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Dear Senator McCain, Right now, I’m pissed at you. To quote a LOTR character (Tree Beard) “There isn’t a curse in Human, Ent or Elvish that can describe my anger right now!!!! I feel that the brave GOP members in the House just got their legs cutoff. Maybe they’ll stick together and fight (even if the Dems overide them in numbers) or maybe they’ll cut a deal in exchange for a few “trinkets” and “bobbles”. I can only hope they stand together. I’ve sent several letters to my representative (Lee Terry) over this matter. At least he listens. Mr. McCain,...

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."

McCain a 'True Conservative,' Bush Says Feb 10 09:36 AM US/Eastern WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain is a "true conservative," President Bush says, although the presumptive Republican presidential nominee may have to work harder to convince other conservatives that he is one of their own. McCain "is very strong on national defense," Bush said in an interview taped for airing on "Fox News Sunday." "He is tough fiscally. He believes the tax cuts ought to be permanent. He is pro-life. His principles are sound and solid as far as I'm concerned." But when asked about criticism of McCain by conservative...

Although Arizona Sen. John McCain has seized a commanding lead in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, Washington's Republican caucus-goers showed they are still very divided on their party's nominee. With 87 percent of precincts reporting Saturday night, the state party declared McCain the victor with only a narrow lead over former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Texas Congressman Ron Paul a fairly close third. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who suspended his presidential campaign last week, also received a sizable chunk of delegates. - -clip- - In Auburn for his caucuses, former state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance...

There are elements in the Republican Party who are trying to turn the GOP into the victim party. No matter how much they've won, they want to see themselves as losers. An e-mail I received from a reader summed up the resentment that has been bubbling up all over the GOP. She had liked Fred Thompson and Duncan Hunter as GOP hopefuls and didn't know if she would vote for John McCain. "I began to rethink my allegiance to the Republican Party last summer with the immigration reform bill after party leaders told the rank and file to screw themselves,"...

WASHINGTON--Arizona Senator John McCain eked out a narrow victory in the Republican Party's caucuses in the northwestern state of Washington, the state party chairman announced late Saturday. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee earlier Saturday defeated McCain in Republican presidential primaries in Louisiana and Kansas. McCain, 71, a Vietnam war hero, is far ahead of his opponents in the delegate count and is the party's presumptive 2008 presidential standard bearer, though he faces opposition from core Republican conservatives. With 87 percent of precincts reporting in Washington state, McCain led with 26 percent of the delegates, against 24 percent for Huckabee and...

I posted a squib on the National Review Web site about a robo call I received from John McCain. (Virginia's primary is Tuesday.) The call stressed that he would, if elected, be a down-the-line limited government conservative who would never raise taxes, would defend life, would enforce immigration laws and would win the war on terror. The candidate is trying, I said, to meet conservatives "more than halfway." The response of readers was, shall we say, emphatic. One lady wrote that she would never vote for him as "He is the most disloyal, ill-tempered man and he brings out the...

There's an old Groucho Marx riff in which he launches a new career as a stick-up artist -- while worrying that his native cowardice may not induce the requisite fear among his victims. Sure enough, after a little time in a dark alley he springs out to confront his first victim, points his gun to his own head and says, "Take one step closer and I'll kill myself." Such is the posture today among pundits on the far right of the Republican Party as Sen. John McCain moves closer to receiving his party's nomination. Consider the destructive implications of their...

It was High Noon on television, and the camera kept cutting away to those narrow shots of wall clocks and grandfather clocks and cuckoo clocks and pocket watches: that annoying clonk, clonk, clonk as the seconds ticked by and the train barreled closer. You remember the film. Everybody in town knew that Gary Cooper was the right man to stand up to the bad guys coming in on the noon train. But the unctuous Henry Morgan and all the rest of the town's bankers and shopkeepers wouldn't stand with him, and Grace Kelly, the sweet religious girl who loved him...

