McCain Almost Left the GOP -- Twice

www.rushlimbaugh.com ^ | March 24, 2008 | Rush Limbaugh

[Yosemitest]

McCain Almost Left the GOP -- Twice
March 24, 2008

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

Senator McCain has not wrapped up the Chuck Hagel endorsement yet, and I wanted to mention this to you. Hagel was on This Week with Stephanopoulos on Sunday, and Stephanopoulos said to him,

"Senator McCain is a good friend of yours. Why haven't you endorsed him?"

HAGEL: When I work for someone or commit to someone, I want to be behind that person in every way I can.
I've obviously got some differences with John on the Iraq war. That's no secret.
I want to understand a little more about foreign policy, where he would want to go.
It certainly doesn't put me in Obama or Clinton's camp, but John and I have some pretty fundamental, uh, disagreements.

Well, I'm telling you what, if a moderate independent candidate like McCain cannot get the Hagel endorsement, where are we? (sigh)
This is troubling, ladies and gentlemen. This is puzzling to me as well.
Unless, of course, Senator Hagel is holding out for a pipe dream for his own third party candidacy or independent candidacy somewhere down the line.
Speaking of Senator McCain, I'm sure you people have seen this by now in the New York Times a story by Elisabeth Bumiller:

There's a photo of the haughty John Kerry and Senator McCain sitting somewhere in deep leather chairs. McCain is slouching like he's fatigued and tired. The caption of the picture is
"Senators John Kerry (L), John McCain meeting with reporters in 2002 as they discussed automobile mileage standards."
The headline of the story:
"McCain Twice Flirted with the Democrat Party; Candidate Considered Leaving the Republican Party."
This is McCain, in 2001 and running with Kerry in 2004. Now, as I say, I'm sure you guys have all seen this, but it still stuns me.
(interruption) Assume what?
(interruption) Well, because... (interruption)

Well, that's right. It's the New York Times. Maybe I shouldn't assume people have seen it. But it's been out there since last night. It's in the newspaper today...
(interruption) The Drive-Bys have not made it news yet, because the Drive-Bys are occupied trying to hold their own party together. The Drive-Bys are trying to get the Clinton sitcom canceled. So Snerdley may have a point. Maybe you haven't seen this.
Here's the story. It's by Elisabeth Bumiller, and here's how it opens.

"Senator John McCain never fails to call himself a conservative Republican as he campaigns as his party's presumptive presidential nominee. He often adds that he was a 'foot soldier' in the Reagan revolution and that he believes in the bedrock conservative principles of small government, low taxes and the rights of the unborn.
What Mr. McCain almost never mentions are two extraordinary moments in his political past that are at odds with the candidate of the present:
His discussions in 2001 with Democrats about leaving the Republican Party, and his conversations in 2004 with Senator John Kerry,"
the haughty Senator Kerry, who served in Vietnam,
"about becoming Mr. Kerry's running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket.
There are wildly divergent versions of both episodes, depending on whether Democrats or Mr. McCain and his advisers are telling the story.
The Democrats, including Mr. Kerry, say that not only did Mr. McCain express interest but that it was his camp that initially reached out to them" a
bout being Kerry's vice president, and McCain's denying that.

But the Kerry camp says,

"No, we got a call from McCain,"
and you know that Kerry very publicly, proudly said that he was considering McCain.
This 2001 business, I had forgotten that, but this is a result of how steamed he was over the South Carolina primary and losing the nomination to Bush in 2000.
Remember, he had the Straight Talk Express?
It was heading on down the highway?
The reporters on it were having the best time, and so was McCain. Then the New Hampshire primary came along, and McCain aced it, but the whole thing got derailed in South Carolina over Bob Jones University and a couple of rumors some people put out about McCain.
The point is, he was livid. He was fit to be tied. This is why some people still to this day think he's got it in for the Republican Party. That's why he crosses the aisle and makes deals with Democrats.
So these two occasions, the New York Times is writing about today. I guess McCain camp is aware. I would hope so. They better be aware what's in store for them. Once the Democrats have their nominee and so forth, this is just a little, little bitty tidbit of... (interruption)
Yeah, I know. There are stories about the Keating Five out there today, too.
This is just a little heads-up about what's coming Senator McCain's way once the Democrats iron out their stuff and Operation Chaos has come to a conclusion.
But it's still, all of this stuns me. It literally stuns me that a guy, Senator McCain, who spent years criticizing his own party and thought seriously about leaving his own party, is now the leader of it.

