The Differences Between Conservatives and Liberals

Some thoughts: It seems to me liberals are extremely passionate about things they see are wrong: healthcare, climate change, defense/offense strategies, wars, etc. It's almost like they think they own the exclusive rights to championing "reform" on their pet issues. The thing is, Conservatives also agree that there are lots of problems that need to be fixed...

But libs are so busy ranting their outrage, they assume that Conservatives are just there to stop them and get in their way. It never even enters their minds, the Conservatives DO want SOME changes. They assume that Conservatives are "evil, rich, white people, racist, bigots, homophobes, etc" But I notice a couple of things. I don't know of any Conservatives that fit any of the above adjectives. I also notice how hard Conservatives try to talk about facts with liberals but when the liberals can't converse in facts, they resort to blind, wild, emotional ridicule, generalizing, and really nasty put-downs and jokes. Another problem is that there are so many "facts" and "studies" from both sides, it just becomes system overload...which is the perfect distraction...

The thing is, Conservatives are very aware of corrupt CEO's, health insurance companies, questionable reasons for going to war, and so on...I think both sides are fighting for the same things that are wrong in our society....but I think our world views are what causes so much dissent. Libs tend to see the glass half empty: "America's wrong for this, that other countries think badly of us...we're imperialists that need to put into our place." Heaven for bid if some loser country doesn't like us. People don't like Russia, Cuba (well except our Democratic Black Caucus and Michael Moore), Iran, Palestine. I don't think they are changing how they do things just to make us happy.

The liberals see whole systems, corporations, industries as evil and that one big, giant, government will solve everything and that Socialism justifies this hatred of "Wallstreet," "CEO greed," etc, . What astounds me is a blindness to the idea that systems, corporations, industries, by themselves, are like guns are things; they don't do harm by themselves, it is those corrupt individuals that run the systems that can be very disruptive.

So what I find so interesting is that big business, big insurance, big car company, doctors, lawyers are horrible, but big union, big government, big corporations "in bed" with government like GE (General Electric), big pockets $$$, like George Soros, John Podesta, big healthcare (I think they also forget how many millions of $$$ actors make, they have private jets, gazillion houses, amazing vacations. Also, their major funders like George Soros, John Podesta, Rockefeller made their $$$ on big Wallstreet."So for a liberal, outrage depends on "who" is successful not their bogus claims on how they make the money.

Another, unexplainable outrage is this visceral hatred of FoxNews. For generations and generations the 8 or so news channels were admittedly, and unapologetic left leaning. So once again, liberals feel that they are entitled to monopolize the news industry and anything that opposes them is evil, outrageous, and needs to be annihilated. The problem really becomes a big deal when Fox's ratings triple and quadruple, the now called, "Fringe Media;" formerly known as "mainstream media." Again, it never occurs to them that it's popularity has to do with the right's disgust of bias and and daily doses of propaganda. Conservatives however, don't "hate" left media, it falls out of our line of vision, so in effect, we don't see it so we don't really care about it.

But all these big, hated by the left, things are run by "people." Some good, some bad. But power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The same lure of corruption that occurs in business is the same lure of corruption that occurs in big union, big government. The difference is that in a "free-choice" society (capitalism) we can choose to change companies, allow nasty things to fail... but with Socialism, we're stuck...if it turns out terrible... we're stuck... What liberals are blind to see is that it is corrupt individuals that run those corrupt companies. If you "nationalize" them, now you have corrupt individuals running a government business. There is nothing in the world that can show that once an individual steps across the threshold of a government-run business, or system, that they instantly gain "integrity." We only have centuries of proof that the exact opposite happens.

So of course, we are all blinded with our motes and beams...with Conservatives however, we've been very busy raising our families, working hard, giving service, donating to charities that we've never, ever, been politically active. You see, we trust people. We naively give people the benefit of the doubt and project that the people we have voted into office are like us. It seems the beltway demon possesses anyone who steps within it's realm. We became disenfranchised with the Republicans, appalled at the deceptions and back-room deals that took place last year during the primaries. And the lame-excuse for a career politician, John McCain is anything but a RINO (Republican in Name Only).

We are one step ahead of the Democrats now. We've been through power from a majority that implodes and an executive branch that only seems to advance the Center for American Progress' agenda. Has anyone reading this researched John D Rockefeller, John Podesta and George Soros and their agendas? These are the people on the other end of the blackberry. These deep pockets and million-tentacled organizations are the machines that advance the Progressive agenda.

