ACU releases 2007 ratings: McCain gets a B
posted at 10:36 am on May 14, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
Send to a Friend |
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
The American Conservative Union has released its report on Congress for 2007, and John McCain will welcome the results. Despite missing a number of votes while campaigning for President, McCain voted often enough to win a rating of 80, a significant improvement over the 65 he got in 2006. That approximates his lifetime rating of 82.16 and gives McCain a little more ammunition for his argument to represent conservative values. ACU chair David Keene notes that Congress overall went in the opposite direction:
ACU Chairman David A. Keene said it is not surprising that the 2006 election has resulted in Congress taking a sharp leftward turn.
“Elections have consequences and the election of 2006 was no exception,” Keene said. “The overall average score of the House of Representatives fell from 53.1 percent conservative in 2006 to 42.91 percent in 2007 while in the Senate the average score in 2007 was 42.67 percent conservative compared to 49.5 percent in 2006.”
Keene noted that, under the Democrats, the House became more polarized with 62 members, all Republicans, earning a perfect 100 conservative rating up from only 8 in 2006, while those earning a perfect liberal score of “0” numbered a record 138.
Voting patterns in the Senate were more stable but still showed a move to the left. The number of Senators scoring a liberal rating of 20 percent or less rose from 40 in 2006 to 48 in 2007. Five GOP senators scored a perfect 100 percent conservative rating, the same as 2006, although the number of Senators scoring a perfect rating of “0” rose from 7 in 2006 to 21 in 2007.
The ACU looks at 25 votes in 2007 to generate their ratings. McCain missed all but ten of those votes, agreeing with the ACU on eight of them. One notable disagreement came unsurprisingly on the immigration reform package, while the other came on a stem-cell research bill that mandated the use of federal funds for research on surplus embryos at in-vitro fertilization clinics. Bush vetoed the bill, sitting with the so-called snowflake children whose embryos were “adopted” rather than dissected.
McCain supported the ACU position on the following bills:
- Earmark disclosure
- Protection for grassroots lobbying organizations
- Extension of Bush tax cuts
- Repeal of AMT
- Repeal of death tax
- Card-check, which eliminates secret ballots for union organizing
- Social Security benefits for illegal aliens
- DC Congressional seat
Otherwise, though, McCain scores at the average for the Republican caucus in the Senate:
The House Republican caucus actually scored somewhat higher, averaging 85.7 points, about five more than their colleagues in the upper chamber. Overall scores for the House and Senate are almost identical at just below 43, and the Democrats score equally poor in both surveys as well, just below 6.
How did Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton score with the ACU? Barack Obama actually scored marginally higher than his caucus at a 7, having supported the ACU on earmark disclosure alone. Hillary gets a big, fat zero for 2007, after getting a whopping eight in 2006, as did Obama.
For those who see no difference between McCain and the two Democrats, this serves as a reminder that while McCain drifts to the middle on some issues, a large chasm exists between the nominees that will face off in November.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « 1 [2] 3 »
Wow, he gets to call that an 80?
WOOHOO, I scored 100. I didn’t vote against them once. And non-votes don’t count.
Of course I’m not allowed to vote, not being a Senator, but I guess I get a 100 rating anyhow. Silly McCain, if he’d skipped all the votes he could have been a super-Conservative like me.
Glad to know that skipping votes and not doing the job you were elected to do = “Conservative”. I didn’t realize that was one of the planks of the party.
gekkobear on May 14, 2008 at 12:00 PM
I understand your point.
The difficulty is in that no one really knows how to get a conservative into office. Is 4 years of McCain in the WhiteHouse going to improve that chance? Or are two years of D’s across the board likely to bring about another ‘94? No one knows for sure. Voting for McCain is, at best, a hope that the GOP will somehow turn around it’s drift. I don’t see why they would have an incentive to do so, considering we would have then voted for Bush Sr., Bush Jr., and John McCain all while waiting for the next ‘Reagan’.