END TRANSCRIPT

• New York Times: Two McCain Moments, Rarely Mentioned

• MSNBC: Hagel Critical of War, McCain

*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.

[mkjessup]

Rush will say anything to get into Ann Coulter’s panties

Rush is going to have to lose even MORE weight if he hopes to accomplish THAT feat!

[OeOeO]

Rick Santorum would have been a good choice for RNC chair as well. I like Haley Barbour and Sarah Palin of Alaska

[mkjessup]

It is sad to see how simply irrelevent Rush has become.

You should pray to become so irrelevant.

How many millions of people have tuned YOU in so far this week?

[normy]

Are you still bitter he didn't endorse Huckabee? Rush has 20 million listeners and is a self made man. He's been on air for 20 years and was a major player in the Conservative movement.He started the demise of the amnesty bill by informing the public in a way Congress would not. He was able to get Hillary the win in Texas just this month.

while I will of course vote for McCain, Rush has always known McCain is not a solid Conservative and never liked his bitter dealings with Bush.

The Rush haters on FR are either amnesty guys or Huckabee guys.

[normy]

I actually thought of a McCain/Gingrich ticket as a best case scenario unless Cheney wanted to run 3rd party.

[LibLieSlayer]

What are we supposed to do??? Ignore reality??? No, we need the truth and these facts have been known to those of us that actually live these elections. I probably will vote for the POS named mcnasty... but I do so under NO ILLUSIONS as to who and what he is. That is how bad the dims and their candidates are!

LLS

[Yosemitest]

Oh man you hurt me.

I won't vote for McCain,
but to have to ignore Gingrich on the same ticket .... ouch.

[normy]

Yeah, watching Gingrich dissect liberal talking points is such a joy but he would brutally out shine McCain in brains and logic.

[Little Ray]

McCain: He sucks, but he’s all we got.

[dforest]

When unable to refute the argument, attack the messenger. Did you learn that over at DU before you registered here a little over a year ago? I call troll on ya.

The Hucksters, like the one you posted this to, are still all sore at Rush and seek to destroy him. It is scortched earth for them. LOL

[PA-RIVER]

McCain won because 70 percent of the republican party hate his guts and voted against him ..... for 5 other candidates.

70 percent of republicans still have a vomit reflex when they see McCain. The 30 percent that adore him are about to find out he is an imbecile with a bad temper. He still beats Obama. It is a pathetic choice.

[Yosemitest]

McCain? No thanks.
I'll wait for the backlash in 2010 and 2012.

[Retired COB]

Rush will say anything to get into Ann Coulter’s panties

He ain't the only one!!!

[Retired COB]

And similarly, There MUST be a handful of former and current conservative governors who are well-enough known to raise enthusiasm (and money).

Haley Barbour comes to mind.

[Little Ray]

I’ll vote for him. Just to vote against the Democrats. I hate them that much.
Besides, why settle for 0% when you can get, maybe, 10% of what you want in a candidate?

[Yosemitest]

. . . Now hold on, there...

. . . We need Haley Barbour in Mississippi.

[Yosemitest]

I can't, I just can't do it, no matter what.
My conscience won't let me.

But I can vote against McCain, just to increase the disgust for the Democrats AND the RINOs.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

>>either get behind McCain or spend the next umpteen years waiting for their perfect conservative messiah<<

Please find a better argument instead of that completely false strawman. Nobody, including the McCain bashers, believes there is a “perfect conservative.”

>>crazed followers like the Rev. Wright<<

Wright is disturbing, but does he approve of stealing US citizens’ social security numbers, as McCain’s adviser Juan Hernandez does?

I believe that all of the the remaining POTUS candidates are so bad that none is qualified for the job.

[Little Ray]

Well, vote for Nader and the Greens then. If we can get him up to 5% he can pull Federal funds and draw MORE votes away from the Democrats.
Heck, if Operation Chaos achieves all of its objectives, the Greens may become on of two major far-left parties in the US...

[mimaw]

You can call me any damn thing you want on me. I'll take McCain warts and all over those other two commies. Rush has done his best to help Hillary Clinton defeat Obama now he's turning his guns again on McCain seems to me the gasbag wants another glorious 8 yrs. of the Clintons. I guess it makes for better material for Rush.