Right Thinking From The Left Coast
"To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing,
if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803

Friday, June 27, 2008

Right Turns
by West Virginia Rebel

Is the Maverick abandoning his independent streak?

CINCINNATI—Sen. John McCain, who has struggled to win the trust of evangelical voters, met privately Thursday in Ohio with several influential social conservatives who have been critical of him—and impressed them, while telling them only some of what they wanted to hear.

McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told the small assembly that he was open to learning more about their opposition to embryonic stem cell research despite his past disagreements with them on the issue.

And, according to participants, he indicated that he would take seriously their requests that he choose an anti-abortion running mate and would talk more openly about his opposition to gay marriage—a pledge he carried out later in the day by endorsing a ballot measure in California to ban gay marriage.

“It was obvious there were a lot of changed hearts in the room,” said Phil Burress, who led Ohio’s anti-gay-marriage ballot measure in 2004. “We realized that he’s with us on the majority of the issues we care about.”

I really have no problem with McCain acknowledging their concerns over these issues, but there’s a fine line between doing that and doing a 180 on your previous positions. Moving too far to the right is partly what killed Bob Dole’s chances. The last thing Maverick needs is another Bob Dole comparison.

Posted by West Virginia Rebel on 06/27/08 at 04:43 PM in Election 2008  • (2) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink • Discuss this in the forums
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