McCain Skips Fourth Conservative Outing in Two Months
by Ryan Sager
Mon, 12 Mar 2007 at 8:50 PM
updated Mon, 12 Mar 2007 at 8:58 PM
So reports The Hill. He's skipping the conservative Club for Growth's winter meeting at the end of this month. He's also recently skipped the Conservative Political Action Conference, the National Review Institute's conservative summit, and the Heritage Foundation's members' retreat.
Now, on one level, it's not so surprising that Senator McCain would skip a Club for Growth event. The Club for Growth, not to put it too lightly, hates Mr. McCain — or at least its members do. As I reported on my own blog, back in January, a survey of the Club's 40,000 members returned some bleak results for the Arizona senator.
Though the poll was still in progress when I got hold of some early results, Mr. McCain ranked quite low in Club members' ranking of their first choice for the Republican nomination, garnering only 5%. At the same time, Mr. McCain ranked first when Club members were asked whom was their least favorite candidate, garnering a remarkable 43%. His favorable-unfavorable rating was an almost-humorous 16%-76%.
There is, simply, no love lost between Mr. McCain and the Club. As a so-called "527" organization, the Club has often been cited by Mr. McCain as the type of group that made his campaign-finance-reform bill necessary. In 2000, the Club ran ads boosting the candidacy of now-Rep. Jeff Flake, a rising fiscal-conservative star, for an Arizona congressional seat — leading to the defeat of an opposing candidate hand-picked by Mr. McCain.
Still, what a study in contrasts Mr. McCain's choices provides. Jerry Falwell can blame the 9/11 attacks on lesbians and feminists and pagans, and Mr. McCain will come and give a commencement address at his university. A conservative anti-tax group disagrees with Mr. McCain on campaign-finance regulation and some of his fiscal policies, and he holds onto his grudge.
While Mr. McCain has spared no effort over the last seven years to become the establishment candidate — making peace with President Bush, Mr. Falwell, creationists, etc. — he still can't seem to bury the hatchet with the conservative movement at large.
Is this the final frontier for the new McCain?
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