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Richard Viguerie to conservatives: $4.00 gas is a ‘teaching moment’--
a chance for conservatives to hold liberals accountable (Manassas, Virginia) “It’s time to hold liberals accountable for the energy crisis they have created,” Richard A. Viguerie, publisher of ConservativeHQ.com, said. “On energy and the environment, Republican Party leaders have run for the tall grass. It’s up to grassroots conservatives to stand up for regular Americans and to expose what the liberals have done to us,” he said. Viguerie e-mailed conservative leaders and grassroots conservatives across the country, encouraging them to take up the fight to expose liberals’ record on energy. His message included specific examples of liberal efforts to prevent the development of U.S. reserves of oil and gas and to block the use of energy technologies like nuclear power. “Four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline represents a ‘teaching moment’ for conservatives,” Viguerie said. “Along with the price of gasoline, the price of everything made out of oil and everything that requires lots of energy for manufacture or transportation – all those prices are rising rapidly. Add to that, big hikes in the price of food caused by the ethanol program. “The American people, especially the poor, the elderly, working people, and small business people, are suffering greatly. We must channel Americans’ anger toward those who deserve the blame – the environmental extremists, and those too timid or complacent to stand up to them. “We must expose the role of those who worked to prevent the development of our oil and gas reserves, who blocked the full utilization of technologies like nuclear power, and who kept us dependent on dangerous foreign sources for energy.” Viguerie said his call to action was made necessary because of the utter collapse of Republican Party leadership on issues related to energy and the environment. “The Left has invested all its credibility, and bet its political future, on radical environmentalism. But the Republican Party has forgotten how to play offense, so it’s up to grassroots conservatives to do the job ourselves. “We’ve done it before, on such issues as the Catastrophic Health Act in the 1980s and HillaryCare in the ’90s. These successful battles were led by grassroots activists – not by national Republican leaders. “High energy prices caused by bad liberal policies exemplify perfectly the differences between conservative principles, which work in the real work, and liberals’ failed ideology.” Viguerie urged conservatives to educate themselves on this issue and to expose liberals’ record “in every venue open to us, including talk radio, TV, press releases, columns and op-ed articles, newsletters, interviews with the news media, letters to the editors, blogs, e-mails, and resolutions at political party and local government meetings.” He added: “We have an opportunity for conservatives to take ownership of the #1 issue in America this summer and advance the conservative cause while putting the Left on the defensive.” Viguerie’s message to conservatives is posted online at http://conservativehq.com/news-from-the-front/liberalscausedcrisisemail --30--
NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (The Nation magazine) and one of the “conservatives of the century” (The Washington Times). His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books), which, Jerome Corsi wrote in WorldNetDaily, is "destined to become a classic of conservative thinking" and "may be the most important conservative book written in the last quarter century." Richard Viguerie Tells Libertarian Party Convention: McCain “trying to get conservative support on the cheap;” Conservatives May be Open to Libertarians in 2008 Vote (Denver, Colorado) In his keynote speech on May 23 to the Libertarian Party National Convention, Richard A. Viguerie, one of the founders of the modern conservative movement, declared today that John McCain is “trying to get conservative support on the cheap.”
“Senator McCain has had the Republican presidential nomination sewn up for over three months and has done nothing to convince conservatives to come off the sidelines and enthusiastically support him,” Viguerie said. In his speech, “Conservatives are off the GOP Reservation: Will they find a home in the Libertarian Party?,” Viguerie said that Democrats and Republicans have both failed America. “Republican leaders have treated conservatives with utter disrespect and, in turn, conservatives have lost all respect for Republican leaders. Millions of grassroots conservative activists and donors have left the Republican Party and taken with them their volunteer time, their checkbooks, and their votes,” he said. Viguerie said, “Today, the Libertarian Party has a historic opportunity to provide leadership for America.” A complete text of the speech is posted on ConservativeHQ.com at http://conservativehq.com/news-from-the-front/libertarian-convention Viguerie will also be interviewed on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal at 7:30 AM Eastern time on Sunday, May 25. --30--
NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (The Nation magazine) and one of the “conservatives of the century” (The Washington Times). His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books), which, Jerome Corsi wrote in WorldNetDaily, is "destined to become a classic of conservative thinking" and "may be the most important conservative book written in the last quarter century." Richard Viguerie: Republican Leaders Must Resign (Manassas, Virginia) The Republican Party must have new leadership, or conservatives will continue to withhold support, and the Party will crash in flames in November, Richard A. Viguerie, publisher of ConservativeHQ.com, said. “Accordingly, Republican Party leaders must resign.”
