Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Right wants Romney as Standard Bearer
From The Washington Times:
Interesting article today that lays the groundwork for Gov. Romney's leadership of the conservative movement.
Right wants Romney as standard-bearer
By Ralph Z. Hallow
February 9, 2008
Republican conservatives are weighing the possibility of promoting former presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the new Ronald Reagan for their cause.
Some 50 stalwarts of the political right privately met with Mitt Romney minutes after he dropped out of the Republican nominating race to discuss the former Massachusetts governor becoming the face of conservatism, as Ronald Reagan became en route to his 1980 election win.
Participants said the group was not organizing against the presidential bid of Sen. John McCain, the party"s presumptive nominee, but only seeking to revive core values such as lower taxes, limited government and free speech.
"The purpose of the meeting was for him to announce his willingness to fight shoulder to shoulder with true conservatives from here on out," said political strategist Paul Erickson, who worked for Mr. Romney"s campaign. "He did just that."
American Conservative Union Chairman David A. Keene presided over the meeting in the Empire Ballroom of the Omni Shoreham in Washington, where the 35th annual Conservative Political Action Conference was held. Besides Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, and deputy campaign manager Peter G. Flaherty, attendees included former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed, radio talk show host Laura Ingraham and former Reagan White House official Donald J. Devine.
"If someone had suggested a year ago and a half ago that we would be welcoming Mitt Romney as a potential leader of the conservative movement, no one would have believed it," Mr. Keene said to open the meeting. "But over the last year and a half, he has convinced us he is one of us and walks with us."
Jay Sekulow, a Romney volunteer and chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, told attendees that Mr. Romney is the "turnaround specialist" the conservative movement needs.
"The movement needs someone of Ronald Reagan's stature and Romney could fill that role," Mr. Sekulow told The Washington Times yesterday.
Hanging over the extraordinary meeting, held immediately after Mr. Romney bowed out of the Republican nomination race, was a mood that ranged from skepticism to cold hostility toward Mr. McCain.
"McCain's nomination creates an existential crisis for the Republican Party: Securing America at the price of open borders, higher taxes and the loss of free speech," said Mr. Erickson, who organized the Empire Room meeting. "It's a lot to ask."
"You could tell everybody at the table sitting with Romney was asking himself: 'Is he the one?' Some concluded yes and others could say only that it is too soon to tell," Mr. Erickson added.
The conservative movement has been without a leader since Mr. Reagan, and has faced competition from conservatism usually preceded by such adjectives as "big-government," "compassionate" and "neo."
"John McCain has nine months before the general election — a long gestation period — to show me he has become the conservative he claims to be," said election laws attorney Cleta Mitchell, who attended the private meeting with Mr. Romney.
Other conservative leaders in attendance included Indiana Republican National Committee member James Bopp Jr.; Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilganon; former Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri; Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis; Human Events editor-in-chief Tom Winter; conservative activist Bay Buchanan; Ann Corkery, a Catholic activist; and Rabbi Nate Segal, a Rush Limbaugh associate. Participating via telephone was Free Congress Foundation President Paul M. Weyrich.
Interesting article today that lays the groundwork for Gov. Romney's leadership of the conservative movement.
Right wants Romney as standard-bearer
By Ralph Z. Hallow
February 9, 2008
Republican conservatives are weighing the possibility of promoting former presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the new Ronald Reagan for their cause.
Some 50 stalwarts of the political right privately met with Mitt Romney minutes after he dropped out of the Republican nominating race to discuss the former Massachusetts governor becoming the face of conservatism, as Ronald Reagan became en route to his 1980 election win.
Participants said the group was not organizing against the presidential bid of Sen. John McCain, the party"s presumptive nominee, but only seeking to revive core values such as lower taxes, limited government and free speech.
"The purpose of the meeting was for him to announce his willingness to fight shoulder to shoulder with true conservatives from here on out," said political strategist Paul Erickson, who worked for Mr. Romney"s campaign. "He did just that."
