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(snip) Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," the Arizona Republican said: "When we selected, or asked, Sarah Palin to be my running mate, it energized our party. We were ahead in the polls, until the stock market crashed. And she still is a formidable force in the Republican Party. And I have great affection for her. Will Sarah and I - did we always agree on everything in the past? Will we in the future? No. But let's let a thousand flowers bloom. Let's come up with a winning combination next time." (snip)

Link only, per FR copyright rules

Conservative radio commentator and former Scottsdale congressman J.D. Hayworth is consider a run against U.S. Sen. John McCain in next year’s Republican primary. A source in Arizona who asked not to be identified said Hayworth is pondering the move. The possible challenge also was reported Monday in the Washington Post.

Please send John your birthday message. Sign his online birthday card today Dear Supporter, This Saturday, August 29th, my husband John will celebrate his birthday. A few weeks ago, I wrote to you asking you to sign the online birthday card we've put together for him. Over 30,000 of you have signed the online birthday card so far! I want you to know I appreciate each and every one of these birthday wishes and I know John will be excited to read them over the weekend. If you haven't yet had the chance to sign the online birthday card, you...

KINGMAN - Chris Simcox started his campaign for Senate this year with a Web site, a new suit and a bank balance of zero. Simcox, the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said he doesn't need millions of dollars to unseat John McCain as senator in 2010. Simcox said he is running a grassroots campaign from the bottom up that would put the power back into "the hands of the people." "I've already lost two campaign managers who've said 'You can't run a campaign this way,'" Simcox said. But Simcox is unapologetic about his distaste for the federal government...

PHOENIX -- The Obama Administration is on a spending binge that must come to an end -- and without the president's health care reform proposal, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., declared Friday. McCain, who lost to President Barack Obama in last year's election, told Austin Hill, guest host on News/Talk 92-3 KTAR's "Ankarlo Mornings," that "We've amassed over a trillion dollars in additional debt on the American people since the president took office." He said Obama is slipping in the polls because, "The polls are showing the manifestation of the deep concern and worry Americans have about the debt and the...

Our health care system must be reformed and this is as an historic opportunity to achieve the changes that Americans need, now more than ever. The health care industry accounts for nearly one-sixth of our economy and affects every American family and household budget. As Americans, we are fortunate to have the highest quality of health care, one that draws patients from around the world who seek the best medical care. And while we can all agree on the need for reform, it’s not the quality of care that needs to change but rather the cost. Health care reform must...

After twice postponing a highly anticipated meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders on immigration reform, the White House is under increasing pressure to get legislation done this year. Winning congressional approval of an immigration measure by December is a steep climb, with the economy, health care and energy higher on the president’s agenda. So far, Obama has promised only to begin the discussion at the summit set for next week. But if the president does not move quickly, he will suffer the same fate as his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who left office acknowledging that failure to...

Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, tackled some tough yet timely topics on The Washington Times' American Morning News Tuesday. Turmoil among voters in Iran, who have taken to the streets at their peril and in protest of alleged election rigging, had the senator issuing strong condemnations and a recommendation for the Obama administration. Mr. McCain said he believes Iran's presidential election was rigged and that the U.S. should do "whatever is necessary" to halt their nuclear weapons. "Look these people are bad people and I know that it was unpopular to call them part of an axis of evil or...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Republican presidential nominee John McCain is getting a new set of wheels. The Arizona senator said on his Twitter feed Monday that he was buying a new Ford Fusion Hybrid. His office says he's getting the 2010 hybrid in silver and was impressed by its fuel-efficiency.

No often means yes in Washington, but we hear from Sen. John McCain's posse that he is not considering a 2012 rerun of his failed 2008 presidential campaign. (W beat him in the 2000 primary, remember.) Word came this week that he is mulling over another try, but a key insider says, "Ridiculous."

We have been hearing for years that Senator John McCain gives “straight talk” and his bus has been endlessly referred to as the “Straight Talk Express.” But endless repetition does not make something true. The fact that McCain makes short, blunt statements does not make him a straight-talker. . . . . . Confronted with his lie on Wednesday night’s debate, McCain blustered and filibustered in a manner reminiscent of Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny, when he was caught in a lie during a navy inquiry. When confronted with any of his misdeeds, Senator McCain tends to fall back...

