McCAIN, CPAC, AND FRED
(Washington Prowler) - Advisers to Sen. John McCain are encouraging the would-be Presidential frontrunner to arrange a private meeting with his longtime friend, former Sen. Fred Thompson in an attempt to gain greater credibility with the conservative base in the Republican Party. "They can do the meeting when he's in town for the CPAC meeting," says a McCain adviser, speaking of McCain.
McCain's campaign purchased a booth at CPAC and announced on Wednesday that McCain himself would attend the event. McCain's advisers see the event as a win-win for their candidate. "If he's applauded, then we can spin it that he's being welcomed by the base that is important to win in the fall. If they boo him, then these are still the morons who haven't liked him for a decade, so no big surprise, and John looks like the bigger man for showing up and taking the abuse. But I don't think the latter will happen. Everyone understands the political stakes. John McCain is going to be the nominee, and conservatives don't want Hillary or Obama in the White House. They will support John McCain."
Some advisers, though, think a Thompson meeting would be even better for McCain. According to McCain sources, the two men spoke briefly last week several days after Thompson exited the presidential primary field. With no conservative left in the race, McCain is looking for ways to build support among the conservative base he knows he will have to tap into if he is to win in the general election. The thinking among some McCain strategists is to have McCain look at Thompson's tax reform and judiciary policies and endorse one or both of them. That seems doubtful, given that McCain has not been supportive of broad tax cuts in the past, nor is he sympathetic to conservative judicial nominations.
McCain does not expect an endorsement from Thompson, nor has he sought it, according to McCain insiders, but a mutual understanding, with Thompson's ability to speak to conservatives and say that McCain intends to adopt more conservative policy positions when elected might go a ways to allaying conservative fears.
McCain's campaign purchased a booth at CPAC and announced on Wednesday that McCain himself would attend the event. McCain's advisers see the event as a win-win for their candidate. "If he's applauded, then we can spin it that he's being welcomed by the base that is important to win in the fall. If they boo him, then these are still the morons who haven't liked him for a decade, so no big surprise, and John looks like the bigger man for showing up and taking the abuse. But I don't think the latter will happen. Everyone understands the political stakes. John McCain is going to be the nominee, and conservatives don't want Hillary or Obama in the White House. They will support John McCain."
Some advisers, though, think a Thompson meeting would be even better for McCain. According to McCain sources, the two men spoke briefly last week several days after Thompson exited the presidential primary field. With no conservative left in the race, McCain is looking for ways to build support among the conservative base he knows he will have to tap into if he is to win in the general election. The thinking among some McCain strategists is to have McCain look at Thompson's tax reform and judiciary policies and endorse one or both of them. That seems doubtful, given that McCain has not been supportive of broad tax cuts in the past, nor is he sympathetic to conservative judicial nominations.
McCain does not expect an endorsement from Thompson, nor has he sought it, according to McCain insiders, but a mutual understanding, with Thompson's ability to speak to conservatives and say that McCain intends to adopt more conservative policy positions when elected might go a ways to allaying conservative fears.
posted by BP News Bureau | 1:06 PM
5 Comments:
[McCain does not expect an endorsement from Thompson, nor has he sought it, according to McCain insiders, but a mutual understanding, with Thompson's ability to speak to conservatives and say that McCain intends to adopt more conservative policy positions when elected might go a ways to allaying conservative fears.]
Considering McCain's lack of a conservative record and Thompson's priciples, intelligence, and straightforward manner, DON'T THINK SO!
McCain and Thompson are friends. In Congress they were close allies. Thompson drafted the language for McCain-Feingold. On the issues, they are virtually identical. McCain's and Thompson's records while they served were almost identical.
Reality is hard.
I know Thompson supported McCain-Feingold, but I've never heard of him actually drafting the language. If he did, it looks like it would have been called McCain-Feingold-Thompson.
Thompson drafted bills for a number of his colleagues. He is a lawyer, after all. It is a fairly common practice in Congress to have colleagues who are lawyers write the bills for those who aren't. Now you know what's wrong with Congress and our laws, by the way.
The names of bills are colloquialisms. Their official names are actually numbers. The traditional names of bill are given after the members who shepherd them through the process. For example, a whole battery of lawyers wrote Sarbanes-Oxley (surprise, surprise), but their names aren't tacked onto the bill.
I will never stop chuckling about people who despise McCain and everything he is, but who worship the ground under Thompson. To them I say, "Look at the record. Look at history. Feel silly."
The key, though, is where they are different. Fred's position on the tax cuts were different. Fred's positions on immigration were different.
Those are two of the top three issues (tax cuts meaning economic issues) in this campaign.
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