American Conservative Union Chairman David A. Keene presided over the meeting in the Empire Ballroom of the Omni Shoreham in Washington, where the 35th annual Conservative Political Action Conference was held. Besides Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, and deputy campaign manager Peter G. Flaherty, attendees included former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed, radio talk show host Laura Ingraham and former Reagan White House official Donald J. Devine.
"If someone had suggested a year ago and a half ago that we would be welcoming Mitt Romney as a potential leader of the conservative movement, no one would have believed it," Mr. Keene said to open the meeting. "But over the last year and a half, he has convinced us he is one of us and walks with us."
Jay Sekulow, a Romney volunteer and chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, told attendees that Mr. Romney is the "turnaround specialist" the conservative movement needs.
"The movement needs someone of Ronald Reagan's stature and Romney could fill that role," Mr. Sekulow told The Washington Times yesterday.
Hanging over the extraordinary meeting, held immediately after Mr. Romney bowed out of the Republican nomination race, was a mood that ranged from skepticism to cold hostility toward Mr. McCain.
"McCain's nomination creates an existential crisis for the Republican Party: Securing America at the price of open borders, higher taxes and the loss of free speech," said Mr. Erickson, who organized the Empire Room meeting. "It's a lot to ask."
"You could tell everybody at the table sitting with Romney was asking himself: 'Is he the one?' Some concluded yes and others could say only that it is too soon to tell," Mr. Erickson added.
The conservative movement has been without a leader since Mr. Reagan, and has faced competition from conservatism usually preceded by such adjectives as "big-government," "compassionate" and "neo."
"John McCain has nine months before the general election — a long gestation period — to show me he has become the conservative he claims to be," said election laws attorney Cleta Mitchell, who attended the private meeting with Mr. Romney.
Other conservative leaders in attendance included Indiana Republican National Committee member James Bopp Jr.; Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilganon; former Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri; Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis; Human Events editor-in-chief Tom Winter; conservative activist Bay Buchanan; Ann Corkery, a Catholic activist; and Rabbi Nate Segal, a Rush Limbaugh associate. Participating via telephone was Free Congress Foundation President Paul M. Weyrich.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Gov. Romney drops out
He made it official during the CPAC speech. He was classy to the end. I'll post the video as soon as I see one.
He was introduced by Laura Ingraham who said she was honored to get to introduce the conservative in the race.
His words:
I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.
This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.
He was introduced by Laura Ingraham who said she was honored to get to introduce the conservative in the race.
His words:
I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.
This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.
CPAC
As all three candidates access how to campaign going forward, the CPAC meeting in DC is starting. Today is big with both Gov. Romney and McCain addressing the crowd. Huckabee speaks on Saturday.
It will be interesting to see the crowd reaction to McCain. After his comment yesterday that conservatives should calm down, it's not clear that he's going to be able to soothe over the conservative movement.
It will be interesting to see the crowd reaction to McCain. After his comment yesterday that conservatives should calm down, it's not clear that he's going to be able to soothe over the conservative movement.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Info from the Campaign
They make some really good points:
TALKING POINTS: POST-SUPER TUESDAY
· Super Tuesday proved that this is a very fluid election. Gov. Romney won seven states, including Colorado and Minnesota where Republicans must be competitive in the general election.
· The nomination is by no means settled. Even assuming that McCain reaches 700 delegates once counting finishes in California, he would still need to win 77% of delegates from upcoming states to secure the nomination by April 1.
· Gov. Romney did surprisingly well in several key, battleground states. Gov. Romney won Minnesota despite Sen. McCain have the support of the sitting Republican governor and senator. Gov. Romney also did better than expected in Georgia and Missouri.
· Gov. Romney has received eleven gold medals, eleven silver medals and six bronzes. He is the clear full-spectrum conservative in this race.
