McCain in a conference call with bloggers
He is still trying to save his dying campaign. Paul Mirengoff participated in the call for PowerLine. Here are a couple of excerpts from his post:
Regarding Iraq, McCain informed us that General Petraeus is expected to appear before Congress on or around September 11 and that President Bush will give his report on September 15. Then the Senate will debate what to do. McCain continues to see military progress and is heartened that others who "some may consider more objective" are seeing it too. Will this turn the political tide in Washington? McCain couldn't say, but he noted that there are Senators who "honestly agonize over Iraq" and who "may be willing to take another look" if they continue to hear credible reports of progress.
Two things. First, a reminder to readers that your representatives should be back home some time this month. they're off from business in congress, so let them know you want them to continue to support the troops and the mission. We can't afford to watch the line collapse now on this vitally important issue. Second, if you've got Blue dogs that are representing you, get in touch with them, as well. While some may have reservations about continuing the efforts in Iraq, Sen. McCain is correct to assert that a few may be wobbly. The best way to beat the Democrats at this is to stand firm on the issue, and flip any Blue dogs over to our side as we can. We don't have to stop their retreat and defeat efforts. all we need to do is make sure they don't achieve the veto-proof majority.
McCain is very unhappy about the Senate's failure to act on the nomination of Judge Southwick. As an aside (but an important one) he plugged the "gang of 14 deal" which resulted in the confirmation of several judges who had been blocked when the Republicans were in control, and eased the way for Roberts and Alito. Of course, without this deal, the Republican majority could have confirmed additional judicial vacancies including (if I'm not mistaken) the one Southwick now has been nominated for. The wisdom of the gang of 14 deal remains, in my view, an open question.
This part shows that Sen. McCain doesn't truly understand the mess he helped create. Paul's correct about the part I bolded above. Had he simply sat down and shut up, the unconstitutional filibuster on judicial nominees would have been crushed with the Constitutional Option that a feckless Bill Frist continued to hype, yet never pulled the trigger on. (This is probably due to the fact that he was trying to hold the party together, but he had Mccain's interference from the outside clouding things.) The Gang of 14 deal shouldn't ever be praised. John McCain placed his ego above the rule of law. the media lauded him for his bravery and maverick-streak in stopping those dastardly Republicans from stopping the games that Democrats play.
In response to a question I asked, McCain revisited the immigration battle, which he believes was a massive blow to his campaign. He attributes the political problem to his inability to convince people that the government would actually enforce our borders. Significantly, I think, McCain showed a good understanding of why people lacked that faith (he pointed to the 1986 experience, for example). He said that "next time" he'll include measures designed to create more confidence in enforcement, including perhaps a requirement that border state governors certify that enforcement is working before other elements of comprehensive reform go forward.
He clearly got the message about enforcement and security first when it comes to the immigration problem we have. And I actually like the idea he has about having the border-state governors signing off on things before the next step is taken. The only foreseeable problem with that is the governors themselves. Arnold's gone wobbly on illegal immigration. Our esteemed tur, er, governor Napolitano is wobbly. Gov. Richardson has never really been serious. That's three right there that might be tempted to "fudge" their reports. Best to have an independent group compile the report, then have the governor sign off on it. But it does seem that he understands the frustration the nation had over the immigration bill. It's also good that he recognizes that the fall out from his support of the bill has contributed to the failing campaign he's running.
It's not about his support of Iraq. It's not about who he calls his "base,"though it doesn't help his cause either. His lack of solid, conservative support comes from his record in the Senate over the last seven years, or so. This year, his biggest problem, especially in Arizona, is that he is showing significant signs of losing support for his nomination. He's in deep trouble, and people have long memories with candidates that they have a dislike for. It also doesn't help his cause when he's been absent from so many floor votes int he Senate this year. Arizona voters see him in the same light Massachusetts voters saw John Kerry in 2004 -- AWOL from his duties to the states.
Some have accused us of being obsessive over John McCain. Not true. If it were obsession, this would be the focal point of vitriol. We haven't done that, and we won't. The Left has it's fever swamp as much as the right does, and we'd rather keep away from those nutters. We're sensible. We read tea leaves. And this time around, despite a decent showing with Paul Mirengoff and other bloggers, his ship is still sinking. He won't take the nomination after Super-Duper Tuesday. As a matter of fact, he'll be lucky to last that long.