So here it is: Liberals are Progressives. They are people who have shed the typical morality of ultimate "right and wrong," God, and virtue. They are Communists. "Progress", "movement", "adaptation," "agitation," "unrest," "unfairness," "inequality," "social justice," "advancement" are the "new morality." They have unhinged from ultimate truth. Everything to them is relative, based on the circumstances surrounding it - political correctness. I can't imagine a liberal can experience much joy. The anger at injustice; dissatisfaction with everything on the lists that haven't been resolved would create a deep bitterness... which can explain why tempers fly so easily. And most liberals I know, are in fact, very bitter, angry people. They want a complete monopoly of ideas, their arrogance makes it very hard for them to accept rebuttal. Which of course makes it impossible for anyone to want "what they have." At least, not when you have experienced the comfort and joy of seeing that "glass is half full."

On the other hand, Conservatives hold firmly that there are ultimate truths, right and wrong. These values become the lodestar around which we define the world and the actions of our brothers and sisters. Most of us find that God is our Polaris. With Him and his Word we can find confidence, security, alleviation from the injustices and corruption we see in the world. We have great confidence in the individual that when they reach their bottom, we are the first to offer and hand to lift them up. Enabling is the very thing that circumvents the reality of redemption. So for this reason, we find great happiness in life, whatever our circumstances. We are people who could have our material goodies taken away, and we would have the resolve to dust ourselves off, pick ourselves up by the boot straps, and start over.

So for Conservatives, we rally for truth, goodness. We try to do this through education, not propaganda, long-suffering and persuasion. We believe in given everyone a choice and letting losers fail. Enabling and bailing out, giving every child a trophy for "participating" so that self-esteem isn't eroded is exactly what leads to this world of "spoiled brat syndrom." The mini-tyrants that want to "change the world," exclude anyone else from deliberation, avoid anyone else's ideas. They grow up into big arrogant tyrants that want to "rule the world," based on their very narrow, echo-chamber reality.

So, for general information, Conservatives we're okay with finding joy in the present. We don't believe the Constitution is a living document. We know that for example, Founders of the Constitution, knew that slavery was a problem. The issue had to be resolved another time. So for these dire inperfections than yes, things need to be changed. But the great minds who studied empires from the beginning knew, that it had to be laid out this way. It was designed that freedom was the most important environment this new empire would have, "if we could keep it."

Progressives, which started around the turn of the century, believe the Constitution is a bil of negative rights, not positive rights. Right now they are building a "positive bill of rights," which grants everyone a home, a job, a college education." This is what is happening now with our new administration. There will become a maximum wage. You will only be allowed to make so much and the rest will be given to "spread the wealth around."

Study, study, study these thing...Our Constitution is hanging by a thread... wake up... We are repeating history. Read about Woodrow Wilson's administration.

From Glenn Beck: The facts your liberal friends need to hear (Jonah Goldberg)

From Glenn Beck Newsletter - click here to sign up for free newsletters.

**SPECIAL REPORT: The facts your liberal friends need to hear**
This is the first special report in a week-long series with author Jonah Goldberg, investigating how Liberal Fascism is trying to control your life from the cradle to the grave. Don't miss part two tonight on TV: "The new New Deal--what Barack and Hillary have in store" at 7 pm and 9pm ET, only on Headline News. And look for another special report in tomorrow's newsletter.

The facts your liberal friends need to hear
By Jonah Goldberg

Liberals, perhaps more than anyone, believe that we should be vigilant against the threat of fascism. Now, they also believe that fascism can only come from the Right--I think they're wrong. But, what liberals - and everyone else - very much need to understand is that whatever direction fascism comes from, it's popular. Fascism succeeds in democratic countries because it convinces people that it's the wave of the future, it's progressive, it's young, it's vital, it's exciting. Fascist promise to fix what's broken in our democracy, to heal our wounds, to deliver us to promised lands. So if you think fascism comes from the Right, fine. But at least keep in mind that it won't sell itself as dull, or uptight, or old-fashioned.

Let me take a moment to give you a concrete sense of what I mean.

Fascism appealed to youth activists. Indeed, the Nazis and Fascists were in major respects youth movements. In 1931, 60 percent of all German undergraduates supported the Nazi Student Organization. "Their goal," the historian John Toland wrote of the young idealists who fed the Nazi rise to power, "was to establish a youth culture for fighting the bourgeois trinity of school, home and church."

