Now We Find Out What We Truly Believe
As we headed into election day on the morning of Jan.29, 2008 the RCP (Real Clear Politics) Average of the polls they follow showed McCain at 29.9 in Florida vs. Romney at 29.1. Obviously, the election didn’t break our candidate’s way.
So, what’s next? I can only speak for myself. I will continue to work to “get out the vote” on behalf of Mitt Romney, I will deliver yard signs to the people who have called me to request them and I will call from home to remind voters to be sure to get to the polls on Feb.5.
The reason I will do these things is that I believe in the conservative movement and movements transcend elections. Of course I am saddened by the final vote totals in the Florida primary election. But mostly I am saddened by the realization that the candidates who came in first in the election will change America profoundly and, in my opinion, for the worst. I am not conceding anything to McCain or to Clinton. Both of these politicians are the wrong choices for this country and I will continue to say so and to do everything within my power to stop them from taking our country to the left.
The Left of Jimmy Carter and hostages in Iran and “malaise” and 20% interest rates. The Left of Bill Clinton and Monica-gate and perjury and impeachment. The Left of Al Gore and global warming and melting polar ice caps and “reducing our carbon footprints.” The Left of John Kerry and “Swift Boats” and “voting for the war before I voted against it.” The Left of Hillary Clinton and $5,000 bonds for every baby born in America and huge new bureaucracies and the tax increases to support them. The Left of John McCain and Open Borders and limiting free speech and huge new energy taxes.
I will not do any of these things because it is fashionable. If we do not win this nominating election, whether in the primaries are in a smoke filled back room at the Convention, I can easily envision myself and others like me, very much out of fashion. I will do these things because they are right.
I don’t know how the Super Tuesday votes will tally. If the Republican Party bestows it’s nomination on John McCain, the damage done to the GOP will be immense. I hope the party realizes what they may be doing before it is too late and come to the realization that this man will nominate the kind of Supreme Court judges that will continue to chip away at our freedoms and to further weaken the Constitutional underpinnings of our country. It will be just a matter of time before the “No Illegal Alien Left Behind” bill is re-introduced into Congress. The damage from that alone would cause me to oppose this man and the designs he has on this country.
And so I intend to work from within the party structure. I will not leave the GOP if McCain wins the nomination. I will work to recapture the party from a man who once considered switching his registration to the Democratic Party. If McCain becomes the GOP standard bearer, he will have to form an unholy alliance with the Left, because the Reagan Coalition will never allow this country to slide back into the fever swamps of Big government, big taxes, big, but empty promises, foreign policy retreat, gutting the military and every other self-defeating policy that can be conjured up by the liberal mind.
I would like to remind our younger readers that Ronald Reagan was denied the nomination after a bitter convention battle in 1976, but went on to win the first of his landslide victories four years later. I am not suggesting that the battle is lost for now. What I am saying is that this party and the principles it stands for is worth fighting for. Hopefully, we will win enough delegates on Super Tuesday to carry the fight to the convention if need be. But in the event we don’t, I strongly suggest that we continue to work within the party to return it to the principles that made it great and to position Mitt Romney for the Presidency in 2012.
Below I have highlighted some thoughts from Michael Graham at THE CORNER, NRO. I don’t fully agree with his conclusions, but he is thinking what a lot of us are thinking as we observe the John McCain train wreck of a campaign.
~~John Cronin~~
So it is over. Finished. In November, we’ll be sending out our most liberal, least trustworthy candidate vs. to take on Hillary Clinton—perhaps not more liberal than Barack Obama, but certainly far less trustworthy.
And the worst part for the Right is that McCain will have won the nomination while ignoring, insulting and, as of this weekend, shamelessly lying about conservatives and conservatism.
You think he supported amnesty six months ago? You think he was squishy on tax cuts and judicial nominees before? Wait until he has the power to anger every conservative in America, and feel good about it.
Every day, he dreams of a world filled with happy Democrats and insulted Republicans. And he is, thanks to Florida, the presidential nominee of the Republican party.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:02 am
Hi John,
Congrats on a second place finish from a Huckabee supporter.
Please allow me to share my thoughts with you. The reason McCain is winning is because even if he is more liberal than Romney, he is real. He never changed from a conservative, to a liberal, back to a conservative again.
I think that either a Romney or a McCain candidacy would be a disaster for the Republican party. McCain is only conservative on national defense. Romney is not genuine. He is just saying conservative things to appeal to the base of the party.
I can’t stand the thought of having to vote for either of these guys in the general election, although I will hold my nose and do it to defeat Clinton or Obama.
