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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...

Of all the claims in support of John McCain's bid for the White House, perhaps none is quite as grand as this. As he arrived in London today, the publishers of his new book insisted the Republican senator's family was descended from the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce. For a veteran war hero staking his presidential campaign on military credentials, an ancestral link to a warrior who overcame the English to reclaim Scottish independence in 1314 has obvious appeal. But according to experts, the story may be no more than that. Asked by the Guardian to investigate McCain's past, genealogists...

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."

... 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...

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...

Arizona senator says GOP rhetoric 'not helpful' WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Thursday he did not believe Democratic candidate John Kerry, a friend and Senate colleague, was weak on defense or would compromise national security if elected president. “This kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful in educating and helping the American people make a choice,” McCain said on “The Early Show” on CBS. “You know, it’s the most bitter and partisan campaign that I’ve ever observed. I think it’s because both parties are going to their bases rather than going to the middle. I regret it.”...

Ted Nugent: McCain has two battles he must win Sunday, February 17, 2008 Now that Mitt Romney has thrown in the towel and endorsed him, the Republican nominee for president will almost certainly be Sen. John McCain. Attempting residency at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is surely tough enough without turning your friends into enemies. There are plenty of enemies on the other side who wear different political stripes altogether. McCain faces a distrustful, dissatisfied, frustrated, and in some cases, downright angry conservative base. Conservatives are not happy with McCain. He has not always carried the conservative torch on immigration, taxes, First...

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...

WASHINGTON (AP) — John McCain faces a dilemma on immigration as he works to persuade conservatives he's tough enough on the issue without erasing his historic appeal to Hispanic voters. Once a crusader for offering the nation's roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants a way to get legal status, McCain now says his first priority is fortifying U.S. borders. The metamorphosis reflects McCain's intensifying effort to consolidate his support among conservatives, who deride the Arizona senator's past proposals on immigration as offering amnesty to lawbreakers, and bitterly resent his work with Democrats, including Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, on the issue....

<p>For the second time in as many days, Sen. John McCain was forced to rebuke members of his own party for over-the-top attacks on Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama.</p>

John McCain couldn't handle the outstanding rebel-rousing introduction by Cincinnati conservative talk show host, Bill Cunningham the other day--a man the McCain Campaign had hired to introduce the Senator. Instead, Wussie McCain immediately "apologized" profusely to Obama for Cunningham's using Obama's full name over and over during the intro. This shows how "p.c." and how "wussie" John McCain is when it comes to worrying about how the left is going to perceive him. Instead of concentrating on gaining base support which he sorely needs and can't win without, he's playing to the left and saying to conservatives, "S**w you! I...

Senator John McRINO aka John McCain is seeking the conservative base to unite with him. Many of us haven't forgotten that he never united with us. Whether it be on his kneepads courting Ted Kennedy or spearheading the ramming of amnesty down our throats, we haven't forgotten. This election offers little or no choice. In the words of Billy Preston "Nothing from Nothing Leaves Nothing."

WASHINGTON - President Bush predicted Monday that voters will replace him with a Republican president who will "keep up the fight" in Iraq. "I'm confident we'll hold the White House in 2008," Bush told donors at the Republican Governors Association annual dinner, which raised a record $10.6 million for GOP gubernatorial candidates. "And I don't want the next Republican president to be lonely," Bush said. "And that is why we got to take the House, retake the Senate, and make sure our states are governed by Republican governors." The pep talk came in the midst of a presidential campaign that...

Feb 25 2008 MEMO TO CONSERVATIVES: THE FIGHT IS JUST BEGINNING by Richard A. Viguerie   The time has come for conservatives to move on, to shift priorities, and to work to elect conservatives at all levels now and in the years to come.     For too long, conservatives have done most of the work necessary to elect Republican candidates, but, once elected, most of those Republicans have ignored conservatives’ concerns or have opposed conservatives outright.   These Republicans have taunted us: “What are you going to do? Vote for the liberal Democrats? Calm down and grow up, and keep...

John McCain Praises Pro-illegal ProtestsSen. John McCain is praising the recent wave of pro-illegal immigration demonstrations, saying that if the protesters hang tough they will succeed in forcing Congress to liberalize immigration laws. "If such demonstrations continue, I think we will have a bill for the President to sign soon," the Arizona Republican told a New York City gathering on Friday sponsored by the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform. "The more debate, the more demonstrations, the more likely we will prevail," McCain added, in quotes picked up by the New York Daily News. The Irish group backs the McCain-Kennedy bill...

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...

McCain spends the day before Super Tuesday in Romney's backyard, a poke in the eye that had more symbolic than strategic value.Feb. 5, 2008 | BOSTON -- There was no particularly good reason for John McCain to spend the morning before Super Tuesday here. Boston has been Mitt Romney's home for more than 30 years; he was governor for four of them. Polls show the state is probably out of McCain's reach. And with more than 20 states voting Tuesday -- some of them up for grabs -- hanging out on Romney's home turf would seem like a waste of...

Little more than three months after the anti-gun incumbent Mike DeWine lost the support of his conservative base and was tossed out of office, the Associated Press is reporting that Republican Senator John McCain has decided DeWine is the perfect man to lead his Presidential campaign in Ohio. They make quite a pair. McCain, who has favored outlawing inexpensive handguns (dubbed Saturday night specials by the anti-gun media), favored mandating safety locks on certain guns, and who once rallied Senate Republicans behind a Democratic measure requiring background checks at gun shows, is already on extremely shaky ground with skeptical gun...

With his presidential hopes tied to an administration whose Iraq policy he supports but cannot control, John McCain for the first time blamed Vice President Cheney for what McCain calls the "witch's brew" of a "terribly mishandled" war in which U.S. forces are on the verge of defeat. McCain also for the first time opened the door to the possibility of a U.S. troop pullback to the borders of Iraq should the president's planned troop surge fail. Although McCain had once lavished praise on the vice president, he said in an interview in his Senate office: "The president listened too...