When the GOP closes ranks

February 8, 2008

Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran (R), 11 days ago, on the idea of John McCain getting elected:

“The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.”

Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran (R), last night, on his presidential endorsement:

U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran has shifted his support to Sen. John McCain for president.

“I am supporting John McCain for the Republican nomination for president,” Cochran, R-Miss., said in a statement released Thursday.

In the end, they come around. They always do.

I argued on Monday that McCain, despite being the only sitting senator seeking the Republican nomination the last four months, and despite having been in Congress for a quarter century, had not exactly won over the people who know him best: the other Republican senators who work with him day in and day out. Before Super Tuesday, only 15 of the 49 senators in the Republican caucus had backed their colleague’s campaign. (The WaPo had a front-page item detailing that McCain’s relationship with his co-workers has always been strained.)

But that was Monday, when it seemed as if these guys still had a choice.

Take Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), for example. Earlier this year, during a back-room discussion on immigration reform, Mr. Presumptive Nominee started shouting at Cornyn, who had dared to disagree with him. McCain accused Cornyn of raising petty objections, and Cornyn accused McCain of having dropped in without taking part in the negotiations. “F**k you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room,” McCain shouted. The WaPo added that McCain also “used a curse word associated with chickens.”

Yesterday, Cornyn, left with no other choice, jumped on the bandwagon.

“With many of my colleagues, I have been determined to stay out of the primary contests and allow the members of our party to work their will,” Cornyn said. “I now believe, with a number of the other candidates deciding to step aside, that it is time for the Republican Party to come together and stand behind Senator McCain. I am honored to endorse him for President of the United States today and will do whatever I can to support his candidacy.”

Or consider the case of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.), who has never gotten along with McCain, but who yesterday threw his support to the likely nominee.

“I think he’s going to be the Republican nominee — it’s essentially over,” McConnell said, responding to a question about McCain’s chances with Romney out of the contests. “There’s widespread pride amongst our Conference that one of our own is going to be our nominee.”

Asked whether his positive review of McCain translates into an endorsement, McConnell said: “He’s certainly going to be our nominee.”

Or how about Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who worked closely with McCain in 1992 on a Senate Special Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. When Grassley disagreed with McCain about something, the Arizonan told him, “You know, senator, I thought your problem was that you don’t listen. But that’s not it at all. Your problem is that you’re a f**king jerk.”

And yet there was Grassley defending McCain this week.

Grassley said he “can’t understand” why radio host Rush Limbaugh and pundit Ann Coulter “are just lambasting (McCain) all the time.” He said former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, a Kansas Republican, has written a letter defending McCain.

“I wonder how you can have such deep conviction against a fellow conservative, just because he’s not conservative enough,” Grassley said.

I don’t doubt that Limbaugh, Santorum, and other Republican establishment figures will continue to resist, and I suspect most of them are probably sincere. But come the fall, the GOP will be united behind McCain, and any Democratic hopes about a splintered Republican Party are probably just wishful thinking.

A quote from Chris Matthews: “Democrats fall in love; Republicans fall in line.”

  • “I wonder how you can have such deep conviction against a fellow conservative, just because he’s not conservative enough,” Grassley said.

    How naive Grassley sounds for someone that has been around so long.

  • Yup. Pubs work top down. Once the Decision Has Been Made, everyone falls into line. They won’t be splintered.

    However, they may not be enthusiastic, especially if the Dems succeed in knocking the ‘Maverick’ and ‘Straight Talk’ crowns off his head, and show him for what he is: an ancient, out of touch, warmonger with PTSD who wants to continue and expand upon Bush’s policies. We could do worse than printing out all those pictures of McCain slobbering over Bush in 2004 and during Katrina and pasting them everywhere with the slogan: “McCain 2008 — four more years of Bush-style governance.”

  • Well the worst of the worst at a CPAC mtg this morning:

    “Without naming John McCain, George Bush marshalled the conservative wing around the presumptive nominee….”

    What an ass wipe

  • “But come the fall, the GOP will be united behind McCain, and any Democratic hopes about a splintered Republican Party are probably just wishful thinking.”

