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The McCain Myth (Why RINO John McCain Will Never, *Ever* Be President)
Wall Street Journal/Opinion Journal ^ | 5/31/2005 | Brendan Miniter

Posted on 05/30/2005 10:28:41 PM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle

Having helped broker the Great Senate Compromise last week, Sen. John McCain is back in the media limelight, winning the usual accolades for bucking his party. But the deal by 14 "moderates" doesn't just preserve the judicial filibuster and allow confirmation of a few of President Bush's "extremist" nominees. It also reveals that the myth the McCainiacs hoped would propel their man into the Oval Office in 2000 still endures, despite evidence of successive elections to the contrary.

The myth is simply that the only way to win elections is to draw voters from the other party by bucking a few of your own party's principles. Call it "maverick moderatism," but this belief has been the foundation for Mr. McCain's strategy for achieving national office and has given us great ideas like the recent iteration of campaign finance reform, opposition to some tax cuts and dogged attacks by Mr. McCain on some military expenditures. It's also the foundation of many pundits' advice to the president that he pick more "moderate" judges, give up on using payroll taxes to create private Social Security accounts, and trim his sails on fighting terrorism by spreading freedom.

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


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: 110th; 2008; 2008rncconvention; anyonebutmccain; conservatism; election; election2008; electionpresident; elections; johnmccain; maverickmeansrino; mccain; mccain2008; mccaintruthfile; mccainunfit; mccrook; miniter; nowaymccain; rino; rinomccain
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle; PhiKapMom
Good article.

Still, he goes too easy on McManic.

Dan
Biblical Christianity BLOG

21 posted on 05/31/2005 4:42:27 AM PDT by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: Wil H

I know few actual facts about McCain but for some reason I don't trust him. I get the feeling that he is emotionally unstable and could "blow" at any moment.


22 posted on 05/31/2005 5:46:05 AM PDT by Ditter
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle

back up to the good ol' top...


23 posted on 05/31/2005 5:59:38 AM PDT by harpu
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle

mccain is a loser


24 posted on 05/31/2005 6:15:03 AM PDT by Nascar Dad (Go Braves!)
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To: JLS
1. He will be too old in 2008.

McCain will be 72 in 2008. Reagan was 73 when he was reelected in 1984. Of note, McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone.

2. He is a senator and being a govenor not a senator is the path to the White House, ie GW Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter etal.

Certainly the case in the 20th Century except for Kennedy and Harding. Hoover and Eisenhower never held elective office.

3. He is from a state with 10 electoral votes. GOP presidents seem to come from CA, Tx, MI etc., ie bigger states. Even Dim presidents, Clinton aside seem to come from pretty big states, GA, MA, etc. [MA was a more important state in the Electoral College in 1960 than it is now.

Reps: Eisenhower came from Kansas, a small state. Coolidge was from Vermont. Hoover was born in Iowa and grew up in Oregon. Dems: The last two Dem Presidents, Clinton and Carter came from relative small states, Arkansas and Georgia. Arkansas had 6 electoral votes and Georgia had only 10 electoral votes in 1976. Truman came from Missouri, which had 15 electoral votes.

If you look at nominees for President by the major parties, there are plenty of exceptions to the reasons you cite. McGovern, Mondale, etc.

Although the factors you listed are influential, they don't decide elections per se. The reason why McCain won't win the Presidency is because he won't get the GOP nomination. He doesn't have the required support from the GOP base. Simple as that.

25 posted on 05/31/2005 6:29:47 AM PDT by kabar
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
"McCain condemns anti-Kerry ads, calls on White House to follow suit."

Thursday, August 5, 2004

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/08/05/politics1020EDT0544.DTL

"Republican Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, called an ad criticizing John Kerry's military service "dishonest and dishonorable" and urged the White House on Thursday to condemn it as well.

As a Nam Vet who worked diligently to help expose John (THE SNAKE) Kerry for who and what he was and did when he returned from Vietnam, McCain--in his "defending" his "bud" Kerry as well as "advising" ALL to refrain from speaking out on Vietnam (after giving his friend Kerry a free pass for a year while Kerry was making his Vietnam service the focal point of his primary campaign)once the Swifties and others began having an impact on Kerry, as well as McCain "condemning" the Swifties, their ads, Unfit for Command (before it was even released)--lost me FOREVER.

Moreover, I won't even begin to rant as to McCain (and Kerry's) sham POW/MIA coverup as well as "their" rush to normalize relations with Vietnam, all the while, blocking ANY attempts at holding Vietnam responsible for the accounting of ALL POW's/MIA's or their horrible human rights record.

As a full-fledged RINO (second ONLY to the "all-time" worst ever, RINO, Jumpin Jim Jeffords) McCain must be delusional if he thinks he could EVEN get through the primaries.

I know many, many, Vets who would vote against him and/or (myself included) would look for another party or sit the next one out, should he somehow, prevail in the primaries and get the nomination.

26 posted on 05/31/2005 6:40:24 AM PDT by An American Patriot ("GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME"-- the opportunity to get the Hell out of here! Bye Bye VT- Hello, VA)
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
"McCain condemns anti-Kerry ads, calls on White House to follow suit."

Thursday, August 5, 2004

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/08/05/politics1020EDT0544.DTL

"Republican Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, called an ad criticizing John Kerry's military service "dishonest and dishonorable" and urged the White House on Thursday to condemn it as well.

