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21 Liberals and 4 Conservatives

McCain's Convention Lineup

By: Ashbrook (Diary)  |  August 25th, 2008 at 06:34 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Did you ever wonder why John McCain is not way ahead of a radical like Barak Obama in a country where a majority of voters describe themselves as right of center?

The answer is that McCain keeps slapping conservatives in the face.

He knows that on issues like immigration, his partnership with Teddy Kennedy, McCain-Feingold, etc. he has serious problems with his base but instead of reducing these concerns about him he continues to make the best possible case that he is not a conservative.

Check out his convention’s speakers list.

At most he has included 4 conservatives and left scores of conservatives off the agenda. Where are Mike Pence, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Tom Coborn, Jim Demint, Jon Kyl, ….. They are the most attractive faces of the Party but they are no where to be found.

If he does not pick a real conservative like Cantor for VPhis chances of rallying a majority of voters may go out the window. Remember George Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 by going against his base (less vigorously than McCain is.)

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  • mbauer

    I think your view is out of touch with reality.

    There are not 21 liberals at the convention. A mainstream Democrat would maybe say there are 2. Furthermore, linking the speakers at the convention to McCain’s policies is just faulty. The idea behind the modern convention is expanding the big tent. So yes, we see someone from just about every niche of the party speaking. But no, that doesn’t mean McCain shares the exact same positions as everyone there, four of which were primary rivals that our party elected him over.

    And I don’t know about you, but I feel a little betrayed by Demint these days.

  • Darin_H

    Looking at your link I find these names:

    Cheney
    Palin
    Huntsman
    Fred!
    Steele
    Jindal
    Brownback

    to be sufficiently conservative (and I’m being strict here, because I could probably include W, Romney and Pawlenty). I don’t find many liberals on that list, but there are a few, plus a few moderates or not-three-leg-stool conservatives (you are probably lumping them in with the liberals). We’re going to need conservative, moderate and liberal voters this year, just like every year. It’s a coalition.

  • Ashbrook

    Where are the bright young conservatives?

    On night one, the only conservative is Cheney. Schwartzeneger proudly identifies himself with big government, pro-abort, pro-gays, pro-radical green. He will help set a Left Wing image for the proceeding.

    As a group the speakers send a message that McCain campaign is committed to open borders and many other bad policies.

  • Ashbrook

    If McCain rallies the conservative base he will win if he doesn’t he will lose. Few conservatives will sit through lineup.

    It will be like watching step by step coverage of a marathon: boring and uninspiring (at best)

  • bobnivik

    Conventions always play to the Top of the party. We’re lucky to have both Jindal and Palin up there, much like DNC’04 Obama was about it.

    And, in all honesty, I count an equal number of conservatives, moderates and liberal-ish each, Big tent and all that.

  • Ashbrook

    A majority of voters say they are conservative. So what is the political advantage to highlighting liberals?

  • Adam_C

    Yeah, Bush having Rudy, Arnold and Bloomberg really killed him with conservatives.

  • Adam_C

    He’s one of the most well known Rs. And unlike Bloomberg, he hasn’t changed parties.

    This isn’t CPAC, it’s the RNC.

  • Darin_H

    otherwise said: “one-third”

    So if we list them all out, it’s probably about one third conservative Republicans, one third moderates and one third liberal Republicans. Hence the Big Tent. We also don’t know what they are going to speak on. For instance, given that Huckabee is probably the biggest social conservative on the list, I don’t expect to hear a NatSec speech from him, so does that count as a conservative speaker?

    Then again, I said I was being strict (to try and follow a “very conservative” lineup to somehow get it down to 4, even then I’m almost double what you originally said and you seem to agree with it). I would have included W, Romney and Pawlenty in the conservative camp, and it would have been 10 by my count, or half – not including the non-politicians and their not fully known views (triple negative? geez).

  • South_Park_Conservative

    I understand why they gave Leiberman a slot, but I wouldn’t give Schwarzenegger one regardless of his celebrity. He’s morphed into a hardcore liberal. Of course they had to give Cheney and Bush slots but these guys aren’t going to give McCain a boost in the polls. I actually look forward to hearing what Bush has to say though.

    The second night is easily the best.
    Giuliani is still America’s Mayor, Fred Thompson is a great conservative, and Steele is a great guy I’ve had the honor of voting for twice. Huckabee had to get a spot somewhere. There’s no reason to have Tom Ridge though. I’m really glad he’s showcasing Palin.

    The third night has a slot for Coleman to help him with the Senate run I suppose. Then there’s not much until Romney and Jindal. They should both give great speeches. I’m hope he and Palin give great speeches.

    The speakers leading up to McCain on the fourth night are entirely uninspiring to me. I understand giving Martinez a speaking slot, but right before McCain? I suppose they see hispanics as a real swing group and want people to catch him on the air before McCain comes on.

    I suppose with Bush/Cheney on night one, Giuliani/Thompson/Steele on night two, Romney/Jindal/the VP on night three, and McCain on night four there will be a reason to tune in each night. btw here’s my count, of the people I know:

    Liberals – 2
    Moderates – 5
    Moderate Conservatives – 8
    Conservatives – 4