Virginia A Litmus Test For McCain

Washington Post: GOP Front-Runner Must Woo Conservatives He Has Alienated

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Amy Gardner and Michelle Boorstein.

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When U.S. Sen. John McCain came to Virginia eight years ago for the Republican presidential primary, he called two of Virginia's most prominent religious leaders, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, "agents of intolerance."

Now, McCain is back. But unhealed wounds remain among conservative voters in Virginia and across the nation, challenging the Arizona Republican to make peace with a voting bloc he will need if he is to win the general election in November.

Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are preparing for Tuesday's first-ever regional primary, when voters in Virginia, Maryland and the District will go to the polls. But with the national GOP paying scant attention to Democrat-rich Washington and Maryland, Virginia stands out as the first bellwether as to whether McCain can heal those wounds, political and religious observers say.

"This is the acid test for McCain," said Charles Dunn, dean of the School of Government at Regent University, a Christian school in Virginia Beach founded by Robertson. "Huckabee comes here, and he speaks their language. Virginia is critical for John McCain."

McCain has found rapprochement with key conservative leaders in Virginia, including Falwell before he died last year. But former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, is expected by many to fare well with the estimated one-third of Virginia adults who call themselves evangelical Protestants. Just how many of them turn to Huckabee on Tuesday could help determine the level of unity and momentum that McCain will carry into the fall campaign.

"McCain's in this enviable yet curious position," said Robert D. Holsworth, director of the Center for Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University. "He's essentially become the presumptive nominee, but he has yet to close the deal with all the conservatives."

McCain's advocacy of granting illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, his refusal to back a national ban on same-sex marriage and his support of campaign finance restrictions have caused small-government, social-values conservatives to bristle in recent years. But he is strong in other ways -- on national security, eliminating waste in government and keeping taxes down -- that could be more important to Republican voters, even conservative ones, some GOP leaders say.

The national Republican Party is scrambling to unify the GOP faithful behind McCain, and Virginia leaders are doing the same. On Thursday, former governor and U.S. senator George Allen, a longtime icon of Virginia's conservative movement, endorsed McCain. And Friday, U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Virginia Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell, who has served on Regent's board, threw their support behind the front-runner.

Those conservatives join moderate Virginia Republicans such as Sen. John W. Warner and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, who hold leadership posts on McCain's Virginia team. The message is clear: Republicans must unite behind their strongest candidate if they are to defeat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) or Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in November.

"John McCain is the strongest candidate for us to win the war against terrorism and succeed in the war with Iraq," said Allen, who had supported former senator Fred D. Thompson (R-Tenn.) for president. "He is the most consistent and credible person to carry this torch for all America."

McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam, is sure to do well among Virginia's sizable military population. Even in 2000, when President Bush defeated him by 53 percent to 44 percent in the state primary, McCain won the Virginia Beach-based 2nd Congressional District, which has the highest concentration of military voters of any district in the nation. McCain also won the Northern Virginia-based 8th District, where there is a large military population.

McCain's camp is also optimistic that he can pick up voters who had supported Mitt Romney for his economic message -- including social conservatives who view the economy as a more critical issue. He might also pick up evangelical votes for his tough stand against terrorism.

"We think the most of governor Huckabee, and obviously his background is one that would fit with evangelicals in Virginia because he was a Baptist preacher," said Brett O'Donnell, a former close associate of Falwell's. "We just think that John McCain is better prepared to handle the war on radical Islamic extremism."

It is in the heartland of Virginia's conservative base -- the southern and southwestern areas -- where the state's evangelical voters are more likely to choose Huckabee than McCain, observers said.

Michael Farris, a leader of the national evangelical and home-schooling movements, said yesterday that rank-and-file evangelicals are behind Huckabee. Farris, who lives in Purcellville, said he thinks the national evangelical leadership has been "bizarre" in advocating for Romney and then McCain, who supported embryonic stem cell research and opposed a federal marriage amendment.

Farris, founder and chancellor of Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, doesn't buy the narrative that McCain is the inevitable nominee and said that evangelicals are angry over the feeling that they were sold out by the GOP.

"This is a 'get to the back of the bus' statement to evangelicals," he said. " 'We'll take your votes, but if you dare to rise up to be a leader, we will crush you.' That's what it feels like to most of us. The combination of McCain's support of amnesty for illegals and his other views, I think he is very vulnerable to a conservative challenge."

The ultimate risk is not that conservatives would turn out for Clinton or Obama -- but that their equivocation on McCain would keep them home in a general election in which every vote could count. Prominent evangelical leader James Dobson said Thursday that he won't vote if McCain is the GOP nominee.

