From the Right, He Looks Too Blue

The WAshington Post ^ | March 9, 2008 | L. Brent Bozell

[libstripper]

The conservative talk-show community? Don't mind them -- they're irrelevant.

This message from John McCain surrogates and other members of the political class is filling the airwaves and op-ed pages. In the Wall Street Journal, Weekly Standard Executive Editor Fred Barnes recently wrote that McCain needn't worry that conservatives are uncomfortable with his candidacy, because "while they love to grumble and grouse, conservatives tend to be loyal Republicans who wind up voting for their party's candidate."

In the same pages, novelist Mark Helprin, a former adviser to Robert J. Dole's presidential campaign, savaged conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin for daring to speak out against McCain. "Rather than playing recklessly with electoral politics by sabotaging their own party," he wrote, "each of these compulsive talkers might be a tad less self-righteous, look to the long run, discipline himself, suck it up, and be a man."

I know the conservative movement. I've been in the trenches fighting for an alphabet soup of conservative causes for 30 years. I've raised hundreds of millions of dollars for it. And I earnestly hope that McCain isn't listening to the advice he's getting from these folks. Their thinking betrays a fundamental misreading of the conservative pulse in America today.

[libstripper]

Oh, so true, and it's getting worse every day McPain denounces a conservative who HAS THE GALL TO TRY TO HELP HIM and says how important it is to be "respectful" to the Witch and the Messiah, truth to the contrary not withstanding.

[kjo]

Just how is McLame in “our party”? He nearly jumped to the other side twice, in ‘01 and again, famously with Kerry in ‘04.

I will not vote for him.

[SE Mom]

Brent Bozell educates McCain, but is McCain teachable?

[bert]

Looks like the nominee has been checking out Free Republic......

Opinion Poll
(3/5) If it’s McCain vs Hillary in the general, how do you vote?

McCain
69.3%

Write-in
8.8%

Third Party
8.7%

Stay home
4.2%

Hillary
4.1%

Leave blank
3.1%

Pass
1.7%

[engrpat]

Still think that the democrats could save themselves a ton of problems and nominate McCain as their standard bearer. He is more democrat than republican and seems to be more comfortable with them. It would be the prefect “bipartisan” act they always seek.

[personalaccts]

I think Fred Barnes will pull for “Satan” if he had and “R” on his uniform.

[saganite]

Yep, even Freepers will fall in line and vote R even when they know there’s no place for conservatives in the Republican party nowadays.

[Flintlock]

Vote?
Me?
Now, where’d I leave my tackle box.....................?

[Tribune7]

Good column. I'm one who is going to bite the bullet out of pure loathing for Hillobama but that is a good column and hits the nail on the head.

I've like some things that McCain has said, btw, with regard to policy, especially education.

[econjack]

...[McCain] is the one who arguably least qualifies as a Reagan conservative. He claims to be a champion of freedom but gave us McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform -- which, by limiting free speech during elections, is perhaps the greatest infringement ever on the First Amendment. He claims to be a champion of U.S. sovereignty but offered us the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform bill that would give millions of illegal immigrants the chance to become citizens; that's amnesty, no matter how much he denies it. He claims to be a champion of the unborn but has waffled in the past, supporting federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. This year, he won the endorsement of Republicans for Choice. He claims to be a fiscal conservative who will make the Bush tax cuts permanent, but he also voted against them.

This article is the best summary I've read of what's wrong with the GOP and what McCain MUST do to win back conservative support. If McCain ignores the advice herein, he is doomed...it's that simple.

[Billg64]

He won’t, I have been trying to find an excuse to vote for this guy. He parses his words carefully, like every politician. His commitment to border security and amnesty have not changed one iota. He advocates surrender to the global warming religion, the actions he suggests will stifle the economy and limit our ability to fight the GWT.

[libstripper]

Right now, as far as I'm concerned, the only reason to hit the button marked McCain (I don't even like to call it voting "for" him) is that it's usually not as bad to be bitten by a copperhead as a rattlesnake or a cottonmouth. If he wants any more support from me than that, and I directly and indirectly contributed about $1,000 to GWB's 2004 election effort, he's got to earn it, starting with not dissing every conservative who supports him by telling the truth about his enemies.

[raynearhood]

I’ll vote. I’ll probably write in my dad, Duncan Hunter, or Fred Thompson. But, I’ll vote.

[central_va]

Never happen, we are to be a socialist nation. History 101: Individualism->democracy->socialism->collectivism->dictatorship->despostism->war->RINSE LATHER REPEAT, We are in the democracy to socialism transistion phase now.

[DB]

If McCain wants a winning issue, he should campaign for a major change in energy policy. He should push for a radical increase in nuclear power. To streamline the process in the name of national security. Cheap and plentiful electricity would be a major economic boon for the country. It would lower the cost of everything we produce. It would lower our cost of living improving our standard of living. It would substantially reduce our demand for oil and that in turn would go along ways towards defunding our enemies.

With cheap electricity one can make hydrogen, numerous other fuels and even pure water from salt water. With cheap electricity electric cars become much more practical. This one issue could significantly change the future of our country for the better and it is readily doable if we have the will to do it.

I think McCain is a back stabbing weasel. If he were to come out strongly for this I would have to rethink my position on him. Possibly even to the point of more than just my vote.

[libstripper]

Why do you say it looks like McCain has been checking out Free Republic? Has he done anything that indicates he'd done it and is responding to our very serious concerns about him?

[TLI]

In the same pages, novelist Mark Helprin, ... savaged conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin for daring (???) to speak out against McCain. "Rather than playing recklessly with electoral politics by sabotaging their own party," he wrote, "each of these compulsive talkers might be a tad less self-righteous, look to the long run, discipline himself, suck it up, and be a man."

Apparently Mark just can't stop writing fiction.

[webschooner]

What, am I supposed to be like the abused wife who takes beating after beating, but always comes home to “Daddy” regardless?

Listen up, McWhacked, I ain’t your wife, and you ain’t my daddy, and you ain’t gettin’ my vote. You stabbed me in the back way too many times. We have no future together. In fact, I may even get an Order of Protection against you, a**clown!

You’ll get my vote when glowbull warming causes Hell to freeze over!

[ASA Vet]

McNutts is the GOP’s DNR order.

[hometoroost]

This is a tough call. The only way to keep the Republicans from taking conservatives for granted is to bail on them at some point. But, how expensive a lesson will it be if we don't vote for McCain and we end with another President Clinton or a President B. Hussein Obama.

Not sure I'm ready to cut my nose off to spite my face but if the country's going to be in trouble anyway might as well hang on the Democrats. That said I'll probably still hold my nose and vote for McCain for one reason - Iraq. If we pull out it will be an open war between us and the Muzzies.