A rose by any other name is certainly more than just an “enhanced flower”. This being said, the United States does torture. At this point, after hearing of the multitude of sickening abuses that go on in the name of “enhanced interrogation”, we as Americans have no need for lawyers to tell us to ignore our gut instinct on this issue and go with their twisted definition. What’s more is that those responsible for this brutality, which is bringing down the great name of the United States, have no intention of ending this behavior until they are forced to do so. What’s also clear is that Americans have woken up to the fact that stories of violence, warped legal opinions, and the stripping down of constitutional rights have not simply materialized out of thin air but have been goals that were both knowingly and carefully pursued by the Bush white house. Though this may sound like a statement issued generally to attack the Republican party I assure you that, were these realities not occurring, I am not the type to randomly attack any particular political mindset. I also assure you, as this is all I can do here, that though I am indeed a democrat, my loyalty to the idea of seeing this country go in the right direction goes much deeper than any sort of partisan loyalty.

That being said, its time to call a spade a spade and recognize that the Republican party, as it is currently structured, is taking America in a direction that it does not want to go. It cannot be avoided that McCain is, above all else a Republican, and he owes his hope of becoming president to the favorable whims of the Republican party. This party has allowed him to be the nominee specifically because he can and will represent the party’s core ideas and it has now put its vast engines of promotion, candidate attack, and fundraising to work for him. In addition to these factors, perhaps the biggest thing that McCain gets from being the nominee is the use of the Republican image. What this image has become at this point, is the idealized image of a tough guy, a lone ranger, a shoot first ask questions later type of persona. While these ideas may sound like appealing concepts in theory, many of the realities that have flowed from these attitudes lately have been dismal. Like it or not we are now a society that approves warrantless wiretapping, indefinite detention of citizens, and of course “enhanced interrogation”.

As the previous Republican president ran on this lone ranger platform and won, these sorts of abuses are things the party feels, on some level, that Americans approve of. If we as Americans really do not approve of these abuses, it is time to tell the Republican party with our votes that we do not. Voting them out of office is the only way to do this. I assure you that anything short of making your point with your vote will be seen by the Republican party as tacit approval of the disgusting action that goes on in our name. Make no mistake, McCain truly is a maverick, though this is certainly not what America needs right now. We need a statesman. We need someone to call the bluff of those who would sell us on the idea that an irrational rogue is the man who would best represent this great nation which has throughout history inspired the world with it’s steadfast adherence to freedom, truth and above all, justice for all. If you are a voter who believes that McCain is going to run on the platform of being a maverick and then suddenly morph into the diplomat we need upon election, please realize that this will not happen and the product that is being sold is exactly what will be delivered.

It is significant that John McCain has stated himself that he agrees with the president on most issues. This remark should not be brushed aside as something that McCain said randomly or accidentally. Instead, even if they do not agree on all issues, the fact cannot be avoided that those who agree on most issues usually share a similar ideological base. Any sharing of an ideological base with the president who has put this country into the position of distain it now finds itself in is something that should raise concerns. Lastly, I ask you the reader to consider the most rudimentary element of Bush’s previous campaigns, the idea that Bush was the cowboy, an outsider who claimed he would ignore the conventions of the Washington society and bring his own idea of justice to the capital. I ask you to consider the idea that this cowboy mentality is exactly what Bush brought to the white house and it is this attitude that “the maverick” wants to continue. A quick look back at the last eight years of our history can shed light on this concept by showing that if a candidate says that they are an outsider who is going to do things their own way, they mean what they are saying. Now is the time for someone who does things the American people’s way, and for someone who can ask the right questions before committing our nation to firing a shot.