McCain Has Yet to Win Over Key Conservatives

Wall Street Journal ^ | April 2, 2008 | ELIZABETH HOLMES

[calcowgirl]

On the campaign trail last week, Sen. John McCain declared at least three times that the Republican Party is "united."

But is it?

Some prominent conservatives say they remain disenchanted with the party's likely nominee. Sen. McCain isn't doing enough to persuade them of his conservative credentials, they say, or win them over to his side. Although the sentiment among conservative leaders is that they will vote for Sen. McCain come November, they aren't thrilled about the prospect.

"I hear a good deal of rumbling from conservatives," said Alfred Regnery, publisher of the conservative American Spectator magazine. Mr. Regnery said Sen. McCain is doing "some" courting but "probably not enough."

Updates from the campaign trailPolls suggest the conservative leaders are dragging their feet more than most of the public. A survey of registered Republican voters taken in late March by the Pew Research Center said 64% of respondents thought the party would "unite solidly behind McCain," up from 58% a month earlier. The percentage of respondents who said the party will be divided fell to 22% from 32%.

"The process has begun," said Grover Norquist, president of the conservative advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform, seeking to clarify Sen. McCain's sentiment. "When he said it's happened, he means it's happening."

James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, once said he would stay home rather than vote for Sen. McCain. He has softened his tone, but he has yet to warm to the Arizona senator.

(snip)

In the end, the onus isn't on Sen. McCain alone. "I think it's a two-way street," said Gary Bauer, a religious conservative and former presidential candidate. "I think conservatives should reach out to him more, and I think he will continue to reach out to conservatives."

[Grunthor]

“McCain Has Yet to Win Over Key Conservatives”

I’d say about a third of the base is pretty “key.”

[acapesket]

I’ll reach out to him..
Hey McQueeg! KMA!

[Last Dakotan]

McCain Has Yet to Win Over Key Conservatives

Fixed it.

[Kimberly GG]

Sen. John McCain declared at least three times that the Republican Party is “united.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. I sincerely believe that this man is playing dumb as a fox and I can’t stand him. He repeatedly makes untrue statements. Just like Bush... he must think repeating them often enough makes them believable.

[willgolfforfood]

McCain is not going to win over conservatives. He'll win or lose this election with moderates in mid-western states that don't by and large feel comfortable voting for bible-thumping candidates from the south, and from what used to be called Reagan Democrats.

Conservative Republicans will be at the ballot boxes supporting down-ballot races they are interested in. Senators, Govenors, Mayors, and the like.

[drc43]

McCain simply does NOT need conservatives to win. He will win the middle and a significant number of Dems.

That way, he will owe us nothing.

[Joe Boucher]

McCain isn’t worried about winning over Reagan conservatives. He is to busy trying to win over the left wing of the Republican party as well as moderate to right Democrats.
McCain knows conservatives will mostly vote for him by default. The other two seriously running are true socialists and unAmerican.
So how’d ya like getting elected by default, not because folks want you, but because yo were just a little better then your opponent.
Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t vote for McCain for dog catcher. I don’t care for his amnesty b.s., nor his ethics after the Keating affair, nor his voting against tax cuts or for large his support for large govt.

[TornadoAlley3]

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[Liz]

McCain calculates he can win with a "new" coalition of independents, McCain-leaning Democrats, and Hispanics.

Just to show how "compassionate" conservatives are......I'm taking up a collection to buy the McCain campaign a calculator that actually works. They need to take a recount. McCainiac would not win election for dog-catcher with that bunch.

Keep in mind this is the same coaltion Rooty Giuliani was supposed to win with.

You remember Rooty? His losing campaign has achieved cult status as the stupidest strategy in American political history.

Looks like McCain is trying for the Rino Stupidity Trifecta.

[Man50D]

McCain Has Yet to Will Never Win Over Key Conservatives

[Liz]

McCain's got a strange group flacking his candidacy.

McC has emphasized he won't "pander" to so/cons to get this important constituency behind his candidacy. According to McQueeg, it's called "pandering" only when applied to conservatives.

McC has No such problem pandering to illegals. McC is all puckered up, on his knees, sucking up to illegals like a dry drunk with his mouth glued to a beer keg. Alarmingly, McCain chose a dual-loyalty traitor to be his "Hispanic Outreach Director." Talk about pandering-----McCain said he chose Hernandez because he AGREES with his positions.

