McCain Ignores Minnesota Voter’s Biggest Concern

Poor Dick Day.

He wants to represent Minnesota’s First District in Congress, but every speaker that I heard during the Republican Party’s nominating convention ignored the issue that eight out of ten people say is their biggest concern (according to Day). Now maybe it was mentioned by someone during all the convention speeches but not by Fred Thompson, not Michele Bachmann, not Rudy Giuliani and not Sarah Palin. John McCain barely broached the issue and not in the way that Day and other proponents wanted to hear … unless you consider “we believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential, from the boy whose descendents arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers.” as addressing the issue of illegal immigration.
If anything that could be interpreted as approving a “pathway to citizenship” and recognition that citizenship can be gained by birthright.
I’m sure that Day’s opponent in the Republican Party, Dr. Brain Davis who also supports a tough stance against illegal immigration, was also disappointed.

But that was what this convention was about … ignoring the problems while creating an image that the McCain-Palin ticket will solve our problems.

Immigration was the “hot” issue during the Republican nomination process, but now seems to be forgotten. Instead the chants during the Republican Convention were “Drill, Baby, Drill”. Both issues are important issues, but the emphasis on them is to have “low-information voters” thinking about subjects that will draw them to the Republican column in November.

This emphasis may win an election but not help the country in the long term.
It’s not that the Republicans don’t know what the problems that are impacting us greatly, it’s just that they don’t have solutions that “low information voters” will like.
As President Bush’s ex-speechwriter David Frum writes an article entitled The Vanishing Republican Voter :
“What the middle class needs most is not lower income taxes but a slowdown in the soaring inflation of health-care costs. If health-insurance costs had risen 50 percent rather than 100 percent over the Bush years, middle-income voters would have enjoyed a pay raise instead of enduring wage stagnation.”
Frum analysis backs-up my assertion. As I wrote in my commentary when Day was suggesting that Top Issue in MN First District : Immigration ? ? ? ”I suspect that most First District residents would agree that health care and the economy are a greater concern than illegal immigration.
On a personal note, the monthly premium for my health insurance has increased $154.50 in one year (or $1854 in total) … and my spouse and I are in excellent health.
Health care should be the number 1 issue.
(Note : that’s a lot more than my gasoline expenditure.)

John McCain has a plan that the average worker will see an increase of $2870 in taxes to pay for health care benefits that were previously provided by employers as a free fringe benefit. That will only exasperate the problem as workers may want to go without coverage. McCain’s objective is that somehow competition will drive down policy costs that individual families will then purchase. The logic is incomprehensible to me (Note : Dr. Brian Davis subscribes to the “competition” argument.)

McCain’s big line in his acceptance speech was "Change is coming."
Well the first change would be to terminate the “earmark” funding for political conventions as the federal government gives each party $16.4 million for general convention expenses and $50 million for security. That's $112.8 million of taxpayer dollars !
What do the political parties get – besides media attention ?
Money … lotsa money !
The Democratic National Convention host committee raised more than $50 million from private donors; the Republican National Convention committee has said it is shooting for $58 million. Funding to the RNC in Saint Paul included some prominent companies in the health care industry including Medtronic ($1 million), St. Jude Medical ($1 million) and Eli Lilly ($250,000).

Voters need to be ignoring the Convention speeches and television commercials that attempt to brainwash us to embrace "their" issues, and instead ask the candidates what they will do about “our” problems.

But for Senator Day and the others that believe that illegal immigration is still the number one issue, how do you think President McCain will act ?

Lastly, the most glaring comment during the RNC came from Rudy Giuliani who admonished the Democratic Party’s Convention speakers :( "for four days in Denver, the Democrats were afraid to use the words 'Islamic terrorism'." ) That comment could equally apply to the RNC convention … in fact, McCain never spoke the name Osama bin Laden or mentioned the situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan … which is Ground Zero for Islamic terrorism.

Yes, McCain did acknowledge Iraq … “I said I'd rather lose an election than see my country lose a war.”.
But Iraq is not Islamic terrorism.
After all, McCain was a prime proponent of the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338) which stated that the “ policy of the United States to seek to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime.”
Iraq is a war caused by a desire for a regime change that was not a part of the Islamic terrorism.

How soon we forget.