Posted by
Stay Red on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 6:36:48 PM
As a US Navy pilot, he survived 5 ½ years of beatings and torture while a prisoner at North Vietnam’s infamous Hanoi Hilton. He survived attacks from a tough crowd of conservatives who claimed he was too liberal, too old, too crotchety and too broke to ever win the Republican nomination. After overcoming that kind of opposition and adversity, John McCain should have no problem whipping a Dim in the general election…
Okay, Republicans, we now officially know who our guy is for the next election. Even if McCain was not your guy (he certainly wasn’t my candidate initially; six months ago I had his candidacy dead and buried) he is now the Republican nominee. It is now time for Republicans to get together behind McCain and help him defeat the Dim candidate, who will likely be the oh-so-inspirational but utterly insubstantial Barack Obama.
Fred Barnes’ Weekly Standard article, "Now the Hard Part", lists the three things McCain must do now that he has wrapped up the Republican nomination:
The most important is to bring Barack Obama down to earth from his pedestal in the heavens. He's still the likely Democratic nominee, after all, despite Hillary Clinton's primary wins yesterday. And he's mostly gotten away with campaigning as if he's on a mission to purify America, not merely running to capture the presidency.
McCain must also organize a turnout effort to match President Bush's in 2004--or exceed what Bush put together. This is necessary because it's clear the Democratic turnout is going to be larger and more enthusiastic than it was four years ago.
And he must gear his campaign to attract independents while not antagonizing conservatives, who constitute the Republican base. Conservatives are loyal Republicans, for the most part, and they didn't ditch the party even in its darkest of days in the 2006 election. It was independents who fled in 2006 to vote for Democrats, and they must be lured back this year. END EXCERPT
I agree with Barnes; Republicans did not quit in 2006. And we will not quit now. Conservatives should not be discouraged that the Dims are enthused and mobilized. Numbers and noise don't scare. We are not the ones making the most noise. We are just the ones quietly getting the most done.
Republicans are historically always the minority party. If every voter turned out and voted along party lines, Republicans would lose just about every election. But we overcome the odds by outworking the Dims and turning out a higher percentage of voters. That is part of the reason we won in 2004. We can do in 2008 just what we did in 2004.
And Republicans should not despair that the 2008 election is a lost cause. After things looking so gloomy for the GOP just months ago, there are now some glimmers of hope. From today’s
Rasmussen Reports:
Looking to the general election, John McCain has a slight lead over both Democrats. McCain now leads Obama 48% to 43% and Clinton 46% to 45% (see recent daily results). A Rasmussen Reports videosuggests that the Clinton victories in Texas and Ohio are good news for John McCain. (Looks like Rush Limbaugh was on to something-Kevin) In Washington State,McCain leads Clinton and is essentially even with Obama. The Governor’s race in Washington is also a dead-heat.
Nationally, McCain is viewed favorably by 52% and unfavorably by 45%. Obama’s numbers have slipped a bit recently and he is now viewed favorably by 50% of likely voters nationwide, unfavorably by 48%. Clinton earns positive reviews from 49% of Likely Voters nationwide and negative assessments from 50% (see recent daily results). END EXCERPT
In watching Tuesday’s primary wrap-up, I found it somehow appropriate that winning in the state of Texas helped push John McCain over the top. It was Sam Houston, first president of the Lone Star state, who said:
"We view ourselves on the eve of battle. We are nerved for the contest, and must conquer or perish. It is vain to look for present aid: none is at hand. We must now act or abandon all hope! Rally to the standard, and be no longer the scoff of mercenary tongues! Be men, be free men, that your children may bless their father's name."
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RFTLC
Oh, the Hillmanity!
The Hillaryburg is still flying high! But maybe not for much longer. According to the delegate counts, Hillbillary essentially needs to run the table to overtake Barack Obama. That is a tall order for Clinton.
Prior to winning Tuesday in Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas Hillbillary had lost eleven straight to Obama, who still leads by 95 delegates. Obama did manage to pick up a victory Tuesday in the Vermont primary.
With just twelve primaries to go, it looks increasingly likely that neither Clinton nor Obama can win enough delegates to lock up the nomination before the convention. The next round of Dim primaries, stretched out over the next two months, probably will not make the picture any clearer.
The biggest remaining prize is the April 22 primary in Pennsylvania, with 158 delegates. According to Real Clear Politics, Clinton currently leads Obama 46 percent to 37 percent. The Dims proportion delegates based on election results, so if the polls hold up, Clinton would gain some ground, but not nearly enough to catch Obama, who would also pick up a few Pennsylvania delegates.
Even if Hillbillary wins by a landslide in Pennsylvania, Obama victories in Mississippi (March 11, 33 delegates) and North Carolina (May 6, 115 delegates) will offset some or all of the Clinton pickup. Real Clear Politics has Obama leading 47 percent to 38 percent in North Carolina. There currently are insufficient polling results for Mississippi-Rasmussen will begin polling there this week-but it is reasonable to project Obama doing at least as well in Mississippi as he is doing in North Carolina.
With neither candidate able to win the nomination outright, and neither side prepared to concede, that leads us to Denver and the Dim National Convention in August. There is a chance (read: likelihood) of some Hillbillary shenanigans at the convention.
First off, look for team Hillbillary to demand the inclusion of the 350 delegates from Florida and Michigan. The Dim National Party stripped Florida and Michigan of their delegates for moving up their respective primaries. With nothing apparently at stake in Florida or in Michigan, the Dim candidates agreed, in writing, not to campaign in those states.
Despite the agreement, Hillbillary campaigned in Florida and followed by campaigning in Michigan. Clinton won both states convincingly; taking Florida by nearly 2-to-1 and winning 55 percent of the vote in Michigan. As an interesting sidelight, Clinton ran unopposed in Michigan, but over 40 percent of Dim voters chose "uncommitted" rather than choosing Hillbillary.
Clinton opponents contend that Hillbillary may have won those states, but their lack of opposition allowed the candidate to win by a larger margin, thus awarding the candidate an unfairly large share of the Florida and Michigan delegates.
Expect Clinton and Obama to come to some compromise that allows inclusion of the Florida and Michigan delegates. Yet that compromise will not give either candidate the required number of delegates to secure the Dim nomination.
That throws the deciding votes to the 796 super delegates. Count on the Clintons to do plenty of arm twisting in an effort to keep super delegates who initially pledged for Hillbillary from switching their votes to Obama. Team Hillbillary will disregard the conflict this creates for some delegates who pledged early for Clinton-probably anticipating a Hillbillary walkover-and who have since realized that a vote for Obama best represents the wishes of their constituents.
Put out of your mind any notion that Hillbillary may allow the super delegates to break their commitments in order to avoid fracturing the Dim party. Forget, too, the idea that Hillbillary will step aside for the good of the party.
This is not about the Dim party; it is about the Clintons getting into power. It has been that way since the early 90s…all about the Clintons. This is war for the Clintons, their enemy is anyone who stands in the way of a Hillbillary presidency. Hillbillary wins the nomination or leaves behind scorched earth.
Any damage Hillbillary does to the Dims makes it that much easier for McCain to win in November…
Returning Thursday: RFTLC’s series on nuclear energy in America.
Stay red…