McCain asks conservatives for support

Reuters ^ | Feb 8,2008 | John Whitesides

[AmericanMade1776]

Republican John McCain asked disgruntled conservatives to support his presidential bid on Thursday, shortly after Mitt Romney ended his struggling campaign and made McCain the all-but-certain nominee.

McCain assured a conference of conservative activists he was one of them, citing his commitment to win in Iraq, halt Iran's nuclear ambitions and rein in the federal government while drawing sharp contrasts with potential Democratic opponents Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

McCain's speech, which drew boos on the topic of illegal immigration, followed by a few hours Romney's surprise announcement at the conference that he was ending his run to allow Republicans to focus on the November election.

"I feel I have to now stand aside, for our party and for our country," the former Massachusetts governor told the shocked crowd, some of whom gasped and shouted "No, no!" in response.

[TigersEye]

Thank you for your words.

[DoughtyOne]

[stockstrader]

McCain's speech, which drew boos on the topic of illegal immigration,,,,,,

McCain may be the first Presidential nominee to actually hear some BOOS during his acceptance speech at the convention!!

[raybbr]

Great post. Bumping.

[from occupied ga]

am now finding that I have NO choice but to support McCain

Utter codswallop. I hope you enjoyed the koolaid.

[BibChr]

Gee, isn’t that ironic?

Here WE have been asking HIM for support for years!

[Nea Wood]

One of the finest posts I’ve ever seen on FR, and by the way, great tagline, too.

[Deo et Patria]

You DO realize that both Fred Thompson and John Bolton endorsed McCain, right?

I don’t like McCain either, but I realize that the stakes are too great for me to allow Hillary or Obama to become the president of the United States. I owe our armed forces at least a decent Commander in Chief. Say what you want about McCain, at least he’s committed to fighting the war on terror and winning in Iraq.

[joanie-f]

You DO realize that both Fred Thompson and John Bolton endorsed McCain, right?

They both did so after my post was written -- and my opinion of them has dropped considerably as a result, since they both appear to place being a republican ahead of being a leader with integrity.

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed

[joanie-f]

Thanks for the very kind words, Nea. :)

~ joanie

[Little Ray]

And the reason you think McCain won’t give us liberal justices along the lines of, say, David Souter, is?

[Deo et Patria]

So you would prefer to see Hillary or Obama take over and surrender to Al Qaeda rather than vote for McCain?

I can’t do that.

[Joya]

Uh, McCain, when, exactly, are you planning to get de-programmed from all the brainwashing you experienced during your POW time?

And BTW, I don’t vote for open border amnesty traitors.

[Harvey105]

Allow me to ask a serious question.

When can we pull out of Iraq? Do we stay forever? I supported the war from the beginning. I will always support the troops, but at some point, we will have to leave. I just want to know when you think that it will be.

[Harvey105]

Wonderfully said, joanie.

While I would eliminate a few men from your list of conservatives and disagree with not voting (or in your husband’s case — voting for Hillary) I agree whole heartedly with your post.

I would not want my vote ‘against’ McCain to be construed as a vote for the Dem.

[Harvey105]

Bump and ping

[DungeonMaster]

Bump.

You've damaged my sexism with that post.

[DivaDelMar]

Thanks for the ping. I will be filing for a divorce from the Republican Party on April 23rd. They no longer represent me, my family or if God blesses us with patriots yet unborn, my lineal issue.

I’m convinced the conservatives must defect en masse and begin the difficult process of building a new party.

[joanie-f]

You've damaged my sexism with that post.

In a roundabout way, that may be the nicest compliment I've received so far today. :)

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed

[joanie-f]

So you would prefer to see Hillary or Obama take over and surrender to Al Qaeda rather than vote for McCain?

I can’t help but notice the way the media insist on referring to McCain as a 'maverick'. The term used to have a courageous, trail-blazing connotation, but the media seem bound and determined to equate it with betrayal of the principles with which one wants to be associated.

This ‘maverick’ allied himself with Ted Kennedy on phony immigration reform, with Russ Feingold on major attempts to shackle free speech (at least where the average citizen is concerned), with John Edwards in an effort to expand the already bloated and toxic reasons for frivolous litigation on the so-called ‘Patients’ Bill of Rights’, and again with Lieberman in an attempt to allow congress to severely regulate American industries’ greenhouse gas emissions. No genuine conservative would ever align himself with, let alone serve as the author of, any of those unconstitutional, anti-liberty monstrosities.

Not only is he a leftist in conservative clothing, but he attempts to crucify any real conservative who questions his motives or tactics, by slapping unflattering labels on his opponents, or by simply closing down debate.

McCain isn’t a maverick. He’s a democrat.

There are many here on FreeRepublic (you seem to count yourself among them), and most across the width and breadth of America, who cannot comprehend that there is a threat, every bit as toxic as that posed by Al Qaeda, simmering within our own borders, taking form among the ruling elite in our nation’s capital.

Do I want to see Al Qaeda’s brutality and hatred dismembered and expunged from the face of the earth? Absolutely!

Do I want to cast a vote agreeing to elect as the leader of the free world a man who deals in deception, and who enthusiastically supports (even authors) abominable legislation whose sole purpose is to:

(1) threaten free speech

(2) allow – even encourage -- the continued invasion of our republic by foreign criminals, the end result of which will be the incremental death of American sovereignty

(3) increase the already toxic power of special interest groups

(4) greatly expand the already bloated, repressive power of the federal bureaucracy ...

... simply because he has been vocal in support of the war on Islamic fascism? No!

McCain's record on the domestic front is that of an anti-Constitutionalist, elitist fraud. His record of integrity and honesty is dubious, at best. And his one area of ‘strength’ might well evolve into just another policy that will be ‘re-thought’, once his fellow democrats apply pressure on him to abandon our efforts in the Middle East.

The ability to engender trust is the most crucial characteristic of a leader of a free people, and in that all-important pre-requisite John McCain is running on empty.

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed