Why a McCain Win May Be Bad for GOP, Good for Democrats

Real Clear Politics ^ | 13 June 2008 | Stuart Rothenberg

[shrinkermd]

Republicans and conservatives are rallying behind Sen. John McCain's White House bid, but not because they are so enamored with him or his agenda. Instead, their loyalty is based on their perception that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama as president, particularly with large Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress, would be utterly disastrous.

Regardless of whether you agree with them about the results of a Democratic presidential victory later this year, a McCain victory might produce its own series of domino-like events that ultimately might hurt the Grand Old Party.

...I don't necessarily agree with Stewart that a McCain victory in November would lead to the "eradication" of the GOP, but it's easy to see how a McCain presidency could end up being a nightmare for Republicans.

In the worst-case scenario, a McCain victory in November could likely lead to a Republican bloodletting that would tear apart the GOP well before 2012, contribute to another good Democratic election in 2010 and hand Democrats such a strong advantage during redistricting that Republicans wouldn't be able to recover for years.

[cripplecreek]

You got one?

Made all that much sweeter because he replaced the RINO that McCain campaigned for.

[DoughtyOne]

John McCain's Whimsical World of Conservatism

1982/00/00 McCain enters Congress, with his family accepts first of nine trips some aboard Keating's leer jet, three of which include stayovers at Keating's Caribbean resort (goes unreported for up to 7 years)
1983/09/28 McCain joins 26 other Republicans to vote with the Majority Party Congressional Democrats to demand U.S. Troops exit Lebanon, winds up on the losing side
1986/04/00 Cindy McCain and her father invest $359,100 in a Charles Keating strip mall
1987/00/00 McCain has received $112,000 by this time for Congressional and Senate campaigns, from Charles Keating, his relatives, and his employees, the largest amount to any Keating 5 member
1987/04/02 McCain joins four Democrats to intercede on behalf of his S&L Owner friend Keating with Ed Gray, chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and also banking regulators (2 meetings)
1989/00/00 McCain discloses Keating trips as his involvement in the S&L scandal breaks, reimbursing $13,433.00 with no repercussions as late as seven years after the fact
1990/10/02 McCain votes to Confirm Justice David H. Souter from New Hampshire to be an Associate Justice on the SCOTUS Court
1993/10/10 McCain co-sponsors an unsuccessful bill to cut off funding of United States troops in Somalia
1993/08/10 McCain joins the Democrats and most Republicans voting to confirm Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the worst justice on the court today.  Three Republicans vote Nay.
1993/01/13 McCain and Kerry release the Select Committee report urging the MIA issue be put to rest so that Vietnam could be granted normalized relations with the U.S., over objections by MIA family and veterans groups.  Video1  Video2  ( I do not endorse all of the information presented in video1 here.  The video does touch on a number of topics, and I think most are germane )  If I could have found video that contained most of this information without touching on McCain's POW experience I would have posted it instead.  Still, there are parts of McCain's POW experience that are troubling.  I'd just rather not go there.  Video2 shows how one MIA family rep is treated, confirming some of the reports in Video1.
1994/07/24 McCain joins with the Democrats to confirm nominee Stephen Breyer to be an Associate Justice on the SCOTUS.  Nine Republican voted Nay.
2000/00/00 McCain joins Democrat Russ Feingold to introduce Campaign Finance Reform, an effort funded by George Soros  Article
2000/00/00 McCain was the keynote speaker at the ultra-liberal Philadelphia convention sponsored by George Soros, Kerry keynoted at another Soros event...
2000/11/20 McCain participates in the production of a gun control spot for Oregon's Proposition Five.  (Circa this date, prior to the November election.)  Article
2001/00/00 McCain founded the Reform Institute funded by George Soros
2001/05/15 McCain introduces the Gun Show Loophole bill S890, with Carper, Lieberman, DeWine, Clinton, and Schumer co/sponsoring. Analysis
2003/03/19 McCain joins Democrats to vote against drilling in ANWR.
2003/10/30 McCain joins Lieberman again, this time to introduce the Climate Stewardship Act (Gorebal worming et al)  Thomas  Bill S139
2004/08/05 McCain announces he deplores the Swift Boat adds against Senator John Kerry, and asks the White House to refute them.
2005/00/00 McCain resigns from the Reform Institute he founded with George Soros
2005/01/28 McCain declares, "I want us in the ICC (International Criminal Court)", but I would like to see more safeguards first.
2005/05/12 McCain joins Ted Kennedy to introduce McCain/Kennedy immigration legislation that would wind up making illegal immigrants citizens
2006/09/06 McCain joins Dole to write op-ed for the Washington Post, states in part, "We should publicly remind Khartoum that the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes..."
2007/02/17 McCain states he will close Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainment center on his first day in office  Video  (same as date link on the left)
2007/03/22 McCain gets the pledged support of Chuck and Sue Cobb, Jeb Bush's Florida Director of the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement effort.
2007/06/00 McCain joins Baldwin, Shays and Meehan to file an amicus brief against the Wisconsin Right to Life organization  brief  The wrong side of a pro-life issue, helping pro-abort Feingold
2007/06/18 McCains Gitmo problem, close the base, grant Geneva Convention status, stop water boarding...
2008/03/26 McCains speech to the World Affairs Council, Europe may get veto power over some of our foreign policy...
2008/05/09 McCains interview with O'Reilly... I won't drill in ANWR... it's pretty... I'm an environmentalist.  (note: there's a good chance he may have an environMental disorder)
2008/05/12 McCain Joins the Goreball Worming Cult, sounding more like Al Gore every day...  McCain's Oregon add Video
2008/05/13 McCain takes an Environmental walk, with the leader of the Cascade Land Conservancy... (another series of fruit loop moments)
2008/05/15 McCain states he will appoint Democrats to his administration, during a Republican teleconference and during a Columbus stump speech.
2008/05/27 McCain announces support for severe cutbacks on our nuclear weapons, withdrawing battlefield nukes from Europe and giving our nuclear waste to an international body

