Mainstream GOP gets credit for McCain surge

East Valley Tribune ^ | February 6, 2008 | Paul Giblin

[calcowgirl]

Presidential candidate John McCain's sweeping victories on Super Tuesday revealed what could be a post-partisanship era in politics.

Republican voters across the country turned away from the party's more conservative candidates and selected the Arizona senator again and again in primary contests from New York to California.

The ultraconservative radio talk show hosts, bloggers and newspaper columnists simply didn't resonate with the party's majority members - the soccer moms and NASCAR dads who never attend precinct meetings, but showed up on election day. Whether those high-profile opinion givers like it or not, McCain is their man.

Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., traveling with McCain from Phoenix to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, was asked whether McCain's success illustrated the Republican Party is far more mainstream than it has appeared during the past seven years.

"Perhaps. I hesitate to call it 'mainstream,' but yeah, that's probably right," Flake told the Tribune. "It certainly is more diverse than some people want to admit."

Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., also traveling with McCain, said McCain's single-day achievement indicated the GOP is a centrist party.

"It tells you that folks from the hard right kind of make their living by whipping things up," he said.

"And it also tells you that Republicans are pragmatic. They understand that there is kind of a core Republican philosophy. They want to see candidates with that philosophy win. They don't want to get behind some extreme candidate and lose the seat," Shadegg said.

McCain will have the opportunity to spell out his Republican philosophy today at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, as he continues his quest to lock up his party's nomination for November's general election.

[Just mythoughts]

I suppose this time was inevitable as some have said the majority of Americans are moderate and liberal. This ‘fear’ of Hillary has elevated to the top the one person who did alllll her legislating she would not dare take on herself. We have been Borked again.

[Tribune7]

McCain is winning because he is running a platform of pro-life, pro-gun, pro-Iraq War, pro-military, and anti-govt. spending (although most of us who look at his global warming plan don't believe that one for a minute.)

The average American, despite Rush and Ann, probably thinks he is more conservative than Mitt --who I'm still going to vote for. But they might be right considering Mitt's record as governor and his health care plan.

[dforest]

Anyone that leans left is now mainstream GOP.

This article is a pile of dung.

[Just mythoughts]

I pay a lot of attention and found him to be the most conservative out of the 3 guys running. Human Events mag had Romney #8 on their "TOP 10 RINOS" list just 2 years ago and yet we have all of these super smart people running around calling him a "conservative" all of a sudden because he has good hair and $400 neck ties. Huckabee is more conservative than MYTH but McCain would be a better POTUS, he has an ACU rating of 83%. Has he made mistakes and written some bad legislation and made some bad votes, certainly. Either vote for him or not, there are plenty of Democrats that will be voting for him over the 2 Marxists anyway.

He penned the Marxist legislation that NO admitted Marxist would do them self.

[Dixie Yooper]

There is only one thing that matters. Regardless of who our candidate is, Hillary and Obama MUST NOT WIN!

[Coldwater Creek]

But, the poll workers won’t let you in with a gas mask on your face. I guess that I will just choke and die in the voting booth.

I’m disappointed, discouraged and depressed.

[Mr Rogers]

Apparently, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) believes Mitt Romney is a far-right extremist.

That says far more about Shadegg than Romney!

[Beagle8U]

McCain is winning because there are no conservatives in the race to stop him.

[Earthdweller]

Great analysis. The hard right has done a good job of recruitment to the Republican party primaries....they just don't know it. LOL.

The worst thing they can do frighten the younguns.

[SierraWasp]

I told you Schwartzenswindler's disease would be spread nationwide by jokers like Muckain who insist we keep compromising with 'em till we've completely capitulated all conservative tendencies!!!

Muckain is a ludicrust liar... A false "leader" and an embarrassment to all of Ronald Reagan's conservatism!!!

[Dixie Yooper]

I guess that I will just choke and die in the voting booth. I’m disappointed, discouraged and depressed.

I have been voting since 1976. Every presidential election except 1984 I have voted against the democrat by voting for the republican. In 1984, I actually voted for Reagan without a doubt in my heart and a thought of who he was running against. 4 years later, I was holding my nose and voting against Clinton. In all those years, only once have I had the luxury of voting for someone who had proven himself and I truly believed in. My vote in November won't be anymore difficult than my vote in 1988, when Ronald Reagan wouldn't even back the Republican candidate until right before the election.

[SierraWasp]

"In the last 3 weeks, he has morphed into one of her greatest weapons against us."

Precisely, how so? In what ways? By saying, or doing what?

[B Knotts]

“mainstream” = liberal, according to the MSM.

[TADSLOS]

Any question now that liberals have infiltrated the GOP in large numbers?

[Dixie Yooper]

Precisely, how so? In what ways? By saying, or doing what?

The fight is against Hillary and Obama, not the Republican Party.

[Coldwater Creek]

And then Reagan didn’t back up our Marines. Even though He was one of our best, I can’t forgive him for that.

[Dixie Yooper]

Reagan didn’t back up our Marines. Even though He was one of our best, I can’t forgive him for that.

Back then he was forced to do the same thing every president since Truman had been forced to do. Stop World War III from happening.

[citizen]

Time for a Federalist party, it seems.

That works for me.

[SierraWasp]

The fight IS actually against tweaking and torquing what has been a winning conservative Republican Party so that it can continue to DEFEAT said liberal, leftist Democrats!!!

You can't beat liberal leftists by adopting more and more of their miserable platform!!! We're heading right back to Jimmy Carter's "Misery Index" days as it is!!! C'mon!!!

[JaneNC]

He is not receive the conservative vote....

“And it also tells you that Republicans are pragmatic. They understand that there is kind of a core Republican philosophy. They want to see candidates with that philosophy win. They don’t want to get behind some extreme candidate and lose the seat,” Shadegg said.

Say what?????