Meanwhile, middle and lower class Germans were attracted to the economic and cultural populism of Nazism. The Nazi party began as the German Worker's Party. The Nazis economic rhetoric was eerily similar to John Edwards "Two Americas" talk. The Nazis promised to clamp down on Big Business - particularly department stores, the Wal-Marts of their day - and end the class struggle. Theodore Abel, an impressively clever American sociologist, gives us insight into why working class Germans were attracted to Nazism. In 1934 Abel took out an ad in the Nazi Party journal asking "old fighters" to submit essays explaining why they had joined. He restricted his request to "old fighters" because so many opportunists had joined the party after Hitler's rise. The essays were combined in the fascinating book Why Hitler Came Into Power. One essayist, a coal miner, explained "Though I was interested in the betterment of the workingman's plight, I rejected [Marxism] unconditionally. I often asked myself why socialism had to be tied up with internationalism-why it could not work as well or better in conjunction with nationalism." A railroad worker concurred, "I shuddered at the thought of Germany in the grip of Bolshevism. The slogan 'Workers of the World Unite!' made no sense to me. At the same time, however, National Socialism, with its promise of a community . . . barring all class struggle, attracted me profoundly." A third worker wrote that he embraced the Nazis because of their "uncompromising will to stamp out the class struggle, snobberies of caste and party hatreds. The movement bore the true message of socialism to the German workingman."

Nazism's appeal to the professional classes was just as strong. Raymond Dominick, a historian specializing in the history of German environmentalism, found that by 1939, 59 percent of conservationist leaders had joined the Nazi party, while only 10 percent of adult males had. Forty five percent of medical doctors had joined and roughly one quarter of teachers and lawyers had. The two groups of professionals with the highest rates of participation in the Nazi Party? Veterinarians were first and foresters were a close second. Dominick found a "unique nexus between National Socialism and nature conservation."

The Nazis and Italian Fascists won-over big business, cultural elites, the youth and the lower-classes because they portrayed themselves as heroically on the side of progress, protecting the environment and the poor. Fascists preached unity, togetherness and an end to division.

Liberals need to ask themselves where do they hear this rhetoric the most?

I'm not saying that merely being for the environment, the poor or national unity makes you a fascist. But what I am saying is that if you're concerned about spotting fascism on the horizon you can't just look at people you don't like. That's like only looking for your lost car keys where the light is good. Huey Long reportedly said that if Fascism comes to America it will be called "anti-Fascism." Liberals can still make their arguments that fascism comes from the right. But until they understand that wherever fascism may come from, it never arrives save in a form that the best and the brightest are willing to accept with open arms.
And if liberals don't know their history, they won't be equipped to spot it when it comes knocking.

Jonah Goldberg is the author of the New York Times bestseller Liberal Fascism.

Technorati Tags: Economy,Obama,Fascism,Liberal

Mitt Romney: "Bob Dole Is An American Hero, Another Terrific Guy."

Rush Limbaugh is going to town talking about how this is the most manipulative spin of the McCain camp. The letter does not say he has a candidate. There was no endorsement. Dole is NOT endorsing McCain. This was confirmed on Hannity and Colmes on FoxNews. Rush: "McCain is using Clinton tactics. This has nothing to do with Dole's military record. This is about political record. Lies against Romney are even worse than Nixon campaign tactics."

LAURA INGRAHAM: "Are you upset that you lost that Dole endorsement?"  GOVERNOR ROMNEY:  "You know you like every endorsement and Bob Dole is an American hero, another terrific guy. … But you know, I don’t think if I were the McCain campaign that’s the parallel I would have wanted to draw. Just because you know he was selected as somebody who had been a long term Senator and was seen as the anointed choice.  You know the inevitable choice, the one who is next in line.  I think we’re best as a party, at least in my own view, when we bring somebody in from the outside.  If we want to change Washington, I think it's going to have to have an outsider to do it and it‘s going to take somebody who may not be the inevitable choice, but instead somebody who represents new passion, new vision, new energy, that I think we need to see in Washington."  ("Laura Ingraham Show," 2/5/08)

Scarborough On McCain Commenting About Governor Romney:

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough:  "Nice Try Senator McCain, Not Going To Work."