[The Great RJ]

A McCain loss would spell disaster for this country. Obama and company would start us on a march to socialism and the IEDs would not be killing US soldiers in Baghdad, but soon be killing US civilians on American streets. As much as I dislike McCain, I could not vote for Obama.

Consider that due to his age McCain will be an unlikely candidate in 2012 and the economic disaster likely to be handed to us by a Democrat Congress with a cooperative McCain could set the stage for a conservative renaissance. Four years of an Obama presidency might cause a conservative backlash, but the level of economic disaster and loss of US security inflicted during those four years could take generations to fix.

[Sprite518]

Perhaps, but I would bet the odds would be not that different from the lottery.

[Checkers]

Rothenberg is probably right.

[DoughtyOne]

Do you think the Conservative message and ideals are what should drive this nation? I do. I consider John McCain to be a spike in the casket of Conservatism. He sill not appoint Conservatives. He will not advance Conservative ideals. He will not advance Conservative policy. He will defeat Conservatism on all but one or two fronts. Even there he will reach out to Democrats to advance his Iraq policy. Oh he won’t do it up front. He’ll do it by cutting military budgets, or some other thing behind the scenes.

This has been the McCain modus operandi for the last twenty years. His voting record looks good, but his side deals, policy statements and reaching out to the Democrats almost exclisively, say otherwise.

This man will destroy Conservatism as a movement.

As bad as Obama is, Conservatism would thrive under his first term. The opposition would be fierce.

Under McCain, there simply wouldn’t be a vehicle to advance Conservatism. The party leaders, prominant elected officials and even state leaders would be forced to go left or be shut out of the process.

A McCain victory, would be a total disaster for the nation. Not only would the nation go left, the aparatus to turn it back right would be gone.

[Checkers]

yep

[rrrod]

Ive been think along these lines...but not 100% sold on the theory yet. I do not trust McCain as a conservative and believe he will damage the GOP for years.

[AuntB]

“Limbaugh, for instance, believes it would be a mistake for McCain to win because the RINOs would take over the party.”

The Rino’s have long since taken over the party, why do you think McCain is the nominee?

[Antoninus]

This man will destroy Conservatism as a movement.

The movement is in the toilet right now thanks to the current president and the party apparati in the various states.

You'll never convince me that McCain would be worse for the country than Obama. Never in a million years.

That said, we MUST begin taking the party back at the grassroots level. Forget about McCain. Do you know who runs your local GOP? Have you ever met him/her? Do you contribute to it?

If not, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution.

[Checkers]

~”McCain is not the different then Obama.”~

“Anyone who thinks that is either ill-informed, or just plain stupid.”

...or 100% correct.

[Sprite518]

I vote for conservatives first. Party second.

For instance, I would support Zell Miller a Democrat over John McCain. Zell is way more a conservative than John McCain. I am a Conservative only. I don't care what party you are associated with.

Now I will support my Republican congressman in my district. Not because he is a Republican, but because he is a conservative. I will probably vote for Republicans on the ballot. Just not McCain.

[Sprite518]

Thank you.

[G Larry]

We can NOT underestimate the damage that would occur during an Obama administration.

The BEST course of action is to elect McCain, support individual CONSERVATIVE politicians, and spend great effort to oust RINOs and send strong messages to McCain on the need for changing his positions on key issues.

[Checkers]

“Scratch a McCain Basher and watch a xenophobe bleed.”

What an asinine thing to post.

[Checkers]

Great list!

[cripplecreek]

What an asinine thing to post.

It's also the sign of a lost argument.

[Sprite518]

I disagree. I still believe this country is very conservative. Just people are tired of the business as usual up in Washington DC.

I would say there is the “throw the bums out” mentality right now. I know Obama is a Senator, but he has had far less time in Washington. Therefore (although not true and only mirage) , Obama seems like the outside candidate that can change the business as usual mentality. Although we all know that Obama will probably not be that different from a McCain POTUS.

You know JFK would be considered a conservative compared to McCain. That should tell you something.

[Checkers]

“Look you need to understand. Conservatives do not have a candidate this election. I am sorry, but I am not voting for a liberal like McCain.”

I understand.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

I believe in fighting one election at a time. This time we need to keep Obama out of the White House. Let’s worry about 2010 once the 2008 election is over.

Thanks. No one knows the future. We have to play the hand we are dealt. I don't like it but it is what it is.