It is YOU who are simply spouting “talking points”, and they appear to be taken directly from McCain campaign headquarters. This debate has absolutely nothing to do with Sean or Rush or the “Northeastern media”. These are simply distractions from the substantive objections to your candidate. And as an attorney, like most other conservatives here on Free Republic, I can THINK FOR MYSELF. The talk radio hosts you mention are merely REFLECTING popular conservative discontent with Sen. McCain, not CREATING it.
Furthermore, you are missing the point with your attacks on Romney. Most of us here at FR did NOT support Romney initially nor do we consider him to be a true conservative. I supported Fred Thompson (And no, I’m not convinced that you ever were a TRUE Thompson supporter yourself - you obviously are involved in some capacity with the McCain campaign). I only support Romney as the lesser of two evils between himself and McCain. Romney has not spent the last 8 years working AGAINST conservatives at every turn.
McCain’s 83 percent “conservative” voting record is largely due to his EARLY voting record, when he usually did vote with conservatives, even on major issues. That has NOT been the case since 2000. You conveniently ignore that in the last Congress he was the 45th most “conservative” Senator out of 49 Republicans - hardly something to brag about.
As for McCain’s “changing his position on McCain/Kennedy”, he has NOT substantively changed his position on the bill, (instead, disingenuously talks about “enforcement first” as if this were simply a TIMING problem), and in fact on Meet the Press last week explicitly said that (although of course it “won’t come up”, wink, wink, to the liberal media) he WOULD sign the bill if brought before him. If he truly has changed his position, why not pledge not simply that he will “enforce the borders”, which even the DEMOCRATS promise, but that he will NOT sign any “legalization” bill whatsoever for 4 years and instead focus on securing the border, as he claims he wants to do.
The fact that Sen. McCain has not done so (and if anything, shown every indication otherwise) demonstrates to me that he STILL thinks he is right (as usual), has NOT heard our voices in opposition, and will move full force ahead with his amnesty plan the minute he were in office. I would anticipate he would also move forward with “global warming” anti-competitive regulations, tying the hands of our military, higher taxes, etc as he has advocated while in the Senate for the last eight years. Since 2000, he has done everything possible to betray conservatives and I don’t see any reason to believe this will change one iota if he were elected President. He has certainly done NOTHING to dispel that belief during this campaign.
It is, of course, a “lesser of evils” situation, but if McCain is the GOP nominee I think the presumption for conservatives should be AGAINST supporting him in any way, shape or form for the long term good of conservatism, the GOP, and the country. I think I speak for many conservatives in this view, and your attempts to blame “talk radio” are just as disingenuous as the Senator you obviously represent.
“I think I speak for many conservatives in this view,”
You speak for relatively few. I was for Reagan in 1976, worked hard for him both in the primaries and the general election in 1980) And you do not speak for me. Or Phil Gramm. Or Tom Coburn. Or Sam Brownback. Or Richard Allen. All notorious libs. The talking heads, and their followers are loud and hysterical but at the end of the day, they will represent about the same number of votes as Pat Buchanan got in 2000.
“involved in some capacity with the McCain campaign”
Now thats a hoot... So like I said before.. Reagan made mistakes but had conviction, McCain made mistakes but has Conviction. Bush made mistakes but has conviction.. Romney panders like the good NorthEast liberal that he is... He contorts his positions the same as Hillary and yet he is getting a pass.. Why because he, Romney, went on the Conservative Talk Radio circuit and McCain did not...