Free Republic

ST. PAUL, MINN. - Republican John McCain's primary campaign almost collapsed last year under the weight of opponents' attacks that he backed "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. As McCain prepares to accept his party's nomination for president tonight, past critics of the Arizona senator's position have rallied behind his candidacy. McCain, meanwhile, has backed away from signature immigration legislation and signed off on a party platform that makes a fence along the Mexican border a priority. The party's Twin Cities unity on immigration bridges, for now, an increasingly charged ideological rift for Republican candidates and campaigns. "We don't go around talking...

The choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin last week by Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been explained in the media as a "game-changer," "bold," "daring," and in keeping with the Arizona senator's "maverick" image. But here's what the decision means for across-the-board conservatives: vital. Before McCain's decision many on the Right (including myself) were alternately ambivalent, disaffected, or outright opposed to the idea of voting for him. After years of nose-thumbing acts by the GOP candidate towards many of his party's colleagues and its base, the temptation for conservatives to register a protest vote (most likely Libertarian Bob Barr)...

Many conservatives are nervous as the Republican National Convention kicks off. They know they won’t be hearing anything close to the no-compromise declarations of Helms and Goldwater. John McCain is working hard to convince conservatives he is one of us even as he surrounds himself with prominent moderates, including Rudy Giuliani, Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Yes, conservatives will have their say at the convention: Vice President Dick Cheney, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oka.), and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) are scheduled to speak. But...

When Sarah Palin stepped into the spotlight as John McCain’s running mate in Dayton, Ohio, and promised that women could “shatter that glass ceiling once and for all”, it was an electrifying moment in a presidential election that had already produced its share of upsets and surprises. History was on the march again the morning after Barack Obama became the first African-American to accept his party’s White House nomination. After the fireworks, the 80,000-strong crowd who had cheered Obama to the skies at the Mile High stadium in Denver woke up with a hangover. “We may be seeing the first...

The selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate has electrified conservative activists, providing a boost of energy to the GOP nominee-in-waiting from a key constituency that had been previously had been lukewarm – at best – about him. By tapping the anti-abortion and pro-gun Alaska governor just ahead of his convention, which is set to start here Monday, McCain hasn’t just won approval from a skeptical Republican base – he’s ignited a wave of elation and emotion that has led some grassroots activists to weep with joy. Serious questions remain about McCain’s pick – exactly how much he...

FAIRBANKS -- Among social conservatives, and Alaska has plenty, U.S. Sen. John McCain’s popularity grew Friday after he named Gov. Sarah Palin his running mate. Palin is solidly pro-gun, pro-death penalty, anti-abortion, against gay marriage and she has advocated for creationism to be taught in public schools. McCain has a reputation, deserved or not, for being moderate on some social issues, although his votes in the Senate and the positions described on his campaign Web site would suggest otherwise. The Arizona senator was the last choice among Alaska Republicans who voted in February’s presidential preference poll. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt...

There has been plenty of whining from conservatives concerning whether John McCain would select a pro-choice vice president. I just hope whining is all it is. As my colleague Dan Calabrese pointed out on August 21, the political leanings of the VP concerning abortion are largely irrelevant. The only way to meaningfully decrease the number of abortions is to convince people that abortion is a bad idea, not to legislate. But this conservative whining must be starting to concern McCain and his political strategists at least a little. Maybe these people who keep complaining that McCain isn´t conservative enough are...

Richard A. Viguerie ConservativeHQ.com 9625 Surveyor Court, Suite 400 Manassas, Virginia 20110 Contact: Bob Sturm (703) 396-6974 After 6 PM Eastern time and on weekends & holidays, contact Bob Sturm (703) 307-8176 FOR RELEASE August 20, 2008 An Open Letter from Richard Viguerie to John McCain: Conservatives Can Also Play the Maverick Game (Manassas, Virginia) The following is an open letter from Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, to Senator John McCain in regard to news reports that the Republican presidential candidate may select a vice presidential running mate who supports abortions rights: Dear Senator McCain: The buzz in recent...

