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Duncan Hunter on the Issues
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Posted on 01/19/2007 1:22:50 PM PST by BunnySlippers
DNC: 'McCain is Tanking' Pandering and Support for Iraq War Escalation Take Their Toll
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In his attempts to make inroads with far right conservatives who don't trust him, John McCain has forfeited much needed support among moderates and independents, without whom his electoral prospects will surely fade.
After two thirds of Iowa GOP County Chairs expressed "disdain for his politics" last week, the Executive Director of the South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus acknowledged this week that "we're programmed to hate McCain," and conservative leader James Dobson added that he prays they "don't get stuck with him." On Thursday, McCain gave in and voted to kill grassroots lobbying campaign finance reform he had sponsored in the last Congress but which Dobson and other conservatives strongly opposed. [The Hill, 1/18/2007; Roll Call, 1/10/07; Worldnetdaily.com, 1/13/07; AP, 1/17/07; The State, Op-Ed, 1/14/07; AP, 12/20/06; washingtonpost.com, The Fix, 1/16/07]
The pandering has taken its toll. An ARG poll in New Hampshire found that McCain has lost a whopping 20 points among independent voters. ARG President Dick Bennett noted that a similar trend exists throughout other early primary states, asserting that "McCain is tanking." On the same day, the Los Angeles Times found that the Bush-McCain strategy to send more U.S. troops to Iraq has also cost him dearly, with 42 percent of all respondents and 43 percent of independents saying they would be less likely to support McCain as a result. [Boston Herald, 1/18/07; LA Times/Bloomberg poll, 1/18/2007]
"McCain's do-anything-to-win approach to the 2008 primaries has made him un-electable," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "Conservatives don't trust him and the Bush-McCain troop escalation in Iraq has put him squarely in opposition to independents and the majority of the American people."
McCain Panders, Votes Against Grassroots Lobbying Reform Similar to What He Once Sponsored. McCain voted for the Bennett amendment to the Senate Ethics Reform Bill to strike provisions requiring that activist organizations which engaged in grassroots lobbying efforts had to report details of their activities and finances. "While grassroots groups on both sides of the political spectrum oppose the proposal, social conservative leaders such as Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, who broadcasts a radio program to hundreds of thousands of evangelical Christians, have been its most vehement critics. McCain sponsored legislation last Congress that included an even broader requirement for grassroots lobbying coalitions to reveal their financial donors." [The Hill, 1/18/07; S.Amdt.20 to S.1, Vote #17, 1/18/07, agreed to 55-43; R: 48-0, D: 7-43, McCain voted "Yea"]
ARG Poll: McCain "Tanking." Independent Voter Support Collapsed. "Manchester, N.H.-based American Research Group finds that McCain's popularity among New Hampshire's independent voters has collapsed. 'John McCain is tanking,' says ARG president Dick Bennett. 'That's the big thing [we're finding]. In New Hampshire a year ago he got 49 percent among independent voters. That number's way down, to 29 percent now.' American Research Group, which is New Hampshire's leading polling company and has been operating in the state since 1976, polled 1,200 likely Granite State voters in the survey. Bennett says ARG is finding a similar trend in other states polled, including early primary battlegrounds like Iowa and Nevada. 'We're finding this everywhere,' he says." [Boston Herald, 1/18/07]
L.A. Times: Poll Shows McCain's Support For Escalation Hurts Him Among Dems and Independents. "McCain's vocal support for sending more U.S. troops to Iraq has set him apart from most of the emerging crop of major presidential contenders. And that position could harm his political prospects, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. More than one-third of those polled -- 36% -- said they would be 'much less likely' to back the Arizona Republican for the White House because of his position. Six percent said his stand made them 'somewhat less likely' to vote for him. Only 13% said they were somewhat or much more likely to support him because of his embrace of a force escalation; 42% said it had no effect on their view of him; and 3% gave no answer to the question. Perhaps most ominously for McCain, the survey found that his advocacy of a troop buildup could undercut what has been one of his political strengths: the ability to attract independents. In the poll, 43% of independents said they were somewhat or much less likely to vote for him because he has backed President Bush's plan to deploy 21,500 additional troops to Iraq. Among Democrats, 59% said McCain's view made them less likely to support him. His position helped him only among his fellow Republicans, and within this group the impact was not substantial -- 24% said McCain's stance made them more likely to support him, 16% said they were less likely to do so, and the rest said that it had no effect or that they did not have an opinion on the matter." [Los Angeles Times, 1/18/07]
SOURCE Democratic National Committee
I don't have the ping list.
This is related to your post. :)
Gee they say that like it's a bad thing...
pssst..They dont know that We have a real conservative white knight in waiting...We...do..have a real conservative white knight in waiting...right???...??
I think the source is curious ...