Post-Feb. 5:
· On Thursday, Gov. Romney will be at the Conservative Political Action Conference where Gov. Romney will address his vision for the future of the Republican Party and nation.
· After Feb. 5, we expect to be competitive in the Kansas and Washington state caucuses on Feb. 9 and then the Feb. 12 states – Virginia, Maryland, and also Washington, D.C.
· Upcoming states will be fertile ground for Gov. Romney because the two largest states on the primary calendar between today and April 1, Texas and Ohio, are favorable terrain. Texas has a very conservative GOP primary vote and 140 delegates; Ohio's economy is similar to Michigan and the state has 88 delegates.
· Gov. Romney did well in caucus states where we focused our energy and resources. In just a few days, Republican voters will caucus in Kansas (39 delegates, winner-take-all) and Washington (40 delegates, proportional) which promise to be strong states for Gov. Romney.
Conservatives Are Coalescing Behind Governor Romney:
· Once again, Gov. Romney carried conservative voters by wide margins. Nationally, he won conservatives by double-digits, 42%-31% over Sen. McCain.
· Even in states Sen. McCain won, Gov. Romney carried conservative voters. For instance, in California, Gov. Romney won conservatives by six points, 39%-33%. Gov. Romney even won conservatives in McCain's home state of Arizona, 43%-40%.
The Republican Party Is Not Coalescing Behind Sen. McCain And Gov. Huckabee:
· Super Tuesday's results show that Sen. McCain is not the presumptive Republican nominee as he himself had expected.
· Sen. McCain made several campaign mistakes. He spent the last few days campaigning where he was the strongest – New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. He also spent time in Massachusetts where Gov. Romney won comfortably.
· Gov. Huckabee is not expanding his base of support. He overperformed anywhere where there were large numbers of evangelical voters and underperformed wherever there weren't. Gov. Huckabee's lack of support is evident in his underperforming showings in AZ, CA, NJ, NY, CT and MA.
· Gov. Huckabee has lost five states to Ron Paul, including at least three on Super Tuesday.
TALKING POINTS: POST-SUPER TUESDAY
· Super Tuesday proved that this is a very fluid election. Gov. Romney won seven states, including Colorado and Minnesota where Republicans must be competitive in the general election.
· The nomination is by no means settled. Even assuming that McCain reaches 700 delegates once counting finishes in California, he would still need to win 77% of delegates from upcoming states to secure the nomination by April 1.
· Gov. Romney did surprisingly well in several key, battleground states. Gov. Romney won Minnesota despite Sen. McCain have the support of the sitting Republican governor and senator. Gov. Romney also did better than expected in Georgia and Missouri.
· Gov. Romney has received eleven gold medals, eleven silver medals and six bronzes. He is the clear full-spectrum conservative in this race.
Post-Feb. 5:
· On Thursday, Gov. Romney will be at the Conservative Political Action Conference where Gov. Romney will address his vision for the future of the Republican Party and nation.
· After Feb. 5, we expect to be competitive in the Kansas and Washington state caucuses on Feb. 9 and then the Feb. 12 states – Virginia, Maryland, and also Washington, D.C.
· Upcoming states will be fertile ground for Gov. Romney because the two largest states on the primary calendar between today and April 1, Texas and Ohio, are favorable terrain. Texas has a very conservative GOP primary vote and 140 delegates; Ohio's economy is similar to Michigan and the state has 88 delegates.
· Gov. Romney did well in caucus states where we focused our energy and resources. In just a few days, Republican voters will caucus in Kansas (39 delegates, winner-take-all) and Washington (40 delegates, proportional) which promise to be strong states for Gov. Romney.
Conservatives Are Coalescing Behind Governor Romney:
· Once again, Gov. Romney carried conservative voters by wide margins. Nationally, he won conservatives by double-digits, 42%-31% over Sen. McCain.
