Monday, February 19, 2007
McCain Continues To Court The Right
Just in case there's anybody out there who STILL thinks John McCain isn't a right-wing politician ready to toe the Falwell/Robertson line, he said this yesterday:
Can't get any plainer than that - elect McCain and he will work to overturn Roe and appoint judges to the courts who will do the same.
Funny thing is, I doubt statements like the above will actually help McCain with the evangelicals or the right-wingers in the GOP. They don't trust him, they don't like him and they're probably not going to support him in the primary.
But statements like the above sure will take the last bit of gloss from McCain's appeal as a "maverick" politician who appeals to independents and moderates. Take a look at the poll numbers. McCain continues to lose support among independents and moderates.
I don't know who McCain thinks he's fooling with the way he's running his presidential campaign. Sucking up to the evangelicals and the wingers hasn't gained him any support on the right and it has hurt what appeal he had from independents.
It's the worst of both worlds for McCain.
His campaign seems DOA a year out from the primary season. There's a measure of desperation coming from him and his people that's hard to miss.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, looking to improve his standing with the party’s conservative voters, said Sunday the court decision that legalized abortion should be overturned.
“I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned,” the Arizona senator told about 800 people in South Carolina, one of the early voting states.
McCain also vowed that if elected, he would appoint judges who “strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench.”
Can't get any plainer than that - elect McCain and he will work to overturn Roe and appoint judges to the courts who will do the same.
Funny thing is, I doubt statements like the above will actually help McCain with the evangelicals or the right-wingers in the GOP. They don't trust him, they don't like him and they're probably not going to support him in the primary.
But statements like the above sure will take the last bit of gloss from McCain's appeal as a "maverick" politician who appeals to independents and moderates. Take a look at the poll numbers. McCain continues to lose support among independents and moderates.
I don't know who McCain thinks he's fooling with the way he's running his presidential campaign. Sucking up to the evangelicals and the wingers hasn't gained him any support on the right and it has hurt what appeal he had from independents.
It's the worst of both worlds for McCain.
His campaign seems DOA a year out from the primary season. There's a measure of desperation coming from him and his people that's hard to miss.
Comments:
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RBE,
In a recent conversation w/ my father, a WW II vet, he stated that being a POW does not make one a "hero."
So, who do you like in the McCain Giuliani smackdown?
In a recent conversation w/ my father, a WW II vet, he stated that being a POW does not make one a "hero."
So, who do you like in the McCain Giuliani smackdown?
# posted by 
: 11:25 AM
: 11:25 AM 
Desperation is all they have left, abi. And propaganda.
Tony, I'm thinking about doing a 2008 election post. I've been thinking a long time about the chances for Rudy and St. John in the GOP primary. I heard Craig Crawford say this might be the year that a second-tier candidate breaks through in the GOP primaries. Maybe Huckabee. Maybe Brownback. I just don't think GOPers, especially conservative ones, are too happy with their choices in the top tier (Rudy, McCain, Romney.) While I think they want to beat HRC in the general (or any other De, for that matter), I sense that the real ideologues in the party are longing for purity after 8 years of the "conservative" GWB. Pat Buchanan comes to mind. Pat dislikes all three top tier guys and looks to be leaning toward either Brownback or Huckabee. I bet there are quite a few other conservatives in the party who are leaning the same way. We'll see. it's difficult to break out of the second-tier in the GOP primary and even more difficult when the money means so much to the campaign.
Pt, when Rudy gets scrutiny over his business dealings, his personal life, and his pre-9/11 and post-9/11 record as mayor (think about his placing the NYC emergency command center in WTC 7, a prime terrorist target and think about his lying to NYers and Ground Zero workers about the safety of the air around Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks), he's not going to seem so bankable to voters on either the likability or trust issues. Kate O'Beirne (Old Sandpaper Snatch herself) an editor of the NRO put it best - Rudy's a cad. When Old Sandpaper Snatch criticizes a fellow GOPer, take notice. It means others in the party feel the same way.
Tony, I'm thinking about doing a 2008 election post. I've been thinking a long time about the chances for Rudy and St. John in the GOP primary. I heard Craig Crawford say this might be the year that a second-tier candidate breaks through in the GOP primaries. Maybe Huckabee. Maybe Brownback. I just don't think GOPers, especially conservative ones, are too happy with their choices in the top tier (Rudy, McCain, Romney.) While I think they want to beat HRC in the general (or any other De, for that matter), I sense that the real ideologues in the party are longing for purity after 8 years of the "conservative" GWB. Pat Buchanan comes to mind. Pat dislikes all three top tier guys and looks to be leaning toward either Brownback or Huckabee. I bet there are quite a few other conservatives in the party who are leaning the same way. We'll see. it's difficult to break out of the second-tier in the GOP primary and even more difficult when the money means so much to the campaign.
