McCain Won't Excite Conservatives, Says Former Liberal

News from Agape Press ^ | 1/3/07 | Chad Groening

[Antoninus]

(AgapePress) - An author and self-professed former liberal says he doesn't think Arizona Senator John McCain is going to excite conservatives as the 2008 "presidential sweepstakes" kick into high gear. He believes there are a couple of alternatives who might be more attractive to the conservative voting bloc.

Political analyst Keith Thompson is the author of Leaving the Left: Moments in the News That Made Me Ashamed to Be a Liberal. He says while John McCain remains the nominal frontrunner at this very early stage of the process, the Arizona senator has had a bad track record with conservatives, particularly on the border issue and judicial nominees. Thompson contends the McCain, were he to run, would even have to compete for the moderate Republican vote.

"Guest what? [Former New York City Mayor] Rudy Giuliani is looking at getting in the race, too," the author observes. "So those two guys split that moderate [voting bloc], which is not the predominant voice in the Republican Party anyway."

Thompson describes McCain's support in the GOP as "a mile wide but an inch deep." Among the factors that would count against the Arizona senator among Republican conservatives, says the author, are "his attempts to curry favor with religious conservatives after spending so much of his career dissing those voters, ... actually serving as a thorn in the sides of the conservatives on judicial nominations, and favoring this open borders amnesty approach."

So Thompson says even a longshot like California Congressman Duncan Hunter could cash in on the conservative GOP support. And while he believes Hunter is "good on the issues" and a "credible, strong guy," he says questions still remain.

"How he'll actually play [among voters is unknown]," he concedes. "There are so many factors [that come into play]." Hunter, he says, needs to be able to raise money and avoid verbal gaffes on the campaign trail.

According to Thompson, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney remains another "McCain alternative," even though some evangelicals have a problem with his well-documented flip-flopping on hot-button issues like abortion and same-sex "marriage."

[Antoninus]

Alternatives to the media-selected candidates are starting to get some attention....

[Antoninus]

Pinging the Duncan Hunter list...



Duncan Hunter on the Issues

Freepmail me to join the Duncan Hunter Pinglist

[pogo101]

This (headline) is news?

Still, gun to my head, I'd much rather have McCain than Hillary -- IF it came down to that.

[longtermmemmory]

I think it is more a matter of the MSM finding once again they are not the only show in town.

The MSM will keep pushing McCain because they like RINOs and they want the choices to be fungible so it does not matter who wins. The NYT staff would marry mccain now that he has publicly endorsed homosexual marriage.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Why don't we just call him Mac CAIN?

[DocH]

McCain Won't Excite Conservatives

THAT'S the understatement of the CENTURY.

It's AMAZING that ANY Republican, especially so-called "conservative" Republicans, would support an outright, shameless RINO like mccain or RINO-Rudy.

[Antoninus]

The MSM will keep pushing McCain because they like RINOs and they want the choices to be fungible so it does not matter who wins. The NYT staff would marry mccain now that he has publicly endorsed homosexual marriage.

Don't be fooled. If by some miracle, they can drag McCain across the finish-line to the nomination, the very next day they'll begin the Mother-of-All character assassinations. And McCain has plenty of baggage for them to use against him.

[alice_in_bubbaland]

For me, that would be a conundrum for sure. I can't stand either of them! One's a communist and the other doesn't have both oars in the water.

[Antoninus]

It's AMAZING that ANY Republican, especially so-called "conservative" Republicans, would support an outright, shameless RINO like mccain or RINO-Rudy.

The Republicans who support these guys are not conservative. As we're finding out, the liberals that came in to the party as part of the "big tent" are actively trying to shove everyone else out.

[Antoninus]

For me, that would be a conundrum for sure. I can't stand either of them! One's a communist and the other doesn't have both oars in the water.

That's why it's imperative we make sure that doesn't happen.

[SolidWood]

One thing for sure: Hunter is very wellspoken and straightforward. I doubt he would stumble into some verbal fauxpas, though it is only human.

Watch his videos on YouTube.

[Paloma_55]

McCain excites me a LOT. I am going to do everything I can to see that he does NOT get into office.

[Antoninus]

MeCain / Hillary would surely give rise to another third party candidate.

As would Rudy/Hillary or Romney/Hillary. The Democrats would make certain of it. That's why it's political suicide to nominate a liberal as the Republican standard bearer. We need to find a conservative who can rally the base and attract the Reagan Democrats.

I think Duncan Hunter is the guy to do that.

[PolishProud]

When I think about McCain I have a Scarlett O'Hara moment - as God is my witness I will never vote for McShame. He has more problems then mentioned in the article. McCain-Feingold is a big problem as is his actions on so called torture.

If it's Hillary vs McCain, I will not vote.

[Antoninus]

Indeed. Here's a link to the videos--scroll down--the links are on the lower right.

Peace Through Strength Pac

[Prov3456]

Add to what you say the fact that IF McCain gets the Republican nomination, the MSM would turn on him with "Keating Five" and everything else they can scrounge up.

The goal of the MSM is, and always has been, to get a liberal Democrat elected. McCain as the Republican candidate would make that task so-o-o easy....

[EndWelfareToday]

McCain Won't Excite Conservatives...

NEWS FLASH! McCain NEVER HAS "excited Conservatives."

Tom Tancredo '08

[Paige]

The Lamestream Media will attack McCain as if he were Joe McCarthy. Senator McCain is pushing for more troops and to get Iraq stable instead of cutting and running. This is distasteful to the Lamestream Media and if the Senator were to get the nod.... oh you can bet they already have the information to go after him in hand ready to expose the Senator.

I don't understand why others don't see this also. But, you are absolutely correct.