That’s why I’m still campaigning for Huckabee. I’ve never had to worry where he was on social issues. He’s never supported Gay Pride issues, or taken money from them (as far as I know). He championed a Life Amendment to the AR constitution and got it passed. From where I stand, the most important issues are moral issues. Huckabee has always stood for them. McCain has been OK on them. Romney has flip-flopped on them for political expediency.
Huckabee 2008
January 30th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Thank you for your post. It’s interesting that you want to continue working within the republican party, and I’m sure Mitt will hang tight and maybe even get the money and support together to run in 2012.
We all know that it is the dems year and the MSM, who so valiently crowned Mac, will relish taking him down. Maybe it is time for a new party which encompasses what you envision. Do you think Mitt would ever jump ship and form a new party, or run as an independent? He could even get a 1/3 of the republicans to go with him. I wonder how that would work out, and how many power-people he would get to go with him. The problem is, of course, that the republican coalition is falling apart, and McCain, as we all know, will not bring it back together. Is it gone for good, or perhaps just another 4 - 8 Clinton/Obama years?
January 30th, 2008 at 3:08 am
Well said! Its been an uphill climb for Mitt’s campaign, and the hill just got steeper, but as Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till its over!” All the people who have been hedging on Mitt, now is the time. If you don’t want John McCain as the Republican nominee, Mitt is your guy, and we need all the help we can get! The last thing we need is John McCain in the White House, feeling he has a mandate for amnesty and all his other lefty ideas. With a Democrat-majority congress, no less! The alternatives I could stomach are out of the race. America needs Mitt Romney.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Linda, I wish your idea would work but it would take a lot more money than even Mitt has to run an effective third party with a shot at the presidency. Not to mention we’d be splitting the conservative vote with what remains of the Republican party. Maybe if he could talk Bloomberg into bankrolling the idea and running as his VP, but then again Bloomberg is pretty liberal. He’s pro-choice and a major gun-grabber. The one thing that might be to the benefit of a new party would be the possibility of some support from talk radio and the conservative voices in the “new media” of the internet. Rush could be very beneficial, for instance. However, even if they got some big donors, people like Ross Perot (who basically endorsed Mitt), they’d still be handicapped by McCain/Feingold. Though fun to think about, it would be a longshot of a possibility, and sadly I just don’t see Mitt going for it, although I’d vote for him if he did.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:23 am
America is exasperated, furious, and outraged with our bloated, over-spending, ineffectual, incompetent government. This has been the headline for weeks! Every candidate, Republican AND Democrat raise their oratorical voices to preach the resounding sermon that THEY will change the way government works.
Isn’t ironic that it now appears that our fellow Republicans are going to nominate old dyed-in-the-wool-Washingtonian-do-the-same-old-thing John McCain?! What are they thinking? How can our very own people be SO BLIND?
A word to the WISE: Judge a person by what they DO - not what they SAY. As evidenced last Friday - John McCain will blatantly LIE and continue to LIE to win this nomination. How can anyone who wants REAL change vote for a LIAR? Do they think McCain will stop LYING if elected president?
Example: McCain has been a resident of Arizona for 27 YEARS. In that time, thousands upon thousand of illegal immigrants have poured across the Mexican border, infiltrating through Nogales, to Tucson, north through Casa Grande, Mesa, Phoenix, all the way to Flagstaff, Page and into Utah. Wave after wave of illegals sneak west through Gila Bend, to Yuma, and into California. Regiment after regiment of illegals skulk eastward through Tombstone, Wilcox, and Safford into New Mexico. Once into these states, they infiltrate throughout the country. They evade the law through every means imaginable and ignore the law. (See: http://www.abc15.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=c29bc7a5-745b-4381-95bf-4f53ea094621) They continue to surge into McCain’s home state. They are on the march.
Where has John McCain been for the last 27 years? The tsunami of illegals didn’t just appear this election year! Arizona has been pleading for years for John McCain to do something about this invasion. Whenever this issue is brought up in the debates, McCain answers that he KNOWS about illegal immigration BECAUSE HE LIVES IN ONE OF THE BORDER STATES. THAT’S HIS ANSWER.
With an eye on the election, he attempted to push through legislation that offered AMNESTY to these criminals with NO FENCE at the border. Here is proof that he is pandering for the Hispanic vote and is not listening to his fellow Arizonians, nor the Republican Party, nor the majority of Americans. McCain ACTS when it benefits McCain.