By Michelle Malkin  •  August 19, 2008 09:11 AM Scroll down for updates… Wouldn’t put it past him. Would you? Which is why, despite all the encomiums he’s received from his Saddleback appearance, I haven’t joined the ga-ga bandwagon (and won’t).Rich Lowry reports: NR has learned that the McCain campaign has been calling key state GOP officials around the country the last couple of days and sounding them out about the consequences of a pro-choice VP pick. The campaign is asking about the reaction of conservative grass-roots activists to such a pick and whether a pro-choicer can be sold to them....

On the day Mitt Romney bowed out of the presidential race last February, his supporters latched onto something of a consolation prize that appeared to bode well for his political future: the warm embrace of hundreds of conservatives whose seal of approval he had long sought. -SNIP- Yet as Mr. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, is said to have emerged as a top contender to be Senator John McCain’s vice-presidential running mate, a vocal segment of conservative leaders and grass-roots activists have mobilized against him, with some going out of their way to block his path to the Republican...

Top conservative activist and leader of the Eagle Forum, Phyllis Schlafly — a legendary militant pro-lifer — reacted to John McCain's remark that former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge's pro-choice position would not rule him out as a vice presidential running mate by telling Newsmax, "I think [McCain] would be making a mistake." Schlafly was not alone in warning McCain against picking Ridge or any other pro-choice advocate as his running mate. Other top conservative leaders chimed in, showing that McCain, already getting only grudging support from the GOP’s right wing, might drive conservatives to desert his cause and torpedo his...

"SpeechWars.com" is a website that enables a user to count the number of times Obama and McCain have used specific words in more than 125 major published speeches since 2004. John McCain used the word "Conservative" seven times between 2004 and 2008. He used the word 16 times in two months after Mitt Romney challenged him from the right in the 2008 GOP primaries. After McCain clinched the nomination in March 2008, he has NEVER used the word "Conservative" in a major speech.

It was said of the restored Bourbon monarchs of France after the French Revolution, “They have learned nothing and forgotten nothing.” The same can be said of today’s Republican congressional leadership. Many Republicans hoped that after losing their majority in the 2006 debacle, the congressional leadership would put together a reform agenda that would emphasize core conservative principles to recapture its majority. Yet those hopes have been dashed as lately it has been more of the same and voters have continued to punish Republicans with devastating defeats. It would appear that things will have to get worse before they get...

Richard Viguerie: Conservatives Deeply Depressed Over McCain Campaign (Las Vegas, Nevada) Conservatives are so depressed over the state of the McCain campaign--particularly its failure to include and enthuse the Republican base--that they are preparing themselves for a monumental GOP defeat in November, Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, said in a speech to FreedomFest. “You even have some conservatives who are considering voting for Barack Obama, because they fear McCain as president would destroy what’s left of the Republican brand and would finish off the conservative movement,” said Viguerie. “Their mood is that of the fatally ill patient who...

Conservatives have rarely been comfortable with Sen. John McCain and they're worried that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will try to mess with the basic GOP platform that "currently reflects the policies and principles of President Bush," Michael D. Shear tells us this morning. Conservatives seem to have particular concerns about McCain's views on global warming, immigration, stem cell research and campaign finance.We don't ask our Readers Who Comment to identify their political leanings, but many of those who have filed on this article seem to be Democrats, because they're enjoying the fight. Some who seem to come from the...

A number of friends of mine have commented on an odd phenomenon that they have observed — conservative Republicans they know who are saying that they are going to vote for Barack Obama. It seemed at first to be an isolated fluke, perhaps signifying only that my friends know some strange conservatives. But apparently columnist Robert Novak has encountered the same phenomenon and has coined the term "Obamacons" to describe the conservatives for Senator Obama. Now the San Francisco Chronicle has run a feature article, titled "Some Influential Conservatives Spurn GOP and Endorse Obama." In it they quote various conservatives...

