T
The Prophet Micah
Guest
CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 19 -- From Rush Limbaugh to Tom DeLay, voices
that once held sway over the Republican rank and file unloaded on John
McCain over the last week, trying to use a conservative electorate in
South Carolina to derail the Arizona senator's quest for the
Republican nomination.
But though McCain failed to persuade many of the old Republican power
brokers, he wrapped up the Republican establishment where it counted
most, South Carolina. His win Saturday underscored how different
McCain's campaign has been this year compared with eight years ago,
when a similar conservative assault effectively ended his campaign
here and handed his party's presidential nomination to George W.
Bush.
"I think the people of South Carolina are getting to know John McCain
now, a little more than they know those folks anymore," longtime
McCain aide Mark Salter said Saturday night of the senator's old
nemeses.
Limbaugh led the way with a verbal blitz, not just against McCain but
against his closest rival in South Carolina, former Arkansas governor
Mike Huckabee.
"I'm here to tell you, if either of these two guys get the nomination,
it's going to destroy the Republican Party. It's going to change it
forever, be the end of it," Limbaugh fumed on his radio show Tuesday.
It was a line of argument that he kept up all week long.
DeLay resurfaced on Fox News Friday to excoriate McCain for working
with "the most liberal Democrats in the Senate," for passing an
overhaul of campaign finance laws that "completely neutered the
Republican Party," and single-handedly thwarted oil drilling in
Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
"McCain has done more to hurt the Republican Party than any elected
official I know of," said DeLay, the former House majority leader, who
was personally damaged by McCain's Senate probe of lobbyist Jack
Abramoff, a probe that implicated numerous DeLay associates.
Conservative blogger Patrick Ruffini, on the Web site of popular radio
talk show host Hugh Hewitt, implored South Carolina Republicans on
Friday to vote for Huckabee, simply to extend the nomination fight in
hopes that another candidate could derail McCain.
And Jim DeMint, South Carolina's ardently conservative senator who is
backing Mitt Romney, issued a message Friday to "fellow
conservatives," warning that "Washington experience is the problem,
not the solution. We cannot afford to have a President who has fought
for amnesty for illegal immigrants, voted against the Bush Tax Cuts,
and curtailed our First Amendment rights in the ill-conceived campaign
finance legislation." He never mentioned McCain's name, but his
meaning was clear.
The assault may well have narrowed McCain's lead over Huckabee, but it
was not enough to revive the ghosts of 2000, when an insurgent McCain
campaign slammed into a wall in South Carolina, and Bush, the
establishment's candidate, cruised to the White House.
In part, that was because this time McCain lined up staunch
conservatives of his own, including Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), usually
DeMint's closest ally, and Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), who was
vociferous in McCain's defense. "I know John McCain, and he is a solid
conservative -- maybe not perfect, but on the most critical issue
facing our nation, radical Islam, he is without equal in either party,
period," Shadegg said in McCain's defense.
In part, the attacks fell short because even the opponents could not
unite behind an alternative. Many economic conservatives were even
more opposed to Huckabee. Romney, a Mormon, could not ignite the
interests of social conservatives. And former senator Fred Thompson,
who was initially viewed as the candidate of the old Republican
coalition, failed to catch fire.
But McCain also ran a very different campaign this year. The senator
assembled a formidable list of South Carolina backers, including
Attorney General Henry McMaster and House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who
not only crisscrossed the state for McCain but also launched a "Truth
Squad" that prevented any repeat of the attacks on his military record
and rumors about his family that helped defeat him in 2000.
"In 2000, the campaign learned that you have to have people that local
people know to respond to negative attacks, to assure them they're not
true," said Harrell, a Bush supporter in 2000.
McCain even changed the hotel where he watched election returns and
the location for his primary-night headquarters, shifting it to The
Citadel, the state's military college.
The choice of The Citadel was not accidental. From the start, McCain
conveyed one central message to South Carolinians: He is best prepared
to protect America in a time of war. The argument resonated in a state
that ranks No. 1 in terms of active-duty and retired military
personnel, where a quarter of Saturday's GOP electorate had served in
the military.
McCain counted heavily on conservative state politicians who had
backed Bush in 2000. While some prominent South Carolinians -- such as
former governor David Beasley -- endorsed Huckabee, McCain repeatedly
told reporters this week, "This time we believe we have the political
and financial establishment."
Above all, McCain's victory vindicated his belief that he was better
off sticking with his core message that he was better equipped than
any other candidate, Republican or Democrat, to meet the challenge of
fighting what he calls "radical Islamic extremism."
"After a campaign is over, you win or you lose -- obviously, winning's
most important -- you've got to look back and admit mistakes. But you
never want to look back and be embarrassed by what you've done,"
McCain said Friday. "You can't tailor your message and position to one
part of the country."
A win in South Carolina may not be as definitive as it was back in
2000, and McCain acknowledges that Florida, which holds its primary
Jan. 29, remains a four-way race where he needs to expand his support
beyond military families in the north and Cuban Americans in the
south.
"We've got work to do there," he said, adding that he needs to reach
out to supporters of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has
spent months cultivating Florida voters. "If there's one area we need
to work on, it's the middle of the state. There's condominiums full of
people who have moved down from New York and New Jersey."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/19/AR2008011903187.html?hpid=topnews
---------------------
Late last night, on CNN, Wolf Blitzer showed a map of SC with counties
colored to show which candidate won each county. Interesting to note
that Hickabee carried the rural, hill country of SC while McCain
carried the cities and urban areas. No surprise here -- Hickabee and
his biblethumping appeal to the loser mouthbreathers living in
singlewides praying to Jesus for a new deer rifle, a new truck, and a
job for their girlfriend.
that once held sway over the Republican rank and file unloaded on John
McCain over the last week, trying to use a conservative electorate in
South Carolina to derail the Arizona senator's quest for the
Republican nomination.
