I have read the sad news about the family of Senator John McCain announcing that he would discontinue treatment for brain cancer. McCain is five days shy of his 82nd birthday.
When that day comes, whenever that might be, I will pay proper tribute to an American hero.
Of course, it was Donald Trump who in the summer of 2015 said McCain wasn't a hero - and got away with it.
When we look back at the history of American conservatism and the rise of Trump, I think we can trace the death of American conservatism to when Trump's candidacy withstood his smear of McCain. Would Trump have got away with such garbage in the 1980's when Ronald Reagan was President and character was king? Had Trump made such a statement back then or even during the 1990's that would have killed his political career right then and there.
But we are different country now and conservative values such as upholding tradition, well ordered liberty, respect for our military, restraint and decency exist no more. If they did Trump would not be President of the United States.
In retrospect, I should have severed my ties with The American Spectator a year earlier than I did. When I wrote an article condemning Trump for his cruelty and disrespect, the story was spiked by TAS publisher Bob Tyrrell. But I didn't leave as I wrote many articles and blog posts critical of Trump until I was told directly by Tyrrell to criticize him no more.
This isn't to say I didn't disagree with John McCain at times as was the case when he rescued President Obama's of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. Of course, back then I argued the Senate Republican caucus should be full of Ted Cruzs. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, we now do and we are not better for it.
While conservatism won't survive Donald Trump's legacy, we can take some comfort that John McCain's contributions to and sacrifices for this country surely will.
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