Does a leopard change its spots?

(Via Drudge)

I think not.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, taking the first step toward a 2008 White House bid, said on Thursday a return to principles of limited government and “common sense conservatism” would carry Republicans back to power after last week’s election drubbing.

You have to give the man credit for seeing the obvious, sort of. However, I view “common sense conservatism” just like I view “common sense gun control”–it’s a smokescreen designed to take in the gullible and wishful-thinkers.
“We increased the size of government in the false hope that we could bribe the public into keeping us in office,” McCain said, adding Americans “still prefer common sense conservatism to the alternative.”There’s that “common sense thing again. I believe we’re seeing the beginnings of McCains’s campaign message.

“Common sense conservatives believe that the government that governs least governs best, that government should do only those things individuals cannot do for themselves and do them efficiently,” he said.

Whoa, there! Now the wheels are off the tracks. Besides that “common sense” thing, we’re changing the basic premise that conservatives have on government, in its Federal incarnation–that it should restrict itself to its clearly defined Constitutional role, and outside of that, leave us alone.

Further along, the article starts discussing the other potential Republican presidential hopeless hopefuls:

Public opinion polls show McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who already has formed an exploratory committee, are early leaders in a crowded field of potential Republican candidates.
Other possible contenders include Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, New York Gov. George Pataki, former Bush cabinet member Tommy Thompson and Sens. Bill Frist of Tennessee and Sam Brownback of Kansas.

Well, there’s an inspiring group for conservative voters. The Governor of the People’s Republic of Massachusetts (and the #8 man on Human Events’ list of Top Ten RINOs. (Dec 2005)); a southern governor who, judging from this seems to be another “compassionate conservative”; the #6 man on Human Events’ list of Top Ten RINOs. (Dec 2005); the original compassionate conservative’s former Secretary of Health and Human Services; the soon-to-be deposed (and ineffective) Senate Majority Leader and a guy who accepted over $40,00 from Jack Abramoff.

If this is the best the Republicans have to offer for the 2008 elections, then they are well and truly fucked. And we conservatives have no home in their party.