It seems like only yesterday that I wrote:
The McCain campaign really needs to get the word out to their supporters that they are insulting the intelligence of the people they are trying to woo.
That was in response to the McCain campaign leaking a letter Bob Dole wrote to Rush Limbaugh urging party unity for the general election.
To see how this observation would play out, I tuned in Rush Limbaugh’s program this morning. As sure as the sunrise, Limabugh spent devoted the first hour of his show taking the verbal blowtorch and pliers to McCain and his campaign over the leak of the letter and the campaign’s latest smear of Romney.
Moreover, Limbaugh has not restricted his attacks to McCain’s more progressive policy positions. Instead, he is using the Romney smear as the springboard to attack McCain’s honesty. He is painting the McCain campaign as manipulating a genuine WWII war hero, who usually downplayed his service — instead of vaingloriously parading one’s POW status as a shield against policy criticism, much as Hillary Clinton plays the gender card. He is arguing that McCain is no Maverick, because he goes along with the tide of contemporary liberalism. And he is portraying McCain as disloyal to conservative principles to advance his personal political fortune, while the GOP got nothing for his collaboration with people like Ted Kennedy.
McCain’s supporters will disagree with all of those assertions, which is quire beside the point.
Rather, the point is that on a day when most expect the McCain campaign will find itself thisclose to the presidential nomination, the campaign and the media will likely talk about what a great campaign McCain has run, coming back from nowhere to the brink of success.ÂÂ
Meanwhile, these geniuses in Camp McCain have managed to get the conservative movement’s biggest megaphone to move beyond policy criticism to going after McCain’s honesty, honor, loyalty and Maverick image. When Limbaugh confined himself to policy, the McCain campaign could rely on the “somewhat conservatives” to back McCain on the basis of his image. Now, the campaign risks having Limbaugh spend three hours daily pouring acid on McCain’s perceived strengths. For that matter, it risks having people question the competence of the McCain campaign staff.
What I think your analyses are missing, Karl, is any consideration of how many people out there think they’re nominating John McClane as the Republican candidate for President, thinking “Damn, he kicked ass in those Die Hard movies.”
Hahahaha, Jim! Don McLean wasn’t in any Die Hard movies!
What? They aren’t nominating Kung Fu’s Cain for the presidency? Major bummer. I was totally going to vote for him because, frankly, any man that can walk on wet rice paper without leaving mark, is ready to be a master. Or at least ready to go on a long journey to kick ass, and get papa’s cows back.
The anniversary of the Day the Music Died was over the weekend.
I would totally vote for a McClane/Bauer or Bauer/McClane ticket.
“Welcome to The Party, pal!”
You may want to think twice about Bauer.
Besides, when you trying to woo a group of folks who believe a drug addict’s analysis of another persons foibles, you probably barking up the wrong tree. Rush Limbaugh, paragon of virtue and honest broker! Kudos on declaring a sad little man a king-maker. Possibly, we could notice that not even a majority of Republicans agree with Limbaugh? Maybe I should roll by the methadone clinic and ask the folks out front whom they support?
P.S. Nothing against Limbaugh, of course, we all have our personal problems, but asking me to care about the sort of numbnuts who listen to a thrice divorced drug addict and trust his judgments of an American hero’s candor is a bit much.
P.P.S. Nice site, otherwise
Gee, ericd, hate much?
ericd may not care about Limbaugh, but McCain sorta has to care. It would not surprise me if he was a McCainiac, though. I’ve previously noted how often they seem to exhibit McCain’s worst traits, and how infrequently they exhibit his better ones.
I guess ericd is a McCain (or possibly Kuchinch)supporter.
Wasn’t Limbaugh chastising Reynolds for encouraging conservatives to sit out 2006 over ear-marks and corruption? Times do change.
I remember that in 2006 I was hearing a lot about immigration as a reason to punish the Republicans — even though House Republicans were the biggest obstacle to what Bush was trying to do.
mishu,
I haven’t heard Limbaugh tell anyone to sit it out.
I disagree with Karl and Allah that McCain smeared Romney. It was a stupid thing of Romney to say about Dole.
Also, on Hannity and Colmes last night, I think Dole said his people released the email because it looked like Rush wasn’t going to discuss it.
Here is what I’ve read the email says. It neither endorses McCain nor criticizes Romney in any way. In fact, it is suportive of all the Rep major candidates:
via Politico
CHENEY/VALDEMORT ’08!!!!