Spirit of 1776 on May 14, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Senators scoring 100% on ACU’s 2007 Ratings of Congress
John Barrasso (R-WY)
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Brat on May 14, 2008 at 12:01 PM
And the McInsaniacs will be wandering the convention acting like their favorite team won the Super Bowl - until shamnesty is passed and the new Global Warming Carbon Tax Act is signed into law.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Well, actually you fold them if the cards are crap. Just sayin’
Buddahpundit on May 14, 2008 at 12:02 PM
In my gradebook 80 is a B-. Reallly close to a C.
Bob's Kid on May 14, 2008 at 12:03 PM
That’s 2 for 2…
Keep up the good work.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 12:04 PM
* Earmark disclosure
* Protection for grassroots lobbying organizations
* Extension of Bush tax cuts
* Repeal of AMT
* Repeal of death tax
* Card-check, which eliminates secret ballots for union organizing
* Social Security benefits for illegal aliens
* DC Congressional seat
Even the list of things McCain is credited for is a mixed bag: Bush’s tax cuts? Well, yeah, now that he’s running for President he changed his position. Protection for grassroots organizations? Great! Bandage that atrocity of CFR! We’ll protect you, just don’t air any ads. Great, thanks a million! And would Mac want SS benefits for illegals? They’d get them when he makes them legal. 2 birds, 1 stone.
Spirit of 1776 on May 14, 2008 at 12:05 PM
It’s the ISSUES where McCain joins with the “rats” not the overall voting record! In other words, there isn’t a bit of difference between McCain and Kennedy on amnesty for illegals. There isn’t a bit of difference between McCain and Democrats on global warming. There isn’t a bit of difference between McCain and Democrats on most social issues. There isn’t a bit of difference between McCain and Democrats when it comes to waterboarding and other interrogation techniques.
That shouldn’t be glossed over just because McCain votes (more or less) in favor of a strong military. He’s dead wrong on most other votes.
highhopes on May 14, 2008 at 12:05 PM
He won’t guarantee a great conservative, but there’s only two options to bide us time until 2012. I’m going with the one who does the least damage.
amerpundit on May 14, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Folding is one way to play your cards. That’s a vote for Obama.
db on May 14, 2008 at 12:08 PM
It is weird to see the least-attractive aspects of the Obamatons duplicated by the rabid McCain haters.
Gilda on May 14, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Not if the delegates call a misdeal and reject the seven-deuce off suit that is McCain and replace him with a new hand.
Buddahpundit on May 14, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Which aspect is rabid? When I hear deranged, or rabid, I hear someone saying that criticism isn’t allowed.
JiangxiDad on May 14, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Not if you’re Gus Hansen. He seems to prefer the worst.
And if we’re continuing the analogy, the best players have to learn to play with all sorts of cards. If all you’re doing is waiting for the right cards, you’ll never win much, and you’ll be easy to read.
Esthier on May 14, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Look, let’s get something straight here.
Don’t think for a minute that staying home is easy for me. I’ve voted Republican my entire adult life, and it pains me to think of what the party has become. You think I want that loser Barry Hussein Oblahma to be the President? Of course I don’t. I don’t want to see this country circle the drain any more than anybody else does.
Do I hope that McCain wins? Yes I do. But here’s the thing: This election is intensely personal for me. McCain is a traitor to his own party, he maneuvered himself into a position to win the Presidency because of selfish motives by raping the First Amendment with McCain-Feingold, thus making sure that only rich people like him could have a shot at the Presidency. Furthermore, the man called me a racist because I didn’t want my country overrun with illegal aliens.
He’s made it clear that he will do whatever it takes to further his own personal political goals, and the hell with people like me. He hasn’t asked for my vote, nor does he think he needs it to win. He’s trying to get La Raza to back him now, so he’s actually courting my enemies’ votes. So in not voting for him, my conscience is clear. I’ll stay home.
I hope you can understand and respect my position on this.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 12:15 PM
So long as you return the favor there shouldn’t be a problem.
Esthier on May 14, 2008 at 12:17 PM
I do respect your position. I think it’s wrong, but I respect you’re exercising a right.
amerpundit on May 14, 2008 at 12:18 PM
The only way the McCainistas and anti-McCain people will unite is against a Democrat president and congress.
McCain is his own Operation Chaos and will finish the job Bush started of destroying the Republican party from within.
