Redstate

That is one long list of folks. Oh, I guess by this logic we should have inducted Richard Shelby to be a candidate. Dang it! Where in the world is Richard Shelby? Hmmm...

"Originally elected to the Senate as a Democrat, Shelby switched to the Republican Party in 1994 when it gained the majority in Congress."
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Shelby

Crap! Won't do, he's a flip flopper.

Who else is on the list that is more conservative than John McCain? Hmmm. Ah... Chuck Hagel, we should have him run for Presid... wait, no, no, maybe not. Still reading the list....

Fred!

www.mymanmitt.com
www.race42008.com
www.illinoisreview.com

... were jacking up fees and taxes in their respective states, and yes, one was a pro-choice governor from Massachusetts (although not necessarily anti-Reagan, as Reagan himself was never a political issue in Massachusetts while Romney was governor).

In fairness to both men, there were legitimate reasons for raising taxes (Arkansas's atrocious roads and Boston's messy and expensive Big Dig project), but you are correct that neither man has a genuine conservative record on taxes. Both men were more-or-less center-right governors in that respect. And neither is as conservative as McCain on budget policy.

Hang all traitors and secessionists! Hang them high!
- Me

That'd be if I took his 68 in 2001 or 1998. The guy hasn't averaged an 80 for a single Session of Congress since 1995-96:

105th Congress (1997-98): 74% (80 and 68)
106th Congress (1999-2000): 79% (77 and 81)
107th Congress (2001-02): 73% (68 and 78)
108th Congress (2003-04): 73.5% (72 and 75)
109th Congress (2005-06): 72.5% (80 and 65)

Pound for pound, it's a decade as one of the Senate's most liberal Republicans.

The citizens of California had a chance to pick between a real conservative and some other guy when they threw out Gray Davis as Governor. And look at the mess the other guy has the state in now. Pick the real thing, not a faux conservative. At least you know what you're getting, either with the Dem or otherwise......

"The day you think you know it all is the day your trouble starts."

I still recall Stephen Moore, I think still head of CfG at the time, writing in NRO about how Schwarznenegger was going to be great.

Some of us knew better though.

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Ahh the "McCain is the only one that can win!" argument. Everybody's bots say their candidate is "the only one that can win!" That is a pretty weak argument.
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Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman

Based on the consistent polling data, based on the politics of inclusion vs. exclusion, based on the fact that the GOP is despised enough that that a maverick has the best shot, McCain really does have the best chance of winning the White House.

It's not like we're making up the electability claim.

There is no President but Lincoln, and Reagan is his prophet

And it will be until after Labor Day. You might as well be making stuff up than pointing to some polls taken 9 months before the general public starts paying attention.
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Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman

Polls are not always correct, but they are hardly "worthless." When they show such an enormous gap for virtually every candidate, I think that should be taken into account.

Perhaps more importantly, McCain has the best favorable/unfavorable ratio out of any of the Republicans. Other GOP candidates are not as well-liked, and are far more disliked, among the general electorate. Even if you don't buy the raw numbers argument, that should count for something.

There is no President but Lincoln, and Reagan is his prophet

And this is one of them. These polls are worth about as much as the generic Democrat/Republican polls. That is essentially what they are at this point since the general public is NOT paying any attention. We don't have nominees selected and the campaign hasn't even started yet. Things will change, dramatically, no matter who we choose as the nominee.
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Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman

If you want to see how worthless polls are... look at the recent poll of Republican voters about favorability/unfavorability. Adam links to it in his blog about Romney being the most divisive Republican candidate. McCain went from being the most unfavorable candidate among Republican voters to the least unfavorable candidate among Republican voters in one month. And this is among a subset of the population that is actually paying some attention, since they are voting for the Republican nominee.
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Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman

It's not like we're making up the electability claim.

Y'all are just parroting it.

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Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.

The positive press has to help McCain, to be sure, but the favorable/unfavorables and the overall polling numbers come from polls of voters, not press pools.

There is no President but Lincoln, and Reagan is his prophet

Hint: it's the same people who have invented the "electability" meme.

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Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.

Just imagine it, John McCain vs. Hillary Clinton debating global warming. LOL! I pray God that that never happens, but it would be entertaining! I'm greener than you are! LOL!

America stands for bold colors!
Tim Schieferecke

McCain is not the only one that can win. However, he will start out the race ahead, and will be in the driver's seat. That simply cannot be said of Mitt, Fred or Mike. Rudy's a little more difficult to tell, but McCain is at least as strong.

John Bolton for President
"FEAR THE 'STACH!!!"

.

Through 1996, John McCain had an 89% Career ACU rating. From 1997 on, he hasn't had a signle Congress in which he averaged 80% for that Congress.

