Appealing to Republican base no longer a GOP priority
“Appealing to Independents and disenfranchised Democrats is even more important than ever,” says Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain, during a strategy briefing.
“The GOP brand troubles have created a larger group of Independent voters that we need to appeal to this election cycle than normal. No longer can a Republican candidate win by just running up the score with our base. We need to reach out to Independents and disaffected Democrats because they now represent the the largest portion of swing voters and the greatest electoral bloc up for grabs.”
The campaign’s election strategy PowerPoint, published on the McCain website, reveals that the campaign has accepted a remarkable fact: McCain and his advisers have lumped Arizona among what it is considering “swing states.”
June 11, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Facts are facts. We conservatives can no longer take comfort in saying we didn’t know.
With those tire tracks on our necks, it’s plain to see we’ve been thrown under the bus by McCain.
So much for the Staight Talk Express!
June 11, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Those are some explicit quotes in that strategy talk Rick Davis gave! It is crystal clear where the McCain forces are going, and it’s not in our direction. Thank you Seeing Red AZ for providing this information. It’s obviously factual since it comes directly from the McCain web site. We are faced with the worst possible choices for president in my lifetime.
June 11, 2008 at 2:40 pm
What a shame that this is the best the GOP could offer! The conservative base has been the grassroots support of the Republican Party. Kiss us off, kiss off the state party.
June 11, 2008 at 4:01 pm
This is IT for me. Now I’ve heard it with my own ears from McCain’s own site and from the lips of his campaign manager. No confusion here. I hope he falls on his decrepit old butt. He’s no different than Obama. They both stink. I can’t vote for either of them.
June 11, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Those Independents he is seeking to bring into the camp are former Republicans who are really ticked off. McCain doesn’t seem to key into that very crucial point. He needs to remember that conservative Republicans are the strength and backbone of the party. Somehow I don’t think that’s on his priority list.
June 11, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Right on, Joe! Close to half of my friends and colleagues who were preciously Republicans have reregistered. I can assure you they didn’t make that switch because they were happy with the Grand Old Party. Just the opposite! They are angry about the lack of concern for the safety and welfare of our citizens and the idea of granting amnesty to the hordes of illegals breaking into our country. Just saying the names McCain, Kyl or Kennedy can start a tirade.
I can’t think of one former Republican who plans to vote for McCain. They are just plain mad! These are angry professionals, who often explain they didn’t leave the party, the party left them.
If these are the Independents John McCain is trying to woo, he’s barking up the wrong tree. This is a failed strategy.
June 12, 2008 at 6:32 am
Joe echos what I know to be true in my circle. I’ve tried to tell the “defectors” that McCain, as bad as he is, isn’t Obama, but the message falls on deaf ears with both former Republicans (now turned Independents or Libertarians) and current Republicans. They either left or won’t vote for McCain because they are tired of not being considered. Most leaned conservatives. He needs those votes, but instead panders to voters who already have their own liberal candidate.
June 12, 2008 at 7:47 am
The fallacy in the McCain campaign strategy is assuming the “Independent” voters sprung from thin air and are ripe for the picking. Their ranks are swelling because so many disenfranchised Republicans are reregistering. That shouldn’t be too complicated for even McCain to understand.
June 12, 2008 at 8:54 am
Conservative Republicans who are tired of being ignored by McCain and Co. reregister as Independents and are then sought out. Great strategy by the McCainiacs!
Too late, guys. We left because of your tactics.
June 12, 2008 at 11:28 am
This has got to be a joke from the McCain contingent. Surely they realize Republicans are jumping ship because of McCain. I have several in my own family, so I can attest to that fact. Why didn’t McCain pay attention to them then? I can tell you they aren’t interested now. They aren’t going for Obama, but they are voting for Bob Barr. Sure, it’s a throwaway. but they feel it doesn’t matter at this point. We have a choice between two Democrats—liberal and liberaler. Neither choice is appealling.
June 13, 2008 at 12:37 am
Remember your vote for Bob Barr if/when Barack Obama gets to appoint his first, second, etc, justices to the Supreme Court. Complain all you want. It’s your party — make it yours again. Or not. That’s the beauty of voting (and as we’ve learned the last couple of elections, EVERY vote matters). If you think “throwaway” votes don’t matter, remember how close Florida was in 2000. Remember that Ford lost Ohio by LESS than one vote per precinct. All our Republican votes matter. That said, DON’T stop being angry when Republicans don’t stick to their principles (look how we shot our own feet in 2006). But there is a time to kick our folks in their proverbial behinds, and a time to make sure that Barack Obama doesn’t win the WH for 4 to 8 years. And, again, for those millions of conservative independents out there, let’s bring ‘em home by making this a stronger party with the RIGHT messages, not by tearing ourselves apart forever and ever and ever.
June 13, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I personally think that not appealing to the base will hurt McCain’s chances of getting elected, aka Ford and Dole. However, I can’t imagine why conservatives wouldn’t back McCain, especially considering the alternative the the most liberal president ever. That, to me, is far more scary than a man who is 30% liberal.
June 14, 2008 at 1:51 am
RedArizona – you’re not only losing the present battle, you may already have lost the war. In order to win McCain needs to shore up his party’s support – not go after the support of people by adopting policies that will permanently alienate the Republican base. Economic and social conservatives will not elect a candidate who is trying to endear himself to La Raza and the Al Gore greenie weenies, and who tried to author a second amnesty. If McCain thinks he is in alignment with even the general public on environmental policy one of his campaign advisors needs to tell him that with gas at $4/gallon and inflation poised for liftoff, real energy concerns trump greenie propaganda pieces. If McCain thinks that amnesty for illegal immigrants is acceptable, he is very much mistaken – 40,000,000 feet – and many more to come – have worn out the welcome mat. This is what is showing up in the polls now.