I was able to sit in on Sen. McCain’s blogger conference call this morning. Here are the highlights:
- The Senator was pleased by last night’s results, having won VA by 9 points despite severe weather in the portions of the state where his base support lies, and carrying Maryland by over 20%. Happy that he won the majority of “conservative” voters.
- He had a nice conversation with Gov. Huckabee last night who congratulated him on his victories. There is obviously no acrimony between the two men. McCain went out of his way to never say that he has “won” the nomination in deference to Huck for the entire course of the call.
- He had a meeting with the House GOP conference earlier today and received their endorsement. He assured them that he will contest all 50 states and will work hard to take back Congress.
- The Senator understands that he has a lot of work to do to unify the party and stated that it is his duty should he win the nomination.
- He believes that over the course of the campaign, Americans will realize that there are stark differences in the visions for the future between both parties nominees. One party envisions higher taxes, more government regulation, socialized medicine, more power for government, and less control over their own destiny for American families.
- Taking note of the progress made by the Iraqi Government on the political front yesterday, McCain noted that the same people that said The Surge would never work are the same people who now state that the prospects of political gains in Iraq are hopeless.
- The Senator will be campaigning in Rhode Island and Vermont tomorrow, and Wisconsin on Friday.
- Jennifer Rubin then asked if in light of Sen. Obama’s votes on FISA, does Sen. McCain believe that Obama possesses the right judgement to be Commander-in-Chief. Sen. McCain would not comment on Obama’s judgement, but said that each candidate will held accountable for their record.
- Sen. McCain was then asked to comment on the rumors swirling on Arizona blogs that he will soon resign from the Senate and be replaced by Rep. John Shadegg. McCain stated that he has no plans to resign from the Senate until he has won the nomination and will make the decision then.-(FYI-Arizona law requires the governor of the state to appoint a replacement of the same party as the resigning Senator.-KWN)
- Matt Lewis asked if it would be fair at this point to ask Gov. Huckabee to leave the race. Sen. McCain replied that he “will not in any way try to dissuade Gov. Huckabee from staying in the campaign.” Lewis then followed up with a question regarding potential Vice Presidential candidates, specifically Sen. Tom Coburn and Gov. Mark Sanford. McCain responded that they have not even began to think about the Veep process since the campaign is still underway (insinuating that he did not want to do so and show any disrespect for Gov. Huckabee who is still in the race). McCain said there is plenty of time to begin that process. He did state that he has great respect for Sanford and Coburn and that they are both “great conservatives”.
- In response to another question on the Veep slot from Jim Geraghty, Senator McCain said that they will look back on the Veep selections that they feel were good choices and emulate the process in which those selections were made.
- Regarding the six terrorists who are facing the death penalty, McCain stated that they are “some of the most evil people on Earth” and has no problem with them receiving the death penalty should they be found guilty.
- Responding to a question by Captain Ed, McCain stated that his staff and the staff of Gov. Romney are in discussions to set up a good time for them to meet and discuss Gov. Romney’s future role in the 2008 campaign.
Senator McCain told us that he intends to keep on doing these blogger conference calls, which is really amazing considering the increasing demands on his time as the campaign progresses.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
I’d supported Club for Growth hoping that McCain would be replaced by Senator Flake or Senator Shadegg.
It’s too bad the trade-off is that McCain is our nominee for President.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Yes, Rombots, MetroRepublican wanted McCain replaced with a Mormon.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Rombots? That’s so five minutes ago.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Thank you Sen. McCain - you’ve just given us plenty of reason to push Huckabee out of the race.
With Huckabee out, conservatives have the opportunity to increase their representation in the Senate by one vote.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
#1 — Problem is that Arizona has a Dem governor and she would be very unlikely to appoint a strong Republican who would run a good race in the future. She would pick the weakest Rep she could plausibly appoint.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
If i was a McCain supporter id be paranoid about time he spent doing anything either. Especially with huck praying for a McCoronary.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I pretty much thought I knew McCain’s positions well, but I just went to his website and found something I did not know. On Iraq McCain says, “A greater military commitment now is necessary if we are to achieve long-term success in Iraq.” I have not heard him say publicly that he wants to put even more troops in Iraq, nor have I heard Patreus call for more.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
BobH, you may have said your comment #5 before Kavon updated his post with this: FYI-Arizona law requires the governor of the state to appoint a replacement of the same party as the resigning Senator.
So, do not worry about it, but yeah, the governor could appoint a RINO!
February 13th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
BobH #5 & SGS #8,
I don’t think she can appoint any Republican. It usually works that she would have to select someone from a list provided by the state party.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Hmmm … I posted this a few minutes ago, but it didn’t show up. My apologies if it’s a duplicate.
Kavon, you’re probably right — I don’t know the law. But she will certainly pick the weakest name on the list, which will not be Shadegg.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Trust me Bob… It doesn’t work like that. They show deference in these cases.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Kavon: I’m sure you didn’t mean for that comment to come off quite as condescending as it did, so I’ll not take offense at the tone. I’m fairly experienced in politics, and I know how things work.
Napolitano is a bare-knuckles politician, and will not do the Reps any favors — which naming Shadegg would be.
I’m not sure how you would mean ‘deferential’, in any case — she would appoint someone from the list, but simply make sure it is not the strongest name. I don’t see how selecting one name from the list would be more deferential than another.
Her best bet would be to select somebody who would set off a good primary fight among the Republicans. Of course, the party would try to avoid that by not putting such a name on the list.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Bob,
No I honestly didn’t mean it like that at all.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Kavon: That’s fine — like I said, no offense.
BTW, I’m trying to check on what the mechanism is for an appointment in Arizona.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Ҥ 16-222. Vacancy in the office of United States senator or representative
“A. When a vacancy occurs in the office of United States senator or representative in Congress by reason of death or resignation, or from any other cause, the vacancy shall be filled at the next general election. At such election the person elected shall fill the unexpired term of the vacated office.
“B. For a vacancy in the office of representative in Congress, if the next general election is not to be held within six months from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy, the governor shall call a special primary election and a special general election to fill the vacancy. The special primary election shall be held no less than seventy-five nor more than one hundred five days after the occurrence of the vacancy, and the special general election shall be held not less than thirty-five nor more than forty-five days after the special primary election.
“C. For a vacancy in the office of United States senator, the governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy. That appointee shall be of the same political party as the person vacating the office and shall serve until the person elected at the next general election is qualified and assumes office.”
February 13th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
That’s from a LexisNexis search of the Arizona constitution. The first statement seems to state that normally the vacancy would be filled at the election, but I guess “C” kicks in since it is more that six months away. The only requirement constitutionally is that the senator be from the same party.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Thanks, Zach. If I’m reading it correctly, the six month provision only seems to apply to the House, not the Senate.
So she could name Chester the Molester, as long as he’s a registered Republican. Of course, she’d name somebody plausible, and may even ask the party to provide a list of names, but she has pretty much has carte blanche.
One reason I think she will appoint someone weak is because, unless she gets a good slot in an Obama administration, she might want the seat for herself in 2010.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
#17: I’m not so sure — if subsection C says that the replacement Senator serves until the next general election doesn’t that mean November 2008, in which case a Rep and Dem would fight to finish McCain’s Senate seat?
February 13th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Sean, I was referencing 2010, because that’s the end of McCain’s term, so whoever wins in 2008 has to run again in 2010. But you are right, because if she appoints a Rep who’s too weak, then he would lose in 2008, and she would be faced with a Dem incumbent in 2010.