i am no McCain fan and voted for Fred in NH but in the general i will vote for McCain if he is the nominee here is why:
McCain ACU lifetime rank 82 2006 65
Since you're going to use the ACU as a benchmark for McCain then you should also include the following:
McCain's ACU Ratings. From the article.
Senator John McCain's lifetime rating of 82.3% from the American Conservative Union is often cited as proof that he is conservative. Here is a closer look at that 82.3 rating.
First, a rating of 82.3 is not really that high. It puts Senator McCain in 39th place among senators serving in 2006, the latest year for which the ACU has its ratings posted online. For that most recent year in particular, McCain scored only 65, putting him in 47th place for that year. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE), for example, scored 64 and 75, respectively, in 2006.
Generally, McCain has voted less conservatively in more recent years. His average for 1990-97 was 88, but was only 74 for 1998-2006. Below are his yearly ratings since 1990.
Placing 47th means he has a lower Conservative ranking then most Democrats. Trending downward only illustrates he is not the Conservative he claims. You should also take into account Joe LIEberman, a flaming Socialist, supports McCain. LIEberman has a ACU lifetime rating of 16.8. Clearly the ACU, by its own standards, considers LIEberman far more a Socialist than a Conservative. That fact alone renders McCain's tepid 82.3 lifetime rating misleading. It should be far lower with LIEberman's endorsement.
Any candidate who has to repeatedly convince people he is Conservative is a red flag he is not Conservative. True Conservatives don't have to continually prove to the electorate. That type of person's commitment to Conservatism is indisputable and therefore would not be questioned as it is with McCain.