Note: Today on my main blog, which you can find at: http://camp2008vicorya.blogspot.com, I have a column about Mitt Romney's suspension of his campaign. I focus on what he said and on how John McCain should use some of the main points to hammer Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Again, you can find the column at: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com. Your comments are always welcome.
NOTE: ABOUT 7 P.M. ET I PUT UP ON MY OTHER SITE A COPY OF DR. TOM COBURN'S POWERFUL REMARKS IN SUPPORT OF HIS FELLOW SENATOR, JOHN MCCAIN. I HOPE YOU'LL READ IT!
(Go to: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com)
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
John McCain, Heather Wilson, Others
NOTE: FROM NOW ON, MY MAIN BLOGGING ACTIVITY WILL TAKE PLACE ON MY PRIMARY BLOG AT: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com. I've written recently about John McCain's campaign strategy, about New Mexico Congresswoman Heather Wilson as a good candidate for the vice-presidency, and about McCain critics among the talk radio crew.
You're very much invited to visit -- and to return often. Your comments are always welcome.
You're very much invited to visit -- and to return often. Your comments are always welcome.
McCain Wins Nomination by Christopher
Christopher at http://youngrepublican.townhall.com, a superb blog, wrote the followingt piece on Monday -- prior to Super Tuesday. He titled the column "McCain Wins Nomination." Like all of Christopher's work, the column is a model of sanity and logic. I urge you to visit Christopher's great site.
Get used to the title because on Wednesday it will become a reality. I am being completely and totally presumptuous and yes I know the danger of this. Just last night, when the Giants won the Superbowl with a touchdown in the last thirty seconds of the game. I looked at my brother and said "All across this nation everyone is saying "Wow...I just lost a lot of money". And of course anything is possible. But the results from tomorrow are clear with McCain with double Romney's numbers nationally and Romney's doubling Huckabee's. In the Republican race, McCain will win and Huckabee and Romney will drop out on Wednesday morning. [Note: Got that wrong, Christopher, but nobody's perfect.]
If I have egg on my face so be it (if it doesn’t happen Tuesday night the end result will be the same), but we need to get over the primary discussion and move on to the general election.
The first emotion I feel with McCain winning isn't happiness or relief, it's nervousness. I love John McCain and as long time readers know, I have supported him consistently through this entire race. Now many good Americans who supported a national hero Rudy Giuliani have given their support to the Senator making him unbeatable to get the nomination. The good news is that we as a party will have time to heal from the division that a primary (and to be fair it does so by design) invokes. Friends who supported Bush and local Republicans in 2002, 2004, and 2006 became competitors and some enemies. A sad effect, which is why I hate primaries. Democrats no matter how big a happy face they put on it are very much in the same boat.
Their race will go on past Super Tuesday, the division will continue. And the general election question posed to the GOP is now this. Do we let the division continue past the primary or do we rally to the most conservative legitimate candidate in the general election? Yes McCain is no Reagan and as a moderate Republican I like that.
But I also liked Reagan and to that note Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Bush Sr., and Bush. Each one changed the party and the country with a mixture of liberal and conservative thought that formed their presidency, their legacy. The reason for this is that a Republican is not in the White House to represent only conservatives in this country. He is there to represent every American and while the solutions he proposes and enacts are more likely to coincided with the beliefs of a certain people, they affect everyone. Not to mention the fact that the solutions he enacts are not only his to make but also a shared responsibility with the members of Congress and the Supreme Court.
And so that is my whole problem with the false conservative litmus test being used by a few in the party and many more in the conservative media. The belief that only a conservative, their conservative, should lead this country. If it were up to me only moderate to liberal Republicans should lead this country. But "should" is the wrong word, because it exists only in the abstract. The word that is correct is will. Someone will lead this country. “Should” is our choice and it is over. Our next president will either be one of three people John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. And if you are one of those very conservative people who say that McCain is not a conservative. That is not the argument.
For the very conservative, though they may have a list five feet tall of disagreement with McCain, it is undeniable that the list doubles in size with either Clinton or Obama. So the question to the most conservative of voters with McCain getting the nomination is this: Will you pick the leadership that best fits your beliefs or let your pride (and be honest that is what it is) engulf you and betray your duty to pick the best legitimate candidate for the presidency of the United States of America.
Get used to the title because on Wednesday it will become a reality. I am being completely and totally presumptuous and yes I know the danger of this. Just last night, when the Giants won the Superbowl with a touchdown in the last thirty seconds of the game. I looked at my brother and said "All across this nation everyone is saying "Wow...I just lost a lot of money". And of course anything is possible. But the results from tomorrow are clear with McCain with double Romney's numbers nationally and Romney's doubling Huckabee's. In the Republican race, McCain will win and Huckabee and Romney will drop out on Wednesday morning. [Note: Got that wrong, Christopher, but nobody's perfect.]
