Conservative Radio Hosts Lampoon McCain
Typically, conservative talk show hosts attack the opposite side of the aisle; this cycle, they are going after one of their own
She has also tossed in some pointed character shots. After Wednesday night's GOP debate, for instance, she attacked McCain for attempting to misconstrue Romney's record on the war in Iraq. Playing a clip of the exchange, she said, "This is cuckoo land....I am terrified at hearing this, this actually scares me, if he can interpret what Romney says as he has, how is he going to interpret the bad guys?"
Bill Bennett
Bill Bennett's Morning in America
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Bill Bennett, radio host and commentator for CNN's "best political team on television," has taken a more agnostic position on McCain, though he acknowledges the uproar from his cohorts. "He is likely on his way to the nomination, but he has got to mend his fences with conservatives, because you do not want a convention with a lot of unhappy people," Bennett said on CNN on Tuesday. "The anger and bitterness at John McCain is extreme among a lot of conservatives."
On Wednesday, Bennett criticized McCain for his behavior at the GOP debate. "The blow he took at Romney was way below the belt...he should apologize for it...He absolutely should not have done it. It just wasn't fair. Honor is his launch word."
Hugh Hewitt
The Hugh Hewitt Show
Author-blogger-talk show host Hugh Hewitt, who has thrown his allegiance to Mitt Romney, dismisses McCain as a maverick too inclined to cut deals with Democrats and abandon Republican principles. Commenting on his blog during Wednesday night's debate, Hewitt wrote:
"The first half of the debate was Romney's on points. Romney began by listing the series of assaults on conservative values championed by McCain including McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, the McCain-Lieberman global warming regulatory monster, the opposition to exploration in ANWR and the votes against the Bush tax cuts. McCain's responses are the same we have heard again and again, and they do not wear well."
Hewitt says McCain's attempt to hitch his candidacy to his military experience and judgment is a one-trick pony that might fail in November and have a lasting impact on the party's corps. "Next Tuesday's contests will be a measure of the strength of the GOP's conservative wing. If it remains strong, it will keep the Romney campaign competitive with wins across the country except in the Northeast. If it shrugs its shoulders, the Reagan Coalition will have finished its run. Indeed, if the Arizona maverick triumphs next week, don't be surprised if John McCain selects a Rudy or Joe Lieberman as a running mate as an "all in" play for the muddled middle of the country.
Mike Gallagher
(LM Otero/AP)
Gallagher, one of the most-listened-to radio talk show hosts in the country, has recently called for an end to the "GOP infighting" over McCain, arguing that it could lead to a massive embarrassment in November. "There is an undercurrent that has been intensifying in recent days," Gallagher said, pointing to a recent Bob Novak column with the title, "Is McCain a Conservative?" "Those of us on the right have been engaged in a big giant game of gotcha: You're not conservative enough...you're really a liberal, you're a RINO. It dawned on me as the field of candidates continues to narrow. It's come down to a real ugly spat inside the Republican Party about who is the more conservative of the bunch when it comes to the Republican candidate."
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