MayBee,
It is a smear to claim that Romney was impugning Bob Dole’s war service. It probably wasn’t smart of Romney to say in general, though he’s far from the first to compare McCain to Dole ’96. Limbaugh made the same points you have about the letter.
But as noted in the initial post, none of that is the real point, which is that the McCain campaign, by pushing the letter (via Rick Davis, who was mentioned on H&C) got the exact response from Rush that they should have predicted, but obviously did not (unless they are running against Rush in the NE and in CA today, which is a possibility, but short-sighted). Either way, it was bad tactics by Camp McCain with perhaps longer-term damage resulting.
They should have known better, which raises questions about whether they really understand the nature of the opposition to McCain’s candidacy, which would seem to be required if they hope to get some sort of detente going.
Yes. Dole’s people released the letter McCain’s may have too, but Dole didn’t intend it to remain private:
HANNITY: When you sent it to Rush, did you expect it to be leaked to the press.
DOLE: I figured somebody would find out about it. In fact, I heard it on the radio somewhere. Anyway, I assume he wasn’t going to use it at 3:00, so then we did give it to people after 3:00. But I figured off the air. I made it very clear that I disagreed with Senator McCain, but I also reported what happened when I was the leader and he was a senator.
It is a smear to claim that Romney was impugning Bob Dole’s war service
Romney said Dole was the last person he’d want to write a letter for him. Which is a smear on Bob Dole, and also ridiculous because BobDole wrote a letter supportive of all the candidates.
McCain did not say Romney impugned Bob Dole’s war service.
Here is what he said:
He was stating the reasons why Bob Dole should not be the last person you’d want supporting you. Allah misrepresented what McCain said.
It isn’t just McCain’s people not understanding the opposition. You (not you Karl) can’t blame McCain for not getting a detente going if you really aren’t interested in any such thing. I’m sure he’s got to make the calculation whether certain people are willing to be convinced, or if they simply will never be.
I already agreed that Romney’s comment was dumb. Your quote shows McCain injecting Dole’s war hero status into it.
Moreover, this isn’t personal with me. I’m saying they are making tactical blunders. John McCain made his name taking positions unpopular in the GOP base, so getting the nomination and winning the election will require that he make the conciliatory gestures, regardless of whether McCain privately thinks he shouldn’t have to make them. He knows this, which is why he’s going to CPAC, etc. Consequently, the campaign’s tactic of publicizing the letter to Limbaugh was counter-productive, and they should have known better, which is why I am now wondering just how much the campaign does not get the intra-party opposition.
And my assessment would be that the perecentage of people taking Jeff’s position of not voting for McCain in the general is probably rather small, though maybe key if the election is as close as 2000 or 2004. If it ends up like 2006, it won’t matter in the slightest.
Mitt’s just not ready for primetime. It’s fine to have your surrogates and the bloggers and the yakkers talking about the supposedly “last person” you’d want endorsing you being Bob Dole. It’s politically tone deaf for a candidate to do that. Very stupid, but I suspect with all the press about the primaries today he’ll get a pass.
Brainster,
Agreed. Plenty of stupidity on both sides today. But McCain supporters will probably have to worry about it longer than Mitt will. (and Mitt would prefer to be worrying about it longer.)
In re: comment #17, somebody already beat you to that particular punch.
Your quote shows McCain injecting Dole’s war hero status into it.
Yes. It also shows he didn’t smear Romney in any way. IMHO.
I am now wondering just how much the campaign does not get the intra-party opposition.
I’m sure they don’t get it, especially if this was characterized as a smear of Romney.
I agree McCain will be concilliatory to some extent. Figuring out how shrill your opponents is going to be is quite difficult, however. Rush has his own agenda here, and I don’t agree with him or it. He’s no innocent victim of McCain’s campaign misteps. He is actively trying to create the appearance of and highlight them. Then again, he didn’t like McCain in 2000 either.
McCain was unlikeable in 2000 though. It’s not a new thing.
haps- I can absolutely respect that many find McCain unlikeable and always will. What bothers me is when people act as if there is something McCain could do to make them like him, and he should work to figure out what that is, when they really have no intention of ever liking him.
Of course. That has been my point all along. Had the McCain campaign been smart, they would have had Dole write the letter, then refused to take a copy themselves, and never brought it up. It would have been a classy, back-channel way to approach him.
But that was obviously not the intent. The intent was to get Rush to mention it and — when he didn’t — they leaked it. If these people had any familiarity with Limbaugh, they would have known that would backfire.