“Leaders in the White House, the Congress, and the Republican National Committee and its affiliates, along with most Republican leaders at the state level, have failed – or outright betrayed – the conservative voters who put them in their positions,” Viguerie said. “The result is that the Republican Party’s brand has become a negative to an extent greater than in the Watergate era, perhaps even worse than in the days of Herbert Hoover.” Viguerie noted that:
“Some deserve more of the blame than others, but they are all part of an Establishment that has brought the Republican Party down. “For things to change, for conservatives to be justified in once again giving our contributions, our volunteer efforts, our energy, and votes to the GOP, the Party must clean house. The Party leadership should resign immediately. “Republicans are doomed to wander in the political wilderness until this generation of weak-kneed, no-vision, inarticulate, afraid-of-the-liberal-media politicians are replaced with principled conservatives in the mold of Bill Buckley, Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan. “The Party’s leaders turned against the principles you once espoused – conservative principles – and, in turn, conservatives and the American people have turned against you. Things will not get better until you accept responsibility, and resign. “You have stayed too long. For the future of the Republican Party, for America, and the cause of freedom: GO!” --30-- NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (The Nation magazine) and one of the “conservatives of the century” (The Washington Times). His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books), which, Jerome Corsi wrote in WorldNetDaily, is "destined to become a classic of conservative thinking" and "may be the most important conservative book written in the last quarter century."Richard Viguerie Launches UltimateJohnMcCain.com Will take conservatives’ temperature on McCain and highlight McCain news and commentary (Manassas, Virginia) Will John McCain receive the enthusiastic support from conservatives that he needs to win in November? Or will conservatives give him only grudging support… or vote for someone else? - 30 - NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (The Nation magazine) and one of the “conservatives of the century” (The Washington Times). His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books). Richard Viguerie:
How dare ABC News treat Obama as if he were a conservative! …Get used to it, liberals!… (Manassas, Virginia) Richard A. Viguerie, publisher of ConservativeHQ.com and author of America’s Right Turn: How Conservatives Used New and Alternative Media to Take Power (Bonus Books), issued this statement regarding the ABC News debate in Philadelphia between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: Liberal hearts are bleeding because of the tough questioning of Barack Obama and, to some degree, Hillary Clinton by the debate’s moderators, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. MoveOn.org is practically organizing a jihad against ABC! Liberals’ attitude is: “How dare they treat Obama as if he were a conservative! Tough questions from the news media are supposed to be reserved for Republicans and especially conservatives!” Conservatives are used to tough questions. That’s how we’ve been treated by the news media since we started as a political movement. Liberals are saying that the Obama and Clinton controversies are just about ‘verbal gaffes,’ not worthy of attention in a network debate. What softies liberals are! What glass jaws they have! They just can’t take a fair hit. If a conservative makes a ‘verbal gaffe,’ he or she is treated like a Nazi or worse. Usually, if a liberal insults regular Americans by suggesting they are unpatriotic or backward, or even if he or she associates with extremists and terrorists… well, it’s just “Oops,” “My bad,” “I’ll try to speak more clearly next time.” What’s different now is that there are alternatives to the so-called “mainstream” media, such as the Internet in general and bloggers in particular. Obama’s “bitter” and “cling” remarks were exposed by a blogger, and his connection to the well-known terrorist William Ayers was also first exposed by a blogger. The falsity of Hillary’s Bosnia claims became big news only when video of the trip was dug up by the Media Research Center and linked to by Matt Drudge. Competition works! Competition for good stories is much more intense now, with the expansion of the new media to include the online community. And that’s the way it’s going to be, from here on out. Get used to it, liberals! Big Media and the liberals have lost control of the message. In the past, information harmful to the Democrats was ignored, sanitized, or spun. Today it is front and center – in the most-watched debate of the season. --30--
NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (The Nation magazine) and one of the “conservatives of the century” (The Washington Times). His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books). Richard Viguerie Lists Conservatives’ Problems with John McCain
Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, has listed the problems which conservatives have with presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain. “The truth is that the differences with McCain are real. They involve matters of policy, of personnel, and of insights into the Senator’s thinking about conservatives and the issues important to conservatives,” Viguerie said. He said some of the biggest complaints were: • The Supreme Court. According to John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, McCain “indicated he might draw the line” against nominating someone like Samuel Alito who “wore his conservatism on his sleeve.” Since any conservative judge would vote to overrule the McCain-Feingold law, conservatives fear McCain would appoint justices like David Souter and John Paul Stevens. • Right to Life: McCain supports continued taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and opposes any limitations on killing embryos for stem cell research. • Taxes: McCain opposed the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. • First Amendment: As the principal sponsor of the infamous McCain-Feingold law, he has protected incumbents by shielding them from criticism and improved the advantage of wealthy candidates. • Second Amendment: McCain has earned “F-minus-minus” grades from Gun Owners of America. • “Gay Marriage”: Mc Cain opposes a constitutional amendment to reserve marriage to one man and one woman. • Amnesty for Illegal Aliens: McCain has been the foremost proponent--more than President Bush or any Democrat--of amnesty for persons who have entered the U.S. illegally. • Personnel: McCain has brought on board his campaign non-conservatives, and even anti-conservatives, like Ken Mehlman, Karl Rove, Jerry Perenchio, Juan Hernandez, and Bobbie Kilberg. “Show me who you walk with and I’ll show you who you are,” Viguerie said. • Loyalty to the Republican Party: Several news sources reported that McCain seriously considered switching parties in 2001 in order to give the Democrats control of the Senate. And in 2004, McCain discussed with Senator John Kerry the possibility of becoming Kerry’s vice presidential candidate. Viguerie said, “There is simply no way to reconcile McCain’s flirting with Democrats in 2001 and 2004 and his claim that he is, and has been, a conservative Reaganite Republican.” He added that, in the two months since he has wrapped up the nomination, McCain has done nothing significant to reach out to conservatives. “And that fact alone tells you everything you need to know about John McCain,” Viguerie concluded. The full article, with additional details, is posted online at http://conservativehq.com/news-from-the-front/ravonmccain080416 You can add your comments on this article, and your thoughts on Senator McCain, in Richard Viguerie’s blog on this website at http://conservativehq.com/blog/the_conservatives_problem_with_john_mccain/ --30--
NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (The Nation magazine) and one of the “conservatives of the century” (The Washington Times). His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books, 2006).
Richard Viguerie: Loss of Hastert Seat is Proof Conservatives (Manassas, Virginia) – Republicans’ loss of the House seat held for two decades by former Speaker Dennis Hastert is “proof that conservatives are prepared to sit out the 2008 elections,” Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, said.
“Instead of contributing and volunteering, conservatives are closing their checkbooks and staying home. Liberals and Democrats are enthusiastic to a degree not seen in decades, and grassroots conservatives are sitting on their hands,” Viguerie said. “This is a wakeup call for John McCain. Since securing the nomination, he has done nothing significant to reach out to the conservatives who provide the vast majority of the volunteers for the Republican Party in every election. Senator McCain, and all the candidates on the ballot with him, will pay the price in November.” In fact, Viguerie said, “The farther we go down this road, the longer it will take to repair the relationship between conservatives and the Republican Party. The damage that’s being done now will affect the party for years to come.” In the race for the Hastert seat, the Republican nominee, Jim Oberweis – the handpicked choice of the GOP Establishment – reportedly had difficulty getting enough volunteers. The Chicago Tribune reported that, when the primary runner-up, conservative State Senator Chris Lauzen, declined to endorse Oberweis, “his decision not to endorse Oberweis sidelined a potent grassroots organization that could have helped the Republican candidate.” So strapped for volunteers was the Oberweis campaign that, according to the newspaper The Hill, Republicans turned to congressional interns in Washington to make calls for Oberweis. The defeat shows that the Republican Party’s current political strategy is fundamentally flawed. Said Viguerie: “Rather than running on the issues, Republican leaders continue to try to buy elections by earmarking and pork-barreling and special-interest spending, by using taxpayers’ own money to try to buy elections.” Viguerie noted a Hastert aide’s comment regarding the billions of taxpayers’ dollars he was willing to spend to save the seat of Representative Clay Shaw in 2000. “We knew” the control of the House “could come down to two seats,” a Hastert aide recalled, “and if that meant we had to spend $8 billion for Mr. Shaw, that's what we were going to do.” “The more earmarks, the angrier conservatives get. They see Republican leaders corruptly, immorally spending our children’s and grandchildren’s inheritance, trying to buy elections. And they’re fed up. “Pork barrel spending,” Viguerie said, “has turned to ashes in the mouths of the Republican leadership.” --30--
NOTE TO EDITORS:Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (The Nation magazine) and one of the “conservatives of the century” (The Washington Times). His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books, 2006).
