Posted on 02/08/2008 6:29:14 AM PST by cgk
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February 08, 2008, 0:00 a.m.
McCain Disdain
Why some Republicans won't vote for the senator.
By Mona Charen
I posted a squib on National Review Online about a robo call I received from John McCain (Virginia’s primary is Tuesday). The call stressed that he would, if elected, be a down-the-line limited-government conservative who would never raise taxes, would defend life, would enforce immigration laws, and would win the war on terror. The candidate is trying, I said, to meet conservatives “more than halfway.”
The response of readers was, shall we say, emphatic. One lady wrote that she would never vote for him as “he is the most disloyal, ill-tempered man and he brings out the worse [sic] in all of us.” Several readers made the point that after decades of suffering abuse at McCain’s hands, conservatives are not going to fall into line for him now no matter what blandishments he offers.
I know how they feel. The problem with John McCain is not just that he strays. George Bush has strayed from conservatism too. So has Fred Thompson, and certainly, Mitt Romney has as well. But Senator McCain has a knack for saying things in just the tones and accents that liberals prefer.
In 2000, he condemned the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson as “agents of intolerance.” In 2004, when Sen. John Kerry was getting his comeuppance from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, vets whom he had known during the war and who couldn’t remain silent as the Democratic nominee distorted his war record, John McCain weighed in by calling them “dishonorable and dishonest.” When the Bush Administration was being vilified as a nest of Torquemadas for using waterboarding on three occasions, McCain came forward to condemn waterboarding as torture.
Senator McCain was a Vietnam hero. Conservatives, in particular, revere him for this. Indeed, his return from the political grave can probably be traced to the moment (October 22) when he joshingly referred to having missed the Woodstock music festival in 1969 because “I was tied up at the time.” In that instant he came to personify (for many) the conservative side of the great 1960s chasm that (Obama’s irenic rhetoric notwithstanding) continues to divide our society. Not only was he not smoking pot and lolling in the mud with his girlfriend, you could almost hear Republicans telling themselves that he was standing up to torture at the hands of America’s enemies.
And yet, a better man would not stoop to suggesting that military service is the only way to show love of country and sneer that — unlike Mitt Romney — he served for “patriotism not profit.” Profit is a four letter word in the McCain vocabulary, whether applied to “Big Pharma” or other businesses.
McCain reaches too hard and too transparently to turn everything into a contest about military service. When Romney observed that Bob Dole wouldn’t necessarily be the one he’d want an endorsement from, McCain pronounced himself “very sad and disappointed to see that kind of comment about a person who was an American war hero” and demanded that Romney apologize.
There is a strutting self-righteousness about McCain that goes hand-in-hand with a nitroglycerin temper. He flatters himself that his colleagues in the Senate dislike him because he stands up for principle, while they sell their souls for pork. Not exactly. He is disliked because on many, many occasions he has been disrespectful, belligerent, and vulgar to those who differ with him.
Bradley Smith, former commissioner of the Federal Election Commission and the leading legal scholar on campaign-finance issues, experienced the McCain treatment firsthand. Because Smith opposed limits on political speech, he was denounced as “corrupt” by the senator (as was Commissioner Ellen Weintraub). Smith, who lives modestly, jokes that his wife has complained about the absence of jewels and furs. Though he served on the commission for five years and made several attempts to meet with McCain to discuss the issues, Smith was rebuffed.
The two did accidentally meet outside a hearing room in 2004 when they were both scheduled to testify before the Senate rules committee. At first, McCain grasped Smith’s outstretched hand (Smith was in a wheelchair recovering from surgery), but when he recognized his campaign finance opponent he snatched his hand back, snarling “I’m not going to shake your hand. You’re a bully. You have no regard for the Constitution. You’re corrupt.”
Smith, a soft-spoken scholar, ardent patriot, and lifelong conservative Republican, cannot pull the lever for McCain. He is far from alone, and that is the Republican Party’s heartbreak in 2008.
— Mona Charen is a syndicated columnist and political commentator.