But though McCain failed to persuade many of the old Republican power
brokers, he wrapped up the Republican establishment where it counted
most, South Carolina. His win Saturday underscored how different
McCain's campaign has been this year compared with eight years ago,
when a similar conservative assault effectively ended his campaign
here and handed his party's presidential nomination to George W.
Bush.
"I think the people of South Carolina are getting to know John McCain
now, a little more than they know those folks anymore," longtime
McCain aide Mark Salter said Saturday night of the senator's old
nemeses.
Limbaugh led the way with a verbal blitz, not just against McCain but
against his closest rival in South Carolina, former Arkansas governor
Mike Huckabee.
"I'm here to tell you, if either of these two guys get the nomination,
it's going to destroy the Republican Party. It's going to change it
forever, be the end of it," Limbaugh fumed on his radio show Tuesday.
It was a line of argument that he kept up all week long.
DeLay resurfaced on Fox News Friday to excoriate McCain for working
with "the most liberal Democrats in the Senate," for passing an
overhaul of campaign finance laws that "completely neutered the
Republican Party," and single-handedly thwarted oil drilling in
Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
"McCain has done more to hurt the Republican Party than any elected
official I know of," said DeLay, the former House majority leader, who
was personally damaged by McCain's Senate probe of lobbyist Jack
Abramoff, a probe that implicated numerous DeLay associates.
Conservative blogger Patrick Ruffini, on the Web site of popular radio
talk show host Hugh Hewitt, implored South Carolina Republicans on
Friday to vote for Huckabee, simply to extend the nomination fight in
hopes that another candidate could derail McCain.
And Jim DeMint, South Carolina's ardently conservative senator who is
backing Mitt Romney, issued a message Friday to "fellow
conservatives," warning that "Washington experience is the problem,
not the solution. We cannot afford to have a President who has fought
for amnesty for illegal immigrants, voted against the Bush Tax Cuts,
and curtailed our First Amendment rights in the ill-conceived campaign
finance legislation." He never mentioned McCain's name, but his
meaning was clear.
The assault may well have narrowed McCain's lead over Huckabee, but it
was not enough to revive the ghosts of 2000, when an insurgent McCain
campaign slammed into a wall in South Carolina, and Bush, the
establishment's candidate, cruised to the White House.
In part, that was because this time McCain lined up staunch
conservatives of his own, including Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), usually
DeMint's closest ally, and Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), who was
vociferous in McCain's defense. "I know John McCain, and he is a solid
conservative -- maybe not perfect, but on the most critical issue
facing our nation, radical Islam, he is without equal in either party,
period," Shadegg said in McCain's defense.
In part, the attacks fell short because even the opponents could not
unite behind an alternative. Many economic conservatives were even
more opposed to Huckabee. Romney, a Mormon, could not ignite the
interests of social conservatives. And former senator Fred Thompson,
who was initially viewed as the candidate of the old Republican
coalition, failed to catch fire.
But McCain also ran a very different campaign this year. The senator
assembled a formidable list of South Carolina backers, including
Attorney General Henry McMaster and House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who
not only crisscrossed the state for McCain but also launched a "Truth
Squad" that prevented any repeat of the attacks on his military record
and rumors about his family that helped defeat him in 2000.
"In 2000, the campaign learned that you have to have people that local
people know to respond to negative attacks, to assure them they're not
true," said Harrell, a Bush supporter in 2000.
McCain even changed the hotel where he watched election returns and
the location for his primary-night headquarters, shifting it to The
Citadel, the state's military college.
The choice of The Citadel was not accidental. From the start, McCain
conveyed one central message to South Carolinians: He is best prepared
to protect America in a time of war. The argument resonated in a state
that ranks No. 1 in terms of active-duty and retired military
personnel, where a quarter of Saturday's GOP electorate had served in
the military.
McCain counted heavily on conservative state politicians who had
backed Bush in 2000. While some prominent South Carolinians -- such as
former governor David Beasley -- endorsed Huckabee, McCain repeatedly
told reporters this week, "This time we believe we have the political
and financial establishment."
Above all, McCain's victory vindicated his belief that he was better
off sticking with his core message that he was better equipped than
any other candidate, Republican or Democrat, to meet the challenge of
fighting what he calls "radical Islamic extremism."
"After a campaign is over, you win or you lose -- obviously, winning's
most important -- you've got to look back and admit mistakes. But you
never want to look back and be embarrassed by what you've done,"
McCain said Friday. "You can't tailor your message and position to one
part of the country."
A win in South Carolina may not be as definitive as it was back in
2000, and McCain acknowledges that Florida, which holds its primary
Jan. 29, remains a four-way race where he needs to expand his support
beyond military families in the north and Cuban Americans in the
south.
"We've got work to do there," he said, adding that he needs to reach
out to supporters of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has
spent months cultivating Florida voters. "If there's one area we need
to work on, it's the middle of the state. There's condominiums full of
people who have moved down from New York and New Jersey."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/19/AR2008011903187.html?hpid=topnews
---------------------
Late last night, on CNN, Wolf Blitzer showed a map of SC with counties
colored to show which candidate won each county. Interesting to note
that Hickabee carried the rural, hill country of SC while McCain
carried the cities and urban areas. No surprise here -- Hickabee and
his biblethumping appeal to the loser mouthbreathers living in
singlewides praying to Jesus for a new deer rifle, a new truck, and a
job for their girlfriend.
