Redstate

Will he skip CPAC, too?

By Bluey Posted in 2008 | Featured Stories — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Sen. John McCain's decision to skip the Heritage Foundation's Conservative Members Retreat in Baltimore last week sent a symbolic message to the 50-some Republicans in attendance. While McCain may not have won over any members by appearing at the retreat, his absence allowed former Gov. Mitt Romney to seize the spotlight and continue to build relationships with House Republicans.

McCain's operatives tried to play down the snub -- incorrectly suggesting Phil Gramm was taking McCain's place -- but members who spoke to me expressed their annoyance with the Arizona senator. One Republican member estimated that 90% of his conservative colleagues oppose McCain, even if they won't say so publicly.

Read on...

Three Republican freshman in attendance didn't care to comment on McCain's snub when I asked them Friday. However, their reaction to my question about whom they would support in 2008 suggested that appearances sometimes do matter. Rep. Michele Bachmann indicated it was a positive gesture on Romney's part to take time to address the group. Bachmann, however, said she's keeping her powder dry on '08.

Romney, meanwhile, made the most of his time in Baltimore. He arrived hours before his lunchtime speech to meet individually with members. While no endorsements came out of the meetings on Friday, they offered the Washington outsider a chance to make his pitch in a one-on-one setting.

The importance of these early endorsements probably won't matter one bit to your average voter who has never heard of Representatives Jim McCrery (R.-La.) or Tom Feeney (R.-Fla.). However, in the world of political reporting, it does make a difference. With each new endorsement comes another story.

McCain's appearance would have given the press a chance to write positively about his courting of conservatives. Instead, he blew the opportunity. Now the question becomes whether he'll make the same mistake by turning down an invitation to speak at CPAC, one of the largest gatherings of conservatives in Washington, D.C. With Romney and several other Republican hopefuls already on the agenda, one has to wonder how McCain plans to win over conservatives if he doesn't show.