The campaign between Sen. John McCain and Chris Simcox is likely turn into a fight over who’s the real Republican. While Simcox has questioned McCain’s conservative credentials, turns out the activist has not exactly been a loyal member of the party from which he is now seeking a nod of approval.

I am as sick to death of RINO apologists as I am the RINOs themselves. Too many real conservatives took a lot of flack here on FR during the last mid term and presidential election cycles for expecting Republicans to actually legislate like Republicans rather voting for every Obama-lite candidate with an “R” after their names who just might be electable. To too many, elections are about partisan score keeping and not about the direction and future of the country. Many conservatives received a lot of undeserved criticism because they refused to vote straight party line or choose the lesser...

We've been preparing for weeks to announce the "Big News"... IT'S HERE!!! Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps has just announced his resignation from the presidency of MCDC in order to launch a full-scale campaign for U.S. Senate against John McCain!

He's flip-flopped, strayed, say some border activists. BY DANIEL SCARPINATO PHOENIX — When Chris Simcox announced last week that he would challenge Arizona Sen. John McCain in the 2010 Republican primary, he arrived at a state Capitol in the traditional politician garb, a suit and tie. Gone were the signature jeans and ball cap he often wore during his days patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border as a founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. "It's part of the uniform," Simcox said in an interview Friday about his makeover. "I had to learn to tie a tie," joked the 48-year-old activist, who...

Meet "Juan" McCain. You already know him as John McCain, however you can expect McCain to get much more in touch with his inner illegal alien. McCain will finally get a serious primary challenge for his Senate seat from Chris Simcox, a founder of the Minutemen organization. How better to draw attention to ineffectual RINOs like McCain, than to take one out, and deservedly so. McCain's has been pandering to illegal aliens for the sake of votes. Because the fact of the matter is that no country in the world sanctions illegal immigration. (Except now, apparently, the United States.) I...

PHOENIX — Minuteman founder Chris Simcox announced his bid for U.S. Senate against John McCain Wednesday, blaming the senator for deaths caused from violence on the Mexican border and promising a national campaign to unseat the four-term incumbent. “We have the ability to run a national campaign as well as a state campaign,” Simcox said outside the Arizona state Capitol. “There are millions of supporters around the country who have been waiting for some leadership in Washington to take on this border security issue.” Simcox — who as president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps has toured the country —...

Sen. John McCain will face a challenge from the right in next year's Republican primary, as one of the country's most prominent border hawks will announce his candidacy for Arizona's Senate seat on April 22. Chris Simcox, who founded the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, will file campaign paperwork today to formalize his challenge of McCain, who has angered conservative Republicans for his stances on a variety of issues - most prominently, illegal immigration and border security. Simcox will represent a stark contrast in Republican ideology compared to that of McCain, said Eric Johnson, a senior advisor to Simcox and former...

Social conservatives tolerated John McCain as the party's nominee, but never trusted him, and he now appears to be facing a serious primary from the right in Arizona next year. Chris Simcox, the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and a prominent figure in the anti-immigration movement, is announcing today he's resigned from the group to run in the 2010 Senate primary. From a forthcoming release: "John McCain has failed miserably in his duty to secure this nation's borders and protect the people of Arizona from the escalating violence and lawlessness," Simcox said. "He has fought real efforts over...

PART SIX -- in my JUST SAY NO SERIES: KeyWord: JustSayNo2JohnMcCain.... The focus of PART SIX in my "Just say no" series is on the RNC itself.. I have recieved several solicitations/phone calls from various RNC fund raising efforts, Have You? I would like to encourage you to JUST SAY NO - To the RNC this cycle... I would encourage you to send any contributions you have made in the past to the RNC to CONSERVATIVE candidates for the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. I know this will take extra time/effort, but we need to send the message that...