John McCain is the perfect sacrificial lamb to atone for the sins of the RNC & GOPHe symbolizes ALL that is WRONG with the GOP and once he's run through the chipper shredder named Barak Obama MAYBE, JUST M-A-Y-B-E the RINOs will the see the futility of nominating one of their own for POTUS

How conservative is Mr. McCain? During his quarter century in Washington, the senator has assembled an 82% rating from the American Conservative Union, placing him 39th among senators in 2006, while drawing a 25% lifetime rating from the liberal American Civil Liberties Union. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, has a 75% ACLU lifetime rating. A scorecard by the antitax Club for Growth, a conservative political-action committee, ranked him 29th among 55 Republican senators in 2006.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney narrowly beat John McCain, 35 to 34 percent, in a straw poll of conservative political activists gathered Saturday in Washington — a vote that is viewed as a barometer of support from that major GOP voting bloc. The announcement of Romney’s win was greeted by cheers from the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference. McCain is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Roughly three-quarters of the votes in the three-day CPAC 2008 straw poll were cast before Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race, and one-quarter after his withdrawal.....

CORNERSTONE Church in Texas is one of America's so-called megachurches, the size and shape of an aircraft hangar. The 5,000-strong congregation drives from miles around to hear the Good News. Afterwards they tuck into sizzling meat and listen to a young Christian rock group as they belt out tunes praising the Lord. Flipping a burger, one grey-haired teacher in a polo shirt and shorts says that when you have God in your life, election choices become simple: "I let the pastor do it." The congregation tends to follow the pastor's instructions, and at the moment those are likely to recommend...

The first question asked of the 1,000 conservative activists was: "In your opinion, is Senator John McCain a true conservative?" The results: Yes 197 (19.7%) No 595 (59.5%) Undecided 208 (20.8%)

Folks, there still may be a slim chance to force a deadlocked convention. I'm no election math wizard, but I believe it's still mathematically possible for McCain to NOT receive the requisite number of delegates to win the nomination. But it would require a great turnout of passionate conservative voters in the remaining primary states to accomplish. The trick would be for all remaining primary conservative voters to vote for their favorite candidate as if he were still in the race. Fred's name is still on the ballot. So is Hunter's and Romney's. Shoot, vote for Huckabee, Paul or even...

Now that you have a guy who could actually win, you don’t want him. You conservatives make me laugh. Here you have a war hero taking control of your party — a real one, not like our guy last time, what was his name, you know, “Mr. Sixteen Weeks” — and you’re acting like he’s some weird combination of William Howard Taft and Leon Trotsky. Sure, he’s a little nutty after all those years getting his bones re-broken every six months at the Hanoi Hilton, and his hand more or less grazed the cookie jar during the Keating Five scandal,...

McCain is NOT Conservatives' choice, says President Bush's TEXAS' GOP - Because of "a litany of issues in which conservatives feel betrayed by McCain — Stem Cell research, the federal Marriage amendment, campaign Finance", ". "He's definitely NOT the Conservatives' choice", said "Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of the Liberty Legal Institute, a Conservative group" in US President GWBush's State of TEXAS. - "I think he's going to have a Hard time," said"Valoree Swanson of Spring, a member of the (GOP) State Republican Executive Committee". => "Some expressed the HOPE that former Arkansas Gov. Mike HUCKABEE would remain in the race...

Speaking to reporters after a security round-table meeting in Norfolk, Virginia, the home of a major U.S. naval base, McCain accused Obama and Clinton of wanting to set a date for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. "I believe that would have catastrophic consequences," said the Arizona senator, a former Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam. "I believe that al Qaeda would trumpet to the world that they had defeated the United States of America, and I believe that therefore they would try to follow us home." He said the two Democrats, who have both pledged to quickly begin...

On Thursday, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Sen. John McCain stood before thousands of conservatives he has done his level best to anger and alienate for a decade -- to ask for their support. And he made a not unconvincing case. What he said essentially was this. We have fought each other in the past, and we have fought side by side. And I admit to having made my share of mistakes. But if we do not work together, we lose the presidency. And if we lose the presidency, your causes will be lost, as well as...

Mike Huckabee this week picked up the endorsement of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, who reiterated his statement Tuesday that he could not vote for presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John McCain even in November against a Democrat. Speaking of Senator McCain, the Christian broadcaster said "His record on the institution of the family and other conservative issues makes his candidacy a matter of conscience and concern for me." We haven't endorsed any candidate, and it's up to Mr. McCain to convince Mr. Dobson that he's worthy of his vote. But for the network of socially conservative activists who...

