Free Republic

Count me among those perplexed by John McCain’s decision to go negative. Does the Senator think he’s not coming across as curmudgeonly enough? Does he think he’ll reap some benefit from turning himself into the political version of Grandpa Simpson? If I were McCain, I’d go upbeat and explain my own positions and repair my own relationships with the party faithful. That’s what he has to do. Honestly, is there any Republican candidate out there that McCain would defeat (other than Larry Libertarian) in a head-to-head match-up? He has to tend to his own image. Knocking down nine other...

True to his reputation as a maverick, Sen. John McCain is obviously fed up with the jabs he's taking from conservatives on the immigration issue. And he's hitting back – hard. It's about time. Since the beginning of this debate, McCain has been both correct and courageous. But now he has made it clear that he's not going to be anyone's punching bag. McCain is correct about the need for comprehensive immigration reform as opposed to what's behind door No. 2: the “faith-based” enforcement-only approach of building walls, hoping illegal immigrants self-deport and calling it a day. Congress did something...

RUSH: Here's what happened last night on the immigration bill, as written up by the AP and then I will give you the correct analysis of this. "A fragile compromise that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants risks coming unraveled after the Senate voted early Thursday to place a five-year limit on a program meant to provide American employers with 200,000 temporary foreign workers annually. The 49-48 vote came two weeks after the Senate, also by a one-vote margin, rejected the same amendment by Senator Dorgan. The North Dakota Democrat says immigrants take many jobs Americans could fill." Now, why...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson still hasn't formally entered the presidential race, but he's already posing a serious threat to some of his potential GOP rivals. The Washington Post reports the likelihood of a Thompson candidacy is pulling major donors away from Sen. John McCain's already struggling campaign. While Thompson is trying to woo conservatives who may be unsatisfied with GOP triumvirate of Giuliani, Romney and McCain, he "appears to present the most challenges for McCain," says the Post. As Thompson "builds his team of major fundraisers … the challenge for McCain will be to collect the millions of dollars necessary...

George W. Bush's 2004 campaign fund-raisers and contributors are being bombarded with appeals for money by Sen. John McCain's heavy-spending, money-short 2008 campaign. McCain is concentrating heavily on the rich target of lawyers and lobbyists in Washington, D.C. They have been invited to multiple McCain fund-raising events held in the nation's capital, currently a $1,000-a-ticket reception June 26 at the Capitol Hill Club with a potential "event co-chair" asked to raise $50,000. A large percentage of the Bush fund-raising team remains uncommitted, a signal that the Republican establishment is not satisfied with the present field seeking the party's nomination. McCain's...

Despite his best case for the immigration compromise -- and he made a good one at the debate the other night -- the unalterable fact is that the issue is right now a major problem for the McCain campaign. To wit, one of the first tangible signs of the damage it's doing, as supplied by Romney's camp: Subject: RE: TIME TO CALL RADIO Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 22:15:22 -0400 From: David Nix To: 'Adam Temple' CC: Mike Gibbons Adam, Please consider this my resignation as Aiken County chair for McCain. I am too far from him on the Amnesty...