Sunday, February 17, 2008
Quelling the McCain Mutiny
Elections piece by
Chuck Muth
About the only consolation Republicans can take from the presidential race right about now is that the Democrats are even more screwed up than they are. Some consolation. But that might be the only glint of optimism for Republicans, as the mutiny by conservatives against the party’s all-but-crowned presidential nominee is far wider and far deeper than many would care to admit.
Let’s face it, John McCain has gone out of his way to poke conservatives in the eyes for years, and conservative leaders who are now in open revolt command an awful lot of influence over millions of grassroots conservatives on issues ranging from taxes to guns; from immigration to free speech. And I’m not just talking about conservative talk-radio hosts here. I’m talking about the heads of established, highly-respected, well-funded conservative organizations which have been around a lot longer than John McCain has been in Congress.
So what does John McCain have to do to herd these right-pawed cats into his corner?
The Veep-Stakes
The most important decision will be his selection of a running mate. Whoever he selects will have to be acceptable to both the social-conservative and economic-conservative wings of the party - which rules out tax-and-spender Mike Huckabee or pro-choice Rudy Giuliani.
And under the assumption that McCain’s age may preclude him from a second term, the #2 slot needs to go to someone the party can rally behind in 2012. Someone with a combination of comparative youth and experience – preferably someone with executive experience.
Someone like…South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.
A Spoonful of Sugar
But if John McCain truly wants to pull conservatives into his camp and enthusiastically unite them behind his campaign, he needs to do a whole lot more than tap a top-notch veep. And he should start by telling his supporters who are out there calling anti-McCain conservatives “stupid,” to shut up.
Conservatives who are unhappy with Sen. McCain have many legitimate reasons to be unhappy with Sen. McCain. They need time to vent. They need time to get used to the idea of him heading the GOP ticket. They need to know who the Democrats are going to put up against him. They need to hear the Left attack McCain, which will ultimately rally many of them behind him. Time will heal many of these old wounds. Not for every conservative, but maybe for enough.
Unless the McCainiacs keep calling them stupid. In which case the anti-McCain forces will simply dig in their heels and seal their opposition in cement.
So it’s stupid to keep calling these conservatives stupid. Now is a time for a little honey, not a 2x4. How to win friends, and all that stuff.
Sign the Tax Pledge
Sen. McCain delivered a masterful and generally well-received speech at the conservative CPAC conference immediately after Super-Duper Tuesday. But talk is cheap. Especially in a party which has yet to get over that whole “read my lips” thing 25 years ago. So some substantive, concrete actions are in order if Sen. McCain wants the Right to believe he really, really, really, really wants their support and will listen to and work with them if he makes it to the White House.
The first thing he should do is sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).
Sen. McCain is on record during this campaign as saying he will veto any tax hikes, but he has yet to put that commitment down in writing. Which raises suspicions and questions - especially since he signed the Pledge as a senator and signed it as a presidential candidate in 2000. So why not now?
Many suspect the reason is that Sen. McCain is mad at ATR president and conservative super-delegate Grover Norquist over a run-in the two had a few years back and is still holding a grudge. But not signing the Pledge doesn’t hurt Grover so much as it hurts the entire conservative movement. It undermines the power and effectiveness of the Pledge, which is used by conservative leaders and activists all across the nation at the state and local levels.
And if Sen. McCain can let a personal tiff trump the best interest of the conservative movement now when he’s desperately trying to woo movement conservatives in the campaign season, imagine how bad things will be for the conservative movement if he wins.
The Bridge to Somewhere
In addition, for over 20 years now Grover has hosted a weekly meeting at his Washington office which is regularly attended by more than 100 of the nation’s top conservative activists and organizational leaders. For the last seven years, the Bush White House has sent an emissary to these center-right coalition meetings, making sure there was an open channel of communication between the administration and the grassroots. This has been extremely beneficial for both parties.
Now that the GOP nomination is all but his, Sen. McCain should immediately begin sending a high-ranking member of his campaign team to these meetings every week in an effort to reach out to the Right, hear their concerns, and bridge the gulf which presently separates the two camps.
Again, attending these meetings at Grover’s office isn’t about Grover; it’s about the entire conservative movement. This is olive-branch central.
Such a gesture might not mean a lot to the average conservative voter, but it will mean a lot to the leaders or conservative organizations who attend this weekly get-together. And those leaders - such as David Keene of the American Conservative Union and Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association - exert tremendous influence over millions of grassroots conservatives.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
And how about a little legislative action to back up the rhetorical overture delivered at CPAC?
