A wolf in sheep's clothing if one ever was.Something funny happened near the end of the 2008 presidential campaign -- I started to like Senator John McCain. Sure, my political outlook differs quite a bit from John McCain's but after watching him cut-off one of the wingnuts at his rally and quell fears that Obama advocates domestic terrorists, I began appreciating his civil tone and cool demeanor. Then, during the summer healthcare scare, he defended Obama's motives for supporting healthcare legislation and requested respect be paid to his office. His proponents even booed him for this civility. Of course, he didn't have to do any of this. He could have pandered to his audience Palin-style, but he didn't. He took the higher road.

Some of you may be thinking, "Have you forgotten about all that 'paling around with terrorists' rubbish he preached earlier in the campaign?" No, I have not forgotten. But after monitoring McCain's behavior after the election in relation to the behavior of his peers, I'm tempted to credit the RNC with some of his early talking points. I'm not completely excusing McCain for his misdeeds, but with eager Republicans playing political football with every single decision coming out of the White House, I've got to give the man some credit for mostly staying above the fray.

Now McCain may be facing a tough re-election primary. Republican Chris Simcox has stated he is now vying for McCain's senate seat. Before I get into Simcox's lunacy, here's his candidacy statement:

"John McCain has failed miserably in his duty to secure this nation’s borders and protect the people of Arizona from the escalating violence and lawlessness. He has fought real efforts over the years at every turn, opting to hold our nation’s border security hostage to his amnesty schemes. Coupled with his votes for reckless bailout spending and big government solutions to our nation’s problems, John McCain is out of touch with everyday Arizonans. Enough is enough."

Sounds normal. He's hostile and panders to the far-right Republican base, but still sounds relatively mainstream. Now read what he had to say in Nikolaj Vijborg's short documentary, USA Under Attack, back during his Minutemen Civil Defense Corps days (yes, he co-founded a civilian border patrol):

"I feel that the people that are coming across, invading this country, I think that they should be treated as enemies of the state. We need to start putting them in work camps. Anyone could walk through these borders of this country bringing bombs, chemicals, weapons of mass destruction. I think they should be shot on sight, personally.

"Those guys [Capitol Hill politicians] need to be, you know, lynched. If we're attacked again, then we need some vigilanteism. Then we need some going into Washington, pulling them out of their offices, kicking them out of office. We need revolution."

(Bold/italics added by Ant.Lion for emphasis)

Simcox's hate-filled message is inexcusable. Aside from his blatant disrespect for the rights of Hispanics, his betrayal of constitutionally-secured due process would be laughable if his advocation of vigilanteism weren't so disturbing. It's scary. Our border with Mexico is the final frontier of the continental United States. The MCDC was established as an observe and report organization and I'm not accusing Simcox of any crimes (although his dealings behind the installation of a border fence are highly suspect). No claims of violence has been levied against him or the group. Still, I can't remove the horrifying thought of American nationalists like Simcox policing a border that is largely unattended by law enforcement. Whatever threat illegal immigrants are to this country, real or imagined, they do not deserve to be "placed in work camps" or "shot on sight."

Regardless of how you feel about McCain, a man like Simcox should never hold a seat in the U.S. Senate. Simcox's resume is quite long. He'll likely hide behind his careers as a newspaper owner, recording industry businessman, and kindergarden teacher (scary). Don't be fooled. I'd like to believe there's no way a man like Simcox could be elected, but people are not happy at all with Congress. A recent CNN poll found that only 34% think congressional incumbents should be re-elected; 63% said no dice. Also, conservatives are increasingly concerned about the growing size of government. John McCain's moderate voting history prior to George W. Bush won't help him. His more recent vote for the federal bailout won't win him any conservative votes either. If you have friends and/or family in Arizona, be sure to inform them of Simcox's history. I have no problem with a Republic filling Arizona's U.S. Senate seat, just not this one.