understands the American political system, but this piece is seemingly attacking the Senator from Arizona because he is now supporting candidates that share similar views to his own. Isn’t this what Americans are supposed to do? Isn’t this the essence of American politics?


Mr. Tiahrt continues his mockery of an Op-Ed by attacking McCain for not running a conservative enough campaign and claiming that, “Mr. McCain’s passive campaign of halfway steps and compromise measures allowed the most liberal, least-experienced presidential candidate ever to post a decisive victory”.


This begs the question of what would have happened had McCain run the right-wing campaign that Tiahrt would have wanted. Clearly none of the Obama voters would have shifted to McCain had the later run a MORE conservative campaign, and more than likely any moderate McCain voters would have shifted to Obama and given the ‘most liberal, least-experienced’ candidate an even MORE decisive victory.


Tiahrt’s electoral math just does not add up.


This editorial not only proves that Mr. Tiahrt is out-of-touch with the majority of Republicans that actually agree with McCain’s center-right principles, but it also lends the impression that Mr. Tiahrt is an unintelligent politician that apparently does not even understand the American political system.


It is the majority of Republicans that nominated McCain for the presidency roughly sixteen months ago, and it is this majority of Republicans that will continue to fight for constructive solutions to the economic crisis as opposed to giving vague rhetoric that isn’t backed up by facts of opinions.


Mr. Tiahrt should be ashamed of his ungrounded attacks on Senator McCain. Tiahrt claims that he is grateful for McCain’s service to America, but he sure has a funny way of expressing his gratitude. McCain is not only a true American hero, but a true Republican that will continue to do what he believes is in the best interest of the Grand Old Party and America alike, and it would not be in the best interests of ANY Republican to attack him in such an inflammatory way.


Sensibly yours,


Publius