Valiant on May 14, 2008 at 12:18 PM
I don’t know, I’d call McCain more of a 9-2. We could have been dealt either Huck or Paul.
Esthier on May 14, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Oh, since when did respecting someone’s position become doing them a favor in conservative ranks? I don’t criticize anybody for deciding to vote for McCain. I just criticize McCain. And for that, I get criticized. So I guess you’re wrong - there has been a problem this entire thread.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 12:19 PM
That’s true. What gets my ire up, and I’m a very even-keeled guy, is when people insist these are good cards.
I can’t wait for the post and subsequent comments that McCain is a genius on economic issues, when by his own admission he knows little. McCain as a conservative is entertaining enough, but McCain as an economist should be awesome.
Spirit of 1776 on May 14, 2008 at 12:20 PM
I do. And I don’t get why McCain supporters are surprised, and annoyed, that people won’t vote for him. Did they think he was going to win without actually getting people to want him? McCain’s already been handed a huge present in the form of Barak Obama. Were his supporters expecting every form of opposition to fold? They seem so nervous about his prospects. I’m not. I think he’s gonna slaughter Bambi.
JiangxiDad on May 14, 2008 at 12:20 PM
If McCain is so confident of a win, why is he still in the Senate missing 15 of the most 25 conservative votes to campaign? He should have resigned his seat.
Valiant on May 14, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Hey, you show Juanny Mac some freakin’ respect. He ain’t got time to do his job. After all, he’s got a First Amendment to crush and Aztlan to build.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 12:34 PM
What you “hear” is entirely within your personal control. I did not state anything of the sort.
Gilda on May 14, 2008 at 12:40 PM
I ask you what was rabid about the criticism, and you tell me to F’off. Classy Gilda.
JiangxiDad on May 14, 2008 at 12:41 PM
You have the surgical precision of a 20-megaton hydrogen bomb and the gracefulness of a cross-eyed elephant on a lopsided skateboard.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 12:46 PM
I personally think at least a few of our McCain haters are liberals looking for the easily led.
If anybody told us a year ago that McCain would be our nominee, and Obama likely theirs, every one of us to a man (or woman) would have told them to lay off the crack pipe. So why, in the name of all that is holy, do people think they can predict the next four years with such certainty that they plan to lose in 2008 in order to win in 2012? Wasn’t that the plan in 2006, to stay home in order to get more conservatives on the ballot in 2008?
How did that work out for you?
Let me remind every single one of you that on September 10, 2001 it seemed likely that George W Bush was going to be a one-term President. Look what happened. So don’t be so sure Obama will be a one-term President, to be succeeded by the Second Coming of Reagan, Whose Name You Oddly Enough Don’t Know. We know what is happening now. The future is a mystery. Don’t plan on factors over which you have no control.
Sekhmet on May 14, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Civility is always a favor no matter where it is practiced.
And I didn’t say that there won’t be a problem so long as you’re respectful. I just said that there shouldn’t be a problem, and there shouldn’t. That of course doesn’t mean that there won’t.
Esthier on May 14, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Likewise don’t you assume that electing McCain will somehow pave the way for a Reagan conservative to be elected President. There is no historical precedent for that.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 12:56 PM
It’s not a favor, it’s a matter of self-respect.
Spirit of 1776 on May 14, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Funny, I have been calling out McCain supporters on their liberal open-border positions, etc. If you support McCain, you agree with him which makes you more liberal than those trying to save the GOP from the likes of him.
Valiant on May 14, 2008 at 12:59 PM
Must be something wrong in how you said it Gilda because I had exactly the same thought as JiangxiDad. When I see comments like “rabid McCain haters” I equate it to the poster telling me that I can’t express my very legitimate differences with John McCain without being declared a rabid hater! I have very real differences with McCain on issues I hold important for our well being in a future. That doesn’t make me a “hater” it makes me a conservative reacting against a rabid liberal who was foisted on the GOP as its candidate.
highhopes on May 14, 2008 at 1:03 PM
Since Gilda is obviously already gone, can I call ‘troll’ on her/him?
[jumps up and down]
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 1:07 PM
Clearly, and becoming more so with every petulant outburst. I further suspect that the delusional Ron Paul contingent is well-represented here on occasion.