If I have egg on my face so be it (if it doesn’t happen Tuesday night the end result will be the same), but we need to get over the primary discussion and move on to the general election.
The first emotion I feel with McCain winning isn't happiness or relief, it's nervousness. I love John McCain and as long time readers know, I have supported him consistently through this entire race. Now many good Americans who supported a national hero Rudy Giuliani have given their support to the Senator making him unbeatable to get the nomination. The good news is that we as a party will have time to heal from the division that a primary (and to be fair it does so by design) invokes. Friends who supported Bush and local Republicans in 2002, 2004, and 2006 became competitors and some enemies. A sad effect, which is why I hate primaries. Democrats no matter how big a happy face they put on it are very much in the same boat.
Their race will go on past Super Tuesday, the division will continue. And the general election question posed to the GOP is now this. Do we let the division continue past the primary or do we rally to the most conservative legitimate candidate in the general election? Yes McCain is no Reagan and as a moderate Republican I like that.
But I also liked Reagan and to that note Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Bush Sr., and Bush. Each one changed the party and the country with a mixture of liberal and conservative thought that formed their presidency, their legacy. The reason for this is that a Republican is not in the White House to represent only conservatives in this country. He is there to represent every American and while the solutions he proposes and enacts are more likely to coincided with the beliefs of a certain people, they affect everyone. Not to mention the fact that the solutions he enacts are not only his to make but also a shared responsibility with the members of Congress and the Supreme Court.
And so that is my whole problem with the false conservative litmus test being used by a few in the party and many more in the conservative media. The belief that only a conservative, their conservative, should lead this country. If it were up to me only moderate to liberal Republicans should lead this country. But "should" is the wrong word, because it exists only in the abstract. The word that is correct is will. Someone will lead this country. “Should” is our choice and it is over. Our next president will either be one of three people John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. And if you are one of those very conservative people who say that McCain is not a conservative. That is not the argument.
For the very conservative, though they may have a list five feet tall of disagreement with McCain, it is undeniable that the list doubles in size with either Clinton or Obama. So the question to the most conservative of voters with McCain getting the nomination is this: Will you pick the leadership that best fits your beliefs or let your pride (and be honest that is what it is) engulf you and betray your duty to pick the best legitimate candidate for the presidency of the United States of America.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
SUPER TUESDAY THOUGHTS
Thanks to my frequent visitors, many of whom I've mentioned before. But a special hello to the visitors from Rome, GA (I used to live in Athens, GA) and from Jefferson, MD, which I've never visited but hope to someday.
Super Tuesday is unfolding with speed and ferocity tonight, but not a whole lot is clear yet. If Senator McCain wins California, he seems almost certain to win the nomination. If he doesn't win California, well, he'll still probably get the nomination but the battle will continue in MD, VA, and DC -- and then on to Texas and Ohio on March 4. I can't imagine how hard it all is on the candidates because it's exhausting for the rest of us!
I get a kick out of Hillary Clinton talking about her "35 years of experience." Ten of those years she spent as first lady of the great state of Arkansas and then eight years as First Lady of the U.S. That brings her down to 17 years of experience, most of it spent keeping a close eye on her wandering husband.
I continue to support John McCain as the best available candidate for the presidency. Mrs. Clinton right now on CNN is telling us we need "someone who will be ready on day one!" The problem is that we live in fear and trembling of exactly what she'll be ready for. The way I see is that Hillary Clinton is ready to be First Lady in perpetuity, while John McCain is ready to be commander-in-chief.
Super Tuesday is unfolding with speed and ferocity tonight, but not a whole lot is clear yet. If Senator McCain wins California, he seems almost certain to win the nomination. If he doesn't win California, well, he'll still probably get the nomination but the battle will continue in MD, VA, and DC -- and then on to Texas and Ohio on March 4. I can't imagine how hard it all is on the candidates because it's exhausting for the rest of us!
I get a kick out of Hillary Clinton talking about her "35 years of experience." Ten of those years she spent as first lady of the great state of Arkansas and then eight years as First Lady of the U.S. That brings her down to 17 years of experience, most of it spent keeping a close eye on her wandering husband.
