Is McCain conservative enough?
February 24th, 2008 – 1:30 AM by Dennis J. McGrathNow that Sen. John McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee, the key question is whether he can mend the rift with the party’s conservative base.
In today’s story, reporter Kevin Duchschere explores that question.
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One of the more interesting findings is this poll released last week by Fox News/Opinion Dynamics, which shows that whatever suspicions conservatives may hold about McCain, they aren’t likely to abandon him on Election Day.
In fact, this poll found that McCain has more support among Republicans than Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have among Democrats.
When asked about casting their vote in November, 75 percent of Republicans said they “would definitely” vote for McCain. But among Democrats, only 65 percent said they “would definitely” vote for Obama, and 63 said that for Clinton.
And among Democrats, 16 percent say they would never vote for Obama, and 18 percent say the would never vote for Clinton. But among Republicans, only 6 percent say they would never vote for McCain.
The poll does seem to confirm that Republicans disagree more with McCain than Democrats do with Obama and Clinton.
Asked about the candidates’ positions on the issues, 62 percent of Democrats said Obama’s positions were “about right,” and 69 percent felt that way about Clinton.
Among Republicans, only 51 percent said McCain’s positions were “about right,” while 10 percent said they were “too conservative” and 33 percent said they were “not conservative enough.”
But these policy disputes don’t seem to be translating into any form of punishment by either staying home on Election Day or voting outside the party.
What do you think? Is McCain too conservative or not conservative enough? And to conservatives: Will you stick with McCain in November?
3 Responses to "Is McCain conservative enough?"
Conservatives aren’t going to vote for Obama very often.
But I think they will stay home more often this time than they have in the recent past. Especially if Clinton is not the nominee.
The polling is useless this cycle as race participation and youth participation are factors which are not following historical norms, and in November, more young people and minorities will vote (for Obama) than anyone considered a possibility.
The democrats are even going to win several southern states this time.
I thought McCain’s only hope was to run against Clinton. It turns out that if the NYT continues to publish loosely sourced stories critical of him, he must might have a chance against Obama too.
McCain is more than conservative enough. He’s just not Republican enough.
His willingness to offer the time of day to, or even to glance at, the party across the aisle absolutely infuriates the GOP base. After 7+ years of Bush, their taste for DFL blood is insatiable.
(time for my pills)