Gilda on May 14, 2008 at 1:09 PM
Good point.
Why should that be an 80% score? McCain voted conservative in only 8 out of 25 votes, so I would rate that a 32%.
In today’s world, there is no logical reason why our elected representatives should “miss” a vote. We should find a way to “count every vote”, whether it be done by digitally signed documents or by a by a video recording of the representative stating their stand. There are ways to get the person’s vote without requiring them to be in the capitol building in Washington, D.C.
We should not allow our representatives to duck their responsibility of representing us. And we should not count 8 votes out of 25 as an 80% rating.
Red Pill on May 14, 2008 at 1:13 PM
Funny, I have been calling out McCain supporters on their liberal open-border positions, etc. If you support McCain, you agree with him which makes you more liberal than those trying to save the GOP from the likes of him.
Valiant on May 14, 2008 at 12:59 PM
Truer words were never spoken.
McCain is proposing an international control over our national economy. Even the WSJ indicated how venally stupid and uninformed he is. They don’t even think he knows what was in his proposal. That is totally irresponsible leadership, and a long-time hallmark of McCain.
Remember, according to McCain himmself, he was converted into a Global Warming believer in 2000 when he sat down with a kid who was protesting McCain IN A PENGUIN SUIT.
So we are about to hand over our beloved nation’s entire economic future to international and domestic left-wing bureaucrats because last-in-his-class Maverick once talked to some pissed-off drugged-up idiot dressed in a penguin suit.
You can vote for that witless bastard, I can’t.
TexasJew on May 14, 2008 at 1:13 PM
Extreme Mccain Supporters and non supporters alike seem to see only in black and white, no shades of gray anywhere. A vote for McCain is a vote for shamnesty no matter what. Not voting for McCain is a vote for Obama.
This is the same story every election year. If the wrong person wins the whitehouse then civilasation is doomed, America will fall, cats and dogs will be sleeping together etc etc.
Sometimes I wonder if the best solution is for everyone to go out in the streets and just wage a no holds barred cage match. Civility in discourse seems to be as dead. Can’t people disagree with anothers position without the desire to burrry the hatchet in the other guys head?
Wyrd on May 14, 2008 at 1:14 PM
There… fixed it for you.
dominigan on May 14, 2008 at 1:15 PM
If Snooper is to be believed, some may actually be Obamatons.
Sekhmet on May 14, 2008 at 1:18 PM
Another good point. How did I miss that? The ACU counts a non-vote as a conservative vote? According to the logic of the McCainiacs, who claim that staying home is a vote for Obama, McCain’s abrogation of a vote is a vote for the opposition. [insert "owned" smilie here]
The ACU rating has no credibility whatsoever.
Ed, with all due respect, I like you, but this thread is FAIL.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 1:19 PM
I amend my previous post with regard to the non-vote = conservative vote comment. My perception was incorrect. Regardless, the ACU rating is still wrong.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 1:22 PM
Thanks, Dominigan.
Al-Ozarka on May 14, 2008 at 1:23 PM
Want to explain your post, or do you just throw out some irritating statement then hide…
If you “know” of another study that shows that McCain and the dems are the same liberal bias then bring it out…or do you just “feel” they are the same.
Get it?
Now, how about you standing up for your post…
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 1:23 PM
Interesting. The indistinguishability is quite striking.
Gilda on May 14, 2008 at 1:24 PM
Sounds like Maverick was trying to kick up his critically important ACU rating by “ginning” the system and simply not voting.
That’s leadership for you.
And I thought Kerry was a devious jackoff.
It must come from making your money off rich wives or something..
McCain spends more time trying to fool conservatives than anything else, it seems. But recent polls mentioned in NRO seem to indicate that his little scheme is at an end.
Monday’s idiotic speech blew a big hole in his already-faltering conservative support.
TexasJew on May 14, 2008 at 1:27 PM
I agree. She’s a bombthrower. Link or slink. She slunk.
JiangxiDad on May 14, 2008 at 1:27 PM
McCaskill got an eight?! How much do they skew +/- purely by party affiliation?