I continue to support John McCain as the best available candidate for the presidency. Mrs. Clinton right now on CNN is telling us we need "someone who will be ready on day one!" The problem is that we live in fear and trembling of exactly what she'll be ready for. The way I see is that Hillary Clinton is ready to be First Lady in perpetuity, while John McCain is ready to be commander-in-chief.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
New McCain Forum For You!
http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/240445.html
Please copy the above link and visit the new McCain Forum. It allows you to leave comments, which I hope you will, and contains links to all relevant sites for McCain volunteers (contributions, Bloggers for McCain, and the like). You can find the direct link at the top of my blogroll to the right. Thanks so much for your help.
I have written several columns -- and added several guest columns -- about McCain, which you can find at http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com.
A tremendous amount is going to happen in the nominating process over the next four days. I believe on Wednesday of next week in Boston, Massachusetts, Mitt Romney will end his campaign -- and probably will endorse John McCain. As for Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, I predict that they will retreat from public life and perhaps join, respectively, a monastery and a nunnery.
Like all national elections, this one will be close -- and ferociously contested. The winning element could be the bloggers, who will play an unprecedented role in this campaign. God bless you all.
Please copy the above link and visit the new McCain Forum. It allows you to leave comments, which I hope you will, and contains links to all relevant sites for McCain volunteers (contributions, Bloggers for McCain, and the like). You can find the direct link at the top of my blogroll to the right. Thanks so much for your help.
I have written several columns -- and added several guest columns -- about McCain, which you can find at http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com.
A tremendous amount is going to happen in the nominating process over the next four days. I believe on Wednesday of next week in Boston, Massachusetts, Mitt Romney will end his campaign -- and probably will endorse John McCain. As for Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, I predict that they will retreat from public life and perhaps join, respectively, a monastery and a nunnery.
Like all national elections, this one will be close -- and ferociously contested. The winning element could be the bloggers, who will play an unprecedented role in this campaign. God bless you all.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Blog Change
After February 6, the day after Super Tuesday, I’ll be posting exclusively at my main blog: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com. Friday evening’s posting is an editorial from the Austin (TX) Statesman endorsing John McCain for President. It’s well done and worth reading.
Steve Maloney
Ambridge, PA
National Co-Chair McCainVictory08
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON MCCAIN FROM NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE:
A Different Perspective
Victor Davis Hanson
Three unexpected developments have given Republicans a shot this year at winning once thought impossible, given the normal desire of the electorate for a fresh party after eight years, and worries about Iraq and the economy. All can change, but for now they have a real shot.
The first, of course, is the radical turnabout in Iraq. Had we been seeing over 100 dead a month, the loss of Baghdad, and a failure of the surge, McCain would be finished and his Republican rivals would have carved out a third position between Bush and the Democrats that would have been still rejected by the voters.
Second, no one anticipated the surge of Obama, and the Clintons’ overt and clumsy efforts at personal destruction that turned off even liberals, a development that explains why a McCain in theory could be palatable to disaffected Democrats and Independents.
No one knows whether Thursday night’s [Obama-Clinton] reconciliation will last. But I doubt it, since Obama was figuring his nice guy image gained him ground, while Hillary worried that unleashing Bill and knee-capping her rival lost her percentages. But when it gets down to winning and the race narrows, each will readjust and it will get nasty again. Bill is ungovernable, and growls and gets toothy in periods of quiet and tranquility when he recedes from the news
And third, the unanticipated November implosion of Rudy Giuliani coalesced many moderate Republicans behind one candidate, the once moribund McCain, while base conservatives were never quite energized over either Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, or Fred Thompson, and either diluted their support or never embraced a candidate with real passion.
It is understandable to lament the absence of conservative purity, but ahistorical to suggest that any recent Republican president would have met any of the litmus tests now demanded, given the dependency of the middle class on entitlements and its touchy-feely worldview.
Reagan, and Bush I and II all adjusted to that unfortunate reality. A Democrat did not appoint Souter, O’Connor, or Kennedy, nor raise payroll and gas taxes in the 1980s, nor sign amnesty and de facto open-border legislation in 1986, nor, later, increase federal spending well past the rate of inflation, or offer amnesty again in 2007. Tax cuts were great, but without caps on spending they were unfairly slurred as revenue reducers once deficits soared. Recent Republican congressional scandals mirror-imaged some of the Clinton-era roguery.
Reagan’s pragmatism on taxes, amnesty, new federal programs and government expansion, was continued by both Bush I and II. In that regard, McCain seems a continuum, not an abject disconnect. His problem is mostly temperament, as when he strayed he was blunt about what he was doing and sometimes gratuitously offended his base in a way that neither Reagan nor the Bushes dared. That is a legitimate concern of tactical aptitude, but not one so much of ideology.
