Posted on 01/16/2008 9:05:04 AM PST by JRochelle
The McCain camp says their candidate will get a "major endorsement" today in Greenville, South Carolina. MSNBC is reporting that Senator Tom Coburn will endorse John McCain.
Don't get me wrong. It's a solid endorsement, but I don't know if you would consider it a "major endorsement." To be a major endorsement, a person really has to have national name recognition. If you line ten people up, nine out of ten probably couldn't tell you who Coburn is.
Having said that, Coburn is a nice feather in the cap. He's known for shaking up Washington because of his fights against excess federal spending in Washington. In that regard, it's a great fit for the maverick McCain and really a no-brainer. Also, Coburn is a big time social conservative so the fact that a southern senator would come out and support McCain is a big bonus.
We are starting to see a pattern develop here in the Republican nomination fight. McCain is trotting out his Senate buddies to stump for him on the trail. It has the feel of a Washington establishment candidate who is banking on his experience to win the nomination.
Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee go around talking about change and aren't as deeply entrenched with the Washington crowd.
It'll be interesting to see which philosophy and strategy win out.
Graham has like a 92 ACU rating.
I wish Coburn would think more closely about several hundred other issues where McCain isn’t as good.
My guess is either way it benefits them. If McCain wins, they look good for endorsing him AND he's out of the Senate and can no longer bust their balls.
If he loses and they endorse the winner, their lives will be a living hell as long as they remain in the Senate.
Can you imagine endorsing Thompson and that puts him over the top. Talk about ash trays flying back at the Senate watering hole.
Hey, 2000 McCain is not 2008 McCain so don’t feel bad. After his beating in SC he became a very bitter man toward Republicans who betrayed him.
I always kinda thought he was cooler than Chuck Norris. But, I know that my dad could kick both their butts... (and he’s 71, former Marine, has a black belt and I once saw him toss seven guys around like twigs when they tried to rob us.... Chuck Norris is a sissy compared to Dad....)
So, if my DAD endorses someone who isn’t a true Conservative, I’ll have a chat with my Dad to save others’ butts. ;)
I’m not too surprised. The US Senate is more of a Country Club than a government institution. These 100 “elites” tend to look out for one another.
It doesn’t seem to have hurt Fred, on FR at least. Coburn is a decent conservative but he has a tendency to be quirky at times. This is one of those times I suppose. :)
“Describing Tom Coburn as a major endorsement tells me McCain is panicking again, just as he did in 2000”
McCain started panicking about mid-day in Michigan where he promptly cranked his “Straight Jacket Express” and promptly left the state of Michigan before votes were even counted.
What a sore loser.
Yeah? I got Romney ahead of McCain on my list.
Coburn?
I thought for sure Coburn would be either a Hunter or a Fred guy.
Stupid.
Yep.
Guilani is just as bad on open borders and worse on social issues. But he is a good manager and might be okay with fiscal conservatives.
Romney has equal or better management skills with fiscal conservatives, is better on securing the borders, but questionable on social issues. I'm not saying he is better or worse than McCain here they just represented near polar opposite constituencies. Arizona is far more conservative than Massachusetts.
Still, I don't see Mitt going out of his way to p*ss on the conservative base the way McCain has done. I'm hoping Fred can get some traction in South Carolina because he is the most solid with all three groups (national defense, social and economic).
Looking at the breakdown of Michigan results, I also noticed there two groups where Mitt performed way better than his statewide average-- conservatives and women. It ain't often you can get both those groups together.
yeah, me too. James Coburn would be a better endorsement. Won’t happen though.
Senators stick together. If McCain had been in the House, you can be certain that he’d not have nearly the number of Senate endorsements that he’s got.
He and Lee Marvin look alike.
Cool for McCain, but it means nothing to me. I know who John McCain is. I’m getting out early on Saturday morning and vote for Thompson.
I am not looking for a good manager, what we need is a leader.
Mitt thinks the conservative base is stupid. To flip on so many issues, thinking we will fall for it is shows what his opinions are of the base.
I am down to Fred. And if we have to have a RINO, I’ll take McCain. But other than that, I will hope some third party guy comes along.
Romney, Huckabee, and Rudy will gaurantee a Hillary victory.
He’s thinking: “McCain is a Senator. I’m a Senator. He’s voted for all my proposals. He’s a good buddy. He invites me to his parties. I wouldn’t mind watching a movie with him in the White House theatre.”
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