What about John, you know, McCain?
Dante Chinni
Posted: 05.09.2008 / 5:51 AM PDT
As America has had its eye on the Democratic nomination battle, another story has been unfolding more quietly on the Republican side of the ledger.
Since Sen. John McCain wrapped up the GOP presidential nomination on March 4, he has had some trouble bringing all of the party’s voters into the fold. He hasn’t broken 80 percent of the vote in the state primaries that have followed, including Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Indiana, or North Carolina. In Pennsylvania, for instance, Senator McCain received just 73 percent of the Republican vote in a closed primary in which only registered Republicans were permitted to cast ballots.
McCain’s camp says it isn’t particularly worried about these numbers. “If you go back and look at Reagan, Bush 41 [George H.W. Bush], [Bob] Dole, George W. Bush, when the race is over and you’re not campaigning, you don’t get a unanimous vote in those primaries where you don’t campaign,” McCain adviser Charlie Black said at a recent Monitor breakfast. “In fact, that 73 [percent] is not particularly unusual.”
He’s right about the percentages. A protest vote is not uncommon after the selection process is over. He may also turn out to be correct about the prospects for McCain’s campaign in the long run.
But a few notable differences emerge when analyzing the 2008 primary results using the framework of Patchwork Nation.
First, McCain seems to have problems appealing to voters on two different sides of the Republican spectrum.
In Mississippi, which is filled with culturally conservative “Evangelical Epicenters” and “Tractor Country” counties, McCain’s challenge primarily came from former GOP hopeful Mike Huckabee, the ex-governor of Arkansas. In the 16 counties that fall into one of those two community types, Mr. Huckabee received an average of 16 percent of the vote.
In Pennsylvania, his main rival was Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and competition for votes came in the critical “Monied ’Burbs,” many of which are heavy population centers around Philadelphia. In the 11 “Monied ’Burbs” counties in the state, Representative Paul garnered an average of 17 percent of the vote. Huckabee, too, had a fairly decent showing, capturing a little more than 9 percent of the vote from the state’s affluent suburban counties.
And in Indiana’s 19 “Monied ’Burbs” counties, both Huckabee and Paul siphoned off votes from McCain at a clip of 10 percent and 9 percent respectively.
McCain’s struggle to connect with cultural conservatives is well documented, even on this site as Patchwork Nation correspondents and bloggers in Sioux Center, Iowa, (Tractor Country) and Nixa, Mo., (Evangelical Epicenters) have written. In Iowa, blogger Nick Lantinga, who directs an international network of Christians, wrote about a distinct lack of enthusiasm in his home county for the Arizona senator. Nixa’s Republican mayor Doug Marrs went a step further, saying that he won’t vote for McCain in November.
But McCain’s trouble getting the votes of ‘Paulites,’ who tend to be more libertarian and opposed to the Iraq war, may be harder to solve. McCain’s support for the war is clear and in stark contrast with Paul’s. It’s also worth noting that in Pennsylvania it was registered Republicans who went to the polls to make their displeasure known, not just independent Paulites.
McCain’s protest votes, in other words, are more than just protest votes. They are protest votes that are concerned about specific issues. In contrast, the protest vote in the 2000 GOP primaries against then-Governor Bush was more about his lack of experience or McCain’s personality.
And the diversity of viewpoints among these different segments of the GOP (and different communities on the Patchwork Nation map) creates obstacles for McCain because they are harder to reconcile. It requires building an awkward-looking bridge to bring everyone back together.
The second difference between the Republican protest votes of 2000 and the ones this year is more basic.
In 2000, the Republicans had been out of the White House for eight years and GOP voters could have been more willing to put aside differences to see one of their own in power again. But in 2008, after eight years at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the enthusiasm of winning may not carry the same weight.
All of that doesn’t mean all is lost for McCain. In many head-to-head polls, he is running even or ahead of Sen. Barack Obama, who is now likely to be his opponent this fall. However, it does mean that despite all the talk of the Democrats needing to put their base back together after the nomination process, McCain has work to do with his base, too.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:23 am PDT
I am hard-pressed to imagine Ron Paul Republicans wanting to vote for any of the major candidates this fall. I’m an Obama supporter myself, and I’m drawn to Congressman Paul’s ideas quite a bit, so I imagine it would be difficult for a more libertarian/fiscal conservative sort of GOP party-member being happy with a neoconservative war-hawk like Sen. McCain.