You see, the problem is McCain really doesn’t like us. To a large degree he’s bought into the moonbat caricature of conservatives, thinking we’re bigots and yahoos who lack hearts. But he’s figured out a way to deal with us. He’s going to throw us some red meat during the campaign; he’ll give us some lip service when he has to and once he placates us enough that we vote him into office, he’s stubbornly going to go right back to what he wants to do. You can do that sort of thing and keep a clear conscience when you’re...

A factor that weighs heavily in McCain’s favor is his Senate record. Judicial issues haven’t been his trademark, but he has consistently supported conservative Supreme Court nominees. In 1987 he spoke on behalf of embattled Reagan Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, saying he supported him “without any hesitation.” In recent years McCain has voted for every one of Bush’s judicial nominees. “He voted for Alito and Roberts despite the fact that he had to know they would vote to strike down McCain-Feingold,” said Levey. “That addresses the concern that he might not appoint strict constructionist judges who are more likely...

McCain fights for conservative supportFrom Dana Bash CNN Correspondent (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain took his "Straight Talk" straight to conservatives Thursday night as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee looked to shore up support from the party's base. At a Cincinnati, Ohio, town hall meeting, McCain talked in depth about a bevy of issues, from Iraq to taxes. He reiterated his proposal for a gas tax holiday to help Americans deal with soaring prices at the pump. He spoke for more than an hour but never mentioned issues that social conservatives skeptical of McCain want to hear about: his opposition...

When Losing Isn’t Affordable November and The War on IslamofascismBy Rene Guerra Unambiguous success in Iraq and unequivocal victory in the rest of the global war on Islamofascism is not a choice; we don’t have any other alternative, for it is a matter of our very survival. It is not a matter of “prestige� or any other hubristic notion; it is about our own hide, particularly when America faces the grim prospect of Barack Hussein Obama becoming the next president of the United States of America. The term “Unambiguous Success in Iraq�, cited in the above opening paragraph, is deemed...

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., has reluctantly come to the conclusion that he will have to vote for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., whose immigration reform bill Tancredo blasted as amnesty. "Sometimes I say to myself, 'Can I really do this?'" Tancredo said of voting for McCain, according to the Rocky Mountain News. "And then you listen to Obama or Hillary and say, 'Yeah, I have to.'" At a debate last October Tancredo sounded less sure of such an idea. "You know, I've said I don't know how many times, that I am absolutely tired and sick and tired of being forced...

McCain's campaign says it's ramped up efforts to rally Christian conservatives behind the presumptive Republican U.S. presidential nominee. The campaign to get conservatives to the polls in 18 battleground states is low-key -- e-mailed messages and briefings of conservative leaders before McCain, R-Ariz., delivers key speeches, The New York Times reported Monday. McCain's wooing of the conservative vote must be balanced against his appeal moderates and independents, political analysts said. "Because the Republican brand name is less popular and the conservative base is restive, McCain has special needs to reach out to independent and moderate voters, but, of course, he...

The first boss I ever had, in 1968, was a Nixon-hater. A Democrat from upstate New York, he kept a coffee mug emblazoned with a Nixon $3 bill, and he could recite the litany of Nixon's red-baiting campaigns. First there was Jerry Voorhees in 1946, then there was Alger Hiss and the pumpkin papers. Then there was Helen Gahagan Douglas in 1950. You can imagine that I was surprised when Nixon won the presidency that November. We learned later that Richard Nixon's victory over Hubert Humphrey in 1968 was the first victory of Nixon's "southern strategy," a deliberate attempt to...

Halloween has come early this year: Republicans have forgotten how to run without scare tactics. This year it’s Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s turn as the Democratic goblin, with House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the witch on a broomstick. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is the vampire slayer and ghostbuster who will save us from the creatures of the night. These fear tactics didn’t work in the three special House elections this year, and they’re not going to work in November. Are we supposed to be scared of Democrats as big spenders? The Bush administration and congressional Republicans topped Democratic...

