McCain's Move to the Right Troubles GOP Insiders
As he moves toward formally announcing his candidacy for president in early 2007, Arizona Sen. John McCain is lining up support from former contributors to George W. Bush, other prominent "Establishment" Republicans, and Christian conservatives with whom he has tangled in the past. As a result, many GOP insiders are troubled by McCain's perceived moves to the right.
"He seems to be changing just to win the nomination, and he's in danger of becoming seen as just another politician," says a former fan. "He is fighting the last battle, the one from 2000, when conservatives dominated the nomination process. The better path would be for him to go back to the 'Straight Talk Express' (the name McCain gave his campaign in 2000) and not the milk train that makes stops at every right-wing crossing. He needs to start worrying more about his credibility with independent voters."
McCain also is raising concerns among his admirers that he is hewing too closely to President Bush's policies in Iraq.
"He seems to be too much of a hawk," says a GOP leader who backed McCain in 2000. McCain has, for example, called for a "surge" of thousands of additional U.S. troops into Iraq to stabilize Baghdad–a position that is at odds with voters who increasingly oppose the war.
Newsweek finds that 50 percent of voters now say they would vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton and only 43 percent for McCain. This undermines McCain's claim to be the most electable of GOP candidates. In this same matchup, 48 percent would back Clinton and 47 percent would back former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani if they ran against each other.
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