If John McCain could somehow promise a Goldwater-esque “real conservatism”, i.e. dumping the Nanny State mentality, shrinking the federal government, and so on, he could win the Paul supporters. Of course, then he’d likely lose face with the Cold Warriors and the fundamentalists.
A pure pro-business candidate like Mitt Romney, who gave lip service to the war and to “morality” but stuck to his businessman’s credentials, seemed to appeal somewhat to the whole Republican spectrum, but attitudes toward his religion (and his religio-centric rhetoric) did him in.
I know that, for myself, McCain would be that much closer to having my vote, despite my lifelong Democratic voting record, if he hadn’t changed his opinion on torture.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:50 am PDT
Write in “Ron Paul”.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:27 am PDT
I’ve read several articles about this, and most compare John McCain’s percentages to Bush’s 2000 numbers. Has everyone forgotten how close the 2000 election was? Or am I just imagining relevance?
May 9th, 2008 at 11:56 am PDT
First, to the editor: Thanks for running this article, I think it’s great! And to the article’s writer: Thank You!
Zac, your post is correct. I’m a registered Republican and there is absolutely no fathomable way that I will ever cast a vote for McCain. I’m in agreement with Bill Moore: I will be writing in Ron Paul’s name regardless of who the official nominee is. I know several of my friends will be doing so as well. We are all justifiably sickened at the prospect of McCain being in charge. In fact, I am 100% convinced that McCain is the worst choice we could’ve possibly been given as a Republican candidate. He doesn’t, and I believe CAN’T, understand economics (which is VITAL right now), he has a bad temper and zero tact (the LAST thing we need right now for our sensitive foreign relations situation), he’s supports increasing Government regulation (under the guise of “anti-terror” acts) and the list goes on and on. McCain doesn’t stand for TRUE Republican values at all, he stands for Liberal Socialism at its best and Neocon Fascism at its worst and I’m sorry to say it but the new Neocon Warhawking, Freedom-Stealing, Power-Grabbing, Empire-Spreading, Fascist Ideology should NOT be acceptable to ANYONE and it’s especially NOT a true Republican ideal. I don’t know what happened to the Republican party over the past decade or so but realistically it’s not the same party anymore.
Anyway, I’m an Oregonian and our primary is one of the last ones coming up so when you see in a couple of weeks that Ron Paul has picked up another delegate or two from Oregon, you can bet my vote was a part of it.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:18 pm PDT
Ron Paul professes to be a Republican and I believe it was fine to continue in the race until John McCain had secured the delegates to win. I admire both Governor Huckabee, who I support, and Senator Paul for staying in to fight for their principles, beliefs and supporters until the fight was over. However, now that IT IS OVER and Senator McCain is the presumed nominee, it is time for Senator Paul to get behind our nominee and offer his endorsement. If, as he says, he is a Republican, he needs to do what is best for us to win in November and ask his supporters to get behind the McCain presidency. Mike Huckabee has done that. Senator Paul, will you do the same???
May 9th, 2008 at 12:26 pm PDT
Linda Rayborn:
Ron Paul is a congressman, not a senator, and he puts America’s future ahead of “what is best for the Republican Party”.
If you know the difference between Juan McCain’s policies and voting record and Ron Paul’s, you would know that Paul “getting behind” the “Republican” candidate for the sake of him being a Republican candidate would go against the truely American principles that Paul has stood up for for all these years.
I for one am thankful that there is still someONE in Washington that sticks to his principles before his party.
What if the Republican’s nominated Lenin for President…would you ask all the Republicans to suck it up and get behind him too???
May 9th, 2008 at 12:44 pm PDT
@Linda Rayborn : I am a Republican and John McCain is not nor will ever be my candidate.
The days of falling in line and towing the party line are over. We have been silent for to long, take a look at where our complacency has gotten us. The foreign policy of the current administration is causing the demise of our personal liberties.
