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Editorial: McCain is a plain-spoken pragmatist who can build a coalition
Cleveland,com ^ | The Plain Dealer

Posted on 02/11/2008 7:58:47 AM PST by TinaJeannes

The Republican Party has been running presidential candidates since 1856. In all that time, it has never elected one who failed to carry Ohio. Even today, the party's strategists cannot construct a realistic blueprint for winning 270 electoral votes without picking up 20 here.

Because neither the Democrats nor the Republicans enjoy majority status, independents decide elections in Ohio. That means you don't win here by driving people out of your party's tent. You win by inviting them in.

That's worth remembering as some very prominent, very conservative Republicans nationally bemoan the fact that Sen. John McCain of Arizona is now the odds-on favorite to be their presidential nominee. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney recognized that fact on Thursday and suspended his campaign. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee soldiers on, but his is largely a regional candidacy based on support from a core GOP constituency: religious conserva tives. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas also remains in the race, but no amount of Internet chatter can conceal the fact that his libertar ian, isolationist bent represents a tiny sliver of the Republican Party.

The likelihood of a McCain nom ination ought to please Republi cans of every stripe. Even before the winnowing of the GOP field began, McCain stood out as the party's most impressive presidential material and its most electable candidate.

(Excerpt) Read more at cleveland.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: elections; mccain; politics
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1 posted on 02/11/2008 7:58:52 AM PST by TinaJeannes
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To: TinaJeannes

2 posted on 02/11/2008 7:59:53 AM PST by TornadoAlley3 (Everytime McCain reaches out to conservatives, conservatives get poked in the eye.)
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To: TinaJeannes

Scrappleface, right?


3 posted on 02/11/2008 8:00:44 AM PST by Brett66 (Where government advances, and it advances relentlessly , freedom is imperiled -Janice Rogers Brown)
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To: TinaJeannes

Calling McCain a plain-spoken pragmatist is like calling his role model, Colonel Jack Ripper, a plain-spoken pragmatist.


4 posted on 02/11/2008 8:02:35 AM PST by Captain Kirk
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To: TornadoAlley3

when 60% of republicans voted AGAINST him?

The primnaries should repeat voting until a candidate gets 50% of the vote. The lowest score drops out and you repeat as needed


5 posted on 02/11/2008 8:03:05 AM PST by Mr. K (Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help)
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To: TinaJeannes

And Cleveland is a socialist sh!thole on the decline, so of course their rag would endorse McRino.


6 posted on 02/11/2008 8:04:19 AM PST by piytar
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To: TinaJeannes

Hey Plain Dealer- Blow it out of your printing press!


7 posted on 02/11/2008 8:05:02 AM PST by CalvaryJohn (What is keeping that damned asteroid?)
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To: TinaJeannes
McCain is a plain-spoken pragmatist RINO sellout who can build a coalition push through a liberal agenda faster than any Democrat

There. Fixed it.

P.S. — Coalition government is for the Euroweenies, not the United States of America.

8 posted on 02/11/2008 8:06:22 AM PST by Digital Sniper (Hello, "Undocumented Immigrant." I'm an "Undocumented Border Patrol Agent.")
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To: TornadoAlley3
"OK! Ok! Stop blubbering you big baby! "

"I know it's your turn. "

9 posted on 02/11/2008 8:21:42 AM PST by TexasCajun
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To: TinaJeannes

McCain “plain spoken”?

I don’t think so, right now he’s branding himself as a “conservative” when he is nothing of the sort.

Since it is far too late for the senator to get conservative bonafides before November, he ought to just come clean as the moderate liberal he is. He’d stand a lot better chance if he were plain spoken.


10 posted on 02/11/2008 8:23:14 AM PST by I_Like_Spam
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To: TinaJeannes

McCain “plain spoken”?

I don’t think so, right now he’s branding himself as a “conservative” when he is nothing of the sort.

Since it is far too late for the senator to get conservative bonafides before November, he ought to just come clean as the moderate liberal he is. He’d stand a lot better chance if he were plain spoken.


11 posted on 02/11/2008 8:23:51 AM PST by I_Like_Spam
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To: piytar
And Cleveland is a socialist sh!thole on the decline, so of course their rag would endorse McRino.

Words fail me.

12 posted on 02/11/2008 8:23:58 AM PST by Right_in_Virginia
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To: I_Like_Spam

“Maverick McCain rips GOP By Noelle Straub Friday, April 2, 2004

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain yesterday unleashed an attack on his own party, saying the GOP is ``astray’’ on key issues and criticizing President Bush [related, bio] on the war in Iraq.