Juan Hernandez was born in Dallas and decided as an adult to become a dual-national Mexican citizen. His last verifiable job was serving in Mexican President Vicente Fox's cabinet as Fox's "American Reconquista Director." Hernandez then worked for Bush hater George Soros' international foundations---(one such foundation published Hernendez's book that taunts Americans).

Hernandez believes all illegal Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the USA should become dual citizens and consider themselves Mexicans first, "to the 8th generation." The "New American Pioneers" proclaimed in his book are the illegal alien invaders he urges to become settlers in the USA for "Reconquista"---the plan to take back the SW.

===================================

Another group switch-hitting to McCain is shortstuff Fox pundit, Billy Kristol, his daddy, and their crowd of pukeneos.

The Kristols are cheerleaders for the current admin's most destructive polices---including the twice-failed amnesty. The conservative-hating Kristols are also designated drivers of the wacky "National Greatness" thingy---which must have been written in a drunken stupor.

Kristol and the pukeneos first-choice was Rooty Giuliani; they were the ones orchestrating Rooty's stupid strategy to religiously cleanse the Repub party and kick conservatievs to the curb. The Kristol crowd switched to McCain when their boy Giuliani tanked like a deadweight going down a 300 ft cistern.

The pukeneos were directing Giuliani's cockamamie strategy to "save himself" for Florida---which has reached cult status as the stupidest strategy in campaign history.

Giuliani ferociously campaigned (and lost) in EVERY primary/caucus, then campaigned 61 days straight in Fla, and came in a distant third..........without conservatives.

Now we await McC's disastrous sucking up to hyphenates. Keep in mind Hyphenator McQueeg helped write the twice-failed amnesty bill we fought so hard to stop.

[Man50D]

"I think it's a two-way street," said Gary Bauer, a religious conservative and former presidential candidate. "I think conservatives should reach out to him more,

In the same manner McCain has "reached out" to the socialist Democrats Mr. Bauer? Reaching out is socialist speak for ceding Conservative principles. The irony is socialists never cede their principles.

[tumblindice]

“Reach Out”
By the 4 Tops

When you feel lost and about to give up (to give up)
Cause your best just ain’t good enough (just ain’t good enough)
And your feel the world has grown cold (has grown cold)
And your drifting out all on your own (drifting out on your own)
And you need a hand to hold, darlin’
(Reach out) come on girl reach out for me
(Reach out) reach out for me
I’ll be there to love and comfort you
And I’ll be there to cherish and care for you

(I’ll be there to always see you through)
(I’ll be there to love and comfort you)

Or not.

[rightinthemiddle]

Yeah, the “middle” has a great track record of donating to campaigns, volunteering, campaigning, etc.

The Middle can decide an election, but the base wins them.

If he’s smart, he’ll come to the base. Backtracking on “climate change” is a start. It just doesn’t hold up to the facts...and it’s hurting our economy.

[oldbill]

Everytime they get into one of these “McCain winning over conservatives” fictions these lazy reporters don’t talk to real conservatives, real next-door-neighbor conservatives, but to these supposed “leaders of the conservative movement” like Dobson and Robertson and Bauer.

They think the average conservative, the one who has a real life and not these inside the Beltway types, is the mind-numbed-robot ready to follow these “leaders”, like blacks are supposed to follow Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Sorry guys, but McCain may win over the Dobsons and Bauers, but real conservatives with real lives make up their own minds, and if my many contacts are the example, McCain hasn’t converted any of them. He has not won over conservatives because they know him well and they know how much he and his campaign sycophants hate them.

McCain is going down big, unless the two morons running against him continue with their stupid-is-as-stupid-does routine and more of their people stay home than conservatives do.

[deuteronlmy232]

McCain Has Yet to Win Over Key Conservatives

That's better, thanks.

[Tolkien]

Don't you have to actually do something to win over conservative?

He gives lip service and not very well at that.

[Cincinnatus.45-70]

“Rudy didn’t win because those same voters migrated to McCain.”

More likely Rudy didn’t win because he doesn’t have a conservative bone in his body, and he got no conservative support. “His” voters who went over to McCain were not conservatives, that’s for sure.

If his strategy of appealing to Moderates, who by definition are not very supportive of anything, doesn’t work, he’s handing the Presidency to Hussein Obama. Obama’s supporters are definitely enthusiastic and will show up at the polls to vote, vote, vote.

I may not be able to support McCain, but I can pray for the Republic.