Now that “the surge is working” in Iraq why can’t I take more than three ounces of liquid on an airplane, yet I can take full sized scissors?
Stop thinking about falling in line with the doctrine and embrace your own free thought and the possibility that just because “they” say it should be doesn’t mean it should.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:00 pm PDT
Author Dante Chinni wrote, “… wrapped up the GOP presidential nomination on March 4 …”
Nothing is wrapped up until September. There are still many states to go, including my home state convention May 31.
Linda Rayborn commented, “… Senator Paul …”
Calling Ron Paul a “Senator” shows Linda Rayborn has not researched him.
Linda Rayborn commented, “.. now that IT IS OVER and Senator McCain is the presumed nominee, it is time for Senator Paul to get behind our nominee and offer his endorsement. …”
According to party rules, it is not over. Republicans are learning how McCain is really a pro-war liberal Democrat, so McCain is losing conservative support.
I will vote against McCain, as he is a fraudulent media-created hot-head, and a liberal Democrat in disguise.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:15 pm PDT
Our country is basically bankrupt- Screw being loyal to the party. Let’s be true to good solid principles given to us in the Constitution.McCain will get his *** kicked in November and deservedly so .
May 9th, 2008 at 3:35 pm PDT
How can you say McCain can’t unify his party just because people voted for other candidates on the ballot? I just voted in Indiana. Since Indiana is a crossover state, I had an opportunity to request a Democratic ballot and was very tempted to do so, just to add to their squabble. But I felt in good conscience I could not vote for either Clinton or Obama since they are both so diametrically opposed to my value system. So I voted my conscience. In November, I will certainly vote for McCain. Don’t assume that my vote for someone else on the ballot means I will not support the nominee!
May 9th, 2008 at 4:01 pm PDT
The overwhelming majority of Ron Paul supporters will not vote for McCain, no matter what he says or does between now and November. We stand for the principles of peace, liberty, small government, and sound money, and will not vote for a man with the opposite principles. We will be happy to see McCain lose (he is, in fact, less dangerous than Obama, whom we also would never support), because the long-term health of the Party and the country is more important than this one election. The message to the rest of the Party will be clear: you will never get our support by nominating liberal, neo-conservative (not a contradiction), war-mongering, big-government candidates. If you ever want to win an election again, stop nominating enemies of freedom.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:03 pm PDT
Nearly 80% of the American people are dissatisfied with the Bush Administration? So says the polls. Then WHY would people be voting for McCain? Same bully mentality. Blunt and ridiculing, offensive behavior with a notorious temper.Characteristics that are unbecoming for a President of the United States.
A McCain presidency is more of what we have been getting. I know that I have had enough of THAT. McCain is more of the same! I find him dishonest with the Illegal immigrant issue. He panders. Google: La Raza McCain.
Besides that, McCain mis-speaks, retracts and then mis-speaks again..What is wrong with him? Could he have a touch of dementia? (I mean no disrespect with that question, just wonder)
May 9th, 2008 at 4:22 pm PDT
mcCan’t will never get the Ron Paul vote. Never I say Never! Nor will Obama. Take it to the bank.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:11 pm PDT
Thanks for the Patchwork nation analysis. I agree: Senator McCain has a very tough row to hoe.
I also agree that getting behind McCain is not the most important value here. More important by far is the long-term survival and prosperity of the nation. If the “choice” we are given in November is between two candidates, both of whom will crash the economy and the dollar while taking the country into a new national socialism, how right can we be to vote for one or the other?
Better to be vocal and insistent, and try to keep freedom alive until 2012.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:53 pm PDT
Well, Well another article about the Mc king!
Long live the Mc King! Yes, it is about McCain and his pesky non-issue and noisy opponent named, … ah… ah, Dr. Paul, that it right? Dr. Paul, he’s back there in the back of the bus and of course, Dr. Paul and his meaningless 2 to 3 million GOP suicide voters, aka coolaide drinkers and tin hat people. The GOP tells us so every day, boy what a load of ****.
Remember that Dr. Paul is the DOCTOR, He is not a madman or fool as many attempt to make him and his following out to be. In fact most of Dr. Paul followers are young or early middle aged and well educated and Internet savy.
