A win for McCain will be a blow against the likes of Coulter, Limbaugh, and Santorum...

[Bicoastal]

...all of whom have recently gone apoplectic in public with their McCain-hate.

Say what you will about him as competition for OUR eventual candidate, but the upside to McCain's nomination will be the death rattle of ultra-ultra-conservative politics in the mainstream.

Not sure, thought, what will happen to politicians and media figures who are merely ultra-conservative....

[Skittles]

1. fill me in Bicoastal

what is their main problem with McCain? McCain strikes me as repuke whore.

[Bicoastal]

5. I don't really know conservative talking points well enough to answer...

...but it may have something to do with a)wanting to closely monitor Guantanamo and prevent torture, b) a "soft" stance on immigration, and c) his involvement with McCain/Feingold. Yes, in the bizarro world of ultra-conservatives, these are all actually negative attributes.

But I'm sure there's more. Hearing and reading what the above people said about him, I just get the feeling that he's only one letter (R) away from being to them what Lieberman is to us. And that will be a GOOD thing in November.

[Skittles]

6. I've read that behind the scenes, he's a real nutjob

quick to lose his temper and act like f***ing fool

[TwilightGardener]

12. That's actually what bothers them more--the fact that he's a sanctimonius

prick that stabs his party in the back for MSM "maverick" love, more so than any specific position he takes. And it works, because we have people on DU still insisting he's "honorable" or a "maverick" or "principled", when he's none of that--just a triangulating, calculating pol who knows how to play to the media, and also a psycho emotionally unstable war-pig.

[Skittles]

17. hey let me ask you

a coworker just back from a road trip through Oklahoma heard on the rightwing nutjob radio shows that they're pushing the McCain/Huckabee (VP) meme - that the deal was cut after the Florida primary and that is why Huckabee not trashing McCain. Have you heard this?

[TwilightGardener]

19. Huck has been McCain's stalking horse/hatchet man for some time now--

they've never laid a glove on each other. However, I suspect McCain is just using him through Super Tuesday, and will stick a shiv in him once Huck is done splitting the social-conservative vote with Romney. I don't think Huck will get a VP slot. He's not a fiscal conservative, not especially bright, he's not part of the Repub DC establishment, and he's not respected beyond his ability to get the evangelicals to vote for him. For a lot of conservatives, Huck on the ticket will be the last straw, and they'll definitely stay home.

[Skittles]

20. wow - huh, you sound like you do know

me I was just like, WHAAAAA.....I never heard that. :o

[Omega3]

29. I've heard this as well,

Huck is taking away religious voters from Romney and in exchange for staying in he'll give Huck the VP slot.

[rasputin1952]

14. The big itch is the McCain-Feingold Bill, and how McCain, on

very few occasions, crossed over to vote w/D's on some issues.

The uber-conservative pundits have the notion that going against anything they think is right, is a poison to be avaoided at all costs. McCain just seems to be too "centrist" for them, the big push was for no one less conservative than Thompson. When they saw their hero being left in the dust, they went into panic mode, they know the "conservative era" is dead. bush killed it, and it is the one thing I can find that I might actually thank him for.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. He is. McCain is a right-wing nutjob. But to them, he's not crazy enough.

He opposes torture, something that gives those fat, flaccid GOPers big woodies. He wasn't nice enough to the fundies back in 2000, when he called Jerry Falwell an "agent of intolerance." One thing they really hate was his work on campaign finance; to make matters worse, he worked with the evil lib'rul Russ Feingold. And every now and then he veers away from the party line on some topic or other, such as immigration, as to which he has been relatively moderate. Yeah, he's hard-core anti-choice, pro-corporate and pro-war, so by our standards he's awful. But a lot of the GOPers don't think he's awful enough.

And as much as I dislike McCain, I'm rather enjoying the spittle-flecked rants about his success by the likes of Rush Limpballs. Anything that upsets Rush makes me happy.

[TwilightGardener]

21. Not quite true. You have to understand Repub mentality, which I do

because my husband was a Repub until Chimpy (he's an Indie now). The Repubs HATE the MSM, and they hate Repubs that go against their party deliberately to get applause from Democrats and the media. They suspect that's why McCain so loudly takes on his party on some issues. It's not the positions themselves--there are other Repubs who quietly vote against their party sometimes, and it's tolerated. McCain makes a public CRUSADE with his differences--it's like a melodramatic public slap in the face to the party rather than a low-key stand on principles. McCain IS a self-aggrandizing bastard, more than anything else. Hence his Republican nickname, St, John McCain.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. Interesting, and no doubt the GOPers can't stand it when anybody crosses the party line.

No question McCain is a self-aggrandizing bastard. But I think it's even more than that. I think that cockroach Tom Delay was on the teevee machine the other day bitching about McCain's involvement with campaign finance reform, and how he thought he was destroying the party by restricting its flow of cash. And I do think they like being able to torture people. Since it was actually done to McCain, I think his speaking out against it puts them in an awkward position and they know it.

[TwilightGardener]

23. They do hate campaign finance reform. But what makes them hate McCain personally

in regard to that legislation is the way he came about it--his involvement in Keating 5. He decided to repair his own image in that scandal by making himself appear a reformed crusader, going against special interests even as they were entrenched in his party. However, Repubs really do see money as a form of political speech, and that CFR hampers it unfairly--and they think Dems are just as greedy and willing to get into bed with interest groups for campaign cash as they are, but that Dems are trying to grab the good PR of "reforming" the system, with McCain helping them. That's why they especially hate McCain's role in CFR, even more than they hate the law itself.