"I've had some significant concerns," said McDonnell, the state attorney general. "I hope he will listen to leaders like me who are fiscal and social conservatives to hopefully modify some of his policy positions."

Moderate Republicans say they worry that McCain will be pushed too far to the right. If that happens, it could alienate independent voters, who will be crucial in November.

"To the extent that he seems to cave to these folks, you start losing independents," Davis said. "If you're a Republican right now, you kind of need everybody. But you can't be held hostage."

Staff writers David Nakamura and William Wan contributed to this report.

[prinzowhales]

McSwine spilled his guts the from his first day as a POW for better medical care...He made more propaganda films for North Vietnam than Jane Fonda...32 of them!

This scum-bag has been under the discipline of an enemy power and should not be anywhere near US secrets. He is not only compromised in this area but in his marriage to the daughter of a member of an organized criminal syndicate.

And, if that were not enough, he is supported by the likes of the nefarious Israel-firster and darling of the AIPAC spies, Joe Liebermann--Obama''s mentor in the Senate.

McCain lost five planes as a pilot in the service...most through recklessness and incompetence...the broken bones he sustained in Vietnam were not the result of torture as his lying supporters imply, but through his failure to draw his arms in over his chest as he ejected.

This Keating-Five crook wants war with Iran even joking about this new war with his infamous jingle, "bombbombbomb, bombbomb Iran..." He is unfit to command.

If his criminality and treason were not enough, he is Hillary Clinton''s best friend in the Senate and, with the bridge killer, the drunk, Senator Kennedy--who drowns his pregnant wh*res when he is finished with them to the apparent delight of his Massachusetts constituents-- proposed amnesty for illegals and specificly picked out the members of the murderous MS13 drug gang in the bill by name for tax and crime forgiveness and citizenship if they merely renouced their membership in the gang.

[heartlandjim]

Mike Huckabee will win tomorrow and go on to win the nomination of the Republican Party because he is the best candidate.

[pilgrimsway-2009]

We the Taliban, the cells in America, Know who to vote for!

[ontheleft]

McCain got the endorsement of George Bush. That should really help his election chances.

Does anyone care to guess how many Depends a day McCain goes through? And who changes him? His wife?

[bdrlnt4rl]

has anyone ever notice that the christians believe what the bible says, but yet they do not love one another as jesus does. hucky has already proved this in his religious intolerance. do we really want this quality in a pres????

has anyone ever noticed that christians say ''do what jesus would do'' but yet they do not, except on sunday. oh wait, they all go out to eat after church, they do not even keep the sabbath holy!

A new Mason-Dixon poll came out in Virginia today. McCain is at 55% and Huckabee at 27%. On the Democratic side Obama''s at 53% and Clinton at 37%.
http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=12562
Virginia has always been a huge military state with a lot of military jobs and McCain''s strength is national defense. It''s also funny how people actually serving in the volunteer military tend to favor him. In the largest voting districts in Northern Virginia, Richmond area, and Hampton Roads, where there are many military installations and personnel McCain has huge leads.

[pilgrimsway-2009]

It is also in my view false to say that life in AMERICA today is solely determined by considerations of foreign policy, that the primacy of foreign policy governs today the whole of our domestic life. Certainly a people can reach the point when foreign relations influence and determine completely its domestic life. But let no one say that such a CONDITION is from the first either natural or desirable. Rather the important thing is that a people should CREATE the conditions for a CHANGE in this state of affairs.

We know by the charisma who said this!
Answer
Hit-lers quote Jan 27 1932

[bdribus]

My vote goes to Huckabee. McCain''s huge delegate lead comes from democratic states like NY and CA that will never vote republican. His strongest results in any particular state are always from heavily democratic areas. The conclusion is clear... McCain is a democrat. If you want to vote democrat, there are better ones on the ballot than John McCain!

[pilgrimsway-2009]

Huckabee!

[newz4i]

If Americans walk away from evangelical Republicans, we will have an America that we can be proud of ... once again. Americans found and have proudly stood up for their faith. Evangelical Christians, having a disdain toward the faith of America, are still looking for a god. Vote more Republicans out of office, as was done in the 2006 election, and hopefully evangelicals will be forced to go back to their church and carry on with their endless search within THEIR closed doors.

[enoughya]

Adopting the worst ideas of Democrats (amnesty for illegal aliens) and the worst ideas of Republicans (unprovoked and prolonged war) are hardly admirable traits of a centrist. I am one independent that will never vote for McCain, and supposedly his centrist views are meant to appeal to those like me. McCain is neither a good Republican, nor a good Democrat, and he certainly is not a good independent. The other two Democrats are hardly worth cheering about either. This nation is doomed, if this is the best we can come up with.