In fact Dr. Paul is a good role model. He has over thirty years of towing the line of no vice too! Dr. Paul served in the US military just at about the same time Mc King got shot down.
Again the GOP champions the tough or real guy, Mc king again and again and Mc Cain’s posy of grey haired smart bomb tossing grey panthers that gave us the Keating Five and 1998 elimination of the 1933 protections security act! McCain is not a good GOP role model, he never was and Mc Angry never will be. So, now that things have changed what happens?
RNC hear this loud and clear every time I fill my tank I am thinking of you and my state GOP. I will spend everything I have made and will make to flush you down and out. Your day has come.
The Democrats are about to give birth to Jimmy Carter the Second and the USA is going to suffer terribly because the GOP Leadership is living in the 1980’s and blew a golden opportunity to capture millions of NEW REPUBLICANS to fight off the good deeds of the party of the People divide by race, income and sexual preferences.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:58 pm PDT
“It’s also worth noting that in Pennsylvania it was registered Republicans who went to the polls to make their displeasure known, not just independent Paulites.” — In Pennsylvania, one HAD to be a REGISTERED Republican to vote in the primary. So, Ron Paul received about 128,000 Republican votes — this makes the Pennsylvania vote a bit more significant.
May 9th, 2008 at 7:02 pm PDT
I am not a believer in the “Politics of War”, nor do I believe the Government has my best interest in mind.
The mass of the US government is now clearly beyond the control of the both parties of government. It’s poor management is crushing the life from middle America and the rest of the world and I say enough.
I do not want to see the day of Food Riots in Los Angeles and believe me that day is coming if we do not change course. America has burnt every credit it has and bled the cash from every Joe and Jane in the country and it is not enough fix the problem. Government is the problem.
USA troops and bases we so blissfully exported in the 1980 exported dollars by the trillions each year. Hundreds of thousands of Jobs went away and we did nothing. Bring them (trillions) home now.
McCain is the worst GOP presumptive ever. I will never vote for the Man. The Lesser of Two Evils mantra must stop today. Our willingness to fall in line for the pass fifty years has produced a Government system that is wildly out of control and which is now focused on restricting our very liberty.
I work in the financial industry and most Americans have no true idea of the real state of union. it’s very very bad, but dont take my word look at the PUMP. Now that the cost of a loaf of bread is going north of the cost of movie ticket America is waking up. But please do pnt pay any attention to the GOP tin hatters called Paulites or Paulies or Paultards because the GOP faithful have it all figured out. Really, let us Pray Really that is all we have to do, It worked for Jesus and it will work for better government too!
NOT!
So to all you good republicans that will bow to McCain I have one thing to relay to you. PLEASE STOP IT NOW before Oil is $200 per barrel and a gallon of gas is price inflated to $7.00 per gallon.
May 10th, 2008 at 12:13 am PDT
John McCain wouldn’t get my vote in any scenario. I do not appreciate his smug, arrogant, condesending attitude. I certainly do not appreciate his willingness to allow our nation’s bankruptcy to “spread democracy” to people who apparently don’t even want it badly enough to fight for it themselves. Let those people figure out what political system THEY want, bring our troops home, and restore this nation’s good name.
I’ll be voting for Dr. Paul. Call it a wasted vote, but I will not choose between evils, as the choice is still for evil. I know he won’t win, and I’ve always known he wouldn’t win. But I have yet to have a reasonable conversation with a McCain supporter about foreign policy, monetary policy, economic policy, liberty policy, etc. Seems to be only the Paul and Obama people who have taken the time to educate themselves on the candidates and the issues.
By the way, I’m not a truther, gun-toting, nut. Dr. Paul summed up my beliefs on the truther movement with this: “If the 9/11 victims families are not satisfied with the commissions’ report, then neither am I.” Oh wow, a man of the people, which is NOT what McCain is.
Great article. Keep up the good work and God bless.
May 10th, 2008 at 1:56 am PDT
McCain in order to win needs a social conservative preferrably and evangelical for his VP candidate. The Repubicans can not have a country club image and win this year. They need a main-street image, someone who connects with the average person. Mike Huckabee, John Thune, J.C. Watts
May 10th, 2008 at 1:11 pm PDT
McCain/Huckabee 2008!!!
