Sen. John McCain explained his decision to skip the Club for Growth meeting to the CBN:
“In the case of CPAC, we just had a scheduling conflict, that’s all. In the case of The Club for Growth, I’ve got to be honest with you. Ronald Reagan taught me the Eleventh Commandment, and that is you don’t speak ill of other Republicans. The reason why we don’t have a majority in the Senate today was the attacks of Club for Growth (sic) made on Lincoln Chafee, the Senator from Rhode Island, a liberal Republican Senator, but would have voted for Mitch McConnell to be the majority leader of the Senate. They have continuously attacked Republicans they don’t agree with. I believe in a Big Tent party. I believe there is room for someone from Rhode Island that may not agree with everything that I agree with, but I still want them in the Republican Party. That’s not the case with the Club for Growth. So I’m not sure what the Club for Growth and I have really in common.”
You can see the video here.
March 19th, 2007 at 11:34 am
I’m not sure what you have in common with Ronald Reagan either, Senator McCain.
March 19th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Maybe Chafee will vote for you senator but I doubt it. I know I’m not going to.
March 19th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I think this illustrates one of my biggest problems with John McCain. I WANT to like him, I really do. And I think in this case, he might have a point. We can’t elect a conservative in Rhode Island in a good year, and everyone knew that 2006 wasn’t going to be a good year for the GOP. And maybe, if the Club for Growth doesn’t back the unelectable Laffey, Chafee would have had the resources to pull out a win over Whitehouse. If the only difference between Chafee and Whitehouse is their vote for majority leader, there’s a clear improvement. But to use the Eleventh Commandment as a defense of Lincoln Chafee represents pure absurdity. Lincoln Chafee represents a direct antithesis of the anything approaching the Eleventh Commandment, and if John McCain cannot see that, he is wasting his time trying to become the Republican Nominee for President of the United States
March 19th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
As a man and a soldier, I LOVE McCain. As the contender for the nomination in 2000, I LOVED McCain. As a contender for the nomination this time around, I say to McCain, your time has gracefully passed.
March 19th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
So, something tells me that McCain won’t be getting the Club for Growth’s endorsement?
In seriousness, he’s taken some hits for this, most notably from McCainiac Liz Mair, but I’m glad someone finally called CfG to task for their harmful effect on the party.
March 19th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Chafee didn’t even vote for George W. Bush…some Republican. But, this just illustrates why McCain cannot lead this party. He should be able to air his differences with Club for Growth without insulting them. Any Republican that McCain differs with he ends up offending and angering. If McCain was a real statesmen he would have gone to the meeting, made his case, told CfG where he disagreed with them, pointed out where he agreed with them, and asked for their support. Instead, he just snubs an entire group of loyal conservatives.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:05 am
If any of you live in a blue state, please raise your hand. RI is alot like WA, in that electing outspoken conservatives is nearly impossible. Our canddiates have to be fiscally conservative, but tread lightly on social issues. As for the CfG, as an R, they’re either your best friend or your worst enemy.
Kavon should have also noted they’ve consistently attacked McCain — and will continue to do so heading into the primary.