[2rth2pwr]

2. another blow to the media conspiracy folks. nt

[mrreowwr_kittty]

3. And a blow to our chances in the general.

Unfortunately, McCain is doing inexplicably well against our candidates in national polls.

Go Mittens!

[OmahaBlueDog]

13. It's not inexplicable

1. War hero (and not a BS soldier like Bush Jr. -- he's the real deal)
2. While he's perceived by his own party as too liberal, he's perceived by many indys as a moderate.Indys perceive Obama as liberal on some issues. Indy's perceive Hillary as something I can't repeat here.
3. McCain is a white male. Neither of our potential candidates will be, barring something totally unforeseen
4. He's well known and comes off as a nice guy on TV

-- that doesn't make him unbeatable

1. He's been in the Senate since '80. That means years of transcripts in which to find juicy quotes, odd statements, and flip-flops.
2. 27 years in the Senate means many re-election campaigns; there will be embarrasing photos and contributions he will get to explain.
3. His outbursts are legendary; those will come out -- and (especially agagist calm, well spoken Obama) won't look good.
4. I don't think he'll do well in head to head debates against either Hillary or Barack
5. His age will also be a factor; it was an issue with Reagan, but Reagan looked robust at 70. McCain -- not so much. Especially not so much standing next to Hillary or Obama.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

16. You're right about all that but he's so hated among the "base"

Because of immigration mostly, and campaign finance reform to a lesser extent. Makes me worry that the "national security" bullcrap still resonates with a lot of people. I think your examples make that point.

[tularetom]

4. Wish i shared your optimism

I'm afraid McCain will go groveling to the win nut faction of the republican party whereupon they will declare that he has seen the light and become a "true conservative" (whatever the fuck that is). He will shit can the opinions that got him in trouble with them in the first place , like campaign reform and a fair immigration policy, and become even more nutty on Iraq ("We could be in Iraq for 1000 years"). Any differences between McCain and the lunatic fringe will be papered over for the sake of keeping a puke in the white house.

McCain lacks the balls to stand up to 'em.

[Skittles]

7. male body parts are not required for courage

as far as McCain goes - I think he is a repuke whore who is against torture only because it happened to him - which makes him a typical repuke

[tularetom]

11. No they aren't - in fact sometimes the opposite is true

Hillary has far more political courage than her husband even though I don't support her.

I'm 66 years old. Hard to break a lifetime habit. Sometimes I slip. I'm sorry my thoughtless comment offended you.:hi:

[Skittles]

15. not so much offended

as just wishing a better expression could be used :hi:

Yes, lots of courageous gals out there. :D

[AZBlue]

28. Oh, he definitely will.

You can bet on it!

[DesertRat]

8. Coulter says she's campaign for Hillary if McCain is the nominee

"Coulter is making the rounds of right-wing talk-television shows to say she'd back Clinton as the Democratic nominee against Republican John McCain. "She's more conservative that he is," the author and commentator claims. "She will be stronger on the war on terrorism...I will campaign for her if it's McCain.

She is a sly woman this Ann Coulter. And she is not entirely insincere. While she may not really believe that Clinton is more conservative than McCain, she undoubtedly would rather have Clinton as president. That's because Clinton presidency would be a full-employment program for the right-wing attack machine for which she is Cog No. 1. And a McCain presidency, by defining a different and more responsible conservatism, could marginalize Coulter and her kind.

So anything Coulter can say to hurt McCain, she will say. And to suggest that the right's favorite demon, Hillary Clinton, is more credibly conservative than the maverick McCain hurts the senator from Arizona with the Republican base that is only now beginning to warm to him.

But the diabolical part of Coulter's strategy is this: In attacking McCain and endorsing Clinton, the right-wing heroine that the left loves to hate hurts both the Republican she fears and the Democrat she despises."

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/?pid=278859

[Muttocracy]

9. Whew! For a second there I thought you were endorsing McCain! :) n/t

[OHdem10]

10. Is this why they at the last minute started working to try to

get Romney?

[DesertRat]

26. I definately think it is.

They were hoping that Fred Thompson would be the their salvation. When he didn't work out, they set their sites on Romney as the most conservative candidate. It seems that the right wingers have an "anyone but McCain" attitude in the primary.

I think that puts us in a good position. :)

[McCamy Taylor]

24. Dude, McCain doesn't want any of those 3 endorsing him in the general.

He wants the Terminator and other "safe" and faux maverick and politically upbeat people endorsing him. He wants those 3 to do their usual hatchet job against the Democratic nominee and to ignore him or say some sort of negative but not too biting things about him ( "he isn't a real conservative", "he is too independent" bs criticism like that) that will propel him straight into the White House.

Get wise. They have this all figured out.

The only ones that will really criticize him are the Christians---and I'll bet he VP's Huckabee for them.

We need to start compiling lists of McCain's Lies and Waffles (like a restaurant) to be used against him in the general. The MSM is going to be calling him "truthful" and "honest". The Dems need to show that he is just another opportunist politician who will say anything. If he changes a position, then he flipped and flopped.

[grantcart]

25. I can't see how a win for McCain has any effect on Santorum

my understanding is that once you get it on your sheets you just have to throw them away but I could be wrong.

[gulliver]

27. A McCain win will give Bush a successful legacy.

Re-elected with a GOP successor...a success for Bush, Cheney, and Rove.