... oppose drilling in ANWR, oppose the human life amendment (i'd prefer to overturn Roe and let the states figure the rest out), rather like the gang of 14, was suspicious of the Bush tax cuts when they were passed b/c of the lack of spending cuts, and am not upset by campaign finance reform.

The rest - decent points

and on the other hand, mccain wants to, for example,

cut spending
eliminate govt programs
reduce regulation, especially of small businesses
appoint originalist justices
increase our military
defend 2nd Amendment rights

so he's a conservative by any standards, even if he is not THE PERFECT conservative

W.C. Fields for President!
www.shortenurl.com/7cxfm

too loudly around gun people. Believe me, he is not popular with them. He probably manages to beat out Hillary and Obama, but that isn't saying much. Sure, he is moderately pro-gun, but it isn't an important issue to him. He voted correctly on the "assault weapon" ban, but has voted to require background checks at gun shows and some other things that are not at all liked in the firearms community.

Congrats gideon1789, its rare that a man finds someone that mirrors his views.

The first paragraph is interesting though. Just for grins why are you against ANWR?

i would like to reduce spending FAR MORE than McCain would, and i am indeed quite uncomfortable with his willingness to try to provide a federal solution to so many problems. i'm of the "abolish the Dept of Education" persuasion.

my point is that i'm with him on all the major issues (i wish he'd come around a lot sooner on immigration, but ok) - the war, defense, abortion, spending, lower taxes, immigration (his current position) - and the issues on which i disagree with him are secondary (important, but secondary).

and ultimately, we will move the country in a conservative direction little by little, not all at once. we have to choose our battles. once we shift things on certain issues, we will be better able to shift things on other issues.

if mccain hadn't been so loud about certain of his disagreements, more conservatives might feel the way i do. but he has disagreed sometimes in a grating way, and that has made it more difficult for conservatives to back him. (i don't mean to poo-poo the substance of those disagreements, but a lot depends on manner.)

as for the ANWR question, if you want to email me, I'll be happy to answer offline (i don't want to threadjack).
W.C. Fields for President!
www.shortenurl.com/7cxfm

Boy, that's news to me.

Appoint "originalist justices", what proof is there to back this up from the Gang of 14 leader?

Eliminate government programs? How does giving illegals access to Social(ist) Security help cut them?

Increase our military? How does his quest to close Gitmo and bring those evil thugs onto American soil help recruitment? Unless he's all for just killing these thugs on the battlefield even if they surrender, then I can't see how giving them access to Stanley Cohen on our soil helps anything!

America stands for bold colors!
Tim Schieferecke

you can do a little research on your own and find enough evidence to answer your own questions

if you'd rather not do the work, then just take a look at some of Adam C's diaries and longer posts.

W.C. Fields for President!
www.shortenurl.com/7cxfm

... and I agree with McCain on immigration ("amnesty" if you want to call it that), and will vote for him even though I respectfully disagree with him on ANWR, campaign finance reform, and partly disagree with him on environmental issues.

I also have reservations about his stance on water-boarding, but the truth is that it doesn't make that much of a difference since we end up sending the really tough interrogation cases overseas anyway. Moreover, there is no man whose opinion on this issue I would respect more than McCain. Torture is a murky and ill-defined subject, but the only thing we know for sure is that McCain is the only expert on that subject currently running for president.

You are also factually wrong about Alito and Roberts. Neither man's confirmation was a part of the so-called "Gang of 14" deal, and McCain supported both men for the SCOTUS. Moreover, now that the Democrats control the Senate, that deal doesn't look nearly as bad to me as it did back then. And considering our bleak Senate prospects this year, I am rather glad we preserved the filibuster as a tool for Republicans in the upper chamber.

Lastly, is there any man in the field who has fought harder or placed more political capital in defending the Iraq War? We both know there is not.

Hang all traitors and secessionists! Hang them high!
- Me

W.C. Fields for President!
www.shortenurl.com/7cxfm

1. I doubt it. At the very least I'm not confident he would nominate someone like Roberts or Alito because that would mean probable conflicts with McCain-Feingold and future McCain laws.

2. Rick Santorum isn't too confident on this one

3. Mark Levin may disagree. McCain-Kennedy critics probably would too.

i think you may be right, but i have my doubts

want to see who carries more states on super tuesday, mccain or romney?

no money - just for sport

W.C. Fields for President!
www.shortenurl.com/7cxfm

But, let's also bet on number of delegates as that's the gateway to the states' contests.

