Senior McCain aide: The GOP is a 'shrinking entity' [praises Zero, says Palin token conservative]

CNN - Political Ticker ^ | 2009-04-23

[rabscuttle385]

(CNN) — John McCain’s general election campaign began as “the strategic equivalent of throwing a football through a tire at 50 yards” – and was doomed weeks before Election Day, his former chief strategist said Thursday.

“We were running a campaign under extra difficult circumstances — the state of the Republican Party, the president’s unpopularity, the economy — a lot of issues that were not John McCain’s fault, but were John McCain’s problem in this race,” Schmidt told an audience at the University of Delaware, according to Politico. “When Lehman Brothers collapsed in the fall I knew pretty much right away that … from an electoral strategy perspective, the campaign was finished.”

[cripplecreek]

Reagan wouldn’t try to feed us the 12 million line knowing full well that it was 30 million or more and he sure as heck wouldn’t tell us that dumping them on our failing economy was the cure for all that ails us.

[grey_whiskers]

Ego.; Ego; Ego.

Ego sinus super , proinde ego perdo.

Cheers!

[SeafoodGumbo]

I thought that if Obama won, we'd at least get one benefit - not hearing from McCain or any of his idiot crew - but it seems like there's another story every day from McNasty, his crew, or his idiot pig daughter.

[skeeter]

Just for perspective's sake, Reagan's amnesty - initially guessed to include about 1.5 million illegals - thru chain migration ended up changing the demographic and political landscape of California forever.

Just imagine what 20 or 30 million will do to the country.

[blake6900]

The behavior of the McCain campaign before the election was as absymal as its' behavior after the campaign. First they came off looking like like the gang that couldn't shoot straight. Then they started the blame game and put the failure squarely on Gov. Palin. And it looks like they still haven't taken responsibility for that failure.

Memo to other GOP candidates: If you want to win your election, take note of who worked for the McCain campaign and avoid them like the plague.

[Gator113]

I second that motion.

[mimaw]

He should pal around with Bob Schrum. They have a lot in common.

[Cboldt]

-- All I know is that the GOP is growing increasingly hostile toward conservatives and can't realistically think they'll win in future elections. --

But the GOP is perfectly willing to browbeat voters for its own failure. Go figure! My take is that the GOP is a statist/liberal operation, at heart.

[mickie]

And don't forget that it was McCain who wouldn't hear of anyone referring to BHO by his middle name Hussain.

McCain was put in the race by the MSM because they knew that he could be beat by BHO.

[GrouchoTex]

Truer words, my friend, truer words.....

[cripplecreek]

The problem with politicians is the even when they’re the minority, they still wield a great deal of power within their own party.

For that matter, even a politician removed from office can still hold a great deal of power as a lobbyist or corporate CEO.

[militanttoby]

I think he is right - McCain’s campaign was forced to run a conservative on the ticket. That said, choosing Palin was the ONLY thing they did right. Just goes to show how bad a campaign it was ... they ran as losers.

Also explains why they didn’t use Palin effectively. It was tokenism, sexism. They paid for that ... we all paid for that.

Sheeesh.

[Diogenesis]

Steve Schmidt is just another RomneyAttackBOT plunging a "knife" into
Gov. Palin for GOP-screwing Mitt-Romney.

"Schmidt was importuned by several of the Republican aspirants for president earlier this year.
Mitt Romney sent him an antique chair to symbolize a seat at the table."

---

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

Novak: "Fred Thompson drop-out rumors traced to Romney campaign"

Said Novak: "The rumors were traced in part to Mitt Romney's campaign,
trying to stir up strife between McCain and Thompson."

"Despite outspending his rivals by huge margins throughout the primaries,
(Mitt Romney, Carpetbagger UT,CA,MA,NH,Mexico) lost Iowa, South Carolina, Florida and California.
The only primaries he won were in Michigan, where Dad was governor; LDS states;
and a few states on Super Tuesday in which his California-obsessed rivals
couldn't spare the cash to advertise.
Only John Connolly in 1968 had a worse cash-to-delegates ratio.
And John McCain rightly did not like Romney's tactics during the primaries.

(W)hen (Romney's early leads) started slipping away, he resorted to unfair,
distorted, scorched-earth negative ads, betting that his opponents couldn't
afford to spend enough for the truth to catch up to his charges."
[Romney: A Mistake for McCain, 7/23/2008, Dick Morris]

[Islander2]

‘Senior McCain aide: The GOP is a ‘shrinking entity’

“That’s because the party is thoroughly infested with RINOs like your boss and out of touch with reality advisers such as yourself.”

There are many of us who knew that when McCain became the nominee, Conservatism was going to take it in the shorts, and man, have we ever.!

[TADSLOS]

“We were running a campaign under extra difficult circumstances — the state of the Republican Party, the president’s unpopularity, the economy — a lot of issues that were not John McCain’s fault, but were John McCain’s problem in this race,”

Effin' whiner.

[Tublecane]

“a lot of issues that were not John McCain’s fault, but were John McCain’s problem in this race”

Even though he pretty much agree with everything Bush did and probably would have done pretty much the same thing. Maybe he would have pushed the Surge sooner, or had a few more “across the aisle” initiatives.

[pallis]

Schmidt probably voted for 0. The ugly thing he and the Potomac sippers can’t bring themselves to admit is that they are the ones destroying the Republican Party, and every time conservatives try to rally, they come back out to divide us. McCain’s ignorant, chubby girl is playing the same game, and as long as she plays it, the pop media will give her more time. The fact is, even with the world’s socialists playing the election like a fiddle, McCain could have won, if he had resisted the urge to jump onto the bailout wagon. He and Sarah could have come out swinging for the taxpayers and liberty. I bet none of the so called moderates in his circle of advisers advised him to do the right thing, and he wouldn’t have listened if they had.

[TADSLOS]

Ooh, I know - how about the one where the tanned John McCain - always ready with an easy, reassuring smile (complete with Lyle Waggoner sparkle) - was the darling of the grassroots Republicans who donated and donated until their pockets were practically empty (until that Sarah Palin came along and killed all the enthusiasm). Tell us that one, Schmidt.

ROFLMAO!

[JApost]

Crowds of 2000? No, no. He had crowds of 200 not 2000, before Palin. After Palin? OVERFLOWING crowds of 25,000+, many times standing in the rain and freezing cold waiting for hours. 70,000 in Florida by herself. Sarah WAS the campaign. She and she alone gave him a 10 point lead in the GALLUP poll the week of 9-7-08 to 9-15-08 by herself and gave him an average lead of 5 points in all polls until 9-15-08(when the final assault was unleashed on our economy(that began in February 2007) and our entire financial system was sabotaged by Soros, Schumer et al involving China, Russia, Saudi Arabia all in a state of panic to cause McCain to lose.

[RJL]

Just imagine what 20 or 30 million will do to the country.

Both political parties already pander to Hispanics.

The Republicans were happy to alienate their voting base to please Hispanics.