A Roosevelt conservative? A big government conservative? What an oxymoron! Why would I prefer a big government conservative over a big government liberal? He’ll just further erode the brand and we’ll continue to be tarred as the big spending party even though in principle we shouldn’t be (Bush has already ruined the brand with his deficit spending and entitlements). You see why I have so much trouble supporting this schmuck?

Senator John McCain, in a wide-ranging interview, called for a government that was frugal but more active than many conservatives might prefer. He said government should play an important role in areas like addressing climate change, regulating campaign finance and taking care of “those in America who cannot take care of themselves.”
“I count myself as a conservative Republican, yet I view it to a large degree in the Theodore Roosevelt mold,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said, referring to Roosevelt’s reputation for reform, environmentalism and tough foreign policy.
[…]
Asked to name a conservative model, he skipped over the suggestions of three names typically associated with the conservative movement – Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barry Goldwater, the founder of the modern-day conservative movement who occupied the Senate seat McCain holds today – to settle on Theodore Roosevelt.
[…]
“I believe less governance is the best governance, and that government should not do what the free enterprise and private enterprise and individual entrepreneurship and the states can do, but I also believe there is a role for government,” McCain said. He added: “Government should take care of those in America who cannot take care of themselves.”

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What a flip-flop! This is clearly different from the position he was taking during the primaries! He called himself a Reagan conservative. Ha! What a joke! You can’t be a Reagan conservative and a Roosevelt conservative (whatever that is) at the same time. Need I remind you of these:

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.
No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!
The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

McCain better start laying out what role he thinks the government should have in our lives to let conservatives know how further down the path of socialism he intends to takes us. We know where Obama is headed, McCain needs to let us know so we can be prepared for socialism regardless of who wins.