Good riddance. Please God, let it be so.
As a conservative I wouldn't trust McCain as far as I can throw a piano. I don't think he will get the nod. If He does I shudder to think I may have to abstain in 2008.
Here's pulling for Duncan Hunter. Since it's early and I like him, I s'pect that is the kiss of death for him.
Said McCain: "Tank you, tank you very much."
using my Leftist to English decoder ring, I am translating that as "we don't think Hillary can beat McCain."
SO a pro-Iraq War Republican losing support is a good thing?
If McCain is backing President Bush - I back McCain.
Maybe it is time for McCain to took for true friends.
LOL, maybe his campaign song could be "Tanks for the Memories".
I also like Duncan Hunter and I think he is the only one now in the mix that could beat Richardson now that he has said he's running.
McCain tanking? Didn't trust him anyway.
Looks like the DNC is ramping up to run against W again in '08.
took - look sorry
McCain is probably now screaming at his staff:
"Whaddya mean there's nobody left to backstab for votes?!! And why can't I unstab the Right?! That was a different election!! They're all disloyal - all of'em. And you, my so-called staff, you are TOO!! Now go get me my strawberries."
There is no mystery there. The media have used McCain as a model of behavior against the Republicans and he believed it was real love. They no longer find him useful since the real thing is now in office . He is likely to find the divorce very painful, and very humiliating.
The Democrats are really stupid if they think McCain is unpopular because of his Iraq position. That is probably his only strength.
The Rats better not laugh too soon because if the "surge" works then his capital skyrockets with the Rats own moderates.
McCain has my unabashed support until I hear the other candidates position on the war. McCain position has always been that it is imperative that we win, and that we might need more troops to do so. What other the positions of the other candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring or all they all politicizing the war like the Democrats?
Other than making them fight with one hand tied behind the back, in all fairness, McCain has generally backed those in harms way. It's just in about every other issue known to man that McCain is cynical, wishy washy and liberal. For the life of me I can't see what McCain could possibly do to get people to trust him. He has managed to shove his thumb into the eyes of conservatives at every turn for years and years.
It was disgusting behavior. If it weren't for that, he might have a chance IMO.
Ive been waiting for a McCain post to lay it out to all of you MCCain haters out there.
The biggest problem this nation faces is ISLAMOFASCISM. I am willing to swallow my pride and vote for someone who gets it, and McCain gets it. Do you think that your quest for "conservative purity" in a candidate will get you any more than someone like a Newt or Mitt? Both of them are unelectable and will surely bring on the reign of CLINTON II or Hussein Obama. Face facts, there is no Reagan candidate for 08. I wish there were, but for now the only guy thats going to fight the good fight is McCain. Read Mark Steyn to get the lowdown on the danger this nation and modern society faces, then tell me we can go with the cut and run types.
So you laid it out there. Now do you also think any of us McCain haters care what you think?
Nope.
Don't you think your argument could be made for Rudy as well?
Kewl. We have Dobson on board for our "Anyone but McCain" prayer thread.
Duncan Hunter gets it too. And Hunter's not a media whoring squish with a terrorist protection amendment to his credit.
I don't see what McCain has done to convice anyone that he gets it. I think his support of the folks in harms way is about the only thing he has ever done in public life that is commendable. Other than that he wants to prohibit the tools necessary to get the job done. His view on border security are a joke.
Then his qualities on other issues that "his" constituents support are catastrophic to the core. If McCain is the best the Republicans have to offer, we may as well close up shop and go home today. McCain heading up the ticket is the only chance the likes of Obama or Hillary have in 2008.
McCain is a fool. He has long since burned all his conservative bridges for the media's vaunted title of "Maverick". You made the Faustian bargain, Johnnie; now you have to live with the price.
I'm no McCain fan but the more I see Moveon.org and this kind of DNC Press release the more I warm to him.
Looks like our best horse to me...
This is one issue I hope the 'Rats are right on.
McCain tanking,, that is fine with me.
McCain is losing because of the one position he takes where he isnt a RINO...that isnt good news.
LOL
Nope. Haven't you heard? Consevatives can't win.
Hey DNC, leave McCain alone. Conservatives can beat the crap out of him ourselves, we don't need no help from you. So mind your own business!
This has got to be gut-wrenching to McCain.
A choice between McCain and either Hillary or Obama?
A distinction without a difference.
Don't tell the thousands who will die in American cities if the Islamist Osama or the corrupt Clinton are elected.
If McCain's tanking, what about Hillary?
If this Obamagasm isn't an "Anybody but Hillary" movement, what is it?
John McLame is not a republican, he has a very Left leaning agenda.
And if he were elected POTUS he would just go back to his roots, Socialist.
Champaign Fin Reform and the new grass roots lobbying.
He is the worst kind of RINO IMHO.
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