SCARBOROUGH:  "Well what?  No, the thing is what conservatives have been saying all along is electing John McCain in 2008 will be just like when Republicans had Bob Dole in 1996, just like when Republicans had Gerald Ford in 1976.  Now, Pat Buchanan and I – Pat's going to be here in a second – we can suggest that Bob Dole would not be the best person to deliver a letter to a conservative talk show host without disparaging his service in the United States military.  Nice try Senator McCain, not going to work."  (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 2/5/08)

Technorati Tags: GOP 2008,Endorsements,Mitt Romney,Republican,Conservatives,McCain,Liberal "Republican",Campaign Lies

John McCain: Anything But Republican

 

In 2008, the Republican Party needs a nominee who can debate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) on the important issues confronting our nation today.  "Very Close" highlights how Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Clinton actually agree on more issues than not.  We need "a full-spectrum conservative" like Governor Mitt Romney who can provide a clear conservative contrast with Sen. Clinton.

Script For "Very Close" (WEB:30):

ANNOUNCER:  "Is John McCain really the heart and soul of the Republican Party?

"Imagine a debate between McCain and Hillary Clinton.

"On amnesty for illegal immigrants, they agree.

"On voting against President Bush's tax cuts, they agree.

"On imposing an additional 50 cents a gallon cost on gasoline, they agree.

"On blocking conservative judges, they agree.

"Even Bill Clinton says…"

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON:  "'She and John McCain are very close.'"

ANNOUNCER:  "Don't we need a leader who agrees with conservatives?"

GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."

AD FACTS For "Very Close" (WEB:30):

ANNOUNCER:  "Is John McCain really the heart and soul of the Republican Party?  Imagine a debate between McCain and Hillary Clinton.  On amnesty for illegal immigrants, they agree."

• Sen. McCain And Sen. Clinton Both Voted For The 2006 Senate Amnesty Bill. "Passage of the bill that would overhaul U.S. immigration policies and offer a path to citizenship for most illegal immigrants in the country. It would subdivide illegal immigrants into three groups based on how long they had been in the United States. Illegal immigrants in the country more than five years would be able to stay and earn citizenship; those here between two and five years would have three years to file paperwork for a temporary work visa, after which they would be eligible for permanent legal residency; and those here less than two years would have to return to their native country and go through normal channels if they want to return. It would create a guest worker program that could accommodate an additional 200,000 immigrants a year. It also would authorize increased border security and enforcement provisions, including a requirement for businesses to verify documents of all prospective employees through an electronic system managed by the Department of Homeland Security." (S. 2611, CQ Vote #157: Passed 62-36: R 23-32; D 38-4; I 1-0, 5/25/06, McCain And Clinton Voted Yea)

• Sen. Clinton: Immigration Legislation Must Have A "Path To Legalization" For The 12 Million Illegal Immigrants Here. "Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York said she was disappointed that the Senate did not move forward with its immigration bill and that the cornerstone of any future measure must be a 'path to legalization' for the 12 million undocumented immigrants already here." (Eunice Moscoso, "Democrats Promise Immigration Reform," Cox News Service, 6/30/07)

• Sen. McCain Still Supports His Immigration Plan For A "Path To Citizenship." QUESTION: "But fundamentally, I'm wondering, don't you still have the same plan for a path to citizenship that you fundamentally held months ago?" MCCAIN: "Sure." (ABC/WMUR, Republican Presidential Candidate Debate, Manchester, NH, 1/5/08; www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LbTSe6uLqI)

ANNOUNCER:  "On voting against President Bush's tax cuts, they agree."

• In 2001, Sen. McCain And Sen. Clinton Both Voted Against The $1.35 Trillion Tax Cut. The bill lowered marginal rates, eliminated the marriage penalty, and doubled the child tax credit. (H.R. 1836, CQ Vote #170: Adopted 58-33: R 46-2; D 12-31; I 0-0, 5/26/01, McCain And Clinton Voted Nay)

• In 2003, Sen. McCain And Sen. Clinton Each Cast Two Votes Against The $350 Billion Tax Cut. The comprehensive bill lowered taxes by $350 billion over 11 years – including increasing the child tax credit and eliminated the marriage penalty. (H.R. 2, CQ Vote #179: Passed 51-49: R 48-3; D 3-45; I 0-1, 5/15/03, McCain And Clinton Voted Nay; H.R. 2, CQ Vote #196: Adopted 50-50: R 48-3; D 2-46; I 0-1, 5/23/03, McCain And Clinton Voted Nay)

ANNOUNCER:  "On imposing an additional 50 cents a gallon cost on gasoline, they agree."