· Even in states Sen. McCain won, Gov. Romney carried conservative voters. For instance, in California, Gov. Romney won conservatives by six points, 39%-33%. Gov. Romney even won conservatives in McCain's home state of Arizona, 43%-40%.
The Republican Party Is Not Coalescing Behind Sen. McCain And Gov. Huckabee:
· Super Tuesday's results show that Sen. McCain is not the presumptive Republican nominee as he himself had expected.
· Sen. McCain made several campaign mistakes. He spent the last few days campaigning where he was the strongest – New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. He also spent time in Massachusetts where Gov. Romney won comfortably.
· Gov. Huckabee is not expanding his base of support. He overperformed anywhere where there were large numbers of evangelical voters and underperformed wherever there weren't. Gov. Huckabee's lack of support is evident in his underperforming showings in AZ, CA, NJ, NY, CT and MA.
· Gov. Huckabee has lost five states to Ron Paul, including at least three on Super Tuesday.
The View from Boston
Courtesy of the Corner:
The View from Boston [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Folks in Boston are realistic. My read of the campaign was pretty accurately represented (as usual) by Vin Weber on Bill Bennett's show this morning — no wild claims. A sense that, our guy is a conservative guy, ready to lead, and who still has a place in this race. When/if that last part appears to no longer be the case, I believe Romney, on his own, will decide to step aside. That point is not now.
I think there is even a hope that the next week will be saner than the last one — with a new sense of civility and a real debate about conservative issues and conservatism going into the future. But that's not anything anyone told me — just a hunch.
Here's my humble write-up from the Bay State, for what it's worth.
The View from Boston [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Folks in Boston are realistic. My read of the campaign was pretty accurately represented (as usual) by Vin Weber on Bill Bennett's show this morning — no wild claims. A sense that, our guy is a conservative guy, ready to lead, and who still has a place in this race. When/if that last part appears to no longer be the case, I believe Romney, on his own, will decide to step aside. That point is not now.
I think there is even a hope that the next week will be saner than the last one — with a new sense of civility and a real debate about conservative issues and conservatism going into the future. But that's not anything anyone told me — just a hunch.
Here's my humble write-up from the Bay State, for what it's worth.
The Morning After
As I mentioned last night from about 6:45 until 10:30, I was focused 100% on watching counties and taking care of updating projections so I wasn't able to really digest much.
What happened in Georgia? We did a really good job in the metro Atlanta area, but lost the non-metro vote handily to Huckabee. Also, the non-metro vote appears to have really grown this time vs. the 2000 primary. I know that the two aren't exactly apples to apples, but here's some tidbits:
Overall turnout grew 48% to 952,500 total votes, but the five metro counties I examined (Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Fayette, and Gwinnett) only grew by 23%. As a result, the overall percentage of vote from those five counties fell from 36% in 2000 to only 30% yesterday. As the metro areas started reporting, there simply weren't enough votes to overcome the non-metro margins.
Huckabee did a good job motivating the non-metro areas. I believe the weekend visit to Macon helped him quite a bit. Bottom line, we got the results we kind of expected, but the growth of the non-metro vote was surprising and couldn't be overcome.
Nationally, where are we? Watching the media, it sounds like we are on death's door. The thing is, nothing that happened nationally was that unexpected. Yes, Huckabee did better in the South than many in the media thought he would, but he is Southern, a Baptist, and ran a decent Southern campaign for goodness sakes. McCain won exactly where the media said he would after Giuliani exited the race. California is still being decided as far as the delegates go so we dont' know exactly what's going to happen there yet, but that's the only real area that was really less than expected so far.
I read back to Hugh Hewitt's scenario we posted a couple weeks ago, and it's quite interesting.
Here's part of it:
Total at the end of Super Tuesday without a major reversal of fortune for Romney:
McCain 745, Romney 327, and Huck 197.
It takes 1,191 delegates to secure the nomination.
There are more than 900 delegates left to fight for after Super Tuesday.