*****``I believe my party has gone astray,’’ McCain said, criticizing GOP stands on environmental and minority issues.

*****``I think the Democratic Party is a fine party, and I have no problems with it, in their views and their philosophy,’’ he said. ``But I also feel the Republican Party can be brought back to the principles I articulated before.’’

*****The maverick senator made the remarks at a legislative seminar hosted by U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Lowell) as he again ruled out running on a ticket with Democrat John F. Kerry [related, bio].

*****The Arizona Republican took on President Bush for failing to prepare Americans for a long involvement in Iraq, saying, ``You can’t fly in on an aircraft carrier and declare victory and have the deaths continue. You can’t do that.’’

*****McCain said the U.S. should seek more U.N. involvement in Iraq. ``Many people in this room question, legitimately, whether we should have gone in or not,’’ he said, adding that that debate ``will be part of this presidential campaign.’”


13 posted on 02/11/2008 8:26:00 AM PST by roses of sharon (Who will be McCain's maverick?)
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To: piytar
Country wide, cities are cursed with with an arm of the MSM and corrupt politicians. Can't blame the people, especially those in Cleveland.

I wasn't too keen on McCain but I'm warming to the idea. Mostly because of the many stalwart conservatives that have endorsed him. Rino he is not!

Before you insult the city and people of Cleveland, please let us know where you're from.

14 posted on 02/11/2008 8:44:42 AM PST by duckln
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To: TinaJeannes
John McCain: elephant-sized turds from a donkey in a rhino costume.

Question: Why should conservatives support McCain?

Answer: For the same reasons they should support Hillary Clinton if she were running as a Republican, facing off against Dennis Kucinich for the Dems.

- she is stronger on the WOT
- she has more experience
- she is more conservative overall
- she is the lesser evil
- her mental instability will frighten our enemies!

VOTE FOR JOHN MCCAIN! (brought to you by the same people who would call you a traitor for refusing to vote for Hillary Clinton in the above scenario)

15 posted on 02/11/2008 8:49:25 AM PST by M203M4 (True Universal Suffrage: Pets of dead illegal-immigrant felons voting Democrat (twice))
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To: Right_in_Virginia

dont you guys have anything good to say about anyone? :)


16 posted on 02/12/2008 4:08:11 AM PST by TinaJeannes
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To: TinaJeannes

John McCain was THE main source behind feeding the anti-Bush media-beast the past eight years.

He opposed every single Republican-conservative initiative, many times providing anonymous ‘off the record’ material for liberal media publications intent on demonizing religious or Republican-conservative policies.

The reason the GOP was so badly damaged in 2006 is a direct result of John McCain’s so demoralizing the party and helping Democrats paint conservatives and GWB as insane neoCons, or whatever.

Just think how different the 2006 elections would have been had McCain had not thrown a hissy fit and instead been part of a unified, coherent Republican/conservative strategy and policy.

NOW the man expects Republicans just to forgive him because he’s ProLife, and because he was a POW.

Can’t do it.


17 posted on 02/12/2008 4:18:44 AM PST by Edit35
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To: roses of sharon

The media and pundits love to talk about Bill Clinton being able to “triangulate” when in reality it is JOHN MCCAIN who is the smarmiest triangulator of all time.


18 posted on 02/12/2008 4:27:03 AM PST by Edit35
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To: Rock&RollRepublican

I dont agree with you at all.all the scandals are what hurt our party
Iraq war and the way it was handled after Baghdad didnt help either.
Now that surge is working Iraq war is off the radar


19 posted on 02/12/2008 4:36:39 AM PST by TinaJeannes
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To: TinaJeannes
all the scandals are what hurt our party..

Yes, I don't mean to imply it was entirely John McCain who caused the 2006 losses.

But make no mistake, McCain was THE main evidentiary source the media/Democratic/lib analysts and pundits cited over and over when they claimed that President Bush and Republicans were "wrong" on everything --

Certainly, conservatives (prior to 2006) had some disagreements with the Administration, but I recall countless conversations with my colleagues at the two mid-sized newspapers where I worked, and they constantly cited McCain rhetoric as "evidence" that Republicans were "out of touch" on everything... from the war (remember how McCain criticized Don Rumsfeld) .... to the environment ... to illegal immigration ... to low taxes ... to Gitmo ... to Monitoring foreign terror suspects via the FISA laws.... to selecting conservative Judges.

McCain was the facilitator behind the total demoralization of conservative- Republicans between 2002 and 2007.

That's when he suddenly STOPPED demonizing the religious right and conservatives because he suddenly realized he would need them to run for President.

In politics as in war, the only thing worse than your enemy is someone on YOUR side who helps the enemy. (and I don't mean to portray lib/Dems as military enemies. just making a point)

20 posted on 02/12/2008 6:34:29 AM PST by Edit35
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