He also never was a conservative idealist that voiced conservative themes on the campaign trail which he could not enact once elected. But in terms of judicial appointments, foreign policy and the war, and federal spending, he is not much different from any of the prior three Republican presidents, and might well prove tougher, given his age and occasional contrarianism. We worry over his immigration stance, but his former mistaken position was Reaganite to the core and reflected the Bush consensus. His new stance of closing the borders first would be a radical departure, and a conservative remedy.
In short, anyone who saw the Democratic debate Thursday night can envision the new future on their horizon: identity politics and self-congratulation over race and gender; tax increases (back to estate tax hikes, income tax rates go up, payroll tax caps lifted, etc); internationalism for the sake of internationalism (defer to the U.N., E.U., apologies for past conduct, contextualizing terrorism), more government (teachers, the poor, the middle class, etc. all need new government programs to add to those we have), and legislating judges (more Ginsburgs and Breyers).
Given all of the above, I don’t think it’s in the interest of conservatives for much longer to worry about McCain’s class ranking at Annapolis or how many planes he was nearly killed in.
Steve Maloney
Ambridge, PA
National Co-Chair McCainVictory08
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON MCCAIN FROM NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE:
A Different Perspective
Victor Davis Hanson
Three unexpected developments have given Republicans a shot this year at winning once thought impossible, given the normal desire of the electorate for a fresh party after eight years, and worries about Iraq and the economy. All can change, but for now they have a real shot.
The first, of course, is the radical turnabout in Iraq. Had we been seeing over 100 dead a month, the loss of Baghdad, and a failure of the surge, McCain would be finished and his Republican rivals would have carved out a third position between Bush and the Democrats that would have been still rejected by the voters.
Second, no one anticipated the surge of Obama, and the Clintons’ overt and clumsy efforts at personal destruction that turned off even liberals, a development that explains why a McCain in theory could be palatable to disaffected Democrats and Independents.
No one knows whether Thursday night’s [Obama-Clinton] reconciliation will last. But I doubt it, since Obama was figuring his nice guy image gained him ground, while Hillary worried that unleashing Bill and knee-capping her rival lost her percentages. But when it gets down to winning and the race narrows, each will readjust and it will get nasty again. Bill is ungovernable, and growls and gets toothy in periods of quiet and tranquility when he recedes from the news
And third, the unanticipated November implosion of Rudy Giuliani coalesced many moderate Republicans behind one candidate, the once moribund McCain, while base conservatives were never quite energized over either Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, or Fred Thompson, and either diluted their support or never embraced a candidate with real passion.
It is understandable to lament the absence of conservative purity, but ahistorical to suggest that any recent Republican president would have met any of the litmus tests now demanded, given the dependency of the middle class on entitlements and its touchy-feely worldview.
Reagan, and Bush I and II all adjusted to that unfortunate reality. A Democrat did not appoint Souter, O’Connor, or Kennedy, nor raise payroll and gas taxes in the 1980s, nor sign amnesty and de facto open-border legislation in 1986, nor, later, increase federal spending well past the rate of inflation, or offer amnesty again in 2007. Tax cuts were great, but without caps on spending they were unfairly slurred as revenue reducers once deficits soared. Recent Republican congressional scandals mirror-imaged some of the Clinton-era roguery.
Reagan’s pragmatism on taxes, amnesty, new federal programs and government expansion, was continued by both Bush I and II. In that regard, McCain seems a continuum, not an abject disconnect. His problem is mostly temperament, as when he strayed he was blunt about what he was doing and sometimes gratuitously offended his base in a way that neither Reagan nor the Bushes dared. That is a legitimate concern of tactical aptitude, but not one so much of ideology.
He also never was a conservative idealist that voiced conservative themes on the campaign trail which he could not enact once elected. But in terms of judicial appointments, foreign policy and the war, and federal spending, he is not much different from any of the prior three Republican presidents, and might well prove tougher, given his age and occasional contrarianism. We worry over his immigration stance, but his former mistaken position was Reaganite to the core and reflected the Bush consensus. His new stance of closing the borders first would be a radical departure, and a conservative remedy.
In short, anyone who saw the Democratic debate Thursday night can envision the new future on their horizon: identity politics and self-congratulation over race and gender; tax increases (back to estate tax hikes, income tax rates go up, payroll tax caps lifted, etc); internationalism for the sake of internationalism (defer to the U.N., E.U., apologies for past conduct, contextualizing terrorism), more government (teachers, the poor, the middle class, etc. all need new government programs to add to those we have), and legislating judges (more Ginsburgs and Breyers).
Given all of the above, I don’t think it’s in the interest of conservatives for much longer to worry about McCain’s class ranking at Annapolis or how many planes he was nearly killed in.