Start looking hard at the numbers and put yourself in the discussions with Team Romney. It isn't pretty, but it is far, far from over.
And if the Huckabee voters look at the reality and see they are voting for McCain when they vote for Huck, anything can happen.
Based on the early reads, this looks kind of close to what happened. Given the media's inclination to report the easy story, they aren't reporting that nothing was really surprising.
By the way, I'm usually the last guy to "blame the media", and I'm not trying to do that. In fact, I've gotten to know some of the local people better during this campaign, and they're hard-working, honest people trying to do a good job. It's more the national media that doesn't dig in depth. For example, I had several people asking me first thing yesterday about the Gallup poll that had McCain up big nationally, and they thought the race was pretty much over. Keep in mind, this was the DAY OF SUPER TUESDAY that this poll came out and got heavy coverage.
McCain and Gov. Romney are at CPAC (the conservative meeting in DC) this week. It will be interesting to see what happens. Then looking at the calendar, Kansas, Louisiana, and Washington vote this Saturday. KS and WA are caucus states where traditionally Gov. Romney does well. I have no idea what they expect there. And then next Tuesday is Virginia, Maryland, and DC.
While things are just as overcast and gloomy as the weather outside my window this morning, I'm still not prepared to follow the media and say this is over. We have another week to let events come together. Frankly, my biggest concern is that the media annoints McCain the nominee and forces the issue by depressing the conservative movement to Romney. Yes, Huckabee is still in it, but he will not be the nominee.
The next week is critical to the race.
What happened in Georgia? We did a really good job in the metro Atlanta area, but lost the non-metro vote handily to Huckabee. Also, the non-metro vote appears to have really grown this time vs. the 2000 primary. I know that the two aren't exactly apples to apples, but here's some tidbits:
Overall turnout grew 48% to 952,500 total votes, but the five metro counties I examined (Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Fayette, and Gwinnett) only grew by 23%. As a result, the overall percentage of vote from those five counties fell from 36% in 2000 to only 30% yesterday. As the metro areas started reporting, there simply weren't enough votes to overcome the non-metro margins.
Huckabee did a good job motivating the non-metro areas. I believe the weekend visit to Macon helped him quite a bit. Bottom line, we got the results we kind of expected, but the growth of the non-metro vote was surprising and couldn't be overcome.
Nationally, where are we? Watching the media, it sounds like we are on death's door. The thing is, nothing that happened nationally was that unexpected. Yes, Huckabee did better in the South than many in the media thought he would, but he is Southern, a Baptist, and ran a decent Southern campaign for goodness sakes. McCain won exactly where the media said he would after Giuliani exited the race. California is still being decided as far as the delegates go so we dont' know exactly what's going to happen there yet, but that's the only real area that was really less than expected so far.
I read back to Hugh Hewitt's scenario we posted a couple weeks ago, and it's quite interesting.
Here's part of it:
Total at the end of Super Tuesday without a major reversal of fortune for Romney:
McCain 745, Romney 327, and Huck 197.
It takes 1,191 delegates to secure the nomination.
There are more than 900 delegates left to fight for after Super Tuesday.
Start looking hard at the numbers and put yourself in the discussions with Team Romney. It isn't pretty, but it is far, far from over.
And if the Huckabee voters look at the reality and see they are voting for McCain when they vote for Huck, anything can happen.
Based on the early reads, this looks kind of close to what happened. Given the media's inclination to report the easy story, they aren't reporting that nothing was really surprising.
By the way, I'm usually the last guy to "blame the media", and I'm not trying to do that. In fact, I've gotten to know some of the local people better during this campaign, and they're hard-working, honest people trying to do a good job. It's more the national media that doesn't dig in depth. For example, I had several people asking me first thing yesterday about the Gallup poll that had McCain up big nationally, and they thought the race was pretty much over. Keep in mind, this was the DAY OF SUPER TUESDAY that this poll came out and got heavy coverage.