Tanya on May 14, 2008 at 1:29 PM
When it comes to McCain, there never has been no opportunity for civil discourse from the time when he secured enough delegates to be the party’s nominee. Immediately thereafter any legitimate concern over McCain’s left-of-center dogma has been immediately shouted down. There has even been some zeal by the country club liberal Republicans to seek revenge against the social conservatives and evangelicals that were the driving force in party wins for the past decade. One poster here went out of his way to enumerate the ways McCain’s people were going to get back at the “Jesus freaks.”
All this goes to the point that it simply is impossible to have a civil discussion with McCain supporters. The minute you argue against amnesty you are declared a racist. The minute you argue for a strong border you are declared unrealistic. The minute you argue for socially conservative values, you are declared out-of-touch with the electorate.
On balance, I think that those of us who don’t support McCain have been far fairer in enumerating our REASONS than the crowd who continually tells us to shut up and support McCain because he is better than the alternative. That isn’t even a proven fact. When it comes to many issues, McCain isn’t any better than the alternative because he merely offers variations on what the other side is proposing instead of holding legitimate conservative positions.
highhopes on May 14, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Fair enough, but my reasons for supporting McCain have to do with making Soros lose enough money trying to get his Democrats elected that he will eventually throw in the towel. If the Democrats’ current media strategy of promising businesses high-level access in turn for funding publicists and media hacks, or simply using Boomer true-believers in the industry does not yield results—the investments will stop.
If McCain wins, true-believing Boomers will retire and die off less able to ensure other true believers would succeed them. The Castro regime will fall, and a McCain Administration would have no donors whose butts will need covering when the DGI files come out.
That Second Coming of Reagan may be keeping his or her head down until the Dems can’t afford to drag across the media the girl whose braids s/he dipped in the inkwell in fourth grade.
Sekhmet on May 14, 2008 at 1:32 PM
I remember in the last Immigration go-around, Amnesty II, McCain simply failed to be there (he literally ducked out of the vote to go to some hearing, he claimed) for the final vote.
This was while his campaign was floundering because of his disasterous leadership of Amnesty I.
ACU rating ginning or not, you just can’t trust Captain Bullshit.
TexasJew on May 14, 2008 at 1:32 PM
Oh you boys, first he is in a middle of a campaign, so it is very likely that he misses votes. Want to go back a year, two years, three years.
McCain has a record, and his record is consistent, you may not like it, but he is in the middle of the conservatives. 60 (the campaign bill did him in) to 96 has been his ranking for years.
Obama is below 10, and has been. There is no contest, not even close.
If someone scored an 80 on a test, and someone scored a 7, you would say they are the same…ridiculous.
Look at this, and you can feed off it for awhile.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 1:34 PM
Yeah, thats why the non-supporters call him cranky pants, or that he was never tortured, or link to the page that discredits his military record, or that he is a women abuser.
We don’t tell you to shut up, just use facts…but then if you have no facts maybe that is the same.
If you have better stats then the ACU, bring them out, otherwise you are just “feeling” he isn’t conservative enough.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 1:37 PM
I hear you highhopes, and maybe thats another reason why McCain promisses only a single term. Starting as a lame duck he really doesn’t have to do anything according to party politics, just does what ever he feels like. I don’t see much choice though, vote for McCain or vote for Obama, or vote for none of the above (granted, you could vote for any other candidate, but their chance of winning is so remote may as well call it “none of the above”)
The only bright spot with McCain is that he won’t surrender Iraq on the firtst day of his term.
Wyrd on May 14, 2008 at 1:38 PM
That Second Coming of Reagan may be keeping his or her head down until the Dems can’t afford to drag across the media the girl whose braids s/he dipped in the inkwell in fourth grade.
Sekhmet on May 14, 2008 at 1:32 PM
I don’t understand your analogy exactly, but that sounds like a good premise for a cable show: pretty girls who wouldn’t give now-famous pudgy MSNBC talk hosts and drooling Democrat back-benchers the time of day!
TexasJew on May 14, 2008 at 1:41 PM
I don’t agree with McCain on a number of issues, among them; immigration, Global warming, and “interogation”, but I’ll be voting for him with no qualms, because the THREE SCOTUS appointments that the next President will make trumps any other factor. We’re sure to have a Deomcratic Senate, given the political climate and the number of open GOP seats. With a Dem Senate, and a Dem President, you’ll get 3 sure SCOTUS votes to the Left of any current member. and they’ll be there for 20 years.