  March 24, 2008   This cartoon/graphic is free for noncommercial use in emails, blogs, and forums.  iowapresidentialwatch.com

As Senator John McCain slips further and further into the grips of age-realted dementia, his arguments in favor of legalizing 38 million illegal aliens become more and more specious. In 2007, for instance, McCain issued a very bizarre challenge to American patriots who oppose the amnesty travesty that McCain favors. Speaking at a fund-raiser in Houston, the senator said: "I think it’s (immigration reform) a matter of national security,” McCain said, “and to do nothing - to leave the status quo - would be an abrogation of our responsibilities to the American people.” The addled senator added, “If they’ve got...

Arizona Sen. John McCain, who blamed illegal immigration Monday for Republican losses in major congressional races, has rejected Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta’s invitation to discuss the issue. “Sen. McCain truly appreciates your invitation and the valuable opportunity it represents,” Jo Black, a scheduling official in the presumptive Republican nominee’s presidential campaign, wrote in a letter to Barletta’s congressional campaign Wednesday. The letter cited “tremendous demands” on McCain’s time and a “large volume of similar requests.” Efforts to reach McCain’s campaign were unsuccessful. Last week, Barletta invited McCain and the Democratic presidential candidates, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, to come...

(The Politico) "The hot-button issue of immigration doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon – at least not in Republican circles. On NPR’s “Morning Edition” today, John McCain suggested that strong anti-immigrant rhetoric contributed to two recent, high-profile GOP Congressional losses – of former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who badly lost to Sen. Bob Casey in 2006, and Jim Oberweis, who lost the heavily Republican seat of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert this month in a special election.

To the Leaders of the Republican National Committee and the Members of the State Legislature in the state of_________________: We, the undersigned registered members of the Republican Party in the state of ____________________, hereby protest and reject the current and ongoing results of the 2008 Republican presidential primary selection process on the grounds that the incongruous methods, rules, and provisions set forth by the individual and various state Republican National Committee Leaders, and the members of the various State Legislatures, have failed to provide the members of the Republican Party across the nation with an effective primary election process, thwarted...

I just got back from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., where conservatives began lining up behind a man who’s been sticking it to us for years. By a process of self-hypnosis, many have managed to convince themselves that McCain is actually one of us. Not for nothing did Benjamin Disraeli call conservatives the stupid party. What part of John McCain do we not get? McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Feingold, McCain-Lieberman, McCain-Edwards -- among other socialist, anti-speech, open-borders, enviro-Marxist measures he’s co-sponsored with the hardcore left of the Democratic Party over the years. If Il Duce had served with...

After being forced to respond to three separate incidents in recent weeks of conservatives alluding to Barack Obama's middle name, John McCain's campaign manager today sent a memo to top supporters urging them to stick to the campaign's preferred message -- and to avoid taking gratuitous shots at their Democratic rivals. "We expect that all supporters, surrogates and staff will hold themselves to similarly high standards when they are representing the campaign. To help guide you, please find talking points below."

Over the weekend, Paul did a post that talked about demands that some conservatives are making on John McCain as the soon-to-be Republican nominee. I added some comments of my own; it's fair to say that both Paul and I are skeptical of the reasonableness of such demands. That prompted an email from talk radio host Mark Levin, the subject heading of which was "John, Did You Actually Mean to Write This?" This initiated an exchange between Mark and me, which, with Mark's permission, I'm reproducing below: John, did you actually mean to write this? If there are conservatives who...

"Last month alone, Obama raised $55 million, and Clinton $35 million. McCain, in contrast, was on track to raise $12 million, about the same as in January, according to his campaign." Maybe it's time for McCain to say something ugly about Conservatives? That always helped before.

A spokeswoman for Sen. John McCain today condemned comments by Iowa Rep. Steve King (R), who on Friday said terrorists would be "dancing in the streets" if Barack Obama is elected president. "The Senator rejects the type of politics that degrades our civics and this campaign will be about the future of our country," Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker said. "[Sen.] McCain could not be clearer on how he views these types of comments and obviously that view extends to Congressman King's statement." King, a three-term Republican, made the remarks to a radio station Friday as he announced his bid for...

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain criticized his Democratic rivals on Tuesday for pledging to renegotiate a hemispheric trade treaty that Democrats blame for U.S. manufacturing job losses. At a town-hall meeting in St. Louis, the Arizona senator also called for the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress to approve a free-trade treaty with Colombia that is being stymied on Capitol Hill. "On trade, I'm a free trader," McCain told employees at Savvis Internet company, a session dominated by questions about the ailing U.S. economy. McCain, the likely Republican nominee to run in the November election, is spending the week...

