Mark Levin On John McCain

Heh. In short, Mark Levin reminds readers at National Review's The Corner that while John McCain is racking up a string of endorsements, he still has one teeny-tiny little problem to overcome -- those in the GOP base recall his recent, paltry record:

In sum, John McCain has been weak on homeland security, joining with numerous liberal Democrats to argue for closing Guantanamo Bay, applying the Geneva Conventions to unlawful enemy combatants, extending certain constitutional rights to detainees, limiting tried and true interrogation techniques, and conferring amnesty on illegal aliens (which would include OTMs; that fact that Bush supported the same thing is no defense). He aggressively opposed the Bush tax cuts, even after they were scaled back. He is behind the McCain-Lieberman Stewardship Act, which is a Kyoto-like manifesto. His role in McCain-Feingold goes well beyond merely voting for it (he was its primary crusader). He organized the Gang of 14, which I contended at the time and still believe effectively killed Republican efforts to kill the Democrat filibustering of judicial nominees. And while he votes against unbalanced budgets, he has no problem with federal intervention in a wide range of matters that are outside the federal government's constitutional limits.

Yes, McCain has been steadfast on the Battle of Iraq. And yes, that's important. But Rudy Giuliani's strength is said to be his understanding of the Islamo-fascist threat, and he would be no slouch; nor would Fred Thompson or Mitt Romney. But McCain has also been in the Senate for many years. And I don't recall prior to 9/11 that he was a leading voice warning against potential terrorist attacks, or al-Qaeda, or using his position to demand greater spending and preparedness for the U.S. military during Clinton's presidency (although I am open to evidence to the contrary). I don't recall him speaking out against efforts to weaken out intelligence agencies. Clearly, McCain knows how to make noise over any issue if he wants to, whether through the media or shutting down the Senate. He has been the mainstream media's favorite Republican for years, and there's a reason for it.

Indeed there is a reason for it. He lauds platitudes on the media when they give him fawning profiles and softball interviews. He stands for the same issues that they do, which is why when things like the Gang of 14 and McCain/Feingold came around, they heaped praise on him for being a "maverick" in the Republican Party; a man willing to "think" on his own rather than follow the party.

That is not what America wants. His numbers are disgustingly low, and he is in danger of losing New Hampshire to Mitt Romney. That was to be the only primary state prognosticators claimed he would likely win. Now even that is in doubt. John McCain's most immense problem is that, quite literally, he does not listen to his constituents. He listens to the media and he listens to the Democrats. In short, he could care less about us "little people."

He burned his bridges. He made his bed, and now he can lay in it. There is no way he is going to take the nomination. We believe it is time for him to step aside in this race, let the big boys fight it out, and return to the Senate to finish out his final term. We are pretty sure than when it comes time for his reelection bid in 2010 that there will be someone in Arizona waiting to take him down.

Marcie