SCOTUS appointments are the prize
the drill sgt on May 14, 2008 at 1:43 PM
Believe it or not, immigration isn’t the only issue in the United States. And if it were such a shining, golden example of conservative policy, why isn’t Tom Tancredo the nominee? I mean, if being an immigration hawk is so popular and so golden, it should have overridden all the Cubans, disgusted Dems, and all in Florida, right?
Sekhmet on May 14, 2008 at 1:46 PM
Buy Danish on May 14, 2008 at 1:48 PM
Who wants to live forever? Hang judges over your head every four years and scare you with the opposing candidate. The issue that got conservatives most involved was the amnesty bill that they called their congressmen in large numbers and now they shove McCain down our throats for spite. Thank Fred he was never running to win, just to help suck away Anti-McCain votes and help his honeymoon date. The Republican Party hates conservatives, the conservatives are always told to compromise but the Rockefeller Republicans never do.
LevStrauss on May 14, 2008 at 1:48 PM
R2B, link or slink. I’ve never said any of those things about McCain. In fact, if you scroll up a bit you’ll see my post where I very explicitly articulated my very personal reasons not to vote for McCain. So address your broad brush, generalized accusation in a different direction.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 1:54 PM
And since many on the Internet don’t seem to have an self-respect, it is a favor (in my opinion) when they show respect to others.
No one has to be nice here. Simply being a jerk won’t get anyone banned.
Esthier on May 14, 2008 at 1:56 PM
Right now, the Dems have a near-bottomless line of credit with media flacks and publicists. Nearly all of them expect a return on their investment (usually having something to do with government access, favorable legislation, etc). If a McCain election denies them the return on their investment, they probably won’t line up in 2012.
When they can’t afford to pay every person who ever had a personality conflict with Thee Perfecte Conservative (TPC) to recount how TPC’s dislike shriveled them into a pathetic shell of themselves, and it becomes equally likely one would find TPC’s ex-spouse’s excessive monetary demands and stalking along with the sob story s/he would tell the media….TPC might just think about running for something higher than his or her State Legislature.
Sekhmet on May 14, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Speaking of this, does anyone have the links for bills that the ACU rated this year? I want to see if stuff like supporting UN funding and supporting gun locks made it this year.
LevStrauss on May 14, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Link or slink, where did I mention you. Learn to read, when someone uses the generic terms such as “non’supporters” they don’t mean every non-supporter saying each of those things.
You seem to have a problem with reading and comprehending.
Now, where did I use your name in that post?
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 2:02 PM
That’s a very complicated and unlikely line of thought. Did you consult your magic eight-ball?
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Ah the “shut the f**k up and support McCain” riff. It’s getting a bit old, don’t you think? McCain’s liberalism is far more than a feeling and you damned well know it. McCain is the one who called me a racist for not supporting his amnesty scheme. McCain is the one who dismissed my concerns about the First Amendment when he brokered that CFR deal with Russ Feingold. McCain is the one speaking at La Raza. McCain is the one who, just this week, declared that we needed to revive the Kyoto Protocol and its business-crushing wealth redistribution schemes.
These are FACTS and they demonstrate why McCain cannot be trusted with the conservative vote. Get as nasty as you want but it doesn’t change the fact that conservatives are getting increasingly vocal in their opposition to McCain’s brand of “conservatism.” You are in deep denial if you think namecalling is going to win over voters that McCain will eventually need because the simple fact is that when a liberal Republican and a liberal Democrat go out after the same voters- Democrats will win every time. People like you just assume that the GOP base will follow McCain down the path to liberalism. It isn’t going to happen.
highhopes on May 14, 2008 at 2:03 PM
You did not quantify ‘non-supporters.’ Therefore it was not unreasonable to assume that you were painting with a broad brush. If that’s not what you meant, then learn to use the ‘preview’ button before you post so haphazardly. It will enable you to avoid being misunderstood.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 2:04 PM
I’ve been tryin’ to tell ya’.
