Eyes on 2008
- 18 Oct 06, 09:19 PM
2006? Forget it - 2008 is what major conservative donors are really worrying about, and they don't like the way their party is heading. Some of the biggest Republican donors are concerned that if the GOP loses the House in November it will boost chances of winning the presidential nomination in two years' time and they do not like the senator from Arizona.
Why not? Well, they just don't trust him on their core values, as one conservative Republican put it to me. Conservatives believe Mr McCain will say whatever is need to get elected but won't really represent their interests on social issues if he makes it to the White House.
But the same donors are in a fix right now. They can't see anyone else out there to get excited about.
The man they like best is . His politics seem most similar to theirs but they are genuinely concerned that the party's base, the Christian evangelicals, will never vote for a Mormon, which Mr Romney is.
Back to the mid-terms. If the Republicans lose control on Capitol Hill, the hunch is that the party will be so desperate to get back into power that stalwart Republican voters will decide to back a winner even if he's not a true conservative, and that's John McCain. Remember the 2008 campaign begins on 8 November, so watch where those donors put their money.
Katty Kay is a presenter on
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I'm very interested to see how the presidential nominees shape up for 2008, who bursts forth then fades, who surprises. At the moment I think we have an unusually high number of East Coast potential candidates for both parties, but perhaps this is an echo of 9/11.
Romney seems like a fader, but less, I think, for religion than for coming from a state with so many high profile people who will come out against him. It very well may make him seem politically homeless. It's a voter turnoff.
-cK
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You wrote:
" ... Conservatives believe Mr McCain will say whatever is need(ed) (your typo) to get elected but won't really represent their interests on social issues if he makes it to the White House ... the party's base, the Christian evangelicals ... If the Republicans lose control on Capitol Hill, the hunch is that the party will be so desperate to get back into power that stalwart Republican voters will decide to back a winner even if he's not a true conservative ... "
There is nothing "truly conservative" (whatever that is) and especially Christian about the US ruling class, its ideology, its
culture and its policies. I am a native of the country, and in forty years of life I have never seen or heard such a thing "on the
ground" in reality.
Politicians from both parties, and politicians from any country on this planet (and I've lived in several, in several different
languages) will say and do anything to get elected or in any case gain power. In the case of the US, the republicans just happen to be more skilled at mass propaganda than the democrats, and what is astounding is that the democrats can't figure it out, at least so far, even with the advantage of the mistakes in the Iraq war and the abuse of the security issue as an excuse to raid the treasury
and deprive the country of its budget surplus which had been a source of pride in the late 1990s, a goal achieved through the efforts of both parties over two decades, a policy of the US ruling class, the republicrats.
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Those who think that Mitt Romney will lose merely because he is a Mormon should read the blog.
I am not associated with this blog.
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All eyes have been focused on McCain, but now that the race is around the corner, Democrats smell blood with McCain. Romney however has a great resume and could turn out to be the wildcard in the race...should get very interesting.
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I can't see why evangelical Christians shouldn't vote for a Mormon. After all they voted for Bush. Who's arguing about the extra 'm'?
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I used to like John McCain, but I have been really unhappy with how much he has supported the Bush Administration. I know he worked to change the rules on torture etc, but he should have stood firm and fought to keep the Geneva convention in place and stop any change of US laws.
As a former prisoner, he should be shouting out loud about the custody of prisoners without legal representation or judicial review. He should have been more vocal on the wrongs being committed in Iraq and even the overall pointless war in Iraq. After all, he served in another pointless war.
However, what he does have going for him (from my point of view) is his stance on ‘pork’. His speeches on the waste and extra un-reviewed spending bills that get attached to any emergency appropriations bills are refreshing. In any given emergency bill (military spending) there are millions of dollars of extra bills attached, like using tax dollars to build a fish farm, or a 200 million dollar bridge to no where etc.
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Mr Romney, currently the governor of my state, has been the most divisive, do-nothing governor in my memory. And what is worse, he has traveled across the country bad-mouthing Massachusetts and its people to any who would listen. During his tenure in office, several high-profile companies have left our state. Divisive, do-nothing, feathering his own nest, bad-mouthing opponents, standing idly by while the economy goes south or abroad, ignoring or complaining about decisions of our State's Supreme Court - all of these sound like he would make an excellent presidential candidate for the Republican party. But I doubt that many in Massachusetts would vote for him. In fact, I doubt that he would be elected as dog catcher in this state.
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well there is nothing "truly conservative" (whatever that is) and especially Christian about the US ruling class, its ideology, its
culture and its policies. I am a native of the country, and in forty years of life I have never seen or heard such a thing "on the
ground" in realitywhat he does have going for him (from my point of view) is his stance on ‘pork’. His speeches on the waste and extra un-reviewed spending bills that get attached to any emergency appropriations bills are refreshing...
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If you look at Buck McKeon's (R CA) voting record you will see why a Mormon can win over evangelical voters. McKeon is rated as one of the best "Christian values" voters in the House.
Evangelicals would certainly prefer a Mormon (like Romney)who shares their core values (no to abortion, no to homosexuality), to a secular candidate.
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Call me shallow, but I could never take seriously, a President named after a leather baseball glove.
Wonder why so many Republicans adopt such childish nicknames, eh sport?
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As a harry truman/scoop jackson Dem I remember George Romney. In my unfettered completely objective opinion regarding mugwumps(i.e. republicans) they could do alot worse than Mitt Romney and he could ride to 1600 Penn. on the heels of mandatory single-payer health insurance which our country sorely needs. Dirty little secret: karl roves worst nightmare is a Hillary/Obama ticket or Edwards/Obama or Gore/Obama one. Stick ma fork in the GOP theyre done; the partys over. And serve them with fava beans and nice chianti.
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