For the first time, Mexican officials in Arizona admit there is hard evidence illegal immigrants are preparing to leave the state because a new employer sanctions law is making it difficult, if not impossible, for them to keep a job. Illegal immigrants are flooding the Mexican consulate in Phoenix for documents that will allow them to return to Mexico to enroll their children in school, the consul to Arizona, Carlos Flores Vizcarra, told FOX News. They are also requesting a document called "menaje de casa," which allows illegal immigrant families living in the U.S. to cross into Mexico without paying...

Sen. Thad Cochran has shifted his support to Sen. John McCain for president. Cochran made the announcement in a statement Thursday after his first choice, former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, dropped out of the Republican race. Mississippi's other senator, Roger Wicker, a Republican, had endorsed former Tennessee senator, Fred Thompson, who has also withdrawn from the race. Wicker has not announced his support for another candidate. GOP Cong. Chip Pickering endorsed McCain last year. Cong. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, has endorsed fellow Democrat, Barack Obama for president.

With the race to succeed him reaching a critical juncture, President Bush on Friday began rallying the Republican base around its presumptive nominee, John McCain. In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Bush offered an implicit endorsement of McCain, a senator from Arizona, as a true conservative in the face of deep skepticism on the right.

Fred Thompson, the one-time Republican presidential candidate, endorsed Sen. John McCain Friday, calling on the party to "close ranks" behind the presumed nominee

You know all the arguments about whether Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is really a conservative. And whether he is a Republican-in-Name-Only. (I did a Google search for “John McCain” and “RINO” the other day and got 195,000 hits.) But let me add this. I’ve been to a bunch of McCain rallies in the last few months — in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Arizona — and I found a lot of conservatives who support John McCain. They are people who voted for George W. Bush twice. The older ones voted for Ronald Reagan twice. They believe in lower...

On the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries that would confirm him as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, John McCain joined two heretical members of a party that has made itself synonymous with orthodox conservatism--California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, both supporters of abortion rights, gay rights and reasonably functional government--at a solar technology plant in Los Angeles. They talked about their shared commitment to address global warming. And they reminded everyone that the Republican Party of John McCain is not the Republican Party of George W. Bush or Rush Limbaugh. While Democrat...

Syndicated talk-radio host Mark Levin said this about John McCain last night, “We know who John McCain is … we’ve seen him with our own two eyes, we’ve heard him with our two ears … We smell defeat in November whether he wins or loses.” This is the audio of Mark explaining why. For many of us who have flatly stated that we will not vote for John McCain in 2008, it is not just resisting the urge to vote for the lesser of two evils, we see McCain, Obama, and Clinton as a wash.

On a scale of 1 to 5, how successful do you think John McCain -- as the probable GOP nominee -- will be in bringing conservatives together? 5 (highest) 4 3 2 1 (lowest)

WASHINGTON DC: While all the fuss on the Republican side is focused on the crazies in the world of talk radio, there are other Republicans sharpening their knives. People like Dick Armey - the former leader of the party in the House of Representatives - who tells me the anti-McCain forces are small and have nowhere to go. Armey - an affable Texan - really does see the McCain ascendency as a chance to see off the people he thinks have damaged the party: the Bill Frists, the Tom DeLays, in fact all the forces of social conservatism who hijacked...

Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton made news today at the Conservative Political Action Conference by announcing his support for the likely Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain. Bolton is very highly regarded by conservatives for his tenure at the U.N. and for his willingness to combat the policies of the State Department, where Bolton was once an assistant Secretary of State for arms proliferation. His assessment of Sen. McCain could carry great weight among conservatives who believe that national security and the war on terror are the most important issues in the upcoming presidential election campaign....

Since many conservatives say they won’t vote for John McCain, and some say they’ll even vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, it might be worth looking at some of the people whose power and influence will be far more potent as a result of such pettiness. To wit: –George Soros. A multi-billionaire with megalomaniacal ambitions. Financier of some of the most virulent lunatic-left organizations in the country. Just revealed as the chief funder of a recently debunked “study” by the British medical journal, Lancet, which claimed 650,000 Iraqis had been killed as a result of the war–ten times the...