• McCain-Lieberman Would Dramatically Raise Taxes On All Carbon-Based Fuels, Like Gas For Your Car And Home Heating Oil. "What is not widely understood is that [Sen. McCain] is currently sponsoring legislation that, in the name of fighting global warming, would dramatically raise the tax on all carbon-based fuels, including gasoline, home heating oil, coal, and to a lesser extent, natural gas." (Roy Cordato, "McCain's Costly Tax On Energy," National Review, www.nationalreview.com, Posted 1/10/08)

• American Council For Capital Formation Study: McCain-Lieberman Could Hike Gasoline Prices By 50 Cents Per Gallon.  "A study by an economic research institute, the American Council for Capital Formation, underscored these findings, estimating that under S. 139: … By 2020, gasoline prices would increase 30 to 50 cents per gallon."  (H. Sterling Burnett, "Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions," National Center For Policy Analysis, 11/18/04)

• Sen. Hillary Clinton Has Co-Sponsored McCain-Lieberman. CLINTON: "And we were debating the McCain-Lieberman Bill, which I'm a proud co-sponsor, to try and do something with CO2." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Remarks At The 17th Annual Energy Efficiency Forum, Washington, DC, 6/14/06)

ANNOUNCER:  "On blocking conservative judges, they agree."

• Sen. McCain Joined Democrats In The Gang Of 14 And Stopped Sen. Bill Frist From Banning Filibusters. "An effort that started as little more than hallway talk and phone conversations led to a last-minute deal May 23 that stopped Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's plans to engineer a ruling the next day to bar filibusters of judicial nominations. A group that became known as the 'gang of 14' – seven Republicans and seven Democrats promised to vote against any such change as long as Democrats swore off future judicial filibusters in all but extraordinary cases. That unified promise had the effect of denying Frist the votes he needed to ban the practice altogether." (David Nather, "Senate Races Against The Nuclear Clock On Judges," Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 5/28/05)

• Sen. Clinton Was "Certainly Supportive" Of The Gang Of 14. CNN'S JUDY WOODRUFF: "Some people have noted that you chose not to be part of the group that announced the compromise, that worked on the compromise. The Gang of 14. Should somebody make anything of that?" CLINTON: "No. I think that this was a process that a couple of my colleagues started, you know, some weeks ago after Senator Reid could not reach any understanding with Senator Frist. And I thought they were pursuing a noble effort. I didn't know whether they would be successful or not, but I was, you know, certainly supportive of their efforts to try." (CNN's "Inside Politics," 5/26/05)

ANNOUNCER:  "Even Bill Clinton says…"  FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON:  "'She and John McCain are very close.'"  ANNOUNCER:  "Don't we need a leader who agrees with conservatives?"  GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."

• Former President Clinton: Sens. Clinton And McCain "Are Very Close." "'She and John McCain are very close,' [President Bill] Clinton said. 'They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they're afraid they'd put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other.'" (Alexander Mooney, "Bill Clinton: John McCain And Hillary Are 'Very Close'," CNN's Political Ticker, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, Posted 1/25/08)

Technorati Tags: GOP 2008,Liberal "Republican",John McCain,McCain Policies,Democrats

Kerry-McCain: WELCOME TO MASSACHUSETTS! Half Of The Proposed Kerry-McCain '04 Ticket Campaigns In Boston

ABC's Charles Gibson: "But, let me, let me, let me imagine it. If he asked you, if he came across the aisle and asked you, would you even entertain the idea? Or will you rule it out for good and all and ever right now?"

Sen. John McCain: "John Kerry is a very close friend of mine. We've been friends for years. Obviously, I would entertain it." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 3/10/04; www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkcVXIhssCI)

Kerry-McCain 2004? Sen. John Kerry Says Sen. McCain Wanted It:

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) Says That Sen. John McCain Approached him About Being His 2004 Running Mate. FOX NEWS' BRIT HUME: "The struggling presidential campaign of John McCain is now involved in a controversy with John Kerry over who approached whom about a possible McCain spot on the Democratic ticket in 2004. The Politico newspaper reports Kerry maintains that McCain's people made overtures to him about a vice presidential nod. But McCain says no, it was Kerry's idea, and that he rejected it each time it was raised. This of course, follows a similar story that came out last week in which Senate Democrats where saying McCain was in serious negotiations with them about switching parties following his loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential primaries. McCain says that also is a mischaracterization, and that he was never serious about leaving the Republican Party." (Fox News' "Special Report With Brit Hume," 4/4/07; www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX37Jrw_dMM)

