McCain’s Troubles, Are McCain’s Troubles

A level of media attention is being focused on commentators on the political Right like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter (How’s that for a ticket?), assigning blame to them for, allegedly, hurting the candidacy of John McCain. That, and the notion that people like Rush are driven to criticize McCain because McCain doesn’t tow his line. Both just a bit preposterous.

The issue isn’t that McCain doesn’t run in lock-step with conservatives. The issue with Rush and Ann, including myself, is that McCain and others (including the President) continue to say McCain is a conservative when, on the whole, he is not. It is dishonest to label him a conservative while appealing for conservatives’ votes.

“Right-wing pundits hurting McCain”

I don’t see it as the pundits are hurting McCain. What is happening here is the pundits are exposing McCain’s record. In that vein, I see it as McCain hurting himself. Hurting himself in two ways. First by his stance on the following: Gitmo, rights for enemy combatants, gang of fourteen, McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, voted against tax cuts before he would (presumably) vote for their extension, for starters. And second, by telling us and anyone who would listen, that he is a conservative.

Making the pundits to be the reason, instead of McCain himself, for hurting McCain is to miss or ignore all of the above.

He’d still be better for this country than either of the democrat wannabes. But it is his ‘reaching out,’ to further liberal principles, that is causing McCain’s troubles.

McCain needs to do some reaching out to conservatives in his own party. If he and the media succeed in dragging the republican party to the left, then yes, “(If McCain wins} the nomination, it’s going to destroy the Republican party.” It’s starting already. McCain is being called a conservative. And conservatives are being called fringe or far right. The groundwork is being set to change the republican party as we know it. Rush isn’t attacking McCain, he is merely pointing out the obvious. The ‘obvious’ is what the MSM most wants us to ignore.

“Now here they are complaining because the point of view they’ve tried to force down Republicans’ throats didn’t take.”

No, they are pointing out the dishonesty being perpetrated by McCain. Closer to being the least conservative of the whole lot of those on the republican side, McCain is trying to fool us into thinking that he is a conservative by telling us that he a conservative.

If McCain would say he considers himself to be a more moderate republican, that would be fine. That’s what he is. But in this primary season, he is insisting, on a daily basis, that he is a true conservative.

Neither Rush, Coulter, or myself like to be lied to. Not by Clinton, not by McCain. Has nothing to do with whether McCain is as conservative as Rush, primary season or not.

Once republicans come up with a candidate, and it looks like it’ll be McCain, whoever it will be will be better than the options from the other party, in so many ways. It’s the American people who will vote for, or defeat, McCain. Not the conservative punditry.