Richard Viguerie: William Buckley gave birth to the conservative movement and changed the course of history “Every conservative, and every person who loves freedom, should thank God for William Buckley… and thank God for not giving the Left a William Buckley” (Manassas, Virginia) – Richard A. Viguerie, publisher of ConservativeHQ.com, issued the following statement on the life and death of William F. Buckley Jr.: “Today my hero and role model died. Across the world, many, many others are thinking the same – not just among members of the conservative movement. “William F. Buckley Jr. was the man who gave birth to the conservative movement, who nurtured and guided it as it grew into a major political force. Now, he has gone to his reward, and he belongs to the ages. “All those who cherish freedom are forever in Bill Buckley’s debt. Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan were the political fathers of today’s conservative movement, but Buckley was the movement’s intellectual father. “Without Buckley’s pioneering work, including his first book, God and Man at Yale (1951), and his launching of the National Review in 1955, there very well may never have been a successful conservative movement. Today, we often take conservative alternative media for granted, but for many years Buckley’s program, “Firing Line,” was almost the only conservative show on TV. “During a flight from Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport to LaGuardia Airport in May 2006, I told Bill Buckley that I wanted him to hear this: that I and every conservative would go to our graves not even beginning to understand the debt we owe him. “It was Bill Buckley, flying under the radar, who watched over the young conservative movement, providing encouragement to generations of young activists, writers, and politicians. It was Buckley who provided the intellectual foundation for, and drew a bright light onto, the conservative cause. “And, whenever an extremist would claim falsely to be a conservative, it was Buckley who took the lead in differentiating true conservatives from opportunists and kooks. Buckley guided our movement in ways that will never be known to the public, or even to most conservatives. Often, his was an invisible hand behind conservative success. “Every conservative – every person who loves freedom – should thank God for William Buckley… and thank God for not giving the Left a William Buckley. “I am reminded of 2 Samuel 3:38: ‘Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day ?’” - 30 -
NOTE TO EDITORS: Viguerie’s book America’s Right Turn (written with David Franke) details the history of the conservative movement, including information on Buckley’s role. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON RICHARD VIGUERIE Viguerie’s role in the development of grassroots organizing methods such as direct mail is well known. Thanks to Viguerie, it is possible for campaigns and causes to rely on millions of small contributors rather than a few fat cats. That’s why John F. Kennedy Jr.’s political magazine, George, called the founding of Viguerie’s organization one of the “defining political moments of the 20th Century.” Viguerie used these techniques to help organize the conservative movement, from the 1960s forward, and to change the course of U.S. political history. Barry Goldwater’s 1964 communications director, Lee Edwards, wrote in The Washington Times that Viguerie was one of 13 “conservatives of the [20th] century.” During this year’s coverage of the Iowa caucuses, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann called Viguerie “one of either the greats or the demons, depending on your point of view of the conservative movement.” Alexander Cockburn of The Nation recently called him “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement.” Last week, the Copley News Service called him an “icon of the Republican right.”