May 10th, 2008 at 3:38 pm PDT
This is all so pathetic! Thank you G.W.!
May 10th, 2008 at 4:44 pm PDT
Huckabee can add several needed qualities to the GOP ticket:
Executive experience and success, which both McCain and Obama lack.
A strong social conservative record that will not just add lip service to McCain, but keep him in check.
Huck will also be a good influence on him. That is scripturally very important.
Appeal to minorities and the more conservative, church going Democrats.
Someone who can debate and speak in public very well.
Mike attracts young voters.
Mike attracts blue collar voters.
Huckabee and McCain were the strongest 2 candidates on the ticket according to votes and polls. They attracted more Republicans and more Independents than any other Republican combination.
Mike gives the GOP a younger conservative heir to take the reigns that the party base can be happy with. A 4 year internship in foreign policy would make him complete.
McCain does not oppose the fair tax, which Mike wants to push very hard.
FYI, the Fair Tax eliminates income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, etc. and if you check it out and read it’s posted studies conducted by economists, you will find that the FT can:
1. Reverse the negative affects of NAFTA and other trade agreements that are not fair to the American economy. This strengthens the American industrial job market.
2. Save Solcial Security
3. Strengthen the Dollar, which will get the economy out of the ditch and moving into the fast lane! (Cheaper oil, gas)
4. Remove imbedded taxes in products we buy by an average of 22% of cost, bringing inflation down. (Cheaper products) This is also a huge benefit to small businesses.
5. Closes the IRS and ends tax free living by criminals and foreigners.
6. Pastors no longer have to live in fear because they speak the truth from the pulpit. They can honestly say that political parties and candidates who peddle homosexual activism and abortion are evil. This helps the GOP.
May 10th, 2008 at 9:50 pm PDT
I like the flat tax idea. The past two years about half a dozen people I know, including me, have had to resubmit all or part of our income tax forms. This year, we have had to resubmit TWICE because the IRS lost it and of course, claimed we never sent it. We’ve sent it registered mail this time, but I’m sure they can find a way to lose it again.
However, I am not at all comfortable selecting a government based on religious principles. I’ve selected a religion based on religious principle. I’ll select my government based on the candidates’ positions on things governmental. Render unto Caesar, remember? I really hate that the Republican party has become such a hostage to the far-rightists and the Democrat party has become a hostage to the far-leftists. Where are the folks with a sensible, moral outlook? Why, we’re stuck with choosing which lunatic fringe to go for. For me, I’ll vote for the person closest to center. Center. Center!
May 11th, 2008 at 12:03 am PDT
McCain is too liberal, you are correct. However, what could we possibly gain by “teaching the GOP a lesson” and conceding 2008?
Anyone who says that McCain is not a better choice for our country’s future over Obama is living in a fantasy world. McCain may not improve our country, but Obama will throw it into deeper moral decline. Obama is more liberal than Hillary and Bill combined.
Allow me to expand the education of my Paul supporting members of the party.
First of all, the majority of Republicans agree with you guys on most issues. The even larger majority of Republicans agree with Mike Huckabee and some of the other conservatives who lost to the more liberal McCain. And, as we read the GOP platform for most states and nationally, the party is very conservative structurally, on paper and in membership.
The “neo-cons”, as you put it, are similar to the “establishment” we refer to. I think we can all agree that RINOs (Republican In Name Only) are the only major roadblock that prevents us from being the party of our platform that represents the majority of us. Correct?
One thing that you have served the party well with is proving that a small minority can have a large impact on the direction of the party. Just as you, a mere 3% of the party, have succeeded in hijacking conventions and precinct chairs to gain delegates and party member databases, the RINOs have influenced the party for decades through a simple and unknown advantage that you have tapped into:
The Republican Party is designed to work from the ground up, and ANYONE can get involved. It is easy to become a precinct chairman, a delegate, an elector, a convention participant, a leader in the party and a primary voter. Unfortunately, 80% of registered Republicans do not vote in the primary elections, 95% do not attend party functions and 99% do not seek these open opportunities within the party. As a result, the wealthy and the determined will always control various levels of party structure.