I suspect it’s too much to ask that the good senator admit that he was wrong on campaign finance reform and sponsor a bill to repeal McCain-Feingold, but what about the illegal immigration issue? Sen. McCain’s presidential campaign went into a tailspin last summer after he teamed up with Sen. Ted Kennedy on an immigration reform bill which included what most conservatives considered an amnesty provision. At CPAC Sen. McCain told the audience he had learned his lesson from that experience and that he’s now firmly on board with securing the border first.
Fine. Where’s the bill?
Actions speak louder than words. If we’re to believe Sen. McCain has truly seen the light and experienced a conversion on this issue, let’s see him put forward a tough border security bill and fight for it with the same unrelenting passion and stubbornness he had for McCain-Feingold.
Forget McCain-Kennedy. Let’s see McCain-Hunter - as in border-security champ Rep. Duncan Hunter.
Make It Flake
Of course, some strong bully-pulpit words on matters of mutual importance to Sen. McCain and conservative activists wouldn’t hurt either.
For example, both conservatives and the senator are on the same side in the war against pork-barrel spending and earmarks. And the leading pork-buster in the House - Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona - was just passed over by tin-eared House GOP leaders for a high-profile seat on the Appropriations Committee. Instead, the seat was given to an Alabama “earmarxist” who conservative blogger Robert Bluey of the conservative Heritage Foundation notes has “same score as liberal Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Bill Jefferson (D-La.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.).”
This has infuriated the Right. Rightly so.
It sure wouldn’t hurt for Sen. McCain to do a little public “wood-shedding” of those House Republican leaders over this lame-brained decision.
What About Bob?
And finally, Sen. McCain needs to do something serious and concrete with the libertarian wing of the GOP.
Ron Paul definitely touched nerve with this presidential campaign. A big one. And libertarian-leaning Republicans have a third-party option in the form of the Libertarian Party. And that option could be even more compelling if the LP nominates someone of recognizable substance who can’t be portrayed as some whacked-out, dope-smoking, anti-war, open-borders hippie.
Somebody like…former Republican Congressman Bob Barr.
Barr is now a member of the LP’s national committee and is well-known and highly-respected in movement conservative circles. He’s a frequent attendee at Norquist’s weekly get-togethers. On many, many issues, Barr’s a pure constitutionalist, just like Ron Paul – but is not perceived as being weak on national defense.
And while Barr is not seen as a weak-on-terrorism isolationist, he has been at the forefront of battles against terror-related legislation which many view as undermining essential personal liberties. This will appeal to many libertarian-conservative Republicans, especially any who regularly deal with TSA.
In elections past, many conservatives who were unhappy with the GOP nominee just couldn’t bring themselves to voting for an unknown, inexperienced third-party candidate. A Barr candidacy would change all that for a significant number of voters.
Bring on the EPA
So what could Sen. McCain do to appeal to libertarian-conservatives who might well be tempted over to the Libertarian Party in November? Three words: Enumerated Powers Act (EPA).
The Enumerated Powers Act is a piece of legislation which has been sponsored by Rep. John Shadegg, Arizona Republican, for over a dozen years now. It would require that every bill passed by Congress include a provision specifically citing the constitutional authority for the measure.
If only such a requirement had been around when Congress established the National Endowment for the Arts. Or the Department of Education, for that matter.
Enthusiastically, publicly and energetically embracing the Enumerated Powers Act - and sponsoring a companion bill in the Senate - would go a long way toward appealing to Ron Paul’s legions of libertarian-leaning conservative voters.
Granted, the bill has no chance under the current Reid-Pelosi congressional regime. But the important thing is to raise the issue of constitutional primacy in the public’s conscience, much like Ron Paul has done through his presidential campaign.
Hello, John? This is John.
Of course, it’s going to be hard to campaign for this McCain-Shadegg bill if Rep. Shadegg follows through on his decision this week to retire and not seek re-election.
A personal phone call from Sen. McCain to Congressman Shadegg persuading the universally-admired conservative warrior not to hang up his spurs and stick around for at least one more term would earn the GOP presidential nominee an awful lot of good will with movement conservatives of every stripe. The number to call is (202) 225-3361.
Thanks to the mess the Democrats find themselves in, Sen. McCain has some time to rebuild bridges and make the peace with much of his conservative base. But those conservatives aren’t going to be persuaded by what Sen. McCain says; they want to see what he’s going to do. No more read-my-lips assurances. When it comes to the McCain nomination for conservatives, the operative phrase is: Trust, but verify.
Now where have we heard that before?
Copyright 2008 Chuck Muth. All rights reserved.
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