[sigh]
franksalterego on May 14, 2008 at 2:05 PM
Check out my link in this post, it is a good start, tells you what bills each year that McCain was in conflict with the ACU.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 2:06 PM
THIS.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 2:06 PM
He’ll be too busy granting no-questions-asked amnesty to Mexican drug pushers to deal with Iraq.
Seriously though, I’m of mixed opinions how much McCain’s position on Iraq matters. Seems like the trade-off is pretty steep when McCain will stay the course in Iraq but give away the farm on virtually every social issue that matters to conservatives.
highhopes on May 14, 2008 at 2:07 PM
BTW, I like Snooper’s link to HufPo’s scare article on McCain’s tax plan calculations. McCain should publicize his tax proposals more - I’m lovin’ ‘em - cutting >5 trillion in taxes in a decade is a great thing.
Think_b4_speaking on May 14, 2008 at 2:07 PM
I trust my magic 8 ball over your “feelings.”
Sekhmet on May 14, 2008 at 2:07 PM
Did it ever occur to you that the ACU is an organization made up of people, and that these people might be wrong? I for one do not trust the ACU’s rating system, nor is that alone enough to get me to cast my vote for McCain. In other words, McCain’s actions speak louder than the ACU’s words or numbers.
In fact, other than ye olde faithful “Obama is worse”, this is the only argument McCain supporters have.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 2:08 PM
Go with that. It’s more understandable than any of your posts.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 2:09 PM
True, but we’re going to get that with the Dem anyway. If you want a bright spot on McCain, at least with him we get Iraq. The rest of the issues are lost no matter what.
Esthier on May 14, 2008 at 2:09 PM
Listen stupid, I will type real slow.
When someone uses a generic term, they can’t mean every single person believes everything on a list. I am assuming I am posting to people who can discern that.
This is a post about the ACU, if you have a more accurate list of McCain’s ACU ratings then bring it on.
Don’t be coy and use the “You did not quantify” whining bitch stuff.
Now, where did I use your name in that post?
Link or slink, as you so like to throw out.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 2:10 PM
The National Taxpayers Union gave him no rating due to his absenteeism. The ACU should have done the same.
Valiant on May 14, 2008 at 2:12 PM
What’s happening to our country reminds me of watching my father in law die of liver cancer. He suffered for so long, and he had so much pain, that after a while we were just praying that God would take him home so that his suffering would end. Many cancer patients elect to stop chemo treatments because they know that it won’t help, but only prolongs their suffering. They prefer to face their fate quickly rather than poisoning themselves to death.
The Republican Party has become the chemotherapy of this nation’s cancer.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Thanks for the chart ED!
Sometimes i feel like a lone voice out in the woods.. :}
Chakra Hammer on May 14, 2008 at 2:15 PM
As I said, if you don’t like the facts, you can use “feelings”, and apparently you are.
You don’t “trust” them because you don’t agree with the findings.
Fine, then just say, “I feel that they are wrong, I don’t know why, but I feel it”. Kind of like Chris M. feeling something going up his leg.
For decades they (ACU) are the standard (what facts do you have that they have been “off the mark”), if you want to use your instincts, fine…that is how liberals decide what is right, it feels good, or it feels bad.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 2:16 PM
Now, all we have to do is, make MM, the li’l girl who runs around with her panties all in a knot over “immigration,” aware of this.
franksalterego on May 14, 2008 at 2:16 PM
I will not be voting for McCain and have many issues with him, but his missed votes should not be a big deal. That was only an issue when an incumbent Vice President wanted to beat up on Edwards. It was just a dishonest rhetorical trick that worked, it had nothing to do with the reality of Presidential campaigns.
LevStrauss on May 14, 2008 at 2:19 PM
Also McCain not voting or being in the Senate might be a good thing for conservatives, especially considering his Gore-ification with regards to Global
CoolingWarmingClimate Change.LevStrauss on May 14, 2008 at 2:22 PM
SHEESH, that is the point, McCain’s actions are recorded and graded. Compare them to other “conservatives” or other liberals.
It isn’t the grade that is so important (this election cycle), it is the relationship between him and others.
It just so happens that there will be basically two options to vote for.