HOW YOU CAN HELP MCCAIN!
NOTE: AFTER THIS WEEKEND, MY DAILY POSTINGS WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLY AT: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com/.
This week I sent the following to BradMarston of http://mccainvictory08.com, a major operative for Senator John McCain.
I said: I'm going to ask dozens of bloggers to join the Bloggers for McCain, and I believe most of them will. The "Rudy" group on Yahoo is mostly in McCain's camp now, and many of them are talented activists (Sharon, the group leader, worked in NH & FL for Rudy). They are one of the "sane" groups (as opposed to the other kind) on Yahoo Groups.I'll be writing a lot about McCain over the next several weeks. My column yesterday (Jan. 31) cites Michael Barone's comments. If McCain has a great Internet campaign, he can win.
The following is Brad's response.
Stephen, it is great to have you on board.Thank you for also reaching out to the former Rudy bloggers and getting them to come on board. Rudy's concession speech was wonderful, heartfelt and realistic. John McCain will be the nominee and hopefully President.Stephen let me ask you a favor. I am a victim of my own success. You remember back in November when I had to beg bloggers to co-sign our post on the official blog. Now I could get 100 bloggers to sign it. I have been fortunate enough to have so many people, so much more qualified than I to join up. Please have your former Rudy Bloggers contact Michael Schuyler at michael@schuyler.com for info on the MV08 blog.Michael is the MAN. He has generated 21 new McCain blogs just in the past month.You and I are a special case. We understand the importance of the internet to campaigns. (I Love Sarah Palin). Please keep contacting me personally but also cc Michael when you do.Stephen, again. Thank you so much for your support and all your kind words on my behalf.Warmest regards,Brad
I hope everyone who visits this blog seizes the initiative (contacting Michael Schuyler at michael @schuyler.com or going directly to: http://mccainvictory08.com) Brad outlines. The presidential election will not be held until November 4, 2008, but the foundation for victory will be established long before Election Day. Thanks so much for your assistance.NOTE: In my previous column, which I urge you to read, I point out Michael Barone's excellent description of "McCain, the Man." I'll be writing more each day between now and February 6 about steps Senator McCain must take to win the election next November. My emphasis in the next few days will be on the Supreme Court, health care, immigration, and the War on Terror, on all of which the Senator must sharpen his stands. It will be no picnic running against the team of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (who now seems to recognize that he will be on the ticket as the vice-presidential nominee).
This week I sent the following to BradMarston of http://mccainvictory08.com, a major operative for Senator John McCain.
I said: I'm going to ask dozens of bloggers to join the Bloggers for McCain, and I believe most of them will. The "Rudy" group on Yahoo is mostly in McCain's camp now, and many of them are talented activists (Sharon, the group leader, worked in NH & FL for Rudy). They are one of the "sane" groups (as opposed to the other kind) on Yahoo Groups.I'll be writing a lot about McCain over the next several weeks. My column yesterday (Jan. 31) cites Michael Barone's comments. If McCain has a great Internet campaign, he can win.
The following is Brad's response.
Stephen, it is great to have you on board.Thank you for also reaching out to the former Rudy bloggers and getting them to come on board. Rudy's concession speech was wonderful, heartfelt and realistic. John McCain will be the nominee and hopefully President.Stephen let me ask you a favor. I am a victim of my own success. You remember back in November when I had to beg bloggers to co-sign our post on the official blog. Now I could get 100 bloggers to sign it. I have been fortunate enough to have so many people, so much more qualified than I to join up. Please have your former Rudy Bloggers contact Michael Schuyler at michael@schuyler.com for info on the MV08 blog.Michael is the MAN. He has generated 21 new McCain blogs just in the past month.You and I are a special case. We understand the importance of the internet to campaigns. (I Love Sarah Palin). Please keep contacting me personally but also cc Michael when you do.Stephen, again. Thank you so much for your support and all your kind words on my behalf.Warmest regards,Brad
I hope everyone who visits this blog seizes the initiative (contacting Michael Schuyler at michael @schuyler.com or going directly to: http://mccainvictory08.com) Brad outlines. The presidential election will not be held until November 4, 2008, but the foundation for victory will be established long before Election Day. Thanks so much for your assistance.NOTE: In my previous column, which I urge you to read, I point out Michael Barone's excellent description of "McCain, the Man." I'll be writing more each day between now and February 6 about steps Senator McCain must take to win the election next November. My emphasis in the next few days will be on the Supreme Court, health care, immigration, and the War on Terror, on all of which the Senator must sharpen his stands. It will be no picnic running against the team of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (who now seems to recognize that he will be on the ticket as the vice-presidential nominee).
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