Yeah, Romney's commercials were filled with quotes from NRO and the like against McCain....but McCain has shown that he doesn't need that crowd to go all the way.
And I think it's hilarious that Dobson of F**kin Up The Family will have John as his president.
Wonderful line from Meyerson at WP
Quote:Blessed, in Romney, with an opponent who approaches the Platonic Ideal of Inauthenticity,
While watching CNN last night there was speculation on who McCain may choose as VP if he gets the nomination. Looking at Huck's voting base they were toying with the idea of a McCain/Huck ticket. I can't see it myself but there are some who are afraid that if McCain abandons Huck's base he won't have a prayer no matter who runs against him.
You also have the Rush Limbutt type of conservatives who hate both of them. Unifying the Republican party for the national election looks like an impossibility, esp. when you consider how intolerant conservatives are of those who don't agree with them.
Will the Rush conservatives really kiss and make up with McCain? Will Huck's evangelicals vote for McCain if McCain does nothing more than give lip service to them? Most red states are the south and mid-west and Huck did very good there.
It looks like the Republicans are going to have a very tough time bringing in voters in 2008.
I probably would be identified as a "Rush conservative" as he is featured on our state's #1 news/talk radio station, ABC affiliate, to which I am generally tuned during the day. While I don't intentionally listen, I usually catch a bit during the day while working at home or driving to and from appointments. Yes, he, Hannity, Laura Inghram, Savage, Medved, and all the highest rated conservative pundits have criticized both McCain and Huckabee unmercifully for their RINO sides. They all criticize anybody claiming conservative credentials who consistently vote against key conservative values.
Conservatives usually don't sugarcoat the sins of their leaders. That is exemplified when the great lady of conservative ideals, Peggy Noonan herself, writes a sad commentary on how George W. Bush has decimated the Republican Party with his extreme swerves from those ideals. There has been no more severe critic of George Bush and other part time (or full time) RINOs than the pundit you all love to hate, Ann Coulter.
Every one of these folks will campaign for, endorse, and vote for John McCain or Mike Huckabee if they are the GOP nominee. They will do so because they will know that, for conservatives, even a partial conservative is preferable to a full time extreme liberal.
xingu wrote:
Will the Rush conservatives really kiss and make up with McCain? Will Huck's evangelicals vote for McCain if McCain does nothing more than give lip service to them? Most red states are the south and mid-west and Huck did very good there.
It looks like the Republicans are going to have a very tough time bringing in voters in 2008.
Somehow I think that before the intense Hillary/Obama primary is done the Democrats will do a good job in reconciling these conservatives to McCain.
Interesting argument about a McCain/Huckabee ticket, but I just can't see McCain doing it - a bridge too far. Fred Thompson is far more likely.
georgeob1 wrote:xingu wrote:
Will the Rush conservatives really kiss and make up with McCain? Will Huck's evangelicals vote for McCain if McCain does nothing more than give lip service to them? Most red states are the south and mid-west and Huck did very good there.
It looks like the Republicans are going to have a very tough time bringing in voters in 2008.
Somehow I think that before the intense Hillary/Obama primary is done the Democrats will do a good job in reconciling these conservatives to McCain.
Interesting argument about a McCain/Huckabee ticket, but I just can't see McCain doing it - a bridge too far. Fred Thompson is far more likely.
You think? I know the Republican National Committee will probably be gently pushing one of the other candidates to add more conservative weight, or maybe somebody like Condi Rice. I don't think Hillary or Obama, whichever wins the nomination, will be so 'crass' as to personally attack McCain on his age, but you can bet the farm that both will make sure that this is done. Add Fred as the Veep and you have a truly geriatric ticket. I can't see that as an advantage. But I do like Fred.
Good point, but Huckabee is enough to get me to vote for Hillary.
georgeob1 wrote:Good point, but Huckabee is enough to get me to vote for Hillary.
He wouldn't be my choice either. But I would trust him to appoint a palatable Supreme Court justice more than I trust her to do that.
I am seeing Condi Rice as Veep being mentioned around the fringes today. What do you think. Would this be seen as pandering to offset the 'black charisma' and/or "feminist mystique" that Obama and Hillary bring to the contest?
Condi would be a huge mistake.
I agree. Condi is one of the architects of the failed Bush administration. McCain already has one strike against him; he's pro-war and Iraq is very unpopular in this country. If McCain's going to get a VP that will be of help to him it will have to be someone that appeals to the independent voters. No Republican can win on just core conservatives. They have to capture a large part of the independents. Condi or Huck can't do that.
georgeob1 wrote:Good point, but Huckabee is enough to get me to vote for Hillary.
Anybody but Clinton, in my opinion.
