Posted on 09/22/2005 5:11:53 PM PDT by RWR8189
I attended an American Spectator dinner last night featuring John McCain. McCain spent much of the evening casting votes in the Senate, but returned and spoke with impressive energy and at considerable length. He said it was fine if everything was on the record. Those who think that McCain is still smoldering with anger at George W. Bush over the 2000 campaign should think again: McCain spoke fervently and with obvious sincerity about how much he admires Bush and the job he has been doing as president.
McCain addressed two issues that have the potential to divide the Republican base: spending and immigration.
On spending, he said that to offset the spending of Hurricane Katrina and to prevent what "may be the largest deficit in history," Congress should revisit the highway bill—the big transportation bill passed earlier this year—and should consider delaying or repealing the Medicare prescription drug bill. On both of these issues his positions are to the right of the Bush administration's: After all, Bush signed both bills.
McCain's position on the highway bill is consistent with his longstanding and mostly futile attacks on pork barrel spending, but he has more allies this time: Members of Congress like Sen. Richard Shelby and (!) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have said they'd delay spending on projects in their state or district. The pork-busters movement of which I have written may be gathering momentum.
As for the Medicare prescription-drug bill, Democrats have been trashing this legislation persistently, and it isn't very popular in the polls. The prescription-drug benefit is scheduled to go into effect next year. Republicans passed this bill because Bush and House Republicans didn't want to go into the 2004 election cycle as opponents of a prescription-drug benefit. But now they don't see it as much of a political plus. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
The other issue that threatens to divide the Republican base is immigration. On this issue McCain stands to the left of the administration. He is the cosponsor, with Edward Kennedy, of one of the two major legislative vehicles on the issue; the other is cosponsored by his Arizona colleague Jon Kyl and Texas Republican John Cornyn. A major difference between the bills is that Kyl-Cornyn would require illegal immigrants wishing to legalize their status to return to their countries of origin and McCain-Kennedy would not.
Arizona is the state through which thousands of illegal immigrants have been coming across the border, and McCain speaks with visible anger at the spectacle of illegals roaming across the desert and dying of thirst. "The borders are broken." To those who favor the Kyl-Cornyn return provision, he says, "We have 11 million illegals. Are we going to send them back? I don't think so." Allowing people to legalize their status and then take their place in line is "not my definition of amnesty."
In response to my question, McCain suggested he was flexible on the issue and willing to compromise on various provisions. He even said he was willing to address first the status of agriculture workers, on which a bipartisan compromise has already been worked out by California Democratic Rep. Howard Berman. White House sources believe it is inevitable that Congress will have to address the issue. McCain will be a major player, and the White House could have no stronger advocate of whatever Congress works out than John McCain.
McCain of course was asked whether he would run for president in 2008, and he of course said that he hadn't made any decision. He spoke evidently sincere words of praise for other possible candidates: Bill Frist, George Allen, Rudolph Giuliani. But if his demeanor Wednesday night was a fair indication, he's running. Polls currently show him and Giuliani leading among Republican primary voters. His comments on spending and immigration were in line with the animating spirit of Republican primary electorates, even if some of the measures he continues to support (McCain-Kennedy, the McCain-Lieberman bill on global warming, campaign-finance regulation) are not.
I'm suprised that Michael Barone was conned so completely.
McCain would be a disaster for the country. He is as phony as a three dollar bill.
I think the man is unstable at best. Can you imagine him with his finger on the red war button?
I'm defending McCain here because I believe he can beat Hillary Clinton and every other Democrat who might be nominated.
I don't yet feel the same way about Mike Pence or George Allen or whoever else might pop up.
I'm pulling for Guiliani. I don't agree with him on social issues like abortion but I think he'd be stable and conservative on fiscal stuff.
McCain drives me crazy, but he has always been pro-life. My fear is that we'll have to have a choice...the hildebeast or McCain...And quite frankly, NEVER Hilary.
"What the hell is the matter with you?"
Nastiness is tedious and only serves to undermine credibility. Enough.
You are right. McCain would *not* make a good President, for reasons having nothing to do with ideology and everything to do with personality.
There are certain types that make great 'loose cannons' and bad leaders. McCain is one. Howard Dean is another.
As for Barone saying McCain's stance on immigration, being more for open-border-amnesties than the administration, and co-sponsoring a bill with Ted Kennedy ... well, he's nuts.
GOP voters want an end to illegal immigration and the border s secured.
"LOL!! Depends who he's running against."
That's really the right answer ... right now, I can't think of a decent Conservative to support except for George Allen.
If it's a bunch of moderates and second-tier conservatives, he has a chance.
None.
And I think she will lose between 3 and 5 states that Kerry did carry.
I give what I get. Address your comments to GOPGuide.
I don't know if Richardson is an adulterer or not (that ought to help him in the Democratic primaries), but there must be something in his background that caused Gore and Kerry to pass him over for VP. He seems like such an obvious choice because he counts as Hispanic.
"I don't yet feel the same way about Mike Pence or George Allen or whoever else might pop up."
Ok, now there are two I'd love to support: Mike Pence and George Allen.
Oh, and Mitt Romney in a pinch.
WIth telecom companies, he is usually in favor of deregulating them (one of the very very very very very few things he does right).
He isn't keen on bringing back bacon for his state, and since he is pretty safe as an incumbant (or thinks he is), he doesn't see a need to bring any pork back.
Pork might be the only thing you will ever see Senator Coburn and McCain agree on.
And Coburn is never going to bring back pork to his state.
Just reading the title/headline is enough to make me gag!
No he's not. He's the reason why I can't get the east and west coast feeds of the networks or the Denver 5. He's also all about giving them what they want... regulation in relation to digital reproduction.
I have opposed him since he first ran for the House. I always thought that there were better candidates. Now the situation is reversed. I don't see that better candidate.
He won reelection with 76% of the vote. He got 300,000 more votes than George Bush did in Arizona.
Actually, MY APOLOGIES to you sinkspur!
Thats what I meant to do! That is, chastise the muck thrower (GOPGuide)
I responded to the wrong post. Duh.
Again, my apologies.
BTTT
'Amen bro. I won't vote for Hillary, but (and I have NEVER, EVER missed an election) I will not vote for McCain. I'd sit it out.
Me either. Not yet, anyway.
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