Isn't it ironic that GOP moderates are harshly criticizing GOP conservatives for being harshly critical of GOP presidential frontrunner John McCain? What mortal sins have conservative McCain critics committed? Oh, they've stuck to their conservative principles, fighting for the values they believe in and refusing, prematurely, to surrender. What good would they be if they so readily threw in the towel of defeat? "Enlightened" moderates are shocked at conservatives, tagging them as uncompromising extremists who represent the very fringe of the Republican Party. John Dilulio, a principal architect of President Bush's arguably non-conservative, faith-based initiative, is among those making these...

I feel moved to comment on the continuing hoopla from the conservative commentators which they are directing against John McCain. Ann Coulter has gone as far as to say she will support Hillary Clinton instead while Rush Limbaugh and others have suggested they may sit out the election if he is the nominee. Rush has even said that we are allowing the media to select our candidate just like the liberals do. Well, Rush and his allies are also the media so when conservatives were elected before was this also a case of the media selecting our candidates? Let me...

There is NOTHING conservative about working with the Democratic nominee against most of your fellow conservatives in order to grow government, socialize medicine, lose the war in Iraq, tilt the Supreme Court to the Left, and make Roe v. Wade the permanent law of the land. If you are conservative and vote for the Democratic nominee or even just refuse to vote for McCain, who is by any and every objective standard, considerably more conservative than either of them, let me tell you what you are NOT doing, * You are NOT doing the logical thing. When faced with a...

You don’t even know him. But you rage against him like he’s the neighbor who has his illegal lawn guy use a leaf blower to blast all his trash into your yard. You think you can feel your blood boiling when you hear him talk. You use words like “traitor, liar, egomaniac…” But you don’t even know him. Such passion can be rechanneled, if you allow yourself take a second look. Sure I had some biting nicknames for him. I had all kinds of complaints against him. He’s still wrong about some things. But when it started to dawn on...

By unanimous vote of our principals, we endorse the candidacy of Senator John McCain for President of the United States.Why? Because in spite of our preternaturally youthful looks...we're grown-ups. Or, if you prefer...because America is more important than any one of us and our personal feelings. Mitt Romney delivered an amazing speech at CPAC yesterday. He proved himself a noble, good, decent, patriotic man. He showed us all that he's a man we'll be seeing a lot more of down the road, and that we'll be lucky to have him. There were a lot of specifics in his speech, but...

Arizona Sen. John McCain closed in on the Republican presidential nomination Thursday with the exit of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, but now he faces an even bigger battle: winning over his party's conservative base. The 71-year-old four-term senator sought to mend fences with his party's right flank at a gathering of conservative activists in Washington just hours after Romney told the same group that he was suspending his campaign. But McCain's speech was met by cheers and a smattering of loud boos, and many of the activists said they would support him reluctantly if he becomes the nominee. The...

To all you proud and die hard conservatives who are so faithful to your conservative principles that you can't bring yourself to back Senator McCain: grow up, wake up and stand up for the most qualified and conservative candidate in the race for the Presidency who stands far closer to your ideals and values than The Clintons or Obama. (I should also add, hold your nose.) To "sit this one out" is not an option. Pride, selfishness and misguided righteousness will usher in an Obama or Clinton x 2 White House with decades of disastrous consequences for our economy, military,...

February 08, 2008, 0:00 a.m. McCain DisdainWhy some Republicans won't vote for the senator. By Mona Charen I posted a squib on National Review Online about a robo call I received from John McCain (Virginia’s primary is Tuesday). The call stressed that he would, if elected, be a down-the-line limited-government conservative who would never raise taxes, would defend life, would enforce immigration laws, and would win the war on terror. The candidate is trying, I said, to meet conservatives “more than halfway.” The response of readers was, shall we say, emphatic. One lady wrote that she would never vote...

Republican John McCain asked disgruntled conservatives to support his presidential bid on Thursday, shortly after Mitt Romney ended his struggling campaign and made McCain the all-but-certain nominee. McCain assured a conference of conservative activists he was one of them, citing his commitment to win in Iraq, halt Iran's nuclear ambitions and rein in the federal government while drawing sharp contrasts with potential Democratic opponents Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. McCain's speech, which drew boos on the topic of illegal immigration, followed by a few hours Romney's surprise announcement at the conference that he was ending his run to allow Republicans...