As a Nam Vet who worked diligently to help expose John (THE SNAKE) Kerry for who and what he was and did when he returned from Vietnam, McCain--in his "defending" his "bud" Kerry as well as "advising" ALL to refrain from speaking out on Vietnam (after giving his friend Kerry a free pass for a year while Kerry was making his Vietnam service the focal point of his primary campaign)once the Swifties and others began having an impact on Kerry, as well as McCain "condemning" the Swifties, their ads, Unfit for Command (before it was even released)--lost me FOREVER.

Moreover, I won't even begin to rant as to McCain (and Kerry's) sham POW/MIA coverup as well as "their" rush to normalize relations with Vietnam, all the while, blocking ANY attempts at holding Vietnam responsible for the accounting of ALL POW's/MIA's or their horrible human rights record.

As a full-fledged RINO (second ONLY to the "all-time" worst ever, RINO, Jumpin Jim Jeffords) McCain must be delusional if he thinks he could EVEN get through the primaries.

I know many, many, Vets who would vote against him and/or (myself included) would look for another party or sit the next one out, should he somehow, prevail in the primaries and get the nomination.

27 posted on 05/31/2005 6:42:04 AM PDT by An American Patriot ("GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME"-- the opportunity to get the Hell out of here! Bye Bye VT- Hello, VA)
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
Sorry for double post.

Too much caffeine this morning, coupled with even discussing McCain and Kerry, gets my blood boiling so much that its difficult to remain calm and hit "post" only once. LOL

28 posted on 05/31/2005 6:44:32 AM PDT by An American Patriot ("GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME"-- the opportunity to get the Hell out of here! Bye Bye VT- Hello, VA)
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
Other articles in the issue spell out a few specific areas in which Democrats who bucked party orthodoxy would likely be rewarded for it: national defense, religious faith in politics, even Social Security reform.

So, how'd that work out for Joe Lieberman?

29 posted on 05/31/2005 6:47:43 AM PDT by BlackRazor
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To: dannyboy72
The only chance McCain has to even run for President is to cast a YES vote to the eventual "nuclear" option.

Which is fully what I expect will happen, and what I believe McCain is banking on. By aligning himself with the gang of 14, McCain has accomplished several things. He's increased his stature among moderates and independents as a "reasonable" politican. He's undercut Bill Frist, one of his top contenders for the 2008 nomination. And when the Democrats break the deal and filibuster Bush's first Supreme Court nominee, John McCain can ride in on his white horse and save the day for conservatives.

30 posted on 05/31/2005 6:50:30 AM PDT by BlackRazor
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Comment #31 Removed by Moderator

To: river rat
his behavior at the MIA/POW hearing, confirmed his untrustworthiness for me...

Wonder what the Navy found concerning CAIN when he was de-briefed? We'll never know since he made sure those docs were classified the rest of our lifetime.

32 posted on 05/31/2005 7:03:23 AM PDT by shield (The Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God!!!! by Dr. H. Ross, Astrophysicist)
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To: Mr Ramsbotham

I believe that he is going to run as a third party candidate.


33 posted on 05/31/2005 7:09:50 AM PDT by sport
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To: BlackRazor
So, how'd that work out for Joe Lieberman?

He's got Joe-mentum. LOL

34 posted on 05/31/2005 7:12:22 AM PDT by NeoCaveman (Send a message, defeat (Pat) Dewine this June 14, www.gobrinkman.com)
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle

Bump for later.


35 posted on 05/31/2005 7:14:16 AM PDT by jamaly
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To: pillbox_girl

Should the GOP insist on making Mc Cain their Party's candidate, look for the Republican turnout being lower than it was it was in the 1992 election.

If the Republican hierarchy insist on making Mc Cain their standard bearer they will have to make all their primaries open primaries. I believe that that requires legislative action in states that have closed primaries.

I personally do not believe that Mc Cain will be the GOP candidate, but power has done as it pleased before.

I will not vote for or support John Mc Cain and many others have said the same to me.

If that means electing hillary President. So be it.


36 posted on 05/31/2005 7:24:49 AM PDT by sport
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To: BibChr

Way too easy -- wish I could remember the name of the Freeper that did all the research on McCain with the links -- it was given to the Palmetto Journal in South Carolina during the campaign and they actually printed some of the information. It was very detailed.


37 posted on 05/31/2005 7:28:23 AM PDT by PhiKapMom (AOII Mom -- J.C. or Mary Fallin for OK Governor; Allen in 2008)
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To: I still care
You have it exactly correct. McCain shot himself in the foot.

They were riding high after the early contests. That statement was probably intended to get more favorable coverage by the reporters on the "Straight Talk Express".

It effectively ended his campaign. The "genius" political consultant guiding the McCain 2000 campaign has gone on to become a democrat.

38 posted on 05/31/2005 8:12:44 AM PDT by robomurph
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle

A gun grabber at heart in addition to bashing the Religious Right? I don't think the cards are in your favor John.


39 posted on 05/31/2005 8:40:14 AM PDT by mr_hammer (I call them as I see them!)
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To: kabar

The last two Dem Presidents, Clinton and Carter came from relative small states, Arkansas and Georgia.
__________________________________________________________

Actually I believe in 1976 as today GA was one of the minimum 11 or so states to elect as it is today. I would not call a state that was one of the minimum number of states it takes to get 270 electoral votes, relatively small.


40 posted on 05/31/2005 12:50:22 PM PDT by JLS
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