Been there, done that, got the tee shirt. Literally.
Posted on 07/30/2008 6:57:53 PM PDT by pissant
He’s going to transform the party — by turning us into hawkish Democrats? Nuance.
There’s a bigger point — and this initial volley, they say, lays the groundwork for it. They will be sharpening McCain’s message that he, not Obama, is the true change agent, a man who’s repeatedly taken unpopular stands, made the hard calls and forged bipartisan alliances.
Part of the calculus now is how his VP choice will further sharpen that message. There is significant support among top McCain advisers that he make a “transformative” pick who would change the Republican Party — someone who would appeal to moderate Republicans and Democrats…
A person who fills that bill, these advisers say, is Joe Lieberman.
Lieberman, an Independent Democrat, flatly denied his interest to ABC’s Ron Claiborne earlier this month, but McCain is now seriously considering him as that “transformative” pick, sources tell ABC News…
What’s more, some McCain advisers believe Lieberman would dramatically enhance the point they are now trying to make about Obama in this “celebrity” ad campaign.
McCain and Lieberman are anti-celebrities, the argument goes. They have, as one top adviser said, felt the heat after taking unpopular positions because they were willing to do “what’s right for the country” — whatever it meant for their own popularity.
Good news for that unpredictable five percent in the middle he needs to win, not so good for, er, everyone else in America. Are evangelicals going to vote for a guy who scored 100% on NARAL’s annual report card? Are Reagan conservatives jittery about McCain’s maverickiness going to feel reassured knowing Al Gore’s choice for VP is waiting in the wings? Is the left going to reach hitherto unscaled heights of apoplexy at the thought of the one pol they hate more than George Bush somehow ending up on the Republican ticket? (No, no, and yes, respectively, if you’re scoring at home.) Think of it in practical terms. Assume the worst happens and through some misfortune Vice President Lieberman becomes President Lieberman. Either the Democrats’ animus towards him results in hopeless gridlock in Congress or the breach is healed and we’ve got a lefty executive working with a lefty legislature towards common goals — Iraq excepted, of course. I like Liebs; I don’t like the idea. But the signs are there if you’re willing to look…
Exit question: Maybe the left, true to its proud tradition of honoring dissent, will forgive Joementum his apostasy? Hmmm.
Been there, done that, got the tee shirt. Literally.
I agree, however I am hoping that something occurs before November and we get another Canidate.
And the American National Socialist Party reported that ABC will erect a statue of Hitler in its lobby.
ABC puts out this crap just to irritate us.
The perfect fit. Two two time liberal losers in Presidential races match up to take on the Obamessiah as “agents of change”. ***snicker***
Love that line!
I'm a writer - I may 'borrow' that! ;o)
Oh yeah I really wish that would happen too, too bad I am not at home to help out with a convention disturbance :p
All yours.
“There is no way the Senate can keep it perpetual until they get who they want in the office of appointing.”
We are talking about McCAIN and DEMOCRATS. He will do what he does, work with them and screw America.
“Most important thing is to win the war on terror.”
NOT according to the electorate.
Since he's jonesing so badly for someone's sloppy seconds, he should consider Walter Mondale.
McCain needs anyone who'll make him look young and vital. Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond immediately come to mind.
Thank you, MinorityRepublican. And will that ever be the case? WOT could go on forever....so.....I guess we are to sit back, vote for lefty R's, accept illegal immigration, pay for GW, higher SS payroll taxes, curtail free speech etc.
Gee all of that in order to win a war that may go on forever.
As long as we vote to move the country left and accept it, we will have nothing left to save or win. Where does it stop? The same argument will be made 4 years from now as usual.
If true, it may be time for Consrvatives to leave the Pubbies to their insanity and form a third party.
I understand. However I would urge you to reconsider. McCain will be far better on many issues - Iraq, WoT, military, taxes and SC justices. That's enough for me.
If our nation has reached that fragile point [that it is immensely important that Sen. Obama is defeated], we're done for anyway.
It's really hard to argue with that. I would just say that we appear, indeed, to be in a state of national decline; and that is a pretty fragile state. And although national decline, like death and taxes, is inevitable, it can certainly be postponed. I think Sen. McCain (acting in the capacity of President McCain) would be much better equipped--from the standpoints of judgment, temperament, courage, and philosophical leanings--to arrest that decline, however temporarily, than the junior senator from Illinois would be.
There's a chance with Obama because Obama is NOT a grown-up and the world and America would know it and resent it, no matter what the media does. He would likely be unpopular fast, and divisive, because so many Democrats dislike him. I think there's a pretty good chance this nation can survive Obama, who would be a one-term guy.
You could be correct in this analysis. I am unwilling, however, to predicate America's fate upon this assumption. So many Democrats are viscerally anti-Republican (in fact, rabidly so) that they would continue to support a squishy Europhile--and enthusiastically so--as he proclaimed an updated version of "Peace in our time," a la Neville Chamberlain.
The operative question, really, is whether independents--the all-important "swing" voters--would grow weary of a President Obama in sufficient numbers to render him a one-term wonder. And on this matter, I confess that I really do not know what to expect.
There isn't any chance that this nation can survive Liberalism.
In the long term, that is certainly true. Liberalism, as the term is typically used today (which is not to be confused with its older usage, as in "liberal democracy") is merely a euphemism for social democracy--which, in turn, is a euphemism for democratic socialism. And socialism, even in its least malignant form (I will not call it a "benign" form; it is not), is unsustainable, over the long term. Which is why most European welfare states are already in deep fiscal trouble.
But the most immediate threat with which we are faced is not socialism--its corrosive effects and inherent unworkability take awhile to become fully apparent--but Islamofascism, whether of the Sunni variety (think: al-Qaeda) or the Shiite variety (e.g. the mullahs in Tehran). And I simply cannot imagine a President Obama facing down these threats in a determined and courageous manner. I believe he would more likely become introspective, and ask himself what America had done to create such hatred among these people; and then he would take whatever steps he thought necessary to mollify them.
A President McCain, on the other hand, would not be likely to be seduced by such blame-America-first thinking, in my opinion.
No, no, no!
In order to prove his competence... McCain must *AHEM!* a woman!
:-P
Good Grief, two old really white men. That’s exciting!
But what good would it do him?McCain is trying to build a new Republican coalition that spans the middle of American politics. Let's face it, if you're looking for new voters you aren't going to find them on either the far left or the far right. He is banking on the fact that conservatives will vote for him no matter what even if it means they are voting against the other guy. And with Obama as the Democratic nominee he is probably correct in assuming that.
If McCain wins with the moderate strategy he has consistently used so far then he will have fundamentally changed the Republican presidential formula much the same as Reagan did. Especially if he wins decisively. Future candidates will work to unite the McCain coalition in the middle. He knows he won the Republican nomination in spite of conservatives and not as a result of them.
In addition to his core beliefs, McCain is probably looking at some cold hard political facts. Bush won without the popular vote in 2000, his reelection majority was especially narrow in 2004, the Pubs never had large majorities in Congress, and they lost Congress in 2006. He sees the need to ride a new horse with more popular support.
Whether that's what's good for the country is another matter. But look at his strategy so far and tell me he's not doing that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.