    It is definitely “wishful thinking”. The Dems should be prepared for all-out war from The Republican Party.

    I really wish that Obama and Hillary would quit fighting among themselves and aim all their fire onto McCain. The remaining Dem primary voters could then judge the best candidate on how well they aim at McCain.

  • The key is that they are a significantly smaller party now than they were a few short years ago. They shrunk to the truly insane core.

  • It willl be 1996 all over again.

    McCain is like Dole. Maybe okay in the Senate but losy on the presidential trail.

    Watch the Republican enthusiasm wain.

  • Reposting from an earlier thread because it is even more appropriate to this topic:

    we can deride it all we like, but the Right continues to win – and the rest of the world therefore loses – because at the end of the day their internal divisions pale compared to their hatred of “the left” and they come together better than we do.

    if the end results — the justices and judges, the control of the war machine, the competency of the appointees who serve or harm the public — matter at all, we need to determine that our own internal disputes pale in comparison to the need to stop “the right.” in our quest for progressive purity, we get indignant at others on our own side of the aisle and the Republicans laugh all the way to the (Fedreal Reserve) Bank. and while they laugh, too many other people starve, and go without health care, and without shelter, and they die in needless war.

    let this serve as a reminder before anyone on either side of the Democratic nomination process posts “If I don’t get my candidate, I’ll vote for the other side! or I’ll stay home (which has the effect of voting for the other side)!”

    [technically, as Doosh reminded me, not voting only has 1/2 the effect of voting for the other side. but still.]

  • No one should need reminding that for Republicans, winning is everything. You or I may not think that way, but we dismiss the nature of our foe at our own peril — particularly those of us who think a Republican can’t win, and those who are so quick to vilify one or another of the Democratic candidates for not being perfect.

    For good or ill, Clinton and Obama are the choices we have. Either is capable of running a strong race against the Republicans if we let them — and support them, if only with our votes. The alternative is another four years of stifling Republican rule.

  • Obama definitely can beat McCain.

    I don’t see Hillary as an electable candidate in a general election, especially against a Republican who will draw from the middle, like McCain. Too much Hillary Hate out there to take her seriously in November.

    Vote for Obama if you want a Democrat in office next year.

  • Shaz said what needs to be repeated, McCain’s Achilles heel is that he has closely aligned himself with Bush.

    Print out the picture of McCain slobbering on Bush, slap on a caption like “McCain (heart) Bush” and post it everywhere. Mr 30% needs to be fastened around McCain’s neck with a chain.

    What’s ironic is that back when McCain was being tortured in Hanoi, his BFF Bush who thinks torture is OK was checking the “Hell no I won’t go” box and ducking the Air Force’s drug tests.

  • Authoritarians always fall in line. They are pack animals, and will be submissive to the alpha male.
    Expect to see stories with McCain as the “Big Daddy” theme. He wasn’t a maverick, he knew those others were not “real” conservatives. He was a visionary that the little people couldn’t appreciate, until now. Save us, Big Daddy! We are so scared of those nasty enemies
    Jeebus, these people make me sick!

  • And right on cue, after a wonderful post by Zeitgeist @ 10, in comes todd stokes. Dear f***ing lord …

    Can you please stop being so divisive, todd? And can everyone else stop it before they start?

    It stuns me that Obama keeps asking us all to get along and play nice and transcend normal politics, yet his more rabid supporters keep making that nearly impossible. (And, again, I voted for Obama on Tuesday.)

    Did you all not get the message?

  • Sorry, but Hillary and Bill have shown themselves to be untrustworthy, decietful, and criminal individuals.

    They do not deserve our support in the General Election. And anybody voting for Hillary in the primaries is doing the Democratic Party a great injustice.

  • The same movement types who railed against McCain a week ago are now busily digging up every picture they can find of McCain standing with Reagan. If they can’t find them they’ll Photoshop them. It’ll be the Ronny & Johnny Show until the faithful are unanimously bleating their acclaims.

  • Exactly Mark. Todd, you need to mature in your support for Obama. Make it about him instead of against Hillary. 7+ million people have voted for her … a little more than have voted for Obama. If you and your cronies continue the rancor … it won’t do the Dems, this country or anyone else any good.