Right now I’m feeling like the real mother in the story in the Bible where the Judge issues the edict to cut the baby in half to resolve the issue over the two women claiming to be the child’s mother.
My Country is at stake. Can I trust one man that I despise who represents my Party or sit on my hands on 11/8 and allow socialism overtake our society.
Boy, did she nail it! He has done too many things over the years that convince me he is NOT a friend of business, he fights tax cuts, he supports far too many liberal programs, and he's in bed with far too many liberals. All I want is somebody who realizes that I know how to spend my money better than Washington does and will work to create an environment where productive people reap the benefits of their own effort and those who aren't productive get the benefits of their own efforts...not mine.
McCain is really pretty easy to understand. He started out as a real conservative Reaganite, but in many ways “went native” after too many years in Washington. His ego is gigantic and took a huge hit in 2000. He carries grudges and carried an enormous grudge against Bush and his team after the 2000 election which he believed he should have won. He went after the 527s with McCain-Feingold because he thought they would hurt him in a future presidential run. He thinks he is always right, whether his position is conservative or liberal, and anyone who disagrees with him is either corrupt or stupid. He is his own political party.
If I vote for that ass hole then I blame my self for what I got, I will not vote for someone I distain then watch the party self destruct.
“Why should conservatives shut up and tolerate such a man? Surely we can do better”
Got any realistic ideas, because the dope from Hope doesn’t cut it either.
Polls show something different, but then the polls in NH were wrong. I tend to disagree with you. I do see this as a time we conservatives need to re-group and “find ourselves”, as Hillary puts it. We need to review Reagan and Newt’s Contract with America and find what it was that propelled conservatism into leadership.
I fear that this election is going to be a dilemma in the true sense of the word: Two choices, both bad.
Yep and Now I will support McCain for President with all my heart and soul...
Just as soon as the monkeys show up...
Very good article.
I never thought about it this way, but you're right!
“He went after the 527s with McCain-Feingold because he thought they would hurt him in a future presidential run. “
Everything else you said I have heard or thought before, but the above was a light bulb going on for me. Could you expand your thoughts on that?
McCain claims to be a footsoldier in the Reagan revolution, I would ask the Little Senator how does McCain/Feingold , McCain/ Kennady/Edwards, McCain/Kennedy, McCain/ Liebermann promote the conservative agenda?
His hallmark legislation does not a promote conservatitve position, he will get called on it. McCain’s thin fasade will crumble. No one is going to vote for a phoney. I fear we’re in for an Obama presidency
Unfortunately - I don't like being treated like an abused wife by the party elite!!
We've taken enough 'hold your nose & vote for the best of the worst'.
McCain has been the worst offender at deliberately doing things to show his disdain for us conservatives.
I have not made my decision about what I will do at this time.
I cannot vote for John McCain and would not even consider voting for a Democrat. But I won’t stay home on election day - there will be congressional votes to be cast and hopefully we can influence the outcome of these races. Voting conservatives into congress may be our only hope for thwarting the policies of which ever liberal ends up in the White House. As for presidental voting - write in the person of your choice. To stay home and not vote at all is to give up your right to voice your opinion plus it will only make matters worse. Just do what you can do - and never, never, never, never give up!
Well said. I won't surrender the war because of a lost battle.
That said, for every conservative who refuses to pull the lever, there is a liberal who would rather see McCain than whoever the dems nominate.
I cannot vote for John McCain and would not even consider voting for a Democrat. But I won’t stay home on election day - there will be congressional votes to be cast and hopefully we can influence the outcome of these races. Voting conservatives into congress may be our only hope for thwarting the policies of which ever liberal ends up in the White House. As for presidental voting - write in the person of your choice. To stay home and not vote at all is to give up your right to voice your opinion plus it will only make matters worse. Just do what you can do - and never, never, never, never give up!
I'm still going to vote for McNutt.
She hits it on the head, and I’m still going to vote for McCain. The alternative is unacceptable.
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