Of all the voices promising CHANGE, Mitt Romney has the only AUTHENTIC VOICE. He has no dog in this fight. Highly successful on his own, he is in this race because he truly CARES about our country. The proof of who he is can be found in what he’s accomplished. The guy has a resume that is the envy of most Americans. He will share his knowledge and experience with everyone in America - for the betterment of our nation.
Why will the Republican Party vote for an old dog that will not learn new tricks, but USES TRICKS to get elected?
America is facing BIG, FAT PROBLEMS. Mitt Romney SOLVES BIG, FAT PROBLEMS.
Are we going to let McCain keep barking the same ol’ same ol’? Or will we elect the real deal, Mitt Romney?!
January 30th, 2008 at 3:30 am
Matt:
You have no idea what you are talking about when you say Mitt Romney is not “real” - exactly what do you know about this man? - your comments indicate that you truly know NOTHING. His life has been filled with more “christian” service than you or Mike Huckabee could ever hope to perform - unlike Mike Huckabee, he has not taken money for his service - he has donated it. He returned his 3 year salary from the Olympics to the fund for the next event - Mass was in such financial distress that he and his Lt. Governor took no salary. His family and friends know how he has dedicated himself to more “christian” service than you or Mike Huckabee could ever imagine. He just does not publicly boast about it like Mike Huckabee and other so called “christians”. So do not offer up any words of wisdom at this time. We just need a chance to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again. And, by the way, for all of the endorsements from the so called “conservative” politicians in Florida(they ran as conservatives when we voted for them) the margin of loss is remarkable for Mitt Romney in second place. Hopefully, the true conservative voters will not give them a second chance in the next election.
There is no better candidate to lead this country than Mitt Romney. You had best pray that that he and his family will continue on with the same energy and hope for this country that they have shown thus far or you will truly be witness to one of the most devastating chapters in our country’s history. God help you and God help the United States Of America.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:31 am
I don’t think Mitt is a vengeful person, but if he really wanted to get even with McCain, and all the anti-mormon (code-word anti-”flip-flop”) republicans, he would be on the phone with Bloomberg on Feb 6th (granted he doesn’t get enough delegates) to work out the details of a 3rd party coup. I don’t know what Bloomberg stands on, but if the main platform is immigration, taxes, defense, and economy, Mitt is the man. It’s just a thought. I’m feeling pretty down on the Florida republicans right now. Mitt never seems to catch a break.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:37 am
Linda and bigmo,
Thanks for your comments.
I don’t think Mitt will move to form a new party. Can you imagine the squeals of delight coming from the MSM if he “flip-flopped” on parties? More importantly, it is not necessary to form one. The one we’ve got is just fine and will be even better once we have done some “house cleaning.” I think we need to reform the primary system for starters. I just feel it is so unfair to allow people who hate everything Republicans stand for to be able to vote in our primaries and muddy the waters with RINO’s like McCain, giving him the support he would never get in a closed primary.
Matt,
The social issues are very important for me as well. I have been involved in the pro life movement for years. Huckabee is too narrowly focused for me. Other things are important as well. If we want to protect life at all it’s stages, then we will need a strong military and a strong military requires a strong economy, etc. One issue has a strong impact on another. Also I want a candidate who has a broad spectrum appeal, someone who can beat the Democrats. IMHO, that is Mitt Romney.
That is what frustrates me with McCain. What is the point in beating the Democrats if the guy in the Oval Office is in complete political agreement with them?
January 30th, 2008 at 3:38 am
My personal opinion is that if Mitt does not win the nomination, he will not run again in 2012 and I would not blame him. He and his family have been put through “hell” by the MSM and his “fellow Republican” candidates who “just do not like him”. Blood shoots out of my eyes when I see and hear these “children” who want to lead this huge nation. Their playground politics is frightening and so clearly demonstrates that in this time filled with the fear of Jihad - our worst enemy is the enemy within.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:56 am
The headline of the day should be “How the media won Florida”. Maybe it should be broader “How the media will decide the next President”. Maybe “How Mitt Romney came so close against such odds”. McCain would not have won Florida without the MSM. It is sickening, but true.
January 30th, 2008 at 4:05 am
Renna,
It’s interesting that you mention the “hell” Mitt has been through, but what is truly remarkable is that the MSM attacks continue at this moment, even when he is not even the frontrunner anymore. It’s as though it’s not enough to defeat Romney, he needs to be brought to his knees, destroyed forever, along with the entire republican coalition. And McCain is being propped up to do it. (Heck, this guy can’t even raise his arm to comb his hair in the morning, he’s crippled-up, 72, cancer-riddled, with an anger problem to boot, and he’s going to lead us?) And just wait until McCain has finally vanquished Romney, for when his job his finished, then the MSM will destroy him. And boy do they have a lot in their arsenol. (They can start with Cindy’s little drug problem.) In retrospect, now we can all understand what George Romney went through in ‘68, with the “brainwasing” viasco. Geoge never looked back and never tried to run again. It will be understandable if Mitt chooses not to run again as well. But we can always hope he lives to fight another day.