  • The WaPo added that McCain also “used a curse word associated with chickens.”

    Couldn’t be “cocksucker,” since “cock” in that context is unrelated to poultry. Beyond that, I’m stumped. “Chicken-fucker”?

  • “… any Democratic hopes about a splintered Republican Party are probably just wishful thinking.”

    I never held hopes for a splintered GOP. They used to have divisions (e.g., Rockefeller Republicans), but they were never splintered. And, ever since the Goldwater forces drove everybody else out, during the 1964 Convention in San Francisco, they’ve been more like a religious cult than a political party.

    The only reason they’re on the political scene at all is because Democrats seem to have forgotten politics. By that I don’t mean traingulating, blending all positions into one. I also don’t mean pret-GOP the GOP (a la Pelosi, Reid). I mean acknowledging that no one, in the real world, is perfect. That compromise and coalition is how to “git ‘er done”. How sausage is made.

    So hold your nose and close ranks. Even with Hillary, or even with Obama. Even with independents and cross-over GOPs. It’s called winning.

  • Hey Marian, I hate the shame that Bill cast over our nation. I vowed never to vote for a Clinton again. That family is a corrupt bunch of criminals.

    And I’m a freaking democrat!!!!

    How is Hillary supposed to attract moderate voters?

    You don’t think we’ll have to revisit the Vince Foster saga all over again? Selling of Pardons won’t come up in the General Election? Those might be non-issues to already Clinton supporters, but independents will not flock to that Soap Opera again.

    I actually was an Edwards supporter. I’m not gun ho about Obama. I just want a democrat, and I hate Hillary.

  • Feb 7 Time Poll:

    General: Obama (D) 48%, McCain (R) 41%
    General: Clinton (D) 46%, McCain (R) 46%
    Primary: Clinton 48%, Obama 42%

    My conclusion? Dems want to lose again.

  • General: Obama (D) 48%, McCain (R) 41%
    General: Clinton (D) 46%, McCain (R) 46%
    Primary: Clinton 48%, Obama 42%

    EXACTLY!!!

  • I think there’s a difference this election, which is that a McCain victory means a conservative/talk radio defeat, and self-interest trumps everything else in conservative circles. They will rally behind, but it will be impossible to recreate the deification Bush enjoyed as a result of 9/11 and an unanswered flag-waving media. I’m afraid Dems are still too cowed to affectively challenge any nonsense, so we’ll be left picking up their slack — again.

    (Grumpy — Chicken shit? Just a guess.)

  • Obviously you hate Hillary Todd, I’m just saying if she becomes the democratic nominee you are going to have to deal with it somehow. All I’m asking is that you consider giving me reasons to vote for him instead of the approach … don’t vote for her because I hate her. It doesn’t do you, or your current candidate any good.

  • This is actually the scenerio I see happening:

    1. Hillary steals the nomination by purchasing more Super Delegates than Barack
    2. McCain defeats Hillary in General Election, as no independent or moderate voter can stomach another Clinton Soap Opera
    3. Barack runs in 2012, this time without the hard core Clinton lovers standing in the way
    4. Barack easily wins the General Election the way Reagan trounced Carter in 1980.

    I would much rather have a democrat in office this year, but there are some serious Clinton lovers who would prefer McCain over Barack.

  • While some Republicans may tell you that they really “like” one of our candidates, in the voting booth they’ll hold their nose and vote Republican.

  • Exactly Mark. Todd, you need to mature in your support for Obama. Make it about him instead of against Hillary. 7+ million people have voted for her … a little more than have voted for Obama. If you and your cronies continue the rancor … it won’t do the Dems, this country or anyone else any good.

    Thank you for that.

  • Marian, if Hillary becomes the democratic party nominee, I will deal with it somehow: As in vote for McCain.

    Reasons to Vote for Obama?
    1. his policies are closely in line with Hillary’s. There are few things Hillary would do that Obama wouldn’t do.
    2. Obama has outstanding character and can be trusted.
    3. Obama won’t sell pardons
    4. Obama can actually win the General Election

  • Grassley, Cochran, Cornyn? Are these three of the people McCain claimed a couple days ago on the Today Show “aren’t the most respected people in the Senate”?