You choose one whom is 10 times more conservative then the other…or you don’t vote.
It is simple; not ideal this time around, but that is what we have.
It could be worse, we could have Crazy Ron Paul in the mix, nawwww, no one in there right mind could support that fool.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 2:23 PM
fossten, don’t forget this little challenge.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 2:24 PM
To take your analogy further, though chemotherapy is horrendous, it gives the person a chance, and those who want to live will fight on no matter what.
Chemo is horrible and can often be worse than letting the cancer kill you, but if it works, then you can be healthy and free of cancer. Not taking the chemo is merely accepting death.
If that’s what you believe Americans should do, then I won’t argue with you. There’s not a thing I could say to you.
Esthier on May 14, 2008 at 2:26 PM
This rhetoric strikes a similar note when Perot ran. Almost the same arguments; and look what it got us.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 2:27 PM
I would be happy to stand up for my post, if I had the slightest idea what you were referring to here.
Perhaps you have confused me with another poster?
Gilda on May 14, 2008 at 2:28 PM
fossten never argued that you specifically called him out by name. He admitted in his arguments that you were talking about McCain haters in general.
He just believed that applied to him as well without realizing you didn’t mean him too. But that’s already been explained.
This is just bogging down your argument with a side issue.
Esthier on May 14, 2008 at 2:28 PM
No, it looks like the same poster to me.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 2:31 PM
fossten: The person without a candidate.
All together now…WAH!!!
franksalterego on May 14, 2008 at 2:32 PM
The paranoia to accompany the schizophrenia…
db on May 14, 2008 at 2:33 PM
Before commenting on someone else’s posts, you should brief yourself with all of the posts relating to that post.
Gilda, I never used his name, I don’t know why he would post this accusing me of him saying “any of these things”.
Now let us get back to the thread, and stop interrupting a post when you don’t have all of the facts.
right2bright on May 14, 2008 at 2:38 PM
Your challenge is a straw man. I don’t have to back up a claim that I did not make. The FACT is that you generalized, thus including me in your accusation.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 2:39 PM
franksalterego, the troll without a life.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 2:41 PM
Speaking of someone who doesn’t have all the facts….
I’m not Gilda.
Also, as I said in my post, neither I nor fossten accused you of using his name. That was the whole point of my post. I’m very disappointed that it was somehow missed.
Esthier on May 14, 2008 at 2:43 PM
The fact that they give candidates a pass for non votes is statistically void enough to invalidate their entire basis for credibility. And this isn’t just “feelings” talking, either. If anybody’s flying by the seat of their pants, it’s the ACU. They aren’t even statistically honest.
fossten on May 14, 2008 at 2:44 PM
In November, each of us will cast a vote – either directly or indirectly for one of the names on the ballot. Since we cast a secret vote, no one will ever know who we voted for (or against) unless we volunteer the information. At this point, it’s pointless to grumble over the choices at hand. They are what they are – wishing they were different doesn’t alter reality. There are only four choices: a vote for Obama (the presumed democrat), for McCain (the presumed republican), or for another candidate (or write-in) on the ballot. The fourth choice is not voting at all.
Some see not voting as a protest vote or making a “statement”. Since “none of the above” is not an alternative, your non-vote is indistinguishable from everyone else who didn’t vote due to disgust, apathy, laziness, etc. How can it be identified as a protest? For the most part, low voter turnout is attributed to apathy – the masses just weren’t interested enough. There will never be a count of how many of those un-votes were actually protest votes since they can’t be identified. It doesn’t matter anyway, since that course of action results in one of the candidates that the voter didn’t like being elected anyway. Not voting at all can be the equivalent of voting for the candidate you most dislike.
I prefer to think of my vote as being two half-votes – I’m voting against Obama and for McCain at the same time – both positions that have been forced upon me by the candidates and their parties. Am I enthusiastic about McCain? Emphatically NO. But weighing the positives and negatives of what is available requires that I vote for him and against Obama. For me, I’ll wear my red, white, and blue elephant-shaped clothespin on my nose as I enter the voting booth and cast my two half-votes, half for McCain and half against Obama.
Garnet92 on May 14, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Comment pages: « 1 [2] 3 »