January 30th, 2008 at 4:16 am
The problem with “house cleaning” is you have to get the GOP and the voters to go along with it. So far it appears the majority has little interest in doing so. I know Mitt isn’t going to run third party, it was just fun speculation. To Linda, Bloomberg is pretty liberal on most of those issues. Other than merit-based pay for teachers, he doesn’t have a lot of conservative positions. I’m not entirely sure where he stands on immigration, but I would guess he’s closer to the McCain camp on that. We would probably have to find some other billionaire to bankroll our fantasy political party.
January 30th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Within the Mormon community, there is a “prophecy” that someday the US Constitution will “hang by a thread” and the Latter-Day Saint Church will play a major role in defending the Constitution. I wonder if after 4-8 years of McCain or Clinton, if Mitt will once again campaign and in fact be in a position to save the Constitution?
The Mayan’s proclaimed Dec 21, 2012 as the end of the world (or that a major upheaval would occur)… interesting timing?
January 30th, 2008 at 10:52 am
The way you clean house in the Republican Party is to get involved in the grassroots political activities of the party and to rebuild a conservative coalition that wins internal party elections. You replace the sell outs with people who actually believe in conservative principles. We are not asking party officials to, pretty please, help us nominate conservatives, we are REPLACING THEM with true conservatives.
Any party that will hand a major victory like Florida to a RINO like McCain needs to be purged.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I would have to agree with John that we need to rebuild the party from the inside.That said I could never pull the lever for John McCain.I could never vote for Hillary either so I would either vote for the third party candidate that closest represents my views on lower taxes smaller government strong defense and the economy.If I can’t find that candidate i will simply write in Mitt Romney.It took Jimmy Carter to bring us to Ronald Reagan so maybe four years of Hillary will be good medicine to reawaken the conservative movement for years to come.Conservatism is not dead it is just sleeping right now.It appears the country will get what it deserves over the next four years when government grows by leaps and bounds and we are taxed to our eyeballs.Then the party will come back to its roots and unite behind the man who will help us take our country back MITT ROMNEY.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I saw this on another blog.
I was a volunteer for the Romney campaign in Jacksonville, Florida this week. What you probably didn’t hear about from the MSM were the robo-calls from the McCain camp saying that Mitt Romney wanted to “take God out of America”. These attacks were focused on areas like Bay county in the panhandle where evangelicals are prevalent. These were also tag-teamed by the Huckabee campaign, who we confirmed was using our call list to “spam” potential voters with messages from Mitt Romney. They set up their robo-dialers to call the same household four to five times with back to back calls playing one of our messages. The aim was to anger the many undecided voters and turn them to other candidates. We talked to several angry voters who reported upwards of 20 calls the same day from Romney. Many of them in turn went to vote for McCain as a result of their frustration. We asked what number they saw on the caller ID for these calls, and we repeatedly traced them back to Huckabee. With the obvious back-alley dealings that are going on between the McCain/Huckabee/Rudy camps, it is no wonder that Romney lost Florida. PLEASE read this to your audience. It is only fair that we report the truth.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Its not often you get to see suicide committed on television. But that is what happened last night in Fl. Rush was correct that a McCain nomination would destroy the Republican party. Bottom line a McCain guarantees an amnesty bill gets passed. It would have passed last year, but the congress became afraid of the “folks”. However, if Mr. Amnesty McCain can get the nomination whether he wins or not, it tells the others that amnesty doesn’t really matter. It says that talk radio and blogs may make noise but they don’t have any real power. Of course once the bill is signed the GOP is no more, solid red states like NC which hasn’t voted for a dem since 1976 will turn blue. The future doesn’t look very bright, Hugh tries to paint a possible “fight the good fight” scenario, but the MSM will give McCain a huge bump out of FL and Mitt doesn’t have the money to counteract it in 22 states. Plus the Rudy endorsement all but gives NY, NJ, and CT to McCain and he won’t have to worry about spending money there; also McCain’s support among Hispanics will give a large piece of CA along with its moderate GOPers. On top of which Huckabee is staying in to attack Romney and aid McCain in Southern states. I don’t mean to be depressing, but you may be witnessing the end of the nation as we know it.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Let’s see how the thinned out field works for Mitt in the debate tonight. I have a feeling that Mitt will shine and will be given a chance to put McCain in his place. I hope he goes in with both barrels blazing and knocks McCain’s cheesy smirk off of his face, maybe even roughing him up to the point that he shouts explitive words at him in his true angry self tones.