  • Wow, for McCain to jump all over Grassley like that isn’t the sort of thing that’s forgotten, ever. So while those Senators may say they’ll support McCain, I doubt they’ll bust their collective asses for him. Iowa’s definitely going Democratic in 2008, and I doubt Grassley’s heart will be broken over it.

  • Todd – You have revealed yourself as being a Republican.:
    “Marian, if Hillary becomes the democratic party nominee, I will deal with it somehow: As in vote for McCain.”

    Stop lying to us about being a Democrat.

    Or maybe you are just plain stupid, wanting 4 more years of Bush, instead of another Clinton in office.

  • … I will deal with it somehow: As in vote for McCain.As in vote for McCain.

    I don’t give a damn who you vote for, but that statement pretty much proves that:

    A. You don’t give a shit about the unity and hope your beloved candidate preaches every single day.

    B. Don’t care about moving social issues to the left, where the rest of America already is (McCain is solidly inline with the forced pregnancy and anti-gay movements).

    C. You have an awfully flimsy grasp of what actually happened in the 90s, since Clinton was incredibly popular when he left office, both here and abroad … something that would have been impossible if there was as much “shame” as you suggest.

    Again, I voted for Obama and want him to get the nod. But to take a stand such as yours would mean I would have to display an amazing amount of ignorance about history, buy into rightwing frames of the Clintons, and completely ignore everything that Obama’s been saying for the past few years.

    I guess I’m just not willing to do any of that. But you go right ahead — just don’t bitch when it backfires.

  • I am going to stick a fork in my head if I have to read one more ‘todd stokes’ post.

    A Democrat that hates Bill Clinton, please, get lost troll.

    Back to the real subject at hand, McCain.

  • “… and I hate Hillary” (#21)

    Who cares? Extreme emotion, especially addressed to mere personalities rather than policies (Bill’s signature on the Defense of Marriage Act) or programs (his NAFTA), is your personal problem, not ours.

    Put up Hillary’s picture up in your bedroom (the mind boggles) and throw darts at it. Or relieve yourself in some other way (again, the mind boggles). But, in the still very likely event that she winds up the Democratic Party’s nominee, do vote for her in November.

    If you can’t do that, you have no constructive business here.

  • Hillary will beat McCain if she is the candidate:

    These are general predictions … not specific to any one person posting on this blog:

    Women vote in higher numbers then men, a higher percentage will vote for her than McCain. (has anyone seen a poll comparing these two amoung women only?)

    Minorities will vote for her in greater numbers than they will for McCain … the
    African Americans will be pissed but, hopfully, they will really look at what Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have stood for all along … racial equality … they might stay home but the will NOT VOTE for MCCAIN in any meaningful way.

    Younger votes who supported “Obama or no one” will stay home but those who don’t will look at McCain as ancient and will vote for her over him.

    That leaves white men … who have been split between Obama and Clinton in different ways at different times. They will split and the top three groups will decide the election. I even think the far right might either stay home or vote for some third person rather than support McCain. His only “base” is independent white men. They will be outnumbered.

    I have complete confidence in this and will need someone to show me the overwhelming base of support McCain will have that outnumbers these groups to make me think otherwise.

  • I’m a veteran of GWOT (Global War on Terror for those of you not in the military) and a moderate Republican. However, I’m ashamed of the way the Bush administration have treated our country over the last 8 years. In Senator Obama, I have seen something I haven’t seen in a long time – hope and the possibility of a new way. Maybe it’s just hot air, but compared to the known quantity of the Clintons, I’m willing to give hope a chance. After all, I think we should all consider ourselves American first and our political parties second.

    However, if it’s Bill and Hill again, it’s business as usual and I’d rather vote for a bona fide war hero like Senator McCain any day than to let the Clinton dynasty back for another 8 years of slime. Just a honest opinion from right of center.

  • … for another 8 years of slime

    First of all, thanks for the honest comment. We may disagree, but it was a pleasant, non-troll post. Thanks!