Perhaps because I'm a neocon, and not a dyed-in-the-wool, native-born conservative, I look at John McCain, with all his flaws, and still think that he's a pretty darn good candidate for our time. More importantly, I think that Obama is a very dangerous candidate precisely because of the time in which we live. I therefore find disturbing the number of conservative purists who insist that they're going to teach John McCain -- and everyone else, dammit! -- a lesson, either by sitting out the election or by throwing their vote away on a third party candidate. This is a kind...

What does the road ahead look like now that McCain has the Republican nomination sewn up? Obama is going to end up the Democrat nominee unless Hillary can get enough dirt to bury him. Either way McCain has a pretty good shot at winning in November. Obama and Hillary have shown themselves to be too liberal for most of the country while McCain has appealed to middle. In the end most Republicans will vote for McCain because they do not want Obama or Hillary in the White House. The Independents and moderate Democrats will more than likely vote for McCain...

Conservatives don’t love John McCain, but unless they’re considering abandoning their cause with Atlas Shrugged proportions, there’s no way in hell they’ll vote for Barack Obama. Sometimes, things have to get worse before they get better. And with that idea in mind, the conservative movement really is America’s crutch. The most specific example is economics, as conservatives constantly preach lower taxes and greater individual freedom. One would think that the Bush tax cuts, which have yielded continued economic growth (yes, our economy is growing, despite the lies you keep hearing), and the burgeoning economy during the Reagan Administration would provide...

As promised, this is it. We delivered. The future of the Republican Party is now available for your inspection, by clicking on http://www.GOPonDemand.com. This is the public "beta" version of GOP onDemand,™ the gateway to your constitutional right to guide and instruct your Republican Party. You, the loyal readers of Townhall.com are the very first to see, to critique, to interact with GOP onDemand.™ Please note, various pages are still under construction, and features still must be added. But that's because we want, and need, your input as to what you think Republicans want to see on GOP onDemand.™ If...

All Republican leaders must resign Written by Viguerie on Wed May 14 11:48:26 -0400 2008 Republican leaders in the White House, the Congress, and the Republican National Committee and its affiliates, along with most Republican leaders at the state level, have failed – or outright betrayed – the conservative voters who put them in their positions.The result is that the party’s “brand� has become a negative, to an extent greater than in the Watergate era, perhaps worse than in the days of Herbert Hoover. The number of new Republican voters is flat while Democratic voter registration is skyrocketing.Contributions to GOP...

It's probably no secret to anyone who reads my column regularly that I will not be voting for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for president. But I also will not be voting for John McCain. I could tell you all the reasons and have expressed them already in a number of columns in recent months. But this time, I'll let someone with whom I seldom agree express them for me. His name is Jonathan Chait, a senior editor at The New Republic. Here's what he wrote in that magazine: "Even though it is in the public record, McCain's voting...

My friend and colleague David Karki is about as devoted to the United States Constitution, along with its principles of limited government, as anyone I’ve ever known. And unlike the Ron Paul types who have tumbled from this perch headlong into international isolationism, Dave still recognizes and respects the blessing of American exceptionalism and our need to maintain a strong international presence – including in Iraq, where he steadfastly supports American victory. Now that’s what I call a real conservative. So why is David Karki OK with the prospect of Barack Obama becoming the 44th president of the United States?...

In my last column, I argued that conservatives must leave the Republican Party. That wasn't a conclusion I came to lightly, nor did I enjoy doing so. But I think we must, for three reasons: • First, because I think a debacle is pretty much inevitable. The GOP has no money thanks to its alienating of its base. Congressional candidates have already been told it's every candidate for himself, and the one guy with enough of a bully pulpit to turn this around, Sen. John McCain, steadfastly refuses to do so, instead pre-emptively surrendering to liberals. • Second, so that...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - While John McCain is practically assured the Republican presidential nomination, many party members are having a hard time accepting him -- and showing it with symbolic votes against him in primary contests. The Republican nomination battle has been all but decided for over two months. Still, some Republicans used the April 22 Pennsylvania primary and last week's votes in Indiana and North Carolina to register their unhappiness with the de facto victor. Some vote for libertarian Texan Ron Paul, who has refused to quit the race and has racked up more than one million votes, according to...

