John McCain Throws North Carolina GOP Leaders Overboard

By: Steve Yuhas

Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party, had his first test of whether or not he was a Republican or a maverick.  Guess which one he chose?

The same John McCain that needs Republican foot soldiers to win the November election decided to ruin the perfect opportunity to earn a few volunteers when it came time to defend GOP leaders in North Carolina.  He had a chance to shake the term “maverick” and adopt the moniker “Republican” in an election where Republicans are already weary of voting for RINO (Republican in Name Only). 

It should not be surprising that McCain sided with Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean and nutty liberal blogs, but it is disappointing.

North Carolina takes center stage in two weeks when Democratic primary voters are expected to hand Senator Barack Obama a big win in that state.  Because of Obama’s questionable associations with unapologetic terrorists, anti-Semites and anti-American windbags the NC GOP created an ad to oppose Democrats running for governor.  Obama endorses both Democratic candidates and they returned the favor by endorsing him.

So what was the sin of the NC GOP that caused McCain to throw Democrats a bone and Republicans overboard?  Did they lie?  Did they make statements that are not true?   Did they do anything that was a violation of the precious anti-free-speech law that McCain created? 

Nope. 

All they did was remind the people of NC that Obama is “extreme” and they use his association with his “spiritual advisor” (Jeremiah Wright) as an example.  McCain called the ad “offensive” and he believes it to inject race into the campaign.  Note to McCain: race is already an issue in this contest: Obama’s preacher made it one and his terrorist buddies did too.

Dean decided to make taking an independent television ad out of the rotation a statement of the leadership abilities of McCain.  Far be it from me to talk about leadership, but the DNC is the same group that cannot come up with a way to figure out who will be disenfranchised: the people of Florida and Michigan, the Democrats that followed the rules or all of the people in the party while super-delegates make the decision on who will oppose McCain in November.  Leadership is not a problem for McCain – he is willing to lead.  His problem is he’s leading the wrong party.

Asked Dean in an email, “If he can't pick up the phone and make members of his own party stop airing a television ad he claims to oppose, how can he lead our country through an economic crisis or the war in Iraq?"  I’m not sure that you can compare leading a military in which McCain would be Commander-in-Chief with an ad by a state party, but who cares about if McCain can be a leader in the eyes of the DNC – I want to know if he will be a leader in the GOP!

McCain, the RNC and liberals want the ad pulled, but to their credit the GOP in NC is standing firm.  There is a bigger question here and that is whether or not McCain has what it takes to run a successful campaign against Obama (if he is the eventual nominee)?  Bringing up that Obama surrounds himself with people that most of us would not is a legitimate issue, but it appears that McCain is squeamish about the whole thing.  Will he ignore it during the General Election too?

How will McCain run against Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) if she eventually wins the nomination?  Will the fact that she made up stories about combat, enlisting in the military and her unsavory character flaws be off limits as well? 

How will McCain win if the only thing he is going to talk about is whether or not he wants free health care paid by taking more money from the American people, like Obama and Clinton, or tax credits to cover the same free health care?  McCain wants to run a campaign that is hell bent on not pointing out the problems with Obama and Clinton. Republicans and those who do not want an anti-Semitic, anti-American terrorist sympathizer in the Oval Office will certainly use Obama’s flaws against him.  McCain has to make a choice – is he with us or against us?

North Carolina Republicans have the right; indeed they have the responsibility, to point out that people running for governor in their state are endorsed by a man (Obama) who has serious issues with the company he keeps.  The DNC complains and McCain capitulates and demands that the NC GOP not run the television ad.  How obtuse and absurd.

Leadership is more than talking.  Leadership is more than siding with the left or “bringing people together.”  What rubbish – no war has ever been won by compromising with the enemy and the enemy of the GOP is the DNC.

True leadership for the “maverick” would have been backing the NC GOP by saying that they have a right to run an ad that brings calls into question Obama’s association with people like his former pastor.  One can only wonder what McCain would have done had the nomination not been already his.  Would he still have sided with liberals against the NC GOP or would he have pretended to be a real Republican and backed the state party?  We'll never know since McCain does not have to fight anymore and the GOP is pretty much stuck with him.  

Is McCain the GOP leader that we want?  I don’t and McCain should be working less on being a maverick and more on being a Republican.  I, and many of my callers and friends, are not enthusiastic for McCain’s candidacy and much will depend on his choice for vice president as to whether or not many of us donate to the party or help to get him elected.  Having said that, given that three flawed liberals are still in the race for the White House can only make the GOP faithful wonder if McCain can be trusted to keep his word on the judges he would appoint, the spending he would cut and all of the other things he referenced in order to bring conservatives on board.

There will be two liberals on the ballot in November and it is a shame that the GOP nominee is one of them.  John McCain should have backed the GOP in North Carolina and the fact that he did not speaks volumes about who he is and what kind of campaign he will run.  Even if the Democrats tear themselves apart in the primary the GOP may still lose the White House because McCain is taking his marching orders from DNC headquarters instead of the people he wants to cast a ballot for him this November.

Steve Yuhas is a radio talk show host on AM 600 KOGO in southern California and may be reached at steve@steveyuhas.com or www.steveyuhas.com