It speaks to the larger problems with McCain’s campaign. If you have supposedly been spending years trying to “get right” with the Right, you should know better… and you should have more progress to show for it. Instead, McCain publicly grumbled about having to make gestures to the Right (e.g., “the G–d—-ed fence”) and continued to vote less and less conservative, while his handlers make blunders like this one with Rush. The McCain campaign (like the Romney campaign) is its own worst enemy. But inasmuch as McCain is the likely nominee, it’s a bigger issue as to his campaign.
Given MayBee’s response to hf, let me highlight that the question of what McCain can do now to make the Right happy is important, but folks backing him might want to ask what McCain should have been doing for the last eight years.
Oh. I hope I’m not one of those people who act as if there is something McCain could do to make them like him. That would just be teasing that poor old man. No. I’ve been trying to splain about the Republican Main Street Partnership, the Soros-funded one, off and on for like a long time. McCain helped start it and it has that lady in it that talks like she’s had a stroke, and Arlen and also all sorts of douchebaggery involved. But a lot it doesn’t seem that people find that as significant as I do. Sometimes I feel very lonely.
There actually is something McCain could do that would make me dislike him less: get out of politics right now.
Sadly, what he needs, and can never get, is for me to vote for him.
Q: What can I do to prove to you that I’m human?
Worf: Die.
Q: Eat any good books lately?
Of course. That has been my point all along. Had the McCain campaign been smart, they would have had Dole write the letter, then refused to take a copy themselves, and never brought it up. It would have been a classy, back-channel way to approach him.
To approach Rush? They are trying to appeal to the people that listen to Rush, or hear about Rush, that are influenced by him by don’t always agree. For example, people that might like Bob Dole. I doubt there is anything they can do to change Rush’s mind at this point. So the classy, back-channel way would have been a dead end.
Then there was the added benefit of Mitt denigrating Dole, which could make Mitt look bad to loyal Republicans. Add a dash of Rush going over the top and implying McCain attacked Romney when he did no such thing.
There are layers. Layers and layers.
Sorry, MB, but I can’t vote for a man who has to turn to an aide when a reporter queries, “What kind of car do you drive?”
Right happy is important, but folks backing him might want to ask what McCain should have been doing for the last eight years.
I propose that had he done what many here want him to have done the last eight years, he’d not be the front runner now.
Sure, he went against the party but a lot of people like that.
You* and Rush might like him more if he’d done differently, but there is the very real possibility that he’d be just another Bill Frist or Duncan Hunter.
(*of course I never mean you you, Karl. Cause I know this isn’t personal)
by s/b ***but*** don’t always agree.
also:Add a dash of Rush going over the top and implying McCain attacked Romney when he did no such thing.***
***which could make it appear to Rush listeners that Rush occasionally is unfair in his criticisms.
There is the very real possibility he’ll just be another John Kerry too though. Psychologizer has a graph.
It’s here.
“The McCain campaign (like the Romney campaign) is its own worst enemy.”
It wasn’t the Light Brigade that screwed up. They did their job. Lord Cardigan gave the order to charge.
McCain shares many traits with Lord Cardigan. Aside from rolling the ball bearings around, of course.
What that fucktard ericd (and most lefties) can’t seem to wrap their timy minds around is that we ‘ditto-heads” don’t wait for Rush to tell us what to think. His opinions merely reflect what we already think in a more concise and entertaining way.
The beauty of Limbaugh is that he gave voice to the voiceless after many years in the media wilderness. I don’t give a shit if he had 104 ex-wives, shoots heroin, or takes hooker vacations in the Dominican Republic. I still agree with his opinions, or rather, he gives voice to mine.
Amen Log Cabin.
I’ll never forget the first time I heard Rush about 18 years ago. I thought “Holy Shit! I’ve never heard MY opinions expressed on the airwaves before!”
Not buying that particular formulation. In the right neighborhood, but wrong IMO. It’s the unctious ‘maverick’ thing, not any particular policy position that a lot of people like. This is the case because nine out of ten people look to the tenth to tell them how to vote. I don’t mean this in a strictly literal sense. I mean that they don’t know shit about the policy positions. All they know is that McCain seems like he ain’t gonna put up with no Washington bullshit. They don’t know why they think this, because it sure as hell isn’t predicated upon his policy positions. They think this because of the same pretentions that you’re suggesting make Rush’s rejection disengenuous.
It’s all fucking smoke and mirrors. The whole lot of it. And we’ve got nothing but human nature to blame for it.
