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[UPDATE: Now that the meeting has occurred, I wanted to re-edit and move this post back up to reflect what went on yesterday.]
The Council for National Policy had a chance to listen to John McCain’s thoughts on Friday, in a closed-door, press-not-invited session, ostensibly to shore up his social conservative cred, since they’ve been blasting him all primary season.
“This is the most distinguished collection of conservative leaders and donors, and he was anxious to appear as part of his ongoing effort to consolidate support for his candidacy within the conservative movement,” said Charlie Black, Mr. McCain’s campaign adviser.…Mr. McCain and his advisers, several of whom are CNP members, have admitted he has much work to do to secure and excite the Republican Party’s conservative base. Prominent figures on the right agree.
“McCain should contrast his approach to Supreme Court appointments with that of Hillary Clinton’s and Barack Obama,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told The Washington Times.
The depth of disaffection from Mr. McCain among prominent members of CNP is so strong that some are already questioning the group’s bona fides.
“It will say more about the state of the conservative movement than it does McCain,” a veteran CNP member said. “If he is accepted at CNP, this will mark the official end of the conservative movement as we knew it.”
Who is in the CNP? We’re talking far right. (H/t Right Wing Watch):
The council was founded in 1981, just as the modern conservative movement began its ascendance. The Rev. Tim LaHaye, an early Christian conservative organizer and the best-selling author of the ”Left Behind” novels about an apocalyptic Second Coming, was a founder. His partners included Paul Weyrich, another Christian conservative political organizer who also helped found the Heritage Foundation.They said at the time that they were seeking to create a Christian conservative alternative to what they believed was the liberalism of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Other luminaries of the womb-control and bedroom peeping crowd at the CNP include Daddy Dobson, Phyllis Schlafly, Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association, and Richard A. Viguerie.
Last night I posted about the psychedelic, craptacular McCain ad now up on YouTube and a lot of you noted that there are some nifty dog whistle calls to the the far-right voters wary of the Arizona senator’s credibility on social conservative issues.
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There was no need for any dog whistles as John McCain went to kneel down before Daddy Dobson (who said he would never vote for McCain) and the other leaders of the far right.
How did McCain do? Read below the fold.The UPDATE: The fundies still want to push him further to the right on social issues, but most will endorse followers to vote for him rather than see Obama or Clinton take the White House. (Washington Times):
Speaking without notes and without hesitation, he strode energetically back and forth across the stage, making his points and calling on people who had raised their hands, according to audience members.However, for many social and religious conservative CNP members, he was a flop.
Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America said she asked him about the nearly 40 percent of women in America who bear children out of wedlock and how he would address that problem.
“His response was to say his pro-life record [in Congress] answered that,” Mrs. Crouse said. “Well, I’m proud of his pro-life record, but this is not a pro-life issue but of promoting marriage and the idea that children belong within marriage, so I was not happy with his response.”
Asked if she and her organization will work hard to help elect Mr. McCain in November, she said, “I think most conservatives will support him because he is more conservative than the two choices – Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama – for the Democratic Party.
So, the question on a lot of minds yesterday, in advance of this hobnobbing with the fringe-right, was what was McCain going to have to “pay up” to get the support of these folks? The first thing was a guarantee of nominating ultraconservatives to the Supreme Court, but he’s basically already forked that one over. The logical bit of extortion to seal the deal ? His VP pick. They want the 71-year-old senator to install a preferred wingnut in the slot. Janet Crouse:
Then she expressed a proviso that some other CNP members also shared.Unless, she added, “he chooses a strong social conservative vice presidential candidate.” Because she represents a nonprofit organization, she could not mention anyone specifically to fill that bill.
However, she has been known to admire former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, both of whom also sought the Republican nomination this year.
“The Maverick’s” VP pick is going to be a clear signal to the fundnut wing and the independents — both are essential groups he needs to carry to win in the general — and it will indicate how he plans to govern. It will also make clear the level of influence granted to these CNP members. Will they be on President McCain’s speed dial?
I’m still trying to wrap my mind around anyone progressive who would consider casting a vote for Senator Fundie Suck-up as a response to their favorite candidate not getting the Dem nom. The more you read about McCain’s fealty to these social conservatives, the more it should scare you.
11 Comments
the price.i wonder how much mccain is offering to pay them to give them each a blow job.
Excuse me?John McCain has no fealty to the social conservatives, he just has to court them because he’s the Republican nominee.
“courting”is too polite of a term for what the whore mccain is doing with the fundies.
what he did with the recent torture vote.
i only wish we could be in that meeting to see him try to “appease” phallus shaftley.
Agreed.
He’s in the process of selling his soul as we speak.
The man who flip-flopped on TORTURE…I think that did him more harm than good with the base. They have to wonder about his predictability and fealty. But that’s a minor thing to them.
Number One: They REALLY hated his pushing the McC-Feingold campaign finance bill.
Number Two: They REALLY hated his being among the 14 Senators that brokered a compromise on the filibuster rule change in the Senate. Some Dems had threatened a filibuster over important judicial appointments involving whackjob toadie candidates. The Rs had threatened to change the Senate rule requiring 60 votes to end a filibuster, to 51 votes. This is a MAJOR change in rules that would change the Senate from a body that needs to negotiate between parties for controversial items, to a body pretty much like a small version of the House, where simple majority always rules and there is little deliberative process. Basically, every R senator that joined the “compromise 14″ had been labelled a traitor to the party. The Religious Right knows that judges are the path to reversal of rights of anyone other than “correct” Christian white men of a certain income – in other words, the folks that qualified at the founding of the country (landowning was the proxy for income). The CNP types have been saying, “It’s the JUDGES, stupid!” for a long time. (and liberals who do opposition research have been trying to point this out!)
As for the social conservative stuff, he is and has been with them on most issues – he has always been very strong anti-abortion, despite the impression he tries to give as a moderate. He is also not going to stick his neck out for gay rights.
BTW, one of the rumored McC VP candidates, Sen. Crist of FL, has just gotten himself a girlfriend. You can infer the rest by the fact that this is a novelty.
As I stated today on my blog, One would almost think that McCain is going out of his way to ass kiss the fundies to such a disgusting level that he is consciously or unconsciously trying to scare away all moderate voters. I mean, he’s the nominee and the bigoted far right fundies will surely vote for him rather than allow Hillary or a black man to be elected. I do not understand what the Hell he thinks he is going to accomplish.
Of course, if the MSM does not highlight all of these instances, many uninformed moderates and soccer moms will not even know about it. And, Pam, you are right. McCain seems to be making the case for all Democrats to hold their nose and vote for their favorite candidate’s opponent rather than elect McCain who recently describes Rod Parsley as a “good spiritual advisor”.
His “sucking up” is gettilg LGBT’s killedWhen he legitimizes these people, who preach hatred about us, lie about us, deny us our rights, then he is doing worse than showing fealty, he is furthering their agenda.
When do enough of die to elect him?
They want their VP candidate from amongst their own so…Why not Hutch?
now who’s undermining “traditional” families for the sake of political expedience?
but, then, what do you expect from people who want to increase the pregnancy rates while outlawing abortion which can only lead to a substantial rise in the number of those little bastard “love” children of harlots (many of whom are likely to live below the poverty line)?
That’s Governor Crist…Now he gets a beard, er, girlfriend…
D-I-V-O-R-C-EAnd once again, what is Ms.Crouse doing to ensure people in her organization never get divorced, or marry a person who has been divorced, since it is so clearly banned in their good book? Moral values should not just apply to other people, you need to take some responsibility for your own.