The problem that McCain has, and it is a big one, he got to where he is by relying on independents and by alienating alot of Republicans, all the while being loved by the media because he routinely badmouthed his own party and his own president. He has won by relying on independents, but if he moves right, he loses the main body of his support in the general to the Democrat. His main problem is he has burned too many bridges behind him. I think he has some huge problems in uniting the party and winning. Personally, I am sick of McCain. He has been in Washington too long. He is not part of the solution, but he is part of the problem. I may have to vote for the guy, but it isn't going to be easy. A leopard does not change its spots overnight.
okie wrote:georgeob1 wrote:Good point, but Huckabee is enough to get me to vote for Hillary.
Anybody but Clinton, in my opinion.
The problem that McCain has, and it is a big one, he got to where he is by relying on independents and by alienating alot of Republicans, all the while being loved by the media because he routinely badmouthed his own party and his own president. He has won by relying on independents, but if he moves right, he loses the main body of his support in the general to the Democrat. His main problem is he has burned too many bridges behind him. I think he has some huge problems in uniting the party and winning. Personally, I am sick of McCain. He has been in Washington too long. He is not part of the solution, but he is part of the problem. I may have to vote for the guy, but it isn't going to be easy. A leopard does not change its spots overnight.
The leopard can be tamed and trained however. In my opinion, McCain is a somewhat arrogant and 'screw you if you don't like it' kind of guy, which can be endearing in some cases, but usually isn't. He's the darling of the Left now, but I'm willing to gamble that once in office, they will turn on him as they won't want the GOP getting credit for anything. He is going to HAVE to appeal to a core constituency to get anything done and I think he is sufficiently human to want to succeed. So we can hope that he will stick to his guns on those things we like about McCain and can be brought around to the majority view on the rest.
That's not too much to ask is it?
Quote: So we can hope that he will stick to his guns on those things we like about McCain and can be brought around to the majority view on the rest.
Oh, you can bring him around. But be prepared for him to go around again before too long
Cycloptichorn
If he manages to win the office, Foxfyre, I think McCain will stick it in the face of Republicans. He seems to gravitiate to the Ted Kennedy types in the congress, and in the effort to get things done, "reach across the aisle," to accomplish big things for his legacy, there is no telling what nonsensical legislation will be passed in cahoots with Democrats. The Republicans will have little or no power at all. Just my opinion, but this is what I would expect out of him. Good supreme court nominees, certainly do not count on that, worthless new environmental stuff, count on it, and nothing substantial or worthwhile on immigration, the list can go on. He will be the same as a moderate Democrat, and worse because he does it as a Republican.
You have to remember McCain is proud of abusing his fellow Republicans, and I don't look for him to change.
I think Romney made a tactical mistake by not running on his own recored and more against Democrats, instead of pointing out McCain's record. To be accurate, he never attacked McCain personally, until he had to a couple of times, but McCain has responded with personal attacks and insinuations toward Romney, in very condescending ways by the way, but this is normal for him.
McCain is one of the few honest, principled politicians left. That is his appeal. He does not toe the party line on every issue, but who wants a president that does? Isn't that one of the things that got Bush in trouble?
I do not understand the conservative outcry against McCain. It seems unproductive and out of step with the Republican party platform, which McCain supports. I guess he isn't far enough to the right for some folks, but now is not the time for a polarizing candidate. That is why the candidates are turning out as they are. People want a centrist President that can work with both parties in Congress to get the country back on it's feet.
McGentrix wrote:McCain is one of the few honest, principled politicians left. That is his appeal. He does not toe the party line on every issue, but who wants a president that does? Isn't that one of the things that got Bush in trouble?
I do not understand the conservative outcry against McCain. It seems unproductive and out of step with the Republican party platform, which McCain supports. I guess he isn't far enough to the right for some folks, but now is not the time for a polarizing candidate. That is why the candidates are turning out as they are. People want a centrist President that can work with both parties in Congress to get the country back on it's feet.
Here is where you are dead wrong, McGentrix. I want the party line in terms of national security, immigration reform, economic issues, environmental nonsense, supreme court nominees, etc etc. Bipartisanship is a buzzword for compromise with worthless Democratic initiatives. Stabbing his own president and fellow Republicans in the back is not my brand of politics. You end up with McCain Feingold, worthless immigration bills, bad judge appointments, and all the rest.
Here is an interesting op-ed about presidents and the economy.
It applies to ALL presidents, not just the repubs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/05/AR2008020502876.html
Quote:As the economy weakens and the campaign intensifies, we'll hear more of James Carville's familiar refrain: It's the economy, stupid. Well, it ain't or, at least, shouldn't be. I'm not claiming that Carville is wrong about voting. People vote their pocketbooks. In the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, the economy overshadows Iraq as the most important issue by 39 percent to 19. What I'm saying is that this sort of voting is shortsighted. It rewards or punishes candidates for something beyond their power.
Read the rest.
Its interesting if nothing else.
