Mike Gallagher's Blog

 

  • All the teeth gnashing over McCain

    February 06, 2008

    Boy, have I been getting walloped these days.  The McCain haters are angry that the "maverick" senator from Arizona is about to become the GOP nominee.

    And I can't blame them.

    John McCain has created all kinds of heartburn for those of us who have been appalled at his "gang of 14", his past unwillingness to want to seal the border and crack down on illegal immigration, as well as a host of other issues that don't sit well with "movement conservatives."

    But last week, I came to the conclusion that it is positively pointless to attempt to sacrifice America and hand any votes over to Democrats because we don't think John McCain is conservative enough to be the next President of the United States.

    A lot of my friends and colleagues are in a foul mood over John McCain's Super Tuesday success.  But what should REALLY fire them up is the possibility of a Democrat in the White House in 2009.  And I would respectfully suggest to the "I'll-never-vote-for-McCain" crowd that you are threatening to hand the November election over to the Democrats on a big, fat silver platter.

    There are lots of reasons to complain about John McCain's record.   Trouble is, there's no shortage of flaws in Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee's track record, either.  If Gov. Romney is such a conservative, why did Human Events' editors name him one of the 10 biggest RINO's (Republican-in-name-only) in America just two years ago?  They say it was because of his once-stated belief that abortion should be safe and legal to every woman who wants one.  Go to their site, you can check it out yourself.

    Wanna talk flaws?  How about Gov. Huckabee and illegal immigration?   Would you consider a man who once compared illegals to slaves brought here in chains from Africa a solid reflection of core conservatism?

    We can play this game all day long.  We simply don't have another Ronald Reagan in the hunt.  But we DO have Republicans running for president, every one of whom is a pro-life, pro-family, pro-military individual. 

    To say that John McCain is indistinguishable from Hillary or Obama is silly.  And untrue.

    To promise to vote for a Democrat, or not vote at all, if we don't get the candidate we want is music to the Democrats' ears.  

    And to threaten to "punish" America for nominating a GOP candidate like McCain by hoping that America elects a Democrat for president so that Democrats can take the blame is about as sophomoric as anything I've ever heard.   

    If you want to throw a temper tantrum, yell at your dog or something.  Don't help Democrats try and destroy this country.

    A successful war is being fought in Iraq.  Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land but the tide is turning.  Thanks to President Bush, the Supreme Court is starting to act like the majority of Americans.  Even smash Hollywood hits like "Juno" are offering a decidedly pro-life message.

    While McCain/Feingold is important, isn't the sanctity of life even more so?  Isn't continuing the fight against terror crucial, too?

    Swallowing some pride and supporting John McCain will be tough for many Republicans.  But like it or not, in the battle for the country, it's the right thing to do.

    And I don't mind getting yelled at by some good people who call themselves conservatives.  I'll take a licking for the good of my country any time.....

  • 9/11six years later

    September 11, 2007

    My wife had a worried expression on her face this morning as I was leaving for work.  "I'm really sad that I think i'm starting to forget how 9/11 felt", she said.  She went on to express a deep concern that like many Americans, she perhaps is starting to forget the anguish, the pain, the heartache, and even the anger of that awful, sunny September morning in New York and Pennsylvania.

    I was in the Empire State Building in midtown-Manhattan at 9:00am that day.  As the world as we knew it came crashing down, we tried to stay on the air, stupidly worried more about a radio show than our families.  Our wives and kids only wanted us to come home, which we eventually did.

    The town I lived in, an idyllic, beautiful community on Long Island's north shore, lost 63 people that day.  To this day, Manhasset residents cringe at remembering what we went through.

    And yet, my wife is right.  There is a sense of forgetting, of allowing time to numb the pain and grief.  I suppose a degree of that is invevitable.

    But as thousands of American families wait for their loved ones to return from the battle, we simply must never forget why we fight.

    We fight to seek justice for those who perished on 9/11.  We fight to stamp out terrorists who want nothing more than a lifetime of 9/11's inflicted upon Americans.  We fight because it's the right thing to do.

    On the wall of the study in my house is a framed newspaper photograph of my son Micah and his then-girlfriend.  The local community newspaper featured a story of a candlelight vigil that was held in the city park a few days after 9/11.  The photo showed our son and his girlfriend at that vigil, holding candles and American flags.

    The look on my son's face in that photo  is one that will haunt me forever.  This cheerful, happy-go-lucky kid, who was 17 years old at the time, was changed forever.  His face is shown full of sorrow and agony, anger at what they did to us, grief over his friend's fathers who were killed.

    May we never forget that loss of innocence that our children and our nation suffered that day six years ago.

    And may we never lose the will or courage to fight back.

  • Whatever happened to "I'm Sorry?"

    September 05, 2007

    Jerry Lewis is in some hot water -- evidently, during the waning moments of the 2007 MD Telethon, he tried to joke around with a cameraman and called the cameraman's son, "an illiterate fag."  The invevitable reaction from gay activists occurred and the 81-year-old  comedian decided to apologize.

    We see the same tired old cycle these days:  someone in public life says something stupid, they feel a need to apologize, but then seem to have no ability to offer a sincere apology.

    Here's what Lewis said in his written statement:  "I apologize to anyone who was offended."

    I love that.  "To anyone who was offended."   So what does that mean for those who WEREN'T offended?  That he's NOT sorry?

    I am fascinated with these defiant, non-apologetic apologies.  There seems to always be the qualifying, "If anyone was offended" or "to those who were offended." 

    Why can't people like Jerry Lewis just say, "I'm really sorry.  I screwed up."   And leave it at that?

    Between a local and national radio show, I do five hours of solo radio a day.  Occasionally, i make a mistake.  I say the wrong thing, I treat a caller badly.  I don't say, "If anyone was offended at my error, I apologize."

    I say, "I'm sorry."

    What's so hard about that?
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