There’s been quite a bit of talk the past few days about a handful of House Democrats who’ve announced that they won’t endorse Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Most notably, Rep. Dan Boren, a right-wing Dem from Oklahoma said he’ll vote for Obama in November, but he won’t endorse him beforehand, calling Obama “the most liberal senator” in Congress.
Boren’s an especially odd dissenter, given that he’s practically running unopposed and an endorsement wouldn’t cost him anything, but whatever. There are some conservative Dems in conservative districts who feel this is necessary. They’re wrong — Republicans lost three special elections in red House districts this year after desperately trying to tie the Dem candidates to Obama — but they’re not listening to reason.
Noting the phenomenon of Obama holdouts among Democratic lawmakers on the Hill, the AP said John McCain “has his own issues in his party,” but “only a handful” of GOP lawmakers have withheld their support for him.
As it turns out, though, the AP is wrong. There’s actually more than a “handful.”
At least 14 Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse or publicly support Sen. John McCain for president, and more than a dozen others declined to answer whether they back the Arizona senator.
Many of the recalcitrant GOP members declined to detail their reasons for withholding support, but Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) expressed major concerns about McCain’s energy policies and Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) cited the Iraq war.
A handful of other Republicans on Capitol Hill made the distinction between “endorsing” and “supporting,” adding that while they have not endorsed, they do support McCain.
For all the talk about Democrats having to work hard to achieve “unity” after a lengthy and contentious primary fight, it looks like Republicans are in just as awkward a spot — and McCain effectively wrapped up the GOP nomination way back in February.
Republican members who have not endorsed or publicly backed McCain include Sens. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Reps. Jones, Peterson, John Doolittle (Calif.), Randy Forbes (Va.), Wayne Gilchrest (Md.), Virgil Goode (Va.), Tim Murphy (Pa.), Ron Paul (Texas), Ted Poe (Texas), Todd Tiahrt (Kan.), Dave Weldon (Fla.) and Frank Wolf (Va.).
Throughout his career in the House and Senate, McCain has been at odds with his party on a range of issues, including campaign finance reform, earmarks, immigration, healthcare, taxes and energy. […]
Gilchrest and Hagel, who disagree with McCain’s views on Iraq, have been mum on their endorsements. Kathy Hicks, spokeswoman for Gilchrest, said, “Since he was not reelected to public office, he’s keeping his thoughts private.” Gilchrest lost in a Republican primary earlier this year.
Jones, who has voted repeatedly with Democrats on Iraq, said he can’t back McCain until he gets “a better explanation of the plans for Iraq and more discussion on the economy.” Jones added that no one from McCain’s campaign has reached out to him.
I suppose if McCain gets really desperate, this intra-party division could be used as part of a triangulation strategy. He’d say, “Independents should feel free to vote for me — even congressional Republicans don’t like me.”
Of course, at that point, McCain would be running against his own party during the campaign. And wouldn’t that be interesting.