Posted on 03/12/2008 11:27:16 AM PDT by Conservative Vermont Vet
“This is all about wiping out any conservative influence in the GOP.”
Absolutely agree with you. I posited this very theme on a vanity I posted on 2-2-08.
I see no reason to change my view on that in light of the events of the last six weeks.
I agree that McCain shouldn't have to denounce every comment by every conservative radio talkshow host. But when Cunningham opened for him I believe he was right in denouncing as such. Cunningham doesn't work for him per say but on that day he was essentially a part of the campaign.
I have seen nothing that tells me that McCain won't defend against cheap attacks by the media or his eventual opponent. He just isn't gonna set himself by giving the press or the Dem more fodder at least from within his campaign.
And whether we like it or not McCain couldn't possibly change major policy positions now; he would be eviscerated as being a phony changing his views to fit the base and lose any crossover dems and independents in the process.
“Just like in 2004 when Rove and Bush knew THEY couldn’t disparage Kerry military career but that those not working for the campaign would, ditto for McCain and the middle name/muslim stuff. There are plenty of sources for that info and plenty to label Obama as the rhetorically-blessed yet empty vessel that he is.”
When the SwiftBoat Vets stood against Kerry, having served with him and observed him firsthand in the field, all they got from Bush and Rove was contempt.
Your model does not hold water.
You are 100% right that that is what they said. I don't think that was what they believed. It was a position taken, just like McCain, to let the blogosphere/opeds/letters do the gutter sniping and at the same time innoculate the candidate.
You might remember that anyone that was a Republican that was a part of the Swifties or donated to the Swifties was part of a great conspiracy by the Vast Right Wing and most on the left ate it up. Imagine if Rove and Bush had embraced the Swifties. As a Republican candidate you simply don't have the echo/defense chamber of the MSM like the Democrats do and must strategize accordingly.
“You are 100% right that that is what they said. I don’t think that was what they believed. It was a position taken, just like McCain, to let the blogosphere/opeds/letters do the gutter sniping and at the same time innoculate the candidate.
You might remember that anyone that was a Republican that was a part of the Swifties or donated to the Swifties was part of a great conspiracy by the Vast Right Wing and most on the left ate it up. Imagine if Rove and Bush had embraced the Swifties. As a Republican candidate you simply don’t have the echo/defense chamber of the MSM like the Democrats do and must strategize accordingly.”
As I recall, Bush was pretty adamant when he called veterans who risked life and limb a bunch of vigilantes.
And he pretty much owes his reelection to these good men who risked their reputations to take down a traitor.
I don’t agree that this was part of the “strategery” by Bush and Rove. Bush could have simply responded that he could only speak for his own military service and that John F’n Kerry would have to speak for his, as Bush wasn’t in Vietnam like the Swifties. THAT would have been a strategy.
Instead, he and that oaf Rove decided that the Swifties were a bunch a yahoos to be discredited.
Lest that be a one them offense, he did it again to the Minutemen, who embarassed him and exposed his unwillingness to protect our Southern border. Same strategery.
Sometimes things are exactly as they seem. Don’t try to mindread so much. Conservatives have been used by the GOP and now we are being kicked to the curb.
Believe me, I’ve got the message, and I’m not voting for McKook.
Those who think McCain would gain votes by referencing Obama’s middle name, religion, or race, are, IMO, wrong. That kind of thing only appeals to the extreme right wing folks who post on this board (like you and me). It does not play well with the vast majority of voters.
McCain is right for now. His supporters need to talk about McCain...and to contrast his record with Obama’s record. Keep McCain above the fray for now. Besides...so far, personal attacks on Obama have backfired badly with Bill being kept out of sight, and the others being forced to resign from the Hillary campaign. If the Clinton machine cannot pull off those kind of attacks successfully, why do you think McCain's team would do any better at it?
We’re on the same wavelength. Well put.
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