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With the help of independent voters and crossover Democrats who can’t stand the thought of voting for a “half African-American” or the wife of this generation’s only impeached former president, Sen. John McCain walked off with what some called a victory in the South Carolina First in the South Republican presidential preference primary.
The McCain victory stunned many who were convinced that the former POW who was born to parents living in government housing and has been on the government payroll since puberty could win South Carolina after his unpopular stand on amnesty for illegal aliens. Others point out that McCain was rejected by 67 percent of the voters in the primary.
Some were surprised by the large number of votes harvested by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee from all walks of life that consider themselves Baptists.
The most disappointed folks are some of Ron Paul’s enthusiastic supporters who were convinced he could win in South Carolina and when faced with reports that he only received 4 percent of the vote are even more convinced that victory was denied due to fraud in the process, with electronic voting machines and their programmers the prime suspects.
Give Ron Paul credit where credit is due. While he has been ignored by the major media and maligned by some, he has contributed significantly to civic education of an uninformed and misinformed electorate.
Let us not forget the contributions of Tom Tancredo who raised the subject of the illegal alien invasion and Duncan Hunter, who may have been the most qualified candidate to lead our republic in the challenging years ahead.
It is now quite clear that Fred Thompson either intentionally or unintentionally had a role in moving votes from Huckabee to McCain in South Carolina. Fred “lowered the boom” on Huckabee, The task was not difficult because Romney was absent from the scene after the televised debate, so it became a McCain - Huckabee race with Thompson the spoiler.
After Hillary, Bill, Obama and Edwards clear out of South Carolina this weekend, presidential politicians will not come near South Carolina until about October, when the nominees of the two parties will make brief stops in key cities recording a few locally palatable sound bites. The time for personal contact with presidential candidates will be over for another four to eight years.
My personal view is that the GOP nominee will likely be McCain or Romney, unless neither gets a majority of the delegates and the convention delegates are freed from obligations after the first ballot to select someone other than the two front runners. Huckabee, while not as conservative as many of his supporters think, will have tough campaigning outside the more Christian South.
Romney and Thompson reportedly made a mistake by commenting negatively on the Confederate battle flag during a debate that few local people watched. Seeking to capitalize on the mistakes of his opponents, Huckabee made an uncouth comment regarding the flag pole that many considered inappropriate for either a Baptist preacher or a Christian candidate for president.
The McCain finish in South Carolina has given new hope to advocates of amnesty for illegal aliens. Sen. Lindsey Graham was leaping with joy. Opposition to McCain and Graham on immigration is now being seen by some as a “paper tiger” consisting of the 4 percent of voters who cast their votes for Ron Paul.
“Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country.” There are many battles ahead and those who know their opponents well, and are committed to victory over them, shall ultimately reign victorious.
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