McCain and Gov. Romney are at CPAC (the conservative meeting in DC) this week. It will be interesting to see what happens. Then looking at the calendar, Kansas, Louisiana, and Washington vote this Saturday. KS and WA are caucus states where traditionally Gov. Romney does well. I have no idea what they expect there. And then next Tuesday is Virginia, Maryland, and DC.
While things are just as overcast and gloomy as the weather outside my window this morning, I'm still not prepared to follow the media and say this is over. We have another week to let events come together. Frankly, my biggest concern is that the media annoints McCain the nominee and forces the issue by depressing the conservative movement to Romney. Yes, Huckabee is still in it, but he will not be the nominee.
The next week is critical to the race.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Huckabee wins Georgia
The media outlets have called Georgia for Huckabee. No projection yet on delegates.
I have a number of friends working on the Huckabee campaign and my congratulations goes out to them.
...........
As I've looked a little into the national numbers, I'm not nearly as pessimistic as the folks on Fox are. Other than our disappointment here in Georgia, there have not really been any major surprises. It will be important to watch to see the delegate count come tomorrow to access where all the candidates are.
The good news is that tonight certainly doesn't appear to be a McCain coronation regardless of how he'll spin it.
I have a number of friends working on the Huckabee campaign and my congratulations goes out to them.
...........
As I've looked a little into the national numbers, I'm not nearly as pessimistic as the folks on Fox are. Other than our disappointment here in Georgia, there have not really been any major surprises. It will be important to watch to see the delegate count come tomorrow to access where all the candidates are.
The good news is that tonight certainly doesn't appear to be a McCain coronation regardless of how he'll spin it.
Watching the Results
I've been extremely busy watching the GA results and haven't had a good chance to either update here or pay much attention to what's going on nationally. This is my sense:
Huckabee is doing better than expected in the South and is hurting us (it appears.) McCain has won where he was expected to win. Unfortunately a number of hose are the winner take all states. Some of our areas aren't in yet...Colorado, Minnesota, and most importantly California.
We are trailing here in Georgia, but a number of votes are still out. I don't think we'll pull it out though.
The thing to do is see where the delegates shake out. I don't have a good sense of that right now, but it feels like McCain is having a good night.
Huckabee is doing better than expected in the South and is hurting us (it appears.) McCain has won where he was expected to win. Unfortunately a number of hose are the winner take all states. Some of our areas aren't in yet...Colorado, Minnesota, and most importantly California.
We are trailing here in Georgia, but a number of votes are still out. I don't think we'll pull it out though.
The thing to do is see where the delegates shake out. I don't have a good sense of that right now, but it feels like McCain is having a good night.
West Virginia
Huckabee takes West Virginia after McCain told his delegates to support Huckabee to deny Gov. Romney the victory. Here's the response from Beth Myers, Romney's campaign manager:
"Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain's inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney's campaign of conservative change.
"Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues. This is why he led on today's first ballot. Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party."
"Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain's inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney's campaign of conservative change.
"Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues. This is why he led on today's first ballot. Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party."
Statement from Dr. James Dobson
From LauraIngraham.Com:
While I disagree that the GOP is about to nominate McCain, Dr. Dobson makes some interesting points that social conservatives should consider:
STATEMENT FROM DR. JAMES DOBSON of FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: I am deeply disappointed the Republican Party seems poised to select a nominee who did not support a Constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, voted for embryonic stem cell research to kill nascent human beings, opposed tax cuts that ended the marriage penalty, has little regard for freedom of speech, organized the Gang of 14 to preserve filibusters in judicial hearings, and has a legendary temper and often uses foul and obscene language.
I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has sounded at times more like a member of the other party. McCain actually considered leaving the GOP caucus in 2001, and approached John Kerry about being Kerry's running mate in 2004. McCain also said publicly that Hillary Clinton would make a good president. Given these and many other concerns, a spoonful of sugar does NOT make the medicine go down. I cannot, and will not, vote for Sen. John McCain, as a matter of conscience.
