My Friends, JD Could Derail the Straight Talk Expresss

02.24.10 Update: Romney Takes Sides

Romney endorses McCain over J.D. in the Cactus Contest.  Why?  Did McCain dig up some dirt on him in the '08 primary?  Here's what Rush thinks:

I like Mitt Romney, but I think he’s risking his career over a guy, endorsing McCain, who is so out of step with what’s going on right now. McCain’s always conservative when he’s running for reelection in Arizona. The tea parties have produced a wave of conservatism that have swept Republicans-in-name-only aside. I understand Palin endorsing McCain. She’s got no choice. Loyalty, plus if she doesn’t the media will cream her, “Oh, he’s good enough to be president but you won’t endorse him to be Senator?” And it’s understandable Romney would endorse Brown, but I don’t understand Romney endorsing McCain. I just don’t think it’s going to fly. These endorsements are unnecessary. What is there to gain by this? Look, it’s unfortunate, but people are weeding themselves out of the process all the while engaging in this kind of behavior. So in one sense it has a cleansing aspect to it…

This is what I’m telling you now, I tried to say that the Republican Party is trying to fight this off right now, they’re trying to fight off the tea party people. They’re trying to avoid being run over by them. Nobody is willingly going to give up a position of leadership they think they hold and a lot of people, it’s very difficult for people to change their core. Now, again, with Romney endorsing McCain, this is all about the future. This is Romney wanting McCain’s endorsement in 2012 if he runs for president. This is all about Republicans hanging together and this is one of the things that irritates people, especially new arrivals, to what is considered to be the same old politics. It is tone deaf, it’s suicidal, at least it seems to me, but at least you find out where people think things are important early on in a process like this so it’s got its value even though it does make you mad…

Okay, so imagine you got this tent, and we all know that McCain is still ticked off that he didn’t win the presidency, and he’s still ticked off that he had to fight so hard to win the nomination. So 2012 comes along, let’s say McCain loses the Senate run, so now he’s out there really ticked off, and some people just might — just throwing this out there, I’m not trying to convince you of this. I don’t even know if it’s true or even accurate. But maybe they’re just figuring down the road they’d rather have McCain not outside the tent throwing bombs at ‘em, rather have him inside the tent doing whatever he’s doing, I think either way it’s irrelevant because I think you’re right, the era of McCain’s over.

MMX FLEXer Kathleen from AZ writes:

The race is on!

Can it be that the Straight Talk Express will be derailed?  A real contest is emerging at long last.  The US Senate seat held for so many years by John McCain, hero, former US Congressman, former Republican Presidential nominee, is being contested by former US Congressman JD Hayworth.  What makes this primary compelling this time, is the mood of the electorate.  Most indications are that public opinion is moving Right.   The Senator may be vulnerable.

What bodes well for the Senator is that Republicans are taking a stand and throwing their weight behind the incumbent.  Sarah Palin, so admired by much of the conservative constituency, is going to campaign for the sitting Senator.  Scott Brown, the much hailed upset winner is Massachusetts, recorded a voice message to Arizona contributors to his campaign.  In the message he thanked the contributors and asked them to support John McCain.  Given these endorsements, one might think the Senator is a shoe-in for the Republican nomination.  But the Senator should not count his chickens just yet.

As Arizona voters reflect on their candidate choices, other factors may be so potent as to mitigate these endorsements.  First, though preferred by the media as a reasonable Republican, real conservatives find his tendency to be the “maverick,” a title in which he trumpets as a qualification, a disqualifier.  Should he win the Republican nomination, which is tantamount in Arizona to winning in the general, the conservative agenda will likely be compromised again.  Why?  Due to the Senator’s age, it is likely this will be his last run for office.  He will no longer need to consider how his vote will play back home and so will be unrestrained in his naked desire to be well regarded by the press nationally, ensuring multiple invitations to be a guest on opinion new shows.  The electorate be damned.

His positions on immigration (better known as amnesty), freedom of speech (or lack thereof i.e. McCain-Feingold),  the global warming hysteria, (and if you believe the gossipy new book “Game Change” McCain suggested Joe Lieberman as a running mate on his Presidential ticket,) belie his self-described “Conservative” bona fides.  These positions and choices, are antithetical to core conservative values.

Additionally, and it goes without saying, but is only fair and right to say that John McCain is a bona fide war hero.  As a POW he endured horrific treatment and throughout, though the opportunity to be released was presented, chose to eschew special consideration due to his connections as the son of an Admiral.   However, this experience has clouded his judgment in that he actually suggested that water boarding is akin to torture.  Most Conservatives see this as a technique to obtain vital national security information, which does not actually inflict pain or lasting physical harm.   Without the utilization of this technique, lord knows (and John McCain) what other attacks would have been successfully carried out by Al Queda.

The problem primary conservative voter’s face though, is that the primaries in Arizona are Open.  (Secretary of State Ken Bennett 7-27-9:…  and then especially in Arizona, you have the phenomenon that, because you are allowed to vote in the open primary except for the presidential preference primaries, which did catch a few voters off guard this year. A lot of independents who were used to being able to vote in statewide and legislative offices, were caught off guard and not allowed to vote in the presidential primary).  This has effectively ensured Senator McCain’s nomination in the past.  Democrats, knowing that their candidate will not win in the general, use their vote in the Republican primary to influence the outcome.  Thus a moderate like John McCain will receive ample support from the Democratic base.  With the mood of the electorate these days we shall see if that works for him this time around.

The latest Rasmussen polling shows the sitting senator has an advantage but JD is not foolhardy.  He just announced his intention to run for the nomination.  The hope is that he has some internal indications that suggest Senator McCain may no longer be able to motivate the squishy middle to show up and vote for the “Maverick.”

Here’s hoping the independents vote conservative as we know the senator won’t!

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John McCain running from [his friend] JD Hayworth?