Posted on 02/01/2010 2:34:00 PM PST by pissant
When John McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate, he did the not-yet-launched Tea Party movement a hefty favor by elevating to national prominence a woman who could lead this disparate band of grassroots conservative activists and give a powerful voice to their protests and passions. ("Death panels!") And how do the Tea Partiers pay back McCain? By trying to send him to the old folk's home.
Tea Party types have rushed to support the campaign of former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who is challenging McCain in Arizona's Republican senatorial primary. Hayworth, who years ago left the House to become a radio talk show host in Phoenix, only moved into the race last week, but some preliminary polls put him in practically a dead heat with the four-term senator. Get the new PD toolbar!
A mere 15 months earlier, McCain was the presidential nominee of his party. Now he's a target for those conservatives who are pursuing Republican moderates (or perceived Republican moderates) the way zombies chase after non-zombies in the movies. The far-right Internet chat corners are lit up with folks denouncing "Juan Amnesty McCain" for having once been a co-author of the McCain-Feingold legislation (campaign finance reform), the McCain-Lieberman bill (climate change), and the McCain-Kennedy act (immigration reform.) Some even decry him for opposing the use of torture. It's not hard to find anti-McCain crusaders slamming the guy of being "a socialist."
That's quite an accusation for a legislator who has an 82.3 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union. Hayworth did achieve a higher ranking of 97.6 percent. But on this site last week, conservative writer Matt Lewis contended that Hayworth, who had been a pork-loving legislator who became too close to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was far from a perfect conservative.
(Excerpt) Read more at politicsdaily.com ...
I like Duncan Hunter. He’s a good man. But he doesn’t have the slightest change of being a presidential contender. He was in the running last time around, and never got about a few percent.
As for this conundrum, I think we all agree that Sarah has to show gratitude. She will not be campaigning hard for McCain, because she has a lot of other jobs to do as the campaign season heats up—like campaigning for conservative candidates all over the country.
She doesn’t need to badmouth the other candidate. She doesn’t even need to say that she is urging people to vote for McCain in the primary. All she has to say is that she thinks McCain is a good man and a patriot who wants to serve his country.
I probably think as little of McCain as anyone around here. But I don’t see how she can do any less. And then the voters of Arizona, who certainly must know McCain pretty well by this time, can do as they see fit. I hope they throw him out in the primary.
No
She should follow Rush's example and stay out of the Republican primary fights alltogether. If McStain wins the primary, then campaign for him in the general.
I wonder if she won’t find some politically acceptable way to get out of having to appear with him. She’s pretty astute when it comes to these things. I’m content to wait and see how she handles it.
Seems to me the only ones who advocate tossing her overboard now, because she agreed to it, are those who didn’t really support her to begin with, and would have seized on just about any excuse to slam her.
That said, people here are way overestimating J.D.'s chances. J.D. lost his House seat and he's taking on a well entrenched, relatively popular incumbent. That's an uphill fight.
Palin returned the favor Mack did her by making her his Veep. I give her points for style and grace by doing this. But I still wouldn't vote for Mack even if I could.
Yes, McCain put her in the spotlight. Then later, when the campaign was over, he remained silent and let Sarah twist in the wind for over six months while various of his own "campaign advisors" stood in line with the media liberals to take turns beating on the poor woman like some arctic pinata. When Palin resigned her governorship and was finally able to respond to her aggressors, that big wuss McCain finally found his voice.
I hope her support of McCain is equally tepid.
I’m glad you like Hunter but this thread has nothing to do with him. But being the free man you are, you can choose whoever you want to support. Ain’t that grand?
I sure as HECK hope not.
True, but those same endorsements that are virtually meaningless can really hurt you. Ask Santorum. He owed Specter as much as Palin owes McCain since he never would have gotten to the Senate in the first place had it not been for Specter coming to his rescue when he was attacked by Theresa Heinz who was the widow of the Senator whose seat he was running for. Conservatives never forgot Santorum's support of Specter over Toomey and they took great joy in dumping Santorum when he ran for re-election.
Rush isn't one to follow, when it comes to elections. Even in general elections, his vocal support of Republican candidates falls short of full-throated support.
Putting your support behind a candidate in the primary takes guts, and shows commitment. Putting on the school colors and waving signs in the general doesn't prove much, except that you know how to follow the crowd.
My disagreements with Sarah on the Arizona Senate race have more to do with who she's giving her support to. As far as I'm concerned, she's violating her personal integrity by backing McCain, but that's just my personal assessment. Who knows what internal calculus caused her to choose to support him?
Since she’s already committed to helping him, she should consider staying true to her ideals. And, if she is compatible with his agenda and beliefs, then, she is also not suitable to be president. I like her a lot, and hope she can balance her belief system, and still do him a service. Even so, if he loses, it won’t bare well for her. For me, it’s more important to get him out of the Senate, than her into the White House, as much as I would love to back her.
Makes sense, but you can't rule out who we're talking about in this Senate race. It's unconscionable to support this guy from the viewpoint of principle and integrity to conservative values.
I just cannot get past that hurdle.
If Sarah had not supported McCain in this race, I wouldn't have held it against her. In fact, she would have gained points with me for doing so.
We can't give our undying support to politicians on the grounds of party identification, alone. They must stand for at least the greater part of what we stand for.
Sarah won't lose my support for backing McCain in this race, but she'll surely lose the support of many others.
Yup. Thanks. Gotta challenge each other to be accurate.
I just don’t know how I could ever thank you, “Dave Corn.”
Your article is so indescribably brilliant, I’m on the verge of fainting. I now know that as a conservative I have to completely abandon all support for Sarah Palin.
(not)
Still shooting bullseyes, I see. Good to see you, brother.
Update yer blog, would ya? I miss reading your stuff.
Finally a little sanity around here. I don't think much of McCain either, but the last I checked its a free country and if Palin supports him over the Ron Paul choice Chris Simcox, then I'm not holding it against her. If the AZ voters don't want McCain then show up at the Primary and vote him out and stop demonizing everyone who endorses McCain.
And the GOP should NOT take advice from Mother Jones editors!
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Another effort by liberals to drive a wedge between us. The goal is to separate tea party conservatives from the leaders who can take the movement forward. Let’s face it, no one agrees with you 100% of the time. If they did, we would all be married to the same person.
You don’t owe McCain anything
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Just picking her for VP and putting her in the limelite to sell a book, be a player for 2012, stump for candidates, raise money, have a FOX job and so on and so forth.
...not much really. (sarc)
IMHO, it would RUIN Sarah if she did NOT help McCain.
She HAS to do this, or she, herself, will look petty and small.
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Agreed. Hopefully the nature and extent of her support will be to damn him with faint praise.
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