Publius II
Regarding Iraq, McCain informed us that General Petraeus is expected to appear before Congress on or around September 11 and that President Bush will give his report on September 15. Then the Senate will debate what to do. McCain continues to see military progress and is heartened that others who "some may consider more objective" are seeing it too. Will this turn the political tide in Washington? McCain couldn't say, but he noted that there are Senators who "honestly agonize over Iraq" and who "may be willing to take another look" if they continue to hear credible reports of progress.
Two things. First, a reminder to readers that your representatives should be back home some time this month. they're off from business in congress, so let them know you want them to continue to support the troops and the mission. We can't afford to watch the line collapse now on this vitally important issue. Second, if you've got Blue dogs that are representing you, get in touch with them, as well. While some may have reservations about continuing the efforts in Iraq, Sen. McCain is correct to assert that a few may be wobbly. The best way to beat the Democrats at this is to stand firm on the issue, and flip any Blue dogs over to our side as we can. We don't have to stop their retreat and defeat efforts. all we need to do is make sure they don't achieve the veto-proof majority.
McCain is very unhappy about the Senate's failure to act on the nomination of Judge Southwick. As an aside (but an important one) he plugged the "gang of 14 deal" which resulted in the confirmation of several judges who had been blocked when the Republicans were in control, and eased the way for Roberts and Alito. Of course, without this deal, the Republican majority could have confirmed additional judicial vacancies including (if I'm not mistaken) the one Southwick now has been nominated for. The wisdom of the gang of 14 deal remains, in my view, an open question.
This part shows that Sen. McCain doesn't truly understand the mess he helped create. Paul's correct about the part I bolded above. Had he simply sat down and shut up, the unconstitutional filibuster on judicial nominees would have been crushed with the Constitutional Option that a feckless Bill Frist continued to hype, yet never pulled the trigger on. (This is probably due to the fact that he was trying to hold the party together, but he had Mccain's interference from the outside clouding things.) The Gang of 14 deal shouldn't ever be praised. John McCain placed his ego above the rule of law. the media lauded him for his bravery and maverick-streak in stopping those dastardly Republicans from stopping the games that Democrats play.
In response to a question I asked, McCain revisited the immigration battle, which he believes was a massive blow to his campaign. He attributes the political problem to his inability to convince people that the government would actually enforce our borders. Significantly, I think, McCain showed a good understanding of why people lacked that faith (he pointed to the 1986 experience, for example). He said that "next time" he'll include measures designed to create more confidence in enforcement, including perhaps a requirement that border state governors certify that enforcement is working before other elements of comprehensive reform go forward.
He clearly got the message about enforcement and security first when it comes to the immigration problem we have. And I actually like the idea he has about having the border-state governors signing off on things before the next step is taken. The only foreseeable problem with that is the governors themselves. Arnold's gone wobbly on illegal immigration. Our esteemed tur, er, governor Napolitano is wobbly. Gov. Richardson has never really been serious. That's three right there that might be tempted to "fudge" their reports. Best to have an independent group compile the report, then have the governor sign off on it. But it does seem that he understands the frustration the nation had over the immigration bill. It's also good that he recognizes that the fall out from his support of the bill has contributed to the failing campaign he's running.
It's not about his support of Iraq. It's not about who he calls his "base,"though it doesn't help his cause either. His lack of solid, conservative support comes from his record in the Senate over the last seven years, or so. This year, his biggest problem, especially in Arizona, is that he is showing significant signs of losing support for his nomination. He's in deep trouble, and people have long memories with candidates that they have a dislike for. It also doesn't help his cause when he's been absent from so many floor votes int he Senate this year. Arizona voters see him in the same light Massachusetts voters saw John Kerry in 2004 -- AWOL from his duties to the states.
Some have accused us of being obsessive over John McCain. Not true. If it were obsession, this would be the focal point of vitriol. We haven't done that, and we won't. The Left has it's fever swamp as much as the right does, and we'd rather keep away from those nutters. We're sensible. We read tea leaves. And this time around, despite a decent showing with Paul Mirengoff and other bloggers, his ship is still sinking. He won't take the nomination after Super-Duper Tuesday. As a matter of fact, he'll be lucky to last that long.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:46 PM
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