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Angry Republicans Angry at McCain

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Oct 13, 2008 at 13:53:31 PM MDT

From The New York Times:

After a turbulent week that included new disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin and signs that Senator John McCain was struggling to strike the right tone for his campaign, Republican leaders said Saturday they were worried that Mr. McCain was heading for defeat unless he brought stability to his presidential candidacy and settled on a clear message to counter Senator Barack Obama.
Again and again, party leaders said in interviews that while they still believed that Mr. McCain could win over voters in the next 30 days, they were concerned that he and his advisers seemed to be adrift in dealing with an extraordinarily challenging political battleground and a crisis on Wall Street.
The expressions of concern came after a particularly difficult week for Mr. McCain. On Friday night, new questions arose about his choice of Ms. Palin as his running mate after an investigation by the Alaska Legislature concluded that Ms. Palin had abused her power in trying to orchestrate the firing of her former brother-in-law, a state trooper.
"I think you're seeing a turning point," said Saul Anuzis, the Republican chairman in Michigan, where Mr. McCain has decided to stop campaigning. "You're starting to feel real frustration because we are running out of time. Our message, the campaign's message, isn't connecting."...
...The difficulties of the McCain campaign have led some Republican leaders to express concern that he could end up dragging other Republicans down to defeat. "If Obama is able to run up big numbers around the country, the potential for hurting down-ballot Republicans is very big," Mr. Anuzis, the Michigan party chairman, said.
One sign of that has emerged in Nebraska, where Representative Lee Terry ran a newspaper advertisement featuring words of support for him from a woman identified as an "Obama-Terry voter."

Colorado's own Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams takes his shots at the McCain camp as well. You know, because he's run such a brilliant campaign for Bob Schaffer and all:

But no subject has more divided Republicans than the one that has been a matter of disagreement in the McCain camp: how directly to invoke Mr. Obama's connection to his controversial former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., and William Ayers, a member of the Weather Underground who has had a passing association with Mr. Obama over the years.
In Colorado, a traditionally Republican state that Mr. McCain is struggling to keep in his column, the party chairman, Dick Wadhams, urged Mr. McCain to hit the issue hard, arguing that it was fair game and could be highly effective in raising questions about Mr. Obama in the final weeks of the campaign. He said he was surprised Mr. McCain had failed to do so in last week's debate.
"I think those are legitimate insights into who Senator Obama is," Mr. Wadhams said. "I do not think it is irrelevant to this election."
But Fergus Cullen, the Republican chairman in New Hampshire, said Saturday that he thought it would be a mistake for Mr. McCain to go down that road, warning that it would turn off moderate voters in his state who have a history of supporting Mr. McCain.

Colorado Pols :: Angry Republicans Angry at McCain

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Angry Republicans Angry at McCain | 24 comments

Dick Wadhams wants to go hard negative?

How surprising! I'm truly amazed he would say that considering the civil, positive tone he has taken with the Senate race.

by: redstateblues @ Mon Oct 13, 2008 at 19:59:11 PM UTC

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Not to stereotype but

Angry Republicans have always seemed (to me, at least) to be angry at everybody.

Today, you're either going to get better or you're going to get worse, but you're never going to be the same. Which one will it be? --Joseph V. Paterno

by: Ralphie @ Mon Oct 13, 2008 at 20:10:43 PM UTC

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Ironic

I don't think I'm okay with our State Chairman dissing the top of the ticket... and I wonder if he gave a 'heads-up' to our Regional Communications Director (Tom Kise) before taking this interview. I doubt it.

by: It's Me @ Mon Oct 13, 2008 at 20:23:15 PM UTC

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Yet another reason

you guys should call for Wadhams' head (and resignation) at the end of this election cycle.

If the Colorado GOP wants to be competitive again, the first step is getting rid of Dead Weight Wadhams.

by: redstateblues @ Mon Oct 13, 2008 at 21:00:42 PM UTC

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I'm fine with Wadhams being the face of the state GOP

Seriously, though, he is the state chair, he doesn't need to clear anything he says with McCain functionaries.

by: RedGreen @ Mon Oct 13, 2008 at 21:06:10 PM UTC

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The face?

Sorry, you have the wrong end of the alimentary canal.

Today, you're either going to get better or you're going to get worse, but you're never going to be the same. Which one will it be? --Joseph V. Paterno

by: Ralphie @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 02:37:49 AM UTC

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It's just rats abandoning a sinking ship (n/t)

by: Early Worm @ Mon Oct 13, 2008 at 20:51:09 PM UTC

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Hard negative just doesn't work, you Dick you!

I'm not as offended by Wadhams' morals - nothing surprises me in that department - as by his simple lack of political sophistication.

Unless a candidate has a solid, positive message as the bedrock of his/her campaign, going negative just doesn't work. As McCain's numbers this past week have shown.

Obama has done a brilliant job by grabbing onto one McCain supporter's idiotic comment: "if we talk about the economy, we lose." Now, every time McCain tries to change the subject, Obama can honestly say: "See, they're trying to change the subject! They don't WANT to talk about the economic issues that are so crucial to you the American people."

Plus, thanks to the hard-fought primaries, Wright is old news.

Check and mate.