But what a sad and melancholy decision this is for me and many other conservatives. Should Sen. McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can't vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life. These decisions are my personal views and do not represent the organization with which I am affiliated. They do reflect my deeply held convictions about the institution of the family, about moral and spiritual beliefs, and about the welfare of our country.
While I disagree that the GOP is about to nominate McCain, Dr. Dobson makes some interesting points that social conservatives should consider:
STATEMENT FROM DR. JAMES DOBSON of FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: I am deeply disappointed the Republican Party seems poised to select a nominee who did not support a Constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, voted for embryonic stem cell research to kill nascent human beings, opposed tax cuts that ended the marriage penalty, has little regard for freedom of speech, organized the Gang of 14 to preserve filibusters in judicial hearings, and has a legendary temper and often uses foul and obscene language.
I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has sounded at times more like a member of the other party. McCain actually considered leaving the GOP caucus in 2001, and approached John Kerry about being Kerry's running mate in 2004. McCain also said publicly that Hillary Clinton would make a good president. Given these and many other concerns, a spoonful of sugar does NOT make the medicine go down. I cannot, and will not, vote for Sen. John McCain, as a matter of conscience.
But what a sad and melancholy decision this is for me and many other conservatives. Should Sen. McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can't vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life. These decisions are my personal views and do not represent the organization with which I am affiliated. They do reflect my deeply held convictions about the institution of the family, about moral and spiritual beliefs, and about the welfare of our country.
Romney leads after first round of voting in West Virginia
From FoxNews:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s GOP convention failed to select a winner during a first round of voting Tuesday, following personal appeals by Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul for the 18 seats up for grabs to the national nominating convention.
Paul was eliminated from the next round of balloting, after a fourth-place finish among the 1,133 participating delegates. Romney attracted 41 percent of the votes, followed by Huckabee with 33 percent.
John McCain, stumping elsewhere, reached the second round with 15 percent. Paul had 10 percent.
Romney, Huckabee and Paul all addressed the often-boisterous, winner-take-all event, before voting began.
Romney brought his message of change to the convention, while telling the crowd it contrasts that of the Democratic field. Touting his turnaround on abortion, the former Massachusetts governor promised to tackle Social Security, excessive federal spending and health care access.
“Washington has not been able to deal with the problems we have,” Romney told the crowd, adding that “It’s time have some people who are citizens go to Washington and get the politicians out.”
Romney also took aim at McCain. He invoked the front-runner’s support of recent immigration bill, of stem-cell funding and for energy legislation that Romney said threatened West Virginia’s coal industry.
“Are we going to put a true conservative in the house that Ronald Reagan built or are we going to take a left turn?” Romney said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s GOP convention failed to select a winner during a first round of voting Tuesday, following personal appeals by Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul for the 18 seats up for grabs to the national nominating convention.
Paul was eliminated from the next round of balloting, after a fourth-place finish among the 1,133 participating delegates. Romney attracted 41 percent of the votes, followed by Huckabee with 33 percent.
John McCain, stumping elsewhere, reached the second round with 15 percent. Paul had 10 percent.
Romney, Huckabee and Paul all addressed the often-boisterous, winner-take-all event, before voting began.
Romney brought his message of change to the convention, while telling the crowd it contrasts that of the Democratic field. Touting his turnaround on abortion, the former Massachusetts governor promised to tackle Social Security, excessive federal spending and health care access.
“Washington has not been able to deal with the problems we have,” Romney told the crowd, adding that “It’s time have some people who are citizens go to Washington and get the politicians out.”
Romney also took aim at McCain. He invoked the front-runner’s support of recent immigration bill, of stem-cell funding and for energy legislation that Romney said threatened West Virginia’s coal industry.
“Are we going to put a true conservative in the house that Ronald Reagan built or are we going to take a left turn?” Romney said.
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