Throwing mud at McCain is dirty play

Joe Beltran, North Las Vegas

Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008 | 2:04 a.m.

Being a lifelong Democrat, I will vote for whoever is the Democratic presidential nominee in the upcoming general election, because a McCain administration would only be President Bush’s failed policies redux, and this country needs and is ready for a change. However, I applaud Sen. John McCain’s principled stance on the issues and honor him for his courage as a POW at the Hanoi Hilton in North Vietnam.

What is unconscionable is that the conservative base views him suspiciously and takes radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s opinions at face value. And Ann Coulter has promised to vote for Hillary Clinton if McCain is the Republican nominee.

Are Limbaugh and Coulter the soundtrack of the GOP’s base?

During the time that John McCain chose to prolong his miserable stay at the Hanoi Hilton, as a sense of duty to his fellow POWs, Limbaugh and the current president and vice president chose not to serve in Vietnam.

Yet it is McCain who conservative pundits say is a traitor to the conservative cause. As Democrats we disagree with many of his views, but McCain’s principles define him. He continues to make a mature, reasoned contribution to political discourse in this country.

Limbaugh, by contrast, operates solely on the principle of maintaining his talk radio ratings and retaining his “ditto heads,” and he provides less than zero value to the political discourse. Like Fox News Channel’s talking heads, Limbaugh relies on mistruths and histrionics to bait a rabid audience and slavishly deliver exactly what the audience, which ultimately pays his salary, wants to hear.

To take the opinions of these “war heroes” seriously is to diminish us all.