This Time, McCain Defused Conservative Attacks
By Juliet Eilperin and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post
CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 19 -- From Rush Limbaugh to Tom DeLay, voices that once held sway over the Republican rank and file unloaded on John McCain over the last week, trying to use a conservative electorate in South Carolina to derail the Arizona senator's quest for the Republican nomination.
But though McCain failed to persuade many of the old Republican power brokers, he wrapped up the Republican establishment where it counted most, South Carolina. His win Saturday underscored how different McCain's campaign has been this year compared with eight years ago, when a similar conservative assault effectively ended his campaign here and handed his party's presidential nomination to George W. Bush.
"I think the people of South Carolina are getting to know John McCain now, a little more than they know those folks anymore," longtime McCain aide Mark Salter said Saturday night of the senator's old nemeses.
Limbaugh led the way with a verbal blitz, not just against McCain but against his closest rival in South Carolina, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
"I'm here to tell you, if either of these two guys get the nomination, it's going to destroy the Republican Party. It's going to change it forever, be the end of it," Limbaugh fumed on his radio show Tuesday. It was a line of argument that he kept up all week long.
(Continued here.)
Washington Post
CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 19 -- From Rush Limbaugh to Tom DeLay, voices that once held sway over the Republican rank and file unloaded on John McCain over the last week, trying to use a conservative electorate in South Carolina to derail the Arizona senator's quest for the Republican nomination.
But though McCain failed to persuade many of the old Republican power brokers, he wrapped up the Republican establishment where it counted most, South Carolina. His win Saturday underscored how different McCain's campaign has been this year compared with eight years ago, when a similar conservative assault effectively ended his campaign here and handed his party's presidential nomination to George W. Bush.
"I think the people of South Carolina are getting to know John McCain now, a little more than they know those folks anymore," longtime McCain aide Mark Salter said Saturday night of the senator's old nemeses.
Limbaugh led the way with a verbal blitz, not just against McCain but against his closest rival in South Carolina, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
"I'm here to tell you, if either of these two guys get the nomination, it's going to destroy the Republican Party. It's going to change it forever, be the end of it," Limbaugh fumed on his radio show Tuesday. It was a line of argument that he kept up all week long.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
I listened to Rush a couple times last week and heard his lamenting on McCain and Hucklebee. McCain was clearly helped by an open primary where Independents could vote, Thompson attacking Hucklebee and the R&R boys leaving the state early … Rudy weeks ago and Romney days early.
Without Thompson, Hucklebee should have won … but isn’t the real story that if Uncommitted was on the ballot, that Uncommitted would have won.
It could be a fun time in St. Paul … IF McCain is the nominee, he will be victorious against Clinton and a loser against Obama … IF Romney, Hucklebee or anybody else prevails, the Democrats win. My further prediction is that Clinton is the nominee, that Soon-to-be-President McCain will help re-elect Coleman to the Senate and return the First District to the Republicans.
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