Read the whole thing at the link.The timing was impeccable. On the day after HarperCollins released the cover photo for Going Rogue — Sarah Palin’s highly anticipated autobiography — Steve Schmidt, John McCain’s former chief campaign advisor, predicted that if Palin were to win the 2012 GOP nomination, “we would have a catastrophic election result.” It was Schmidt, a veteran Republican strategist, who first advised Senator McCain to select Palin as his running mate in 2008. And it was Schmidt who first criticized Governor Palin within the McCain camp as “going rogue.” Asked how Palin’s book might describe their relationship during the election, Schmidt suggested that perhaps he was the “anti-rogue in the running of the campaign.”
Schmidt’s comments provide a nice backdrop to a recent report at Politico (”McCain’s Mission: A GOP Makeover.”) It turns out that the Arizona senator has been positioning himself as a major power broker within the Republican Party hierarchy. He is identified in the article as the party’s titular head; and the erstwhile presidential nominee has been raising money for moderate GOP candidates and hitting the campaign trail for pragmatic allies. As noted in the article:
“I think he’s endorsed people with center-right politics because he has an understanding that the party is in trouble with certain demographics and wants to have a tone that would allow us to grow,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who is McCain’s closest friend and ally in the Senate.This meme of McCain’s reemergence as the GOP’s elder statesman and centrist savior is not likely to go down well among grassroots conservatives.
“At a time when our party is struggling and has a lot of shrill voices and aggressive voices, he’s one that can expand our party,” said John Weaver, a longtime McCain friend and strategist.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
McCain Continues to Prove Himself the Enemy of the Grassroots
My latest essay at Pajamas Media is up today, "McCain Continues to Prove Himself the Enemy of the Grassroots":
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6 comments:
In the long run I think this will help Palin gain even stronger support. All she has to do is to further burnish her foreign policy positions and she is good to go.
The GOP base stayed home in the millions for John McCain. If the GOP can't learn that lesson, it's time for the GOP to go...
The GOP needs a makover alright - a bit of a purge of RINOs and those without backbone to stand up for conservative causes.
Palin may in fact reignite the party, but may not have the strength to be the GOP candidate in 2012. But... if Obama - who never had a real job prior to the one He has now - could win... who knows?
John McCain is all done in my book. I afford him no more credibility whatsoever. We need to kick the RINOs out and if we can't, then it's time to think of other options...like a third party.
Great post! I really like your blog - keep up the excellent work!!
COMMON CENTS
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com
ps. Link Exchange?
It's no longer about party any more ... no longer about (D) vs. (R).
It is (US) vs. (DIM) -- dim elites in DC, that is.
If we don't start ignoring the party labels, and instead make the effort to find men and women worthy of holding public office -- then elect them -- the vote-and-gripe cycle will continue.
Time for us to change the rules.
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