Running the party into a ditch by sabotaging the GOP national convention will not help. Blasting McCain and telling America why he is a bad choice will not help. Creating enemies within the party will not help. Supporting an unelectable candidate will not help.
The Ron Paul revolution strategy is short sighted and self serving. All it is doing is wounding the GOP and ruining the reputation of Paul and his high profile supporters, which will make them ineffective in the future because they will not be trusted. It is also putting the “establishment” on watch and making it harder for the rest of us to get involved so we can begin shifting the GOP back to the right.
Pardon me for saying, but your attitude is determining your latitude. The lack of humility and respect for the other 97% of us within the party silences the validity of your arguments. You’ve done the research, you’ve identified some problems and you’ve assembled a grassroots network of activists. Don’t throw it all away by trying to go it alone, ramming your views down everyone’s throats with an unwillingness to compromise, listen or admit defeat.
Anyone can point out the flaws within the Party. Anyone can poke holes in McCain’s ship. Anyone can isolate themselves with an arrogant “us vs. them” message. We’ve seen this before, and likely will again. The question is, can you lay out a sensible, practical, respectful solution that appeals to the long term success of the party?
Can you refrain from being the bull in the china shop that can’t win important public support?
Can you recognize the complexity of the many dynamics involved with foreign policy that makes it impossible to do a complete 180, and have the patience to peel this onion one layer at a time until we get to where we need to be?
Can you live with not getting your way on issues like Iraq without losing your loyalty to the party?
Can you change your strategy and work with the rest of the majority to increase participation and drown the RINOs out?
If the answer is yes, then welcome to the Republican Party! If not, go somewhere else, because we have bigger fish to fry and are very busy right now. Obama must be stopped.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:01 am PDT
In order to win the Presidency, John McCain needs to have Mike Huckabee on his ticket. If the media had not been dead-set against him, Huckabee would have been the nominee. Huckabee brings all the energy and ideas and strength that McCain needs. They like each other and share values on most issues. Huckabee is a great debater, and they will need one. With anyone else, it is curtains for the Republicans.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:14 am PDT
Isnt it sad when it is considered “Revolutionary” to follow the constitution?
Ron Paul’s new book is top of the best seller list. Pick up a copy and learn how to fix this country.
I will never vote for John McCain. His support of restrictions on politcal speech(MCCain Feingold) and his persecution of Mixed Martial Arts( My personal occupation) would never allow me to support him.
Write in Ron Paul or Vote Libertarian.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:27 am PDT
IN response to We:
The Ron Paul Revolution is an effort to save the Republican Party. A challenge to McCain will help the party. It is not 97% of the party that are for McCain as tou say. McCain will destroy the party. His views are consistent with Obama’s views more then they are with the party platform. If McCain wins I am afraid the party could be lost forever or atleast a very long time. Conservative’s will no longer have a party to call home…
Kris
May 11th, 2008 at 12:27 pm PDT
I have a question for all you McCain and Huck fans. How will American benefit from two guys that are ready and willing to unleash the gates of ****?
…. Well, that is suppose to be strictly the domain of God is it not?
Be a christian or not, Turn your cheek or stopping pretending to be a person of faith.
May 11th, 2008 at 1:23 pm PDT
I am totally disgusted with the Republican Party and have been a member for quite some years now. I cannot come to grips why John McCain is now the candidate of choice as he is a socialist. What has become of the GOP when chosen candidates for our nation’s highest office is a liberal and because I cannot seem to get any reasonable answer from the nation and my own state GOP, I have dissolved my membership and will vote for third party or write-in Ron Paul as I have recently learned about him and was shocked to see he never gained any traction as he is the ONLY true conservative in the Republican party. It’s just totally disappointing to see what has happened and I promise to do everything in my power to stop McCain or Obama from being our next President and if they are elected, the USA will continue to collapse in the next four years until America wakes up to the real evil that we face and that is within our own two-party system.