If I had any doubts about whether to vote for John McCain in this year's presidential election, those doubts were laid to rest this past week when McCain sat down for an interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. McCain solidified for me the fact that he is not a true conservative and not worthy of my support. McCain proved that on some of the most crucial issues, he will let down a base of constituents that are looking for answers. O'Reilly addressed the question of rising gasoline prices. Anyone with a brain in their head knows that only two...

McCain has recently been making efforts to reach out to all sorts of people not traditionally associated with the GOP. He appeared on the View, the Daily Show, before black civil rights activists in Alabama, etc. When is he going to make a serious effort to reach out to conservatives? How about promising to appoint strict constructionist judges? How about re-assurances on gun ownership rights? What about reducing the out-of-control spending of this administation? Does he take conservative support for granted? Does he even want them? Maybe he sees that Obama and his kooky spiritual advisor have totally freaked most...

It's hard not to notice: In each of the last three Republican primaries, roughly a quarter of the vote went to someone other than John McCain. Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee got a combined 27 percent of the vote in Pennsylvania last month, long after the GOP nomination had been settled in McCain's favor. On Tuesday, Paul, Huckabee and Mitt Romney received a combined 23 percent in Indiana. Alan Keyes, Huckabee, Paul and "No Preference" took 26 percent in North Carolina. On the surface, it would seem that McCain, the party's presumptive nominee, still has some distance to go in...

It goes without saying that the GOP is taking a dreadful thrashing right now. Conservatives are unmotivated, Democrats are obliterating Republicans in the fundraising arena, and the GOP's poll numbers have dropped off a cliff. George Bush, the face of the Republican Party, has an approval rating of 30% and according to Rasmussen Reports, one of the best polling agencies in the business, 41.4% of Americans consider themselves to be Democrats while only 31.4% say they are Republicans. Worse yet, voters trust the Democrats more than Republicans on the economy, government ethics, the war in Iraq, health care, Social Security,...

Sen. John McCain as the Republican presidential candidate doing everything he can to show how liberal he is, to the point where it's very difficult to find any significant difference between him and the two Democratic candidates. Speaker Nancy Pelosi running roughshod over House appropriation rules, trade agreements signed in good faith, and doing everything else in her power to run out the clock on this year until, presumably, a newly inaugurated President Obama or Hillary can sign everything President Bush would veto. And last, but certainly most, a Republican Party that has gone completely supine and offers no opposition...

John McCain promised on Tuesday to nominate conservative judges to the Supreme Court and for other judicial vacancies, seeking to quash doubts among some Republicans about his conservative credentials. -snip-

As November's election nears, some otherwise right-thinking conservatives and Christians, unhappy with GOP presidential candidate John McCain, have concluded America would actually be better off in the long run with Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the White House for the next four years. They recount all of McCain's personal and policy sins. They say, at least if Clinton or Obama is elected, Republicans will unite in opposition to the new president's wacko policies. But if McCain becomes president and champions bad policies, they argue, Republicans in Congress will be paralyzed, unable to oppose effectively any wrongheaded initiatives championed by...

It’s Time for Conservatives to Dump the GOP! Don Boys, Ph.D. It is time for Christians and Conservatives (not always the same) to run from the Republican Party as if their hair is on fire. How much longer will principled people pretend that the GOP takes a principled stand? Some background: Every member of my family in West Virginia was a Democrat, but when I turned 18, I wanted to vote for Ike, so I registered as a Republican and have generally voted for them most of my life—until recently. When I was administrator of a large Christian school in...

  Conservatives Coming Together For McCain: Why? Recent polling indicates that the GOP is uniting behind our nominee, John McCain, that's the good news. Why are conservatives coming home? First and foremost are the key issues. McCain can be trusted on national security given his background, experience and judgment, especially compared to the Democratic options. Second, McCain has been reliable in judicial appointments and has made clear he will appoint "judges who ... faithfully apply the law as written..." Third, McCain has a good pro-life record, except for stem cell funding. Fourth, McCain is tough on earmarks and runaway...

