The leaders of the Republican party dislike McCain?

Question

Is it because he is willing to work with Democrats to get things done? Do we a citizens want another 20 years of watching this country sink or do we want our politicians to actually change things for the better.

Answer 1

He has the guts to cross the Aisle and Vote with the Dem's on issues

Not a Bad trait in My Book

Answer 2

The simple reason conservatives dislike McCain is he has taken liberal positions inconsistent with major principles of the party, such as on illegal immigration, campaign finance, and welfare.

And, he has literally abandoned the party in the past election cycle (see 'three purple hearts' Kerry for details).

Not hard to understand why conservatives don't warm up to him.

Answer 3

I think that is McCain's appeal as with Obama.  I think Clinton will do more of the partisanship for the other side of the aisle.    Who knows what November will bring.

Answer 4

Good point.

Deep down inside I respect the man. I also when seeing him at the start of the debate season didn't think he stood a chance. So I am surprised and a little happy to see him doing so well.

I did like Mike Huckabee... but McCain would be a second choice for me. So if he gets the nomination, I would say my vote for him would be all but sealed come November.

Answer 5

It is not the leaders of the Republican Party that have their problems with McCain. It is the conservatives who make up a large portion of the Party that John McCain needs if he wants to get elected.

Judging from your posts, those who favor McCain do so because he votes with the Democrats. Why would any political Party want to elect the leader of their Party on the basis that he votes with the opposition Party.

Isn't Barak Obama criticizing Hillary for voting with the Republicans on authorizing the War?

Isn't he attacking Hillary for voting with Republicans for further funding of the War?

Where are the accusations that Barak is just a far-left bigoted nut who doesn't know how to get along with Republicans and vote with them to get things done?

Sorry, guys, I don't hear this coming from the left! Maybe because they have no intention of giving up their liberal principles.

It is too bad Republican moderates do not show even as much political backbone for Republican ideas that they think they have to elect someone who votes with the Democrats to be successful!

Boy, that is really a winning Republican strategy these moderates have!

Answer 6

I don`t think we should elect someone from these fading generations that were raised with fear of those different and would be more likely to go to war on fear more then evidence.

Answer 7

The Republican Party is not about one man, his ideas, his agenda.  It's about the Party Agenda.  Policy is made by a group of party leaders behind the curtain.  That's why GW Bush made such a good candidate for them, a man with no political ideas of his own, who would just read what they put in front of him.

You might think McCain would be more of an independent thinker.  In the 2000 election he was the 'maverick', the independent, as Ron Paul is this time around.  But after he won in New Hampshire the party torpedoed him with a smear campaign.

McCain went off and licked his wounds, then came back to smooch the party's butt.  In doing so he lost a lot of the respect he had earned from independent 'swing' voters and even Democrats.  His political image has suffered.

Today all the mainstream Republican candidates are not allowed to criticize Bush, to admit he's made mistakes or to say how they might do things differently.  So all they can offer us is four more years of the same policies.  If you like how Bush is running things, it doesn't matter WHICH Republican you voter for because they are competing only to be the new spokesman for the same policy-making apparatus.

If McCain had won in 2000, he -might - have worked better with Democrats.  But the GOP's strategy is not to cooperate but to polarize.  Carter and Clinton both tried hard to create bipartisan consensus, to work together on shared goals, but the GOP sees that this is not in their interests.  Their idea of 'bipartisanship' is that the Democrats drop their objections and just vote with the Republicans.  And you won't see any different with McCain in the White House.

Answer 8

Excellent post.  Yes, the fact that he can work with Democrats is a good thing -- not bad.  I am so incredibly embarrassed watching these Republicans whine and cry like Dems.

Answer 9

He doesn't follow the party's line, and has his own ideas.  For the national party, that's a problem.

It's a terrible irony that candidates have to do a 180 degree flip between primaries and the general election - to win the primary, they have to be everything their party wants, to win the general election, they have to go outside the bounds of their party.

Seems we can't win for losing...time for a change in election procedure, perhaps