May 11th, 2008 at 1:27 pm PDT
I have some questions for all you pro-life social conservatives:
How can you, in any conscience, support a man that wants to continue the senseless killing in a war for oil profits, and even extend it to another nation?
How can you, in any conscience, support a man that passed legislation that allowed a private coal mining corporation to forcibly remove Native Americans off of their sacred land in his own state so the coal mining company could strip mine it, with the relocation being to the base of a toxic waste dump, resulting in the deaths of several thousand Hopi and Navajo?
How can you, in any conscience, carry the water for a man like that while denigrating a true social conservative and pro-life candidate, a medical doctor, a obstetrician who never has done an abortion, a family man and great-grandfather who has been married to his high-school sweetheart for 51 years, the epitome of family values?
How can you do that and sleep at night?
Rally behind Dr. Paul, not McCain!
May 11th, 2008 at 2:25 pm PDT
Anyone who thinks that McCain will eventually get the Ron Paul votes is smoking what should already be legal. There is no way in **** I will ever support McHilama. It won’t happen. I will never, never, ever vote for the lesser of two evils again…never! I will write in Ron Paul. In fact,I don’t personally know a Ron Paul supporter that would vote for McCain, and I know a bunch. If they do, they had no idea what Ron Paul was about in the first place and were tepid supporters at best.
I have been a Republican all of my life and I’ll be changing to independent immediately after the nominee is decided…unless it is Paul of course…then I will devote myself wholeheartedly to the NEW Republican party that has taken up the mantle of the Constitutionally minded OLD Democratic Party of Jefferson.
Until then, the GOP can take gas for I care and they’ll never be able to count on my vote again.
May 11th, 2008 at 4:38 pm PDT
WE Says: “The question is, can you lay out a sensible, practical, respectful solution that appeals to the long term success of the party?”
The answer is: FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION
“Obama must be stopped.”
All liberal gun-grabbing one-world-government socialists must be stopped, including McCain (a liberal Democrat RINO –> McCain/Feingold, McCain/Lieberman).
May 11th, 2008 at 7:41 pm PDT
If gas is $4.00 a gallon, If the Iraq war is still going bad, if we are in a recession, If President Bush’s approval rating is at 30%,let’s look at the rising National debt, the shrinking of the dollar, Who really cares if McCain is too old, lost his bearings,whether he voted for Bush or not, whether he can’t tell sunni from Shia, Whether or not Reverend Wright or Ayers will hurt Obama, or that Hamas wants Obama to win, or if Obama wears a lapel pin (Neither Clinton nor McCain wear one) or whether he misspoke of 57 states,whether we care if Clinton came under fire in Bosnia. People are worried about the real issues: Gas Prices, The War, The economy. The people will want CHANGE!!!!
May 11th, 2008 at 7:59 pm PDT
McCain could pick Dick Cheney as his running mate. I mean, he might as well.
Unless Ron Paul endorses someone else, which is unlikely, I am writing in Ron Paul.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:52 pm PDT
I know McCain is a RINO. But he won the primary, which means we have much work to do within the party over the next 4 years. As Republicans, we must learn to prioritize our efforts and choose our battles wisely.
Priority one is limiting the damage by choosing the least liberal president, who is McCain, and taking back the Congress before the economy gets any worse. Pelosi is just a taste of what we will get with Obama or Hillary.
McCain is no Reagan, but he is conservative compared to Barak Hussein Obama, and that’s no complement to McCain.
I get the whole “let’s make a statement” thing and living by principle. Just keep in mind that writing in Paul or not voting will help Obama and not solve anything. It will make things worse. Remember Bob Dole/Clinton? Imagine that liberal fast track x10 with the most liberal congress in history backing up the most liberal president ever. Supreme Court, Foreign Policy, Taxes, etc. You guys are not thinking this through long term.
Paul lost. Most of the party rejects him. He is unelectable. Get over it and wake up, people!
May 11th, 2008 at 11:43 pm PDT
Vote for ron paul.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:01 am PDT
Every single politician, law enforcement agent and member of the military makes an OATH to protect and defend The Constitution. If their word, their oath, means nothing then there is no way I can vote for them any longer.
I’m a lifelong Republican, but no way McCain.