By Patrick J. Buchanan Tuesday, April 29, 2008 If John McCain wins the presidency, his comeback -- after the bankrupt debacle his campaign had become in the summer of 2007 with his backing of the amnesty bill -- will be the stuff of legend. And as nominee, he is entitled to conduct his own campaign and be cut slack by a party whose brand name is now Enron. That said, McCain seems to have decided to win by love-bombing the Big Media and putting miles between himself and the base. Consider his "Forgotten Places" tour of last week. It began...

In the space of one day, Sen. John McCain put on clear display for all to see the reason why so many conservatives are so unhappy with his candidacy, and why most of them will vote against the Democratic nominee rather than for McCain, presuming they can find it in themselves to pull that lever at all. McCain first disingenuously criticized the Bush Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, in so doing cementing the liberal shibboleths that have come to be the “truth” on the subject. Not once did he mention the dereliction of Mayor Ray Nagin and Gov. Kathleen Blanco,...

If someone told me in the 1990's that I, an outspoken and vehement opponent of the Clintons would now be endorsing Hillary Clinton for President of the United States, I would have laughed in their face at the absolute absurdity of the notion. But here I am now, a staunch conservative, joining conservatives Ann Coulter and Bill Cunningham among others in endorsing Hillary Rodham Clinton for President. How could this be? As absurd as the notion that I would someday endorse Hillary Clinton for President over the Republican nominee is the equally absurd notion that barely a decade after one...

Although John McCain's candidacy is still viewed with suspicion by many conservative leaders, polling suggests he has overcome the concerns of rank-and-file conservatives: McCain isn't viewed more unfavorably by conservative voters today than George W. Bush was at this point in the 2000 election cycle.In the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, 18 percent of conservatives said they have an unfavorable view of McCain. The same percentage expressed an unfavorable view of Bush in CBS News polls conducted in March and April of 2000; higher percentages of conservatives held unfavorable views of Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush at similar...

John McCain is a hero for his service in Vietnam. Most conservatives would be thrilled to support him, if only he would give them reason to. Why is it that conservatives have such a hard time lining up behind John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president? Is it, as some liberals suggest, just "pique" -- that we didn't get our way, and now we're throwing a tantrum? Or are the differences between McCain and conservatives very real, very serious matters that go to the heart of the principles of conservatism? The truth is that the differences with McCain are...

At a time when the top two Democratic presidential candidates are caught up squabbling about who's less bitter than whom, GOP insiders say Sen. John McCain's campaign is quietly prepping itself for non-Democratic bumps in the general election road. Those bumps are likely to come in the form of third party candidates like Alan Keyes and former Rep. Bob Barr. The aggressive former House Republican, turned Libertarian, Bob Barr is making rumbles about running for president under the Libertarian Party banner. Beloved by some members of the GOP because of his ties to President Ronald Reagan and his leading role...

Conservative activist Peter LaBarbera is urging GOP presidential nominee John McCain to cancel his plans to meet with leaders of the homosexual activist group known as the Log Cabin Republicans. Although Senator McCain (R-Arizona) did not address the Log Cabin Republicans convention in San Diego over the weekend, he did send California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as his surrogate to address the event. CBS News chief political consultant Mark Ambinder, associate editor of TheAtlantic.com, reports that McCain plans to meet soon with executives of the Log Cabin Republicans. LaBarbera, founder of the website Republicans for Family Values, says McCain should dump...

The independent label sticks to John McCain because he antagonizes fellow Republicans and likes to work with Democrats. But a different label applies to his actual record: conservative. The likely Republican presidential nominee is much more conservative than voters appear to realize. McCain leans to the right on issue after issue, not just on the Iraq war but also on abortion, gay rights, gun control and other issues that matter to his party's social conservatives. The four-term Arizona senator, a longtime member of the Armed Services Committee, criticized the earlier handling of the war but has been a crucial ally...