Pt, when Rudy gets scrutiny over his business dealings, his personal life, and his pre-9/11 and post-9/11 record as mayor (think about his placing the NYC emergency command center in WTC 7, a prime terrorist target and think about his lying to NYers and Ground Zero workers about the safety of the air around Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks), he's not going to seem so bankable to voters on either the likability or trust issues. Kate O'Beirne (Old Sandpaper Snatch herself) an editor of the NRO put it best - Rudy's a cad. When Old Sandpaper Snatch criticizes a fellow GOPer, take notice. It means others in the party feel the same way.
RBE,
You may be correct (I almost wrote "right") about a second tier candidate, however, I am betting on the GOP realists. When the conservatives start pushing their social agenda, the realists will shunt them aside invoking George McGovern of yore.
The neocon foreign policy failures have poisoned the word "conservative" for everyone who so identifies themselves w/ the possible exception of someone who says "I am a fiscal conservative."
It is patently obvious to all and sundry that a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage or a promise to try and overturn Roe v. Wade will not solve the morass in Iraq.
Regards,
You may be correct (I almost wrote "right") about a second tier candidate, however, I am betting on the GOP realists. When the conservatives start pushing their social agenda, the realists will shunt them aside invoking George McGovern of yore.
The neocon foreign policy failures have poisoned the word "conservative" for everyone who so identifies themselves w/ the possible exception of someone who says "I am a fiscal conservative."
It is patently obvious to all and sundry that a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage or a promise to try and overturn Roe v. Wade will not solve the morass in Iraq.
Regards,
# posted by : 10:52 AM
: 10:52 AM
Watch Huckabee closely, tony. He doesn't come across as a nutcase (even though his social policies are quite conservative and will surely make the evangelicals happy.) Americans are mostly stupid and they can be easily fooled into voting for somebody they think is a moderate. Huckabee is also engaging, smart and funny. He comes across good on Imus and The Daily Show. I think if he breaks out the second tier (never easy in the GOP primary) and can start eating up some of St. John's or St. Rudy's money, he could have a chance to win.
RBE,
Huckabee has the advantage of being a governor. It is my opinion that no sitting senator, or maybe even former senator can be elected. It is too easy to for their voting records to be converted into sound bites. "Sen.______ voted against a bill that would provide body armor for our troops in Iraq!" What isn't revealed was that attached to that bill was an unconsionable piece of pork barrel that made the body armor bill a bad one.
Now count the the governors or formwer governors electo the White House over the last 30 years: Carter; Reagan; Clinton; and Bush II. That's 4 of 5.
Huckabee has the advantage of being a governor. It is my opinion that no sitting senator, or maybe even former senator can be elected. It is too easy to for their voting records to be converted into sound bites. "Sen.______ voted against a bill that would provide body armor for our troops in Iraq!" What isn't revealed was that attached to that bill was an unconsionable piece of pork barrel that made the body armor bill a bad one.
Now count the the governors or formwer governors electo the White House over the last 30 years: Carter; Reagan; Clinton; and Bush II. That's 4 of 5.
# posted by : 11:42 AM
: 11:42 AM
RBE,
Huckabee has the advantage of being a governor. It is my opinion that no sitting senator, or maybe even former senator can be elected. It is too easy to for their voting records to be converted into sound bites. "Sen.______ voted against a bill that would provide body armor for our troops in Iraq!" What isn't revealed was that attached to that bill was an unconsionable piece of pork barrel that made the body armor bill a bad one.
Now count the the governors or formwer governors electo the White House over the last 30 years: Carter; Reagan; Clinton; and Bush II. That's 4 of 5.
Post a Comment
Huckabee has the advantage of being a governor. It is my opinion that no sitting senator, or maybe even former senator can be elected. It is too easy to for their voting records to be converted into sound bites. "Sen.______ voted against a bill that would provide body armor for our troops in Iraq!" What isn't revealed was that attached to that bill was an unconsionable piece of pork barrel that made the body armor bill a bad one.
Now count the the governors or formwer governors electo the White House over the last 30 years: Carter; Reagan; Clinton; and Bush II. That's 4 of 5.
# posted by : 11:43 AM
: 11:43 AM << Home