MayBee,
I think you, like the McCain camp, misread Limbaugh. Sure, he’s carrying the conservative banner, but I think he would have (and still might) reconciled himself to mildly supporting McCain in the general, given the alternative. I think he’s been harsh on McCain lately in hopes of moving folks away from McCain, but would dial it down if McCain was the nominee as November loomed. Dole’s letter was directed at the general, and I think Rush would have given it due consideration had it remained private. He had plenty of nice things to say about Dole today.
Instead of waiting, McCain’s people decided to “push back” on Limbaugh yesterday. To not recognize that Limbaugh is not a person who likes being “pushed” by someone with whom he disagrees was silly on their part. Thinking that Dole’s letter would get put in a good light by Limbaugh after doing it was silly on their part. So what they got was Limbaugh debating and dissecting every point of the letter, including pointing out that most all of McCain’s leftward drift came after Dole left the Senate in ’96.
On the TV coverage tonight, the word supposedly is that McCain is going to be doing more low-key outreach via people like Ted Olsen. It’s what they should be doing, if they don’t manage to mess that up.
Talked to another Dem today voting McCain if Hillary gets the nom. He had voted Barack today. Something about Barack being a flea that can jump out of the jar cause he hasn’t been in the jar as long as Clinton. And cause also Barack will cheer up America.
Ok I guess. I think maybe I’ll look at apartments this weekend I said. Or not.
My father, a frothing moonbat that thinks Edwards would be the best President out of all of the candidates, told me tonight that he will not vote for Hill/Bill. He will not necessarily vote for Johnny Mac, but will most certainly not vote for Hill/Bill. Maybe Hill/Bill will have some of the same problems with Left that the Johnny Mac will have with the Right. Interesting.
The party needs to rebuild itself from time to time, try different coalitions, and find the right combinations. The primary process is doing that.
I don’t know whether it is intent and some darned clever calculus, or unintentional incompetence (is there another kind?), but this primary has built a coalition that does not include conservatives, or at least not conservatives as I am comfortable defining them – and counting myself among them. My opinion – the stupidity of the RNC in not understanding the dynamics of the voting sequence of states, and the split of the conservative vote in the early states among several good candidates has left the RNC with milquetoast lip service conservatism as the candidate of the party, but not the candidate of conservatives.
I don’t know if the new combination of constituent groups has a bind that will hold them together, and I for one, do not see the commonality among the groups, or even well defined groups. I hope, for the Republican Party, that they have some idea and will watch with interest.
I do think they’ve broken the older coalition of conservative groups with a McCain selection. Not broken the groups mind you, but the lack of conservatism in the candidate means the groups find no common cause in a McCain presidency.
Fred! for write-in here in Ohio, when it comes my turn for primary; and who the h. knows when it comes time for the general.
I used to be one of those who believed ‘Rush is a right-wing nutcase out to destroy America’ until I actually listened to his show in 2003, couple years after 9/11 mugged my reality; been listening ever since.
I can’t help but noticed how many of the establishment republicans today are sounding just like I did back in the 1990’s; guess they gotta do what they gotta do to stay in power.
Ditto what Log Cabin stated.
I guess one would have to have been on the other side to see how easily people can be pawned into placing blame on a radio guy who is simply interested in ideals which are good for America and not just any particualar politician.
Actually out of all the media venues Rush’s show is the only thing I’m willing to spend my time tuning into.
So call me a crazy right-winger’ to me it’s a badge I wear with pride.
And contrary to Bill Kristol I have no problem not liking MCCain, not because of Rush says but because of what Mccain does.
I suspect that John Lynch is gravely mistaken in believing that the RNC does not understand the effect of the voting sequence. I also suspect that a little research would show that a lot of the winner-take-all states that McCain won in the Northeast are WTA because Rudy’s folks were working them for his benefit. Instead, they went to Rudy’s buddy.
Karl,
So your position is that the RNC have deliberately frozen out the conservatives?
Machiavellian. Maybe, but I’m inclined to attribute stupidity rather than conspiracy until more evidence.
John
Bush cut a deal with McCain on Iraq for sure I think. Machiavellian or not, the chickens have their greyhound tickets and are heading home.
The question is, will they find their rooms exactly like they left them, or will they be shunted into the little tiny guest room — or worse, the Motel 6?
And cause also Barack will cheer up America.
What? Does he play the banjo or something?
Those people are just born entertainers, Rusty.
Democrats, I mean.
Oh, I thought he was talking about black people, like Steve Martin. damn, that darky can play some banjo.
So now we got changeyness, and hopishness and cheeryishness ness. Ya just got to love liberals. They’re all about the ness.