[glossypan]

3954 young patriots dead
$275,000,000 per DAY
For What??
** ** **
In Iraq for 100 years?
"FINE with me", says John McCain.

[gce65]

Bush came out this morning saying Bush was a "true conservative," but can we believe Bush. Bush turned out not to be a true conservative: he''s expanded the federal government, deficit spent us into a recession, wants to let illegal aliens stay in the country, helped export our US jobs overseas, and never delivered on his promise of a gay marriage ban or a burning the flag amendment. And he says McCain is okay, like we should just trust him on it. I DON''T THINK SO. WRITE IN HUCKABEE! WRITE IN ROMNEY! NO COMPROMISES!

[puritan9]

I admired McCain when he was he own man. Both McCain and Hillary seem to want to say anything to each of their constituents - just to get into the Whitehouse. Neither appears to have any honest convictions plus Hillary has crocodile tears to boot. McCain has gone so far "Bush" that he might as well be a Bush clone %u2013 imagine that for four more years! The destiny of the United States is in freedom, boldness and honesty, not fundamentalism, fear and lies. While making the rich even richer, the religious fundamentalists have been deceived by neo-conservatives telling them that the boogey man will come and take away their Bible. The uneducated people who fell for this trick are now paying the price of low wages and high prices, getting kicked-out of their sub-prime loan houses %u2013 where they also lost their investments, paying high credit card interest rates, and sending their children to be used as cannon fodder, (no children of millionaires and politicians are in the front lines!). We have to learn not to be scarred by the words that are used to put fear into us. Our enemy is anyone of tries to put fear into us. Nobody can take God away from us. Nobody can take patriotism away from us. What they can do is take our money %u2013 and that is what the goal of the conservatives.

[skymountain3]

Go Huckabooooooooooooom!!!

[likeitis5050]

McCain is facing a lot worse if he continues. He''s not genuine...he''s not trustworthy...he''s a hot-head who rivals Hillary when things aren''t going his way...and he''s NOT a Republican! He''s stabbed his party in the back one too many times to come asking for support this late in the game. If he should pull ahead and cook up some little backroom deal (Clinton style), there is no way he will beat Obama. Republicans would rather vote Democrat than have a rainy-day Republican in office. He''s in for some rough weather.

[enoughya]

Adopting the worst ideas of Democrats (amnesty for illegal aliens) and the worst ideas of Republicans (unprovoked and prolonged war) are hardly admirable traits of a centrist. I am one independent that will never vote for McCain, and supposedly his centrist views are meant to appeal to those like me. McCain is neither a good Republican, Democrat, and he certainly is not a good independent. The other two Democrats are hardly worth cheering about either. This nation is doomed, if this is the best we can come up with.

[user168-2009]

"Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth."

Yes, America, go only for TRUTH!

At the end, it is TRUTH the Nation wants!

Yes, at the end only TRUTH stands - for peace, for harmony, for hope, FOR ALL...

%u201CWithout truth I know not how man can live.%u201D

Now let''s see how much TRUTH America wants...

Clinton stands for SELF, self-pity, self-absorption, narcissism, %u201Cme%u201D-winning...

McCain stands for LOYALTY, his belief, his people, his ideals, %u201Cus%u201D-winning...

Obama stands for TRUTH, intellectual truth, compassion truth, UNIVERSAL TRUTH, truth for all...

So be it that the youth sees HOPE in TRUTH...

"Live the change you want to see in the world."

"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed."

"A nation''s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people."

GO! OBAMA, TRUTH IS THE NATION, THE WORLD, THE HOPE!

[user168-2009]

Yes, at the end, only TRUTH stands - for peace, harmony, and hope...

%u201CWithout truth I know not how man can live.%u201D

Now let''s see how much TRUTH America wants...

Clinton stands for SELF, self-pity, self-absorption, narcissism, %u201Cme%u201D-winning...

McCain stands for LOYALTY, his belief, his people, his ideals, %u201Cus%u201D-winning...

Obama stands for TRUTH, intellectual truth, compassion truth, UNIVERSAL TRUTH, truth for all...

So be it that the youth sees HOPE in TRUTH...

"Live the change you want to see in the world."
"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed."
"A nation''s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people."

GO! OBAMA, TRUTH IS THE NATION, THE WORLD, THE HOPE!

[j62kd4b]

McCain is UNREAL - seems he is another candidate for the George Herbert Walker Bush Medical Institute along with GW & Cheney! Cheney & McCain seem to have "medically induced dementia", GW Bush''s is too involved to "diagnose"!