    However … 😉

    Since the slime was thrown at the Clintons, not from them, I put the blame on the GOP at the time — after all, they (Newt and Co.) were more concerned with digging in every last corner of the Clinton’s personal lives than running the country effectively.

    Add in the likes of Rush and the other hate speechers, and it’s pretty evident that all of that slime was, in fact, manufactured by those who are now railing against it.

  • Todd: You are full of it. Everything you say about the Clintons is flat-out false, based on Republican smears and lies. If that’s the reason you’re making your decision, then I pity you. You’re already just another republican inside. Unlike you, I voted for Obama because I honestly support his message and his politics, not because I’m blinded by Hillary Hate.

    Mod. Rep.: Please keep in mind where the first 8 years of slime came from. It wasn’t from the Clintons. Also keep in mind that McCain is on record supporting Bush’s actions in Iraq and declaring that he wants to extend it for another 100 years. I’m not exaggerating, that’s what he actually said: another 100 years in Iraq. A vote for McCain is a vote for the status quo that has you and me both so rightfully ashamed. I’m for Obama also, but Clinton would bring real change and McCain wouldn’t.

  • Moderate Republican … just guessing but, I’d suppose you will be among the “white man split” I spoke of … or maybe one of the minorities in the first three groups.

  • Any pro-military potential McCain supporter who thinks today’s GOP is the old pro-America, my-country-right-or-wrong one had better note that today’s right-wing Swiftboater GOP slime machine is already putting it about that McCain was nicknamed “Sinatra” and “song bird” for the way he spilled the beans during imprisonment in Korea.

    Why McCain doesn’t repudiate his GOP is beyond me. But why anyone would turn to him, given his base (in both senses of the word), makes no sense at all.

  • McCain was nicknamed “Sinatra” and “song bird” for the way he spilled the beans during imprisonment in Korea.

    Korea?!

  • Moderate Republican … just guessing but, I’d suppose you will be among the “white man split” I spoke of … or maybe one of the minorities in the first three groups.

    Marian,

    Does it matter? Why are you looking for self-validation from an internet forum? And why are you so intent on classifying people into racial or ethnic groups? Shouldn’t we ultimately judge everyone on their merits instead of classifying people by stereotypes? This type of calculation is what makes me sick of Karl Rove and his ilk. I speak for myself with my background and experiences, and that’s it. Kindly leave the stereotyping off when you don’t know who I am.

    Since the slime was thrown at the Clintons, not from them, I put the blame on the GOP at the time — after all, they (Newt and Co.) were more concerned with digging in every last corner of the Clinton’s personal lives than running the country effectively.

    Add in the likes of Rush and the other hate speechers, and it’s pretty evident that all of that slime was, in fact, manufactured by those who are now railing against it.

    IMHO, I first really started noticing the polarization of American politics around the beginning of the Clinton era. Maybe it’s not all of Clintons’ fault, but they certain acted as a catalyst. If Bill was able to keep his pants zipped up and live a normal life, maybe the far right wing wouldn’t have gone bonkers. But in all fairness, for all of Bill’s pandering and disgrace, he did leave the Republic in a relatively decent state (which is more than I can say for the current POTUS).

    However, just like I will never vote for another person named Bush, I won’t vote for another person named Clinton because 1) it will continue the polarization of American politics, which might eventually Balkinize us one day and 2) we’re a Republic, not a monarchy, and I’m sick and tired of dynastic politics. Are we going to have Jeb and Chelsa run against each other in 10 years?

    McCain’s aura has been tarnished greatly since 2000, and I prefer Obama over him. But hey, compared with Clinton, he’s still the lesser of the two evils (unless he picks Huckbee for VP, then I’m staying home). :O

  • In the end, they come around. They always do.

    Well, I don’t know who “they” are, but I won’t.

    Of course my one vote doesn’t signify. The relevant question is: Do an appreciable number of conservatives feel as I do? We’ll know in a few months.

    John McCain has premised his political career on the assumption that he doesn’t need voters like me. I believe he should be given a fair opportunity to test his hypothesis.

  • If you count the ACTUAL VOTES rendered in the caucuses, and dont just count the delegates that resulted, Obama won more votes in all races so far.

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