McCain will begin a cross-country tour emphasizing his life story. His advisers believe that while most Americans have a vague sense that McCain served his country in the military and in political life, they don't actually know his story. This trip--the "Service to America" tour--is intended to fill out that narrative.

What would Americans think, then, of a member of Congress who introduced legislation, not to improve health care in the United States, but to improve health care in Mexico? What would Americans think, then, of a member of Congress who introduced legislation, not to improve health care in the United States, but to improve health care in Mexico? Even more unbelievable, the senator who sponsored the bill is not on the verge of being thrown out of office for this odious piece of legislation. No, the senator who introduced the bill, Senator John McCain of Arizona, is on the verge...

While John McCain was being coronated as the heir apparent at a highly publicized White House meeting with President Bush, his colleagues on Capitol Hill couldn't resist rolling out what could be described as a Lou Dobbs dream package of immigration bills. It was one of those moments where one had to wonder if the right hand of the Republican Party was talking to the left, er, moderate hand. Immigration is the preeminent issue that has divided McCain from his party, as he has supported an ill-fated comprehensive immigration overhaul, including a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Since that...

Dear Senator McCain.... by Gerald A. Honigman Here's my dilemma. Dear Senator John McCain, I have followed your career fairly closely over the years, often with pride. So, here's my dilemma. Coming home from work recently, I heard on the news that James Baker III has endorsed your candidacy. The problem emerges from your end of this story. Please read these excerpts from a Jason Maoz article on May 12, 2006 in JewishPress.com: McCain told Haaretz that as president, he would "micromanage" US policy toward Israel... would dispatch "the smartest guy I know" to the region.... Asked who that "smartest...

“He did everything that we asked of him, including arming the KLA�, said Albanian lobbyist Joe DioGuardi. The Albanians collected one million dollars for the presidential campaign of this senator. Americans of Albanian heritage collected a million dollars in one evening for the presidential campaign of Republican Senator John McCain, said the Albanian American Civic League yesterday, the lobby group headed by former Congressman Joe DioGuardi. A reception for McCain was held January 22 at the Saint Regis Hotel in Manhatten, and the senator, who is now leading in the runoff for the Republican party candidacy in the November elections,...

Dear Friend, Last night, we did it. We won the Republican nomination for President. It was a long, up and down journey, but we worked hard, spoke honestly to the American people, and our steadfast determination has paid off. As we come to the end of our party's primary contest, we begin what will certainly be a spirited and hard-fought campaign against the Democratic nominee. In November, Americans will have a clear choice to make. And I intend to fight as hard as I can to make it very clear that I am the candidate with the experience and leadership...

... If there's a single thread that runs through the e-mails I receive from peevish Republicans, it's that none of the current candidates possesses the conservative purity of Ronald Reagan. One could almost get the idea that Dutch was betrayed by Pontius Pilate and crucified on Calvary. But that wasn't exactly the case. The fact of the matter is that Gov. Reagan gave Gov. Jerry Brown a run for his money – or should I say our money? – when it came to raising taxes here in California. But, in spite of the additional revenue, he was responsible in large...

The National Rifle Association reports on the gun control bill that Senator John McCain introduced with liberal Democrats Joe Lieberman and Jack Reed. --------------- Introduced, appropriately enough, on Halloween, the McCain-Reed-DeWine-Lieberman gun show bill masquerades as reform but imposes bureaucratic restrictions aimed at eliminating gun shows. The legislation is based on the McCain-Lieberman bill (S. 890) from the 107th Congress, and, similarly, not only fails to address gun owners` most significant concerns, but also fails to address any issues within the National Instant Check System (NICS). McCain-Reed is not about closing a "gun show loophole"—there is no "gun show loophole."...

WARNING TO CONSERVATIVES!!! When the AP quotes Open Borders moll Tamar Jacoby, Arlen Specter, RINO/Bushie/McCainite Charlie Black as saying McCain is "looking strong" or good on immigration" and no conservatives or anti-Invasion advocates or experts are quoted in the [following] story, you know the fix is in! McCain is on a major media effort to try to make conservatives like him enough to vote for him and he knows he's in deep trouble. So he's going to try to pull the wool over our eyes by saying he's going to get tough on the Border--if elected. What he WON'T discuss...

Florida Sen. Mel Martinez will endorse John McCain on Friday, The Associated Press has learned, a move likely to give the Republican presidential candidate a crucial boost with the state's Cuban-Americans just days before the primary. The decision is a blow to Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor in a close fight with McCain for support of voters in the Cuban-American community _ and to keep his candidacy alive. Two Republican officials disclosed the upcoming endorsement on the condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting the announcement. As recently as Thursday night, Martinez indicated he would remain neutral in the...

McCain is loathesome. And, it's not just fellow Republicans who despise him. But, if the hard core GOPers want to hate their front runner, who are we to stop them: But Sen. McCain still confronts a problem both in the remainder of the nomination race, and, if he wins, in the fall: He is simply loathed by many fellow Republicans, often for the very bipartisanship and maverick streak that attracts independents. His biggest, and perhaps final, test comes Tuesday, when 21 states hold contests -- most of them open only to Republican voters. "So it is over. Finished. In November,...

. . . Everyone in D.C. and Arizona knows of the mean-spirited side of John McCain. But on no issue has John McCain been meaner than the question of the hundreds of U.S. POWs who did not come home in 1973 when McCain came home. He has used his unique and hard-earned status as a former POW not to help the cause of the un-returned POWs, but rather to attack POW activists, demean POW family members, and to bolster the Pentagon's long-term strategy of debunking credible sightings of POWs.

PART FIVE -- in my JUST SAY NO SERIES: KeyWord: JustSayNo2JohnMcCain In response to the FReepers who think they should "HOLD THEIR NOSE" and Vote FOR McCain.. I ask you to reconsider this option, unless you want to completely DESTROY the two-Party system and move our party so far to the left that the base is completely ignored in ALL FUTURE ELECTIONS... While I certainly respect your opinion, and your right to vote FOR McCain, please understand the many of us who make up the conservative base just CAN’T.. no matter how many times we “the Base” hold our nose...

WASHINGTON -- The prospect of John McCain all but clinching the GOP presidential nomination in Super Tuesday's primaries has certainly raised the anxiety level among conservative Republicans. The trouble with McCain, conservative leaders say, is that he strays far afield from party orthodoxy on so many issues -- vital, ideological issues that lie at the core of the GOP's agenda. There was the Arizona senator's rigid opposition to the Bush tax cuts. He voted against them twice, in 2001 and 2003, votes that to this day he claims were justified, even though he now wants to make the tax cuts...

...Given that he and some of the other Republicans have been embroiled in a campaign to prove who is the most like Reagan, the choice of McCain is both shocking and a bit disturbing to those of us who remember the Reagan years fondly. As a registered Libertarian and former Republican I must confess that I have utter contempt for any suggestion that McCain carries the mantle of Reagan Republicanism. If Republicans are honest -- and they remember anything about the 1980s -- they can only conclude that McCain is a militaristic socialist. Reagan came to power at the height...

Those following the proceedings during the past year of the Senate Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs have been mystified by the rabid actions of the one man on the committee who should be grateful that for the nearly three decades there have been activists in America who have refused to let die the issue of the fate of Americans lost and missing in Southeast Asia from the Vietnam War. I am speaking of course of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). None of the Senators on the Select Committee have been as vicious in their attacks on POW/MIA family members...

<p>John McCain, you treasonous bastard, I challenge you or any of your traitorous cohorts to find even one thread, one post, one paragraph, one sentence or even one lousy word posted to this web site that is not fully protected by the First Amendment!</p>

Flawed Cindy McCain has a grudge list Tony Allen-Mills ON almost every step of his march towards the Republican nomination, John McCain has relied on the support of his glamorous second wife Cindy. Yet she has not always been a political asset. A Republican victory in November would bring to the White House a formidable but flawed first lady. McCain’s marriage has long attracted attention both for the 18-year age gap between husband and wife and for their adopted Asian daughter, who became the focus of one of the most vicious dirty tricks of the 2000 presidential campaign. The couple...