W.C. Fields for President!
www.shortenurl.com/7cxfm

When AdamC was still quoting provisional exit polls that showed McCain winning Republicans in NH, I was concerned that McCain might indeed do well on Tsunami Tuesday. My fears on that have now subsided. Romney's margin was small, but the margin of error in exit polls is usually very small indeed.

Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net

International Editor of

after Feb. 5 - but either of you two are welcome to write diaries on it, too.

Of course, there's always the chance that Feb. 5 will leave things still unclear! But if that's the case, we'll just renew the bet for another date.

Whether McCain can appeal to the conservative base will depend very largely on what steps he takes in the next 7-10 days, because he hasn't done nearly enough yet on this score to reassure them.

W.C. Fields for President!
www.shortenurl.com/7cxfm

the bet to closed primary states on feb. 5? that would seem the logical thing to do.

W.C. Fields for President!
www.shortenurl.com/7cxfm

Votes and delegates from states with closed primaries.

If Romney wins more votes and delegates from such states you lose the bet. If McCain does you win.

If it is a tie within, say 3%, or one wins more votes and the other wins more delegates we simply void the bet. No money is at stake after all.

Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net

International Editor of

Although I like the idea of a separate whoever wins the most states period, and whoever has the most delegates when it's done period, even if that benefits McCain. Yet, I'm game either way.

I love to bet with M&Ms when playing poker, but it's been many years since I've done that. Ahh, my Reno, Nevada roots are showing. :P

of the number of states. Votes and delegates are key for me.

I suggest, by the way, we also void if both candidates do particularly badly.

Since no money (or M&Ms) is involved we do not have to define that term in advance.

Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net

International Editor of

...that if McCain is the GOP nominee, I'll probably end up somewhat actively campaigning to get conservatives to cast no vote at all at the top of their ballots...out of necessity.

Many traditional conservatives will see either abstaining or staying home as their only legitimate options. Therefore, begging them turn out in spite of their revulsion toward the GOP nominee may be the only legitimate tactic to increase turnout for some down-ballot GOP campaigns.

We're already looking at a certain near-record turnout for the Dems. Of all the candidates, unless psychiatric neurosurgeons invent a personality transplant procedure between now and October, McCain would probably depress conservatives to a near-record low turnout in a presidential cycle for Republicans come November.

I don't look forward to seeing my friends down ticket be set out of office, but that's what my tea leaves see at risk. Heck, it's going to be hard enough to elect Republicans as it stands without setting up either of the two Republicans who draw the most scorn from traditionalists for the Dems to triangulate.

While he may lure some independents more predisposed to vote Democrat, overall McCain has "negative coattails effect" written all over him because of his likely effect on the base.

Better be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident security. --Edmund Burke

Blog: TMYN

voters. Its probably fair to say teh tied since different polls show different. But to just flat out say Romney won the GOP vote is misleading.

about how their ratings are determined and what votes they use to determine it.

So if you want it looks like you can look it all up and judge for yourself whether they are being reasonable, eh?

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Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.

Consider their vote #19 for the Senate in 2006. They scored for a non-binding resolution. How dumb. I thought Democrats got worked up about non-binding resolutions.

Plus, only ranking 25 votes is inherently biased against a guy who's a quiet backbencher except on a few noteworthy votes. In other words it understates the value of a guy like McCain.

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Anyone can find a reason why any ranking or another is biased against or in favor of someone. What you do with that information is your business.

I generally only look for trends in things like this - meaning that you tend to need to have "history" for it to be meaningful. Clearly that works against people who have been in congress longer, but that's life in the Big City.

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Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.

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Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.

...makes it pretty clear how the ACU feels about McCain. And, golly, they've only been stewarding conservatism quite well since 1964.

KEENE: Double-Standard Bearer
Other candidates who change their positions on important issues are described as “flip-floppers,” but John McCain is viewed as that rare politician whose views on important issues have “matured” over the years.

Thus, McCain appears justifiably disgusted when confronting political opponents like Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani for changing their positions on various issues over the years, but is never forced to face his own hypocrisy in doing the same. From taxes to his relationship with social conservatives and his position on Second Amendment or “gun” issues, McCain has shown an unending willingness to do just what he so self-righteously accuses others of doing—tailoring his position to suit his needs of the moment.

Considering that the group is the conservative Phoenix that arose from the ashes of Goldwater's 1964 campaign and the primary mover in bringing us Ronald Reagan, I'd say they've earned the right not be dismissed so cynically by anyone on the right.

I had forgotten how good it is, so I'm glad I took the time to revisit their site. It's an excellent primer on American conservatism and mindful stewardship of tradition.

Thanks for making me remind myself about it. If there exists a mother lode of reasons to distrust McCain, I'm sure its somewhere in there.

Better be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident security. --Edmund Burke

Blog: TMYN

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