Sen. Kerry: "[McCain's] People Similarly Approached Me To Engage In A Discussion About His Potentially Being On The Ticket As Vice President." JONATHAN SINGER: "And I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what your discussions were with him [McCain] in 2004, how far it went, who approached whom... if there was any 'there' there." SEN. JOHN KERRY: "I don't know all the details of it. I know that Tom, from a conversation with him, was in conversation with a number of Republicans back then. It doesn't surprise me completely because his people similarly approached me to engage in a discussion about his potentially being on the ticket as Vice President. So his people were active -- let's put it that way." SINGER: "Okay. And just to confirm, you said it, but this is something they approached you rather than..." KERRY: "Absolutely correct. John Weaver of his shop approached..." (My DD Website, http://www.mydd.com/images/admin/McCain.mp3, Accessed 4/3/07)

Sen. McCain Publicly Said He'd Entertain The Idea Of Running With Kerry:

In 2004, When First Questioned If He'd Run With Kerry, McCain Said He "Would Entertain It." ABC's CHARLES GIBSON: "But, let me, let me, let me imagine it. If he asked you, if he came across the aisle and asked you, would you even entertain the idea? Or will you rule it out for good and all and ever right now?" SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: "John Kerry is a very close friend of mine. We've been friends for years. Obviously, I would entertain it." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 3/10/04; www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkcVXIhssCI)

Sen. McCain Also Considered Leaving The Republican Party In 2001:

The Hill: Sen. McCain Considered Leaving The GOP In 2001. "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

Sen. McCain's Top Political Strategist John Weaver Recently Acknowledged That McCain Spoke To Democrats About Leaving The Party. "McCain consistently shot down the rumors, though Weaver acknowledged this week that the senator did talk to Democrats about leaving the GOP." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

One McCain Loyalist Said His Chances Of Leaving The Party Were "50-50." "In one article, Marshall Wittman, a McCain loyalist and strategist six years ago, put the odds of McCain leaving the Republican Party at '50-50.'" (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

Sen. McCain Reached Out To Democrats:

In 2001, McCain Aide John Weaver Approached Prominent Democrats About McCain Switching Parties. "Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in the early months of 2001 about switching parties, but in McCain's case, they said, it was McCain's top strategist who came to them." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

Weaver Met With Lobbyist Tom Downey To Float The Idea Of A McCain Switch. "At the end of their March 31, 2001 lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Bethesda, Md., Downey said Weaver asked why Democrats hadn't asked McCain to switch parties." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

• Weaver: "Well, If The Right People Asked Him." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

Calls Were Immediately Placed To Powerful Democrats. "Within seconds' of arriving home from his lunch with Weaver, Downey said he was on the phone to the most powerful Democrats in town. One of the first calls he made was to then-Senate Minority Leader Daschle." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

• Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) Confirmed He Spoke To Downey. "I did take the call from Tom [Downey],' Daschle said in an interview. 'It was Weaver's comment' to Downey that started the McCain talks, he added." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

Downey And Weaver Spoke Weekly. "Downey said he talked to Weaver at least once a week during McCain's discussions with Democrats, asking him questions like, 'What is the state of play?' and 'Where are we?'" (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

• Downey: "I Actually Thought During The Initial Stages Of This That [McCain Leaving The Republican Party] Was Almost A Certain Deal." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

• Downey: "Weaver Was Very Active In This." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

• Downey: "None Of This Happens Without Weaver." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

Influential Democrats Talked To McCain About Defecting:

Leading Democrats Talked With Sen. McCain For Months About Leaving The Party. "In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain's chief political strategist." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

• Sens. McCain And Daschle Met. "Daschle said that throughout April and May of 2001, he and McCain 'had meetings and conversations on the floor and in his office, I think in mine as well, about how we would do it, what the conditions would be. We talked about committees and his seniority … [A lot of issues] were on the table.'" (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

Sens. John Edwards, Teddy Kennedy And Harry Reid All Attempted To Recruit Sen. McCain. "Other senators who played major roles in the intense recruiting effort, according to Democrats, were then-Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) as well as Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.)." (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

• Edwards Thought He Might Be Able To Convince McCain To Defect. '"John [Edwards] at that time was working with McCain on a couple things and there was a sense that because of his relationship that he might be a good person to talk to him,' Daschle said. 'He was clearly one of those that we thought could be helpful.''' (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

Daschle Thought Sen. McCain Was The Democrats' "Best Opportunity." "Daschle, however, said the talks went much further, claiming that there were times that he and Democratic leaders thought McCain 'might be our best opportunity.'" (Bob Cusack, "Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP," The Hill, 3/29/07)

Technorati Tags: GOP 2008,John McCain,John Kerry,Liberal "Republican",Democrats