That McCain Uneasiness

The media are having a field day with John McCain and the fractured Republican Party.

He's a dream Republican candidate for those on the Left. He shares a number of their liberal positions so they like him. Even better, he can't win in November. Perfect!

From the Washington Post:

Some Unease Lingers Despite Big Victories by Front-Runner

That's being quite kind to say that some unease lingers.

I don't think "uneasy" goes far enough. "Queasy" is more fitting.

Ronald Reagan has found a regular place in Sen. John McCain's stump speech, part of the Republican presidential candidate's effort to assert his conservative credentials and assure listeners that he has been a longtime "foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution."

Yeah, about that Reagan stuff-- It's not working.

Conservative? That's a relative term and McCain is relatively UNconservative.

...The discontent among conservatives presents a threat to McCain's attempt to unify his party for the general election. He will try to quell that revolt Thursday with a high-profile speech in the District before the influential Conservative Political Action Conference.

"I want to make the point that a lot of conservatives are coming home to McCain," says former senator Phil Gramm (Tex.), a McCain supporter. "But some aren't. Some just don't seem to understand that if they don't do this, it's going to hurt the party for a long time. They say they have principles, but some of it is their ego and power, too. They're well-known, and they're used to having power."

The conservative firestorm has been fueled by radio talk-show hosts and pundits upset that McCain's campaign, left for dead after money problems and a staff upheaval, unexpectedly resurrected itself in New Hampshire, and he became the leader after wins in South Carolina and Florida. Largely ignored by critics until his comeback, McCain became the target of a vocal band of influential conservative commentators distraught over the possibility of his nomination.

Rush Limbaugh declared that a McCain triumph would "destroy the party." James Dobson, leader of Focus on the Family, said that he will not vote for McCain under any circumstances. Ann Coulter allowed as to how she would rather vote for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton than for McCain.

Former and current Republican congressional colleagues joined in the attacks. Former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert cited what he termed McCain's lack of party loyalty by labeling him an "undependable vote," and Sen. Thad Cochran (Miss.) raised questions about his temperament for the Oval Office.

The incoming conservative fire against McCain has become a distraction, Gramm acknowledges. "Some people, in their own minds, think they have exerted a strong influence over the party, and now they are seeing that influence passing," he said. "There's some bitterness on their part. They're people who put their dogma in front of the interests of the country. . . . They don't like it that McCain is McCain."

I am so sick of having this debate about McCain framed as a battle between sensible conservative people and the extremist wing, the conservative axis of evil -- Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity, and others.

I think it's terribly unfair to suggest that the dissatisfaction and distrust about McCain is really about conservative personalities' power and ego issues.

I DON'T CARE WHAT TALK RADIO HOSTS SAY ABOUT MCCAIN.

I am uneasy about the prospect of McCain as the nominee because of what I see. That has nothing to do with a handful of individuals who make millions of dollars talking politics.

I am uneasy because of McCain's positions on issues like ILLEGAL immigration and the Bush tax cuts. I have trouble buying his conservative credentials when it comes to selecting originalist judicial nominees. Two words: McCain-Feingold.

My uneasiness (queasiness) has nothing to do with what's being said on talk radio. It has everything to do with what John McCain has done in the past and what I fear he'd do in the future.

McCain thinks that he can unite the Republican Party.

McCain said he is not worried about concern among "very conservative" Republicans that he is not conservative enough for their tastes.

"With conservative voters, which are the majority of Republicans, we did extremely well," he said.

..."Is there a lot of work to unite the entire party?" he asked rhetorically. "Sure. After the campaigns are over, you've always got the task of uniting the party behind the nominee."

But he expressed confidence he can do just that.

"Our message will be we all share common conservative principles," he said. "Fundamental conservative political philosophy, which has been my record."

McCain says his record has been a fundamental conservative political philosophy.

The problem: McCain's record has been an INCONSISTENT fundamental conservative political philosophy. It's inconsistent to the point of veering toward liberal on some issues.

Thus, the uneasiness lingers and the queasiness worsens.