With California’s primary upon us parties have been compressed to two plausible candidates each. For the GOP, after several primaries, caucuses, and candidate dropouts, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Governor Willard Mitt Romney of Massachusetts have emerged as the front runners in the race.
Although the tactic of nominating McCain may seem sound, he runs into trouble with conservative voters who make up the core of the GOP. The Republican Party is a conservative party and it may be detrimental to elect a president who has a habit of siding with the liberals in Washington. The recent bills McCain is most associated with, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 and the McCain-Feingold Act, both have received criticism from those on the right. According to the Associated Press, McCain claims he would not currently vote for his own immigration bill, a bill many saw as “amnesty” for illegal immigrants.
Both men picked up several primary victories and have been verbally sparring in debates such as in the recent debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on Jan. 31. Generally, Romney is regarded as much more conservative while McCain leans closer to the left, garnering the title “the Maverick Senator” for not always sticking to his party when voting. Romney has exploited this facet of the senator, claiming McCain is out of the conservative mainstream. Still, McCain has managed to pick up some large Republican endorsements from people such as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Both are politically strong and qualified, and hope to carry the mantle of the Republican Party, yet Republican voters face an interesting predicament when dealing with the candidates. Romney best represents the core conservative values while McCain, due to his moderate stances, has a better chance of grabbing the all-important independent voters as well as some renegade Democrats. Voters must decide whether they want someone who best represents the party or someone most likely to take votes from the Democrats.
The greatest issues facing the nation right now are the War on Terror and the economy. Though they have some differences, both McCain and Romney share similar views on Iraq and the War on Terror. The economy is where Romney, a former venture capitalist and businessman, is able to shine.
According to his campaign site, Romney’s plan involves lowering corporate tax rates, lowering taxes across the board, making the Bush tax cuts (which McCain voted against) permanent, eliminating the death tax, and eliminating taxes on savings for people with incomes below $200,000. McCain knows the economy is his weak issue and has tried to stay away from it, although he does have plans to change the tax system and modernize social security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
McCain wants to help American’s get private health insurance, believing that competition will overall improve health care and that Americans should be able to spend their health care money however they see fit. He advocates using funds to help those not able to afford health care to pay for private health care. McCain has also advocated lowering taxes, especially for the middle class and elderly.
As far as defense and the War on Terror, both candidates want to increase spending for the military and increase the military’s size. McCain is also a strong advocate of missile defense systems around the world to defend the US and its allies. Romney hopes to implement a “Marshall” plan for moderate Muslim nations which includes helping to implement schools, market economies, and human rights. Both men see Iraq as a war we need to continue until we have won, and both claim they want to work with nations surrounding Iraq in the stabilizing process.
Romney and McCain differ on the issue of energy and oil. Both want to spend money on researching alternatives to oil but Romney advocates drilling for oil and gas in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge along with promoting nuclear technology. McCain has shown a tendency to stray from the conservative basis with his opposition to increased drilling, especially in ANWR, due to his belief that that doesn’t solve the overall issue, it just puts it off.
If the Republican Party wants to nominate someone who can cross over and appeal to independent and Democrat voters, then the man to select is McCain. But if the voters are to select purely based on who better fits and represents the party and its values, Romney is the best choice. According to a Rasmussen Reports poll, McCain leads Romney by about 20 points in the California primary and the Arizona senator will probably pick up this state. Nationwide, the nomination is still up for grabs. Unless the momentum shifts again as it has several times before in the GOP camp, McCain is projected to win unless Romney is able to pick up conservative voters leaving the third place Huckabee campaign.