Yes it was a blow. But with Guliani gone the group thins. McCain has the delegate lead. SO WHAT!!!!!!! Romney had it up until a winner takes all state came along. Super Tuesday is going to be big. The west will come alive and lead Mitt back into the lead.
Come on guys. We are through 8 of 50 states. Mitt has finished 1st or 2nd in 7 of those states. Let’s get him some wins in the Super Tuesday winner takes all states to bring him back above the rest so that the MSM will have little to no ammo against him.
GO TEAM ROMNEY!!!!!!
January 30th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
John - are you serious about the Huckabee phone calls????? I was doing live calling on Sunday and I got a lot of upset people becase I was the 6th to 7th phone call from “the Romney people” that day.
Some downright spiteful, meanspirited, hateful, dirty politics are going on right now. How disappointing that is to see.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
John Mccain is a republican in name only. I am terrified of the possibility of his becoming the candidate. He is comfortable with the likes of Kennedy, Feingold and other (to many to list) liberal Democrats but is very uncomfortable with “REAL” conservative Republicans. Mccain is a nasty, mean old man. I respect the fact he served our country, was a POW and all but his antics involving the robo-calls, lies, distortions of Mitt Romneys character and statements are evident that Mccain can’t run on his record. Voting for Mccain is voting for a Democrat. If he wins the nomination I will be facining a serious dilemma. In good conscience I could not vote for him so where does that leave me? I live in Mass. and know first-hand of what Mitt was up against here. Everything he tried to do was shot down. This state is actually run by the Speaker not the Governor. If Mitt is not the candidate, this just may be the first time since I was eligble to vote, I won’t go to the polls. Voting for Mccain is voting for the Democrats. God help us. I will do what I can for Mitt. I just hope and pray the Republicans for Mccain come to their senses and realize what he really is, A Democrat
January 31st, 2008 at 12:03 am
Is this not making everyone crazy? I mean even if liberal Republicans knew what he was up to they’d flip out! That’s why they’re still Republicans!!! Why is this not being talked about? Also, Mitt should really talk about the founing fathers wanting decent, respected men coming from their communities and contributing what they could, then returning to their livelihoods and families. They never intended for men to be carrer politicians! It, as they said, leads to unholy alliances! (Mitt is a perfect example of this…)
Please pass the following around…
Take a listen to and a look at the interchange…
Go to http://mydd.com/story/2007/4/3/11936/97033 to hear John Kerry giving this interview.
John Kerry: “McCain Approached Me About Joining Dem Ticket in 2004”
“Talked to Tom Daschle about jumping the isle and becoming a Democrat”
Jonathan Singer: “On Monday afternoon I had the chance to speak with Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic Party’s nominee for President in 2004. During the interview, which covers a range of topics and which I will be posting later this afternoon, an item of particular interest jumped out at me: According to Sen. Kerry, it was John McCain’s staff who approached his campaign about potentially filling the Vice President slot on the Democratic ticket in 2004.”
Jonathan Singer: “There’s a story in The Hill, I think on Tuesday, by Bob Cusack on the front page of the paper talking about how John McCain’s people — John Weaver — had approached Tom Daschle and a New York Congressman, I don’t remember his name, about switching parties. And I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what your discussions were with him in 2004, how far it went, who approached whom… if there was any “there” there.”
John Kerry: “I don’t know all the details of it. I know that Tom, from a conversation with him, was in conversation with a number of Republicans back then. It doesn’t surprise me completely because his people similarly approached me to engage in a discussion about his potentially being on the ticket as Vice President.”
Singer: “Okay. And just to confirm, you said it, but this is something they approached you rather than…”
Kerry: “Absolutely correct. John Weaver of his shop…” [JK answers phone]
For many Republicans, it has been bad enough that John McCain has voted and worked with Democrats against the majority of Republican Senators on a number of occasions in recent years. For Republicans, I would imagine that reports that he approached the Democrats about leaving the Senate GOP caucus in 2001 represent a borderline unpardonable offense. But it seems that reaching out to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to talk about running on that party’s ticket would be tantamount to the highest form of political treason to Republicans.
This story could hardly come at a worse time for McCain.