"Dems For McCain" Turns Out to Be A Sham

[babylonsister]

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/mccain_dems.php

That List Of "Democrats And Indys" Backing McCain? It's A Bit Of A Sham.
By Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld - June 17, 2008, 2:39PM


This is a fun one. A few days ago, the McCain campaign proudly released a list of "prominent Democrats and Independents" supporting his candidacy. The idea was to appeal to disgruntled Hillary supporters and others by sending a message that it's okay to be a Dem and not support Barack Obama.

But there's only one problem: The list is a bit of a sham. A look at some of these "Democrats and independents" shows that it's a stretch to tout their support for the Republican as anything at all unusual.

Some of the "Democrats" and "Independents" on the list already have often supported Republicans in the past, suggesting that there's little if any meaning to their support for McCain over Obama. And others have a history of hostility towards the Democratic Party that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to take them seriously as genuine cross-over supporters.

Take a look at our rundown after the jump.

The McCain campaign's list of Democrats and independents supporting him includes:

• Bill Veroneau, former mayor of Concord, New Hampshire. The mayor's office there is non-partisan, and Veroneau himself originally endorsed Republican Mitt Romney for president. Shortly before the primary, he wrote a letter to the editor at the Concord Monitor that started off with this sentence: "Gov. Romney is a good man who is thoroughly honest and transparent about his views and beliefs."

• Former state Rep. Steve Wenzel of Minnesota. It turns out that he has also had a long history of friendliness to Republicans. In late 2002 he served on the transition team of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who's apparently on McCain's Veep short list. And Wenzel is actually a Bush Administration appointee in the Department of Agriculture, a position he was given back in 2001.

• Former Massachusetts state Rep. Brian Golden. This "Democrat" is a conservative, and he's probably only a Dem because Massachusetts is a one-party state. It's likely that he'd be a Republican in any other state -- he endorsed President Bush in both 2000 and 2004. In 2004, he told National Review that the Democratic Party has to do "some soul-searching about its more extreme positions."

• Former Rhode Island state Senate majority leader David Carlin. Like Golden, he's a Democrat and conservative who has thrived in a one-party state. Carlin is a religious-right conservative, and to describe him as a Dem is quite a reach: A little over a year ago, he published a book called Can a Catholic Be a Democrat? How the Party I Loved Became the Enemy of My Religion.

• Clyde Hawes, a county-level official in Missouri. A nominal Democrat, Hawes has been a longtime supporter of the local GOP Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson and her late husband Bill Emerson, who held the seat before she did. In 1996, he bluntly told the St. Louis Dispatch, "I'm for anyone who's conservative" -- not exactly the words of a conventional Democrat.

• Perhaps the biggest stretch of all on the list is "former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Philip Frye." It's true that Frye did indeed seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2004. But it's less than surprising that he is opposing a Democrat now.

Here's why he ran in the first place: Dem Gov. Bob Wise had been damaged after having been caught having an affair with Frye's wife. (When Wise withdrew from the race, Frye's star faded and he received less than one-percent of the vote.) To top it all off, Frye actually attacked Wise as a "typical Democrat" for having had an affair, so clearly he's hardly a Dem in any meaningful sense.

[Xipe Totec]

1. Zell Miller's spitwad Democrats nt

[OhioChick]

2. K&R

:kick:

[sonias]

3. Liars

It's so easy for them to tell a lie. How much is Lieberman in for?

Sonia

[corkhead]

4. Chickens for Colonel Sanders. eom

[speedoo]

5. So far, McCain's campaign is pathetic.

I once thought McCain was about as bad as Dole. I was wrong.... he's far worse.

These "Democrats And Indys" fro McCain all have to associate themselves with Joeblivion. I doubt that any real Democrat would even consider doing so.