"Why not do the right thing for the American people, even though it's not exactly what we want." - Speaker Boehner

by: Half Glass Full @ Mon Oct 13, 2008 at 21:17:36 PM UTC

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I think it's all Dick knows

It's why Schaffer is going down to defeat in a Republican state and it's why McCain is going down to defeat across the country.

I think Wadhams is a one trick pony and it doesn't work anymore.

Where all the cool kids will be on Saturday - Code War!

by: DavidThi808 @ Mon Oct 13, 2008 at 21:55:36 PM UTC

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The Republican geniuses that can't count the days until the election.....

"Politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth." Paul Krugman, 9/2010

by: parsingreality @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 00:06:35 AM UTC

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They must be the ones

sending postcards that tell voters "Don't forget to vote on Nov. 7th! Make sure your vote counts!"

by: RedGreen @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 00:12:15 AM UTC

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It is why R's have lost so much respect

in Colorado. I'm sure the Wad loves nominating these far right extremists and the filthy side of politics. But what the Republican party bosses fail to realize is that that approach is a losing endeavor. In Republican primaries here anymore, if you are not to the right of George Lincoln Rockwell, you have a very difficult time getting a nomination. And when the Republican party bosses simply hand coronations to extremists like Bob Schaffer, Josh Penry, Doug Bruce and Janet Rowland, it reflects how out of touch party leadership is with the voters of our state. Extremists can get elected in narrow electorates but when you put their extremism on display at the state level, they fail miserably. Moderate Colorado R's, like Mark Larson, are becoming as rare as frost in Belem.

by: WesternSlopeThought @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 00:31:30 AM UTC

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Stop the hate! Really !!!!!!!!

Your winning, logical, reasoned arguments

1. Racist? NOBODY is talking about race, except Obama and democrats!

2. They're talking about legitimate concerns that American patriots should have about someone trying to become President. Apparently not YOU, but many Americans would be concerned by a candidate who's grown up mentored by Communists, Marxist professors, and sat in a church, having no problem listening to anti-white, anit-American hatred for 20 years. That's why Republicans are concerned. I guess the hatred fostered by those around Obama isn't a problem?

3. I'm just a little confused about your sudden concern with "hateful rhetoric" right now? Aren't you the one who so rabidly hates George W. Bush?

by: FELIXSWA @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 00:48:57 AM UTC

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Your ridiculous amount of exclamation marks convinced me.

...yes, no anti-Obama forces are discussing race....not at all! keep saying it and you may persuade other mindless trolls beside myself.

I'm not as sweet as I used to be.

by: Jambalaya @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 01:00:18 AM UTC

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Umm point 1 is immediately countered by point 2

You say in 1 that only the Obama is talking about race (he never brings it up unless asked) and then counter in 2 implying that Obama is anti-white because Wright used heavy handed language while preaching about the evil impact of slavery on the DNA of this country.

To call Obama a Marxist or communist just tells me you do not know what those words mean.

Personally I hate George Bush for what he has done to this country, I never hated him for what he might do to the country. But ven though he has shredded the constitution, driven our economy into the ground and wasted our blood in the sands of Iraq, I have never yelled "Kill him" or called him a terrorist, the anti-christ or even a fascist.

by: Danny the Red (hair) @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 01:30:47 AM UTC

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Republicans are concerned, you betcha

Republicans like David Gergen, Christopher Buckley and Kathleen Parker are plenty bothered by McCain and his erratic behavior, including picking the manifestly unqualified Sarah Palin and stoking racist fears and hatred.

by: RedGreen @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 01:31:11 AM UTC

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Sarah Palin

If she is unqualified to be v.p. then what does that say about Obama.

by: FELIXSWA @ Sat Oct 25, 2008 at 16:07:31 PM UTC

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This is funny

Jed has created an RSS feed on his website for Republican Ship Jumpers, for a complete list of "Republicans and conservatives jumping ship, pointing fingers, or otherwise abandoning the McCain campaign."

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

by: Go Blue @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 05:04:49 AM UTC

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Malkin?

Malkin? Um, wow. I didn't think ANY Republican could lose Malkin.

"Have a Bobby bar! My dad made them." --Jon Huntsman Jr.

by: sxp151 @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 05:17:39 AM UTC

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Go Blue!

That was awesome. Some fantastic quotes from the least likely sources.

by: redstateblues @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 05:18:53 AM UTC

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Did you notice

it all started at the RNC? Even while the conservative talking heads were swooning over Palin on camera, off camera they were calling McCain's campaign bullshit.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

by: Go Blue @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 05:32:10 AM UTC

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Did you notice

by: Go Blue @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 05:32:10 AM UTC

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Yeah

Peggy Noonan was the catalyst.

McCain-Bailin' '08! Downticket races first!

by: redstateblues @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 05:36:35 AM UTC

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A cursory look shows not so much ship jumpers....

....but disappointed Republicans. I imagine that the majority will still vote R in November.

One mentioned is Charlie Crist, guv of FL. There was a large story yesterday here about how while he has appeared at McCain and Palin rallies, he has also said, paraphrasing, "I'm elected to be governor of Florida and my work for the people here is my first priority." Ouch.

Also duly noted that if McStupid had selected Crist, Florida would be in the red electoral bag.

"Politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth." Paul Krugman, 9/2010

by: parsingreality @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 12:51:38 PM UTC

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Angry Republicans Angry at McCain | 24 comments