The way I see it we have war tax McCain, global poverty tax Obama and health tax Clinton. Each with their own way of further bankrupting our nation. Please tell me which of those options are authorized by the Constitution? I’ve read the Constitution and I have found zero authorization for any of that nonsense.
My vote goes to Ron Paul. Or, if RP steps aside, my vote will go to whoever he endorses. I’ve been a Republican my entire life, but I refuse to put my political party ahead of my country.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:27 am PDT
WE, if you ever want the Republican Party to go back to its roots, you have to stand up and fight. The party has been highjacked by a minority of liberal neoconservative republicans, and its time that “we the people of the republican party” say no, even if the liberal media is pushing the neoconservative agenda by giving them extra airtime.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:16 pm PDT
Unfortunately it took segregationist Governor Wallace to reveal the truth that “there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between” Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats willingly went along with the War in Iraq, suspension of Habeas Corpus, detaining protesters, banning books like “America Deceived’ from Amazon, stealing private lands (Kelo decision), warrant-less wiretapping and refusing to investigate 9/11 properly. They are both guilty of treason.
Support Dr. Ron Paul and save this great nation.
Last link (before Google Books bends to gov’t Will and drops the title):
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-38523-0
May 12th, 2008 at 3:10 pm PDT
Please Ron Paul supporters, if you think that Congressman Paul cares more about the country than he does the Republican Party to stay in the race, your logic does not make sense. What do you now hope to accomplish except to divide the party and cause Obama to win? You just can’t win at this point and you have to think what is best for this country.(that is NOT Obama). Believe me, I know how hard it is to accept that your man (Huckabee for me) was not going to win…this time. But, like Mike, we have to get behind our party’s nominee and find out how we can make what we have stonger for a win. Please get behind Mike Huckabee as the vp. Our ticket will be better because of it. Ron Paul can still speak at the convention, but he also needs to give his support to Senator McCain.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:59 pm PDT
A write in for Paul is a vote for Obama. Paul can’t win, he can only keep McCain from getting another 3% of votes from so called Republicans.
Did you know that this Ron Paul Revolution idea of resisting the nomination, hijacking conventions for delegates and most of this hype comes from a paid staffer of the Paul campaign named Steve Parent?
Parent is conducting a national coaching campaign to influence this movement by giving thousands of Paul supporters mis-information about the delegate process that is turning out to be incorrect.
Where did Parent come from? None other than the Democratic party! He served as an administrator with the Democratic Party for years and is now assisting the Paul movement to damage the GOP before the 2008 elections. Look it up!
Could it be that the Paul campaign is nothing more than a Democratic covert strategy to derail the GOP? Could be. Just keep in mind that this is not about protesting McCain. They were planning to do all of this long ago, before McCain became relevant in the 2008 GOP primary. The truth is, they would be doing this regardless of who won.
Research these people on the internet. Read their quotes. (the “daily paul dot com” is one of my favorites) Follow the timeline. Google Steve Parent, Paul. Paul, convention. Click my name. Research their rhetoric when they talk about the constitution. They know the constitution like Jehovah’s Witnesses know the Bible. Most of them only know the political talking points they have been coached. In truth, they know very little about American history and the constitution. They know just enough truth to be dangerous, but paraphrase it alot.
These people are nuts. They are attempting a political coup in a time of war. 100 years ago they would be shot for treason. If you supported Paul, but find this truth disturbing, I advise you to run in the opposite direction of these guys. The FBI is investigating them and monitoring their national conference calls. The FEC is investigating the unofficial “money bombs” and other illegal fundraisers where they are taking YOUR money and keeping you hanging on by telling you that Paul can still win. It is a scam!
June 30th, 2008 at 10:57 am PDT
[…] Yet, most of Senator McCain’s wins were not overwhelming after that point. Only in two primaries did McCain receive more than 80 percent of the vote. In that time, he also lost a few contests to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. […]
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:53 am PDT
I personally think this is outragous.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:26 am PDT
I agree with you 100% - things happen for a reason. I found this by accident and noticed that we have some things in common. Thats what I love about the Internet, every blog is like a box of chocolates
Thanks - Great blog.