John LeBoutillier
Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2001

The Gipper – Ronald Reagan – was Goldwater’s biggest disciple and booster. And it was good old Dutch who made ‘conservatism’ acceptable within the mainstream of American political thought.

But as the past 35 years have flown by, this type of political thought has been altered, mutated and downright distorted – and sometimes these changes have come at the very behest of so-called conservatives.

The most egregious example of this misappropriation of the term ‘conservative’ can be seen in the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Act. Ironically, it is John McCain who moved to Arizona 20 years ago at the urging of then-Senator Goldwater and then four years later, again with Barry’s blessing, ran for Goldwater’s Senate seat. He now proclaims himself a "Goldwater conservative" – and for those who do not know the truth, it seems as if a former POW Republican senator holding the Great Goldwater seat from Arizona must be a conservative.

Well, in fact, John McCain is no conservative. In reality he is yet another Big Government advocate who relishes federal power to stifle dissent and views with which he disagrees.

Here are two examples:

1) Inside his so-called Campaign Reform Act he has a provision for federal control/oversight/monitoring/censorship of "independent expenditures" in federal campaigns. In other words, a hypothetical person – call him Bill Smith – wants to oppose candidate McCain in a presidential campaign by spending his own money on TV commercials in New Hampshire. Under present law Mr. Smith can do anything he wants. He can use all his money and run commercials informing/educating the voters about an issue or about McCain’s record or anything he chooses. All he has to do is file with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and report how much he is spending and how. Period.

McCain-Feingold wants this practice to stop. They want to limit these independent expenditures in the six weeks before an election – the crucial time in any campaign – and they want to give the feds the power to censor/change/edit these commercials!!!

If ever there was a case of excessive federal power, this is it! And coming from a so-called conservative!

Undoubtedly McCain's passion for expanded federal control of campaigns stems from his own guilty conscience. He repeatedly broke the law and lied about it during his friendship with crooked financier Charles Keating. He took vacation trips to the islands and other gifts from Keating and lied to the media about it. Only when about to be caught in his lies did McCain write out personal checks to reimburse Keating. He then went on his campaign reform crusade to 'cover up' his own misbehaviors and lies.

2) Down on the Mall in Washington near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are a few sites manned by Vietnam vets devoted to the cause of the POWs yet to be brought home from Vietnam and Laos. This is an issue that McCain hates because he has helped cover up the truth about the abandonment of these men.

McCain has repeatedly and personally intervened with the National Park Service to terminate the Vietnam vets’ lease for these Mall sites. He wants to bankrupt these lone voices in the wilderness.

Once again McCain demonstrates his love for federal power, repression of dissenting ideas and bully tactics to cover his own misbehaviors.

John McCain – through his own actions – has shown himself not to be a conservative. Rather, he is a pushy, arrogant, power-mad egotist hiding behind Barry Goldwater’s reputation.

I am certain the late and great senator and one-time GOP presidential nominee would see right through McCain.

And he would proclaim McCain a ‘pretender’ to the proud title of "Goldwater conservative."

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