Richard Viguerie: Bush 41 Criticism Shows McCain Out of Touch
“With Conservatives, McCain is in a hole. He should quit digging.” (Manassas, Virginia) In its efforts to deal with John McCain’s “conservative problem,” the McCain campaign is showing how bad that problem is, Richard A. Viguerie said. “The latest evidence of that is bringing out George H.W. Bush to criticize conservatives who have problems with the Senator. Believe it or not, this was touted by some in the McCain camp as something that would establish the Senator’s conservative bona fides and improve his standing with conservatives. “Bush 41 is the personification of a Republican Establishment that is out of touch with conservatives. In 1988, he was elected to continue the policies of Ronald Reagan – to serve, in effect ‘Reagan’s third term – yet he repudiated those policies as fast as he could. He lost his re-election in 1992, receiving 38% of the vote, because so many conservatives stayed home or voted for Ross Perot. Is that the kind of example the McCain campaign wants to put forth?” Viguerie noted that, in 1992, he wrote a book, Lip Service: George Bush’s 30-Year Battle With Conservatives, detailing the elder Bush’s longstanding conflict with the group that is dominant among GOP activists. “No one who knows anything about grassroots conservatives would think that George H.W. Bush’s testimony would be worth anything to conservatives. Rather than establish a connection with conservatives, this blunder reconfirms the fact that McCain doesn’t understand them, doesn’t understand why they have a problem with him, and isn’t taking the steps he needs to fix his problems. “With conservatives, John McCain is in a hole. He needs to quit digging.” --30--
NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered ideological and political direct mail and has been called “the funding father of the conservative movement” for his role in helping to build dozens of conservative organizations. He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed—How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books, 2006).Poll Shows John McCain Faces Tough Road in Gaining Conservative Support Less than 30% of conservative activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference "strongly support" himMANASSAS, Va. -- Richard A. Viguerie, chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, today released the results of a true random poll of 1,000 conservative activists attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. CPAC is the nation's largest annual gathering of conservatives, and was chosen by former Gov. Mitt Romney as the place where he announced his withdrawal from the GOP presidential race on Thursday. The first question asked of the 1,000 conservative activists was: "In your opinion, is Senator John McCain a true conservative?" The results: Yes 197 (19.7%) No 595 (59.5%) Undecided 208 (20.8%) The second question was: "If Senator John McCain is the Republican nominee, I will…" The results: 299 29.9% "strongly support McCain" 279 27.9% "I will vote for McCain, but do not expect to work or contribute" 35 3.5% "I will vote for the Democratic nominee" 90 9.0% "I will vote for a conservative third party candidate if one is on the ballot in my state" 40 4.0% "I will not vote" 257 25.7% "I am undecided at this time--I need to see if Senator McCain reaches out to conservatives in a serious and meaningful way" "From these results, it is clear that Senator McCain has a challenge in gaining the conservative support he needs in order to win the general election," says David Franke of ConservativeHQ.com. "Only 3 in 10 conservative activists strongly support him. Even if you add in the people who will limit their activity to voting for him, and all of the undecided conservatives (not likely), he will have only 83.5% of the conservative vote. Historically, the Republican presidential candidate needs more than 80% of the conservative vote in order to win. The poll results show he can possibly reach that level of conservative support, but it will be dauntingly hard." NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, pioneered ideological and political direct mail and has been called "the funding father of the conservative movement" for his role in helping build dozens of conservative organizations. He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books, 2006). VIGUERIE: RHETORIC WON’T DO IT McCain must convince skeptical conservatives by deeds, not words … and ’twere well it were done quickly A good conservative speech, no matter how stirring, will not solve the problems that grassroots conservatives have with John McCain, Richard A. Viguerie said today. Viguerie made his comments in response to John McCain’s address today at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. Prior to McCain’s speech, various news reports suggested that the speech gave the Arizona senator a chance to make amends with conservatives and bring them on board his bandwagon. “Rhetoric isn’t enough,” Viguerie said. “To get the enthusiastic support of conservatives – support he must have, to win – Senator McCain must make his case with deeds, not just words.” That’s not just because of John McCain’s recent record on important issues, Viguerie said. It’s also because of the record of the Republican Party itself. “From Eisenhower to Nixon to both Bushes, conservatives have heard conservative rhetoric from Republican presidential candidates. Each time, they were disappointed – even betrayed – by the people and the party they had trusted. “After the last eight or ten years, in which Republican leaders were elected with conservative votes, but then betrayed conservative principles, grassroots conservatives are not so willing to take John McCain at his word. He is an honorable man, but, given the record of the Republican Party and given his own record, conservative rhetoric is not enough to convince people. “Conservatives will not be so trusting this time. “Senator McCain must surround himself with conservatives in policy positions, so that conservatives know what sort of people will make key decisions in a McCain Administration. He must have a number of Sister Souljah moments with the Washington establishment liberals who consider him their favorite Republican. He must make conservatives cheer for him every night when they watch the news on TV – not just when they hear him give a good speech.” Viguerie said that McCain has “only a few weeks” to “bring conservatives up to a comfort level with him. If he is to do it, in the words of Macbeth, ‘’twere well it were done quickly.’ “In 1992, George H.W. Bush waited until the Republican Convention