John McCain, the all-but presumptive Republican nominee, told conservative activists this afternoon that he cannot win the presidency without "dedicated conservatives." "I know I have a responsibility to unite the party," he said. He acknowledegd that he has had differences with many conservatives but said he hopes they will see that he has the record of a true conservative. "I am proud to be a conservative," McCain said. ... McCain spoke to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington just hours after Mitt Romney used the same venue to announce he is suspending his presidential bid...

A common thread of Free republic Polls seems to be taking a liberal RINO wet dream of a November '08 ballot and seeing who would still vote republican. Or Who would we choose if the republican primaries were down to these same weasles.So how about we turn it around? Instead ask... If the Republican primaries were between Rudy, McCain, and Condoleezza Rice, And the democratic primaries were between Al Gore, Kerry, Hillary and Zell Miller, Which (if Any) primary would you register to vote in? Republican, for Rudy.Republican, for McCain.Republican, for CondoleezzaDemocrat, for Wierd Al.Democrat, for John Kerry.Democrat, for the...

McCain responded by saying immigrants were taking jobs nobody else wanted. He offered anybody in the crowd $50 an hour to pick lettuce in Arizona. Shouts of protest rose from the crowd, with some accepting McCain's job offer. "I'll take it!" one man shouted. McCain insisted none of them would do such menial labor for a complete season. "You can't do it, my friends." Some in the crowd said they didn't appreciate McCain questioning their work ethic.

Arizona senator John McCain could win the 2008 presidential election in the United States, according to a poll by Zogby International. 52 per cent of respondents would vote for the Republican in a head-to-head contest against Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. In 2000, McCain won seven GOP presidential primaries in the U.S., but retired from the race after eventual nominee George W. Bush became the frontrunner. Rodham Clinton was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, defeating Republican Rick Lazio by 12 per cent. She ruled out a presidential bid in 2004. 37 per cent of respondents would...

(KRT) - Arguing that "even Adolf Eichmann got a trial,'' Republican Sen. John McCain said Sunday that the Bush administration must establish a system to try and perhaps free suspected terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - even if they turn around and attack the United States. [snip]McCain is emerging as a voice of conscience and nuance (Coop comment: [gag!! wretch!!] on the stay-or-go Guantanamo issue. A veteran Navy pilot who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war at Vietnam's "Hanoi Hilton,'' he has repeatedly avoided the issue of whether U.S. troops mistreat the detainees and focused instead...

McCain back in spotlight By BILL STRAUB Scripps Howard News Service May 25, 2005 WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain has been off center stage during recent political battles but he once again grabbed the spotlight to do what he does best - step on the toes of Republican Party leaders. And his actions have revived speculation about his presidential ambitions. Just six months after winning election to a fourth term from Arizona with 77 percent of the vote, and less than three years before the beginning of the presidential selection process in Iowa and New Hampshire, McCain is returning to...

In a surprise announcement John McCain stated that he's running as a democrat for president in 2008. Today in a speech in Washington DC, he announced his party change. Only Arizona Newswire was there to cover it. "I look at the party platforms, and I am closer to the democrats on major issues. I support the 2nd amendment right to hunt, but I also support for gun control. I think violent events such at Ultimate Fighting need to be banned. I destest these issue ads in campaigns that distort my record. I support going after tobacco companies. I support ending...

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PHOENIX - U.S. Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said Monday that he has "no confidence" in Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, citing Rumsfeld's handling of the war in Iraq (news - web sites) and the failure to send more troops. McCain, speaking to The Associated Press in an hourlong interview, said his comments were not a call for Rumsfeld's resignation, explaining that President Bush (news - web sites) "can have the team that he wants around him." "I have strenuously argued for larger troop numbers in Iraq, including the right kind of troops — linguists, special forces, civil...

Cheney, McCain to hold Bush campaign rally Friday The Associated Press 7/13/2004, 7:28 a.m. ET LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Dick Cheney and U.S. Sen. John McCain plan to hold a Bush-Cheney '04 rally on Friday in the state's capital city. The rally at Lansing Center will come three days after President Bush makes a campaign stop in Marquette. McCain, a Republican from Arizona, has been featured in a recent ad touting Bush's efforts in the war on terrorism. Cheney was in Michigan last month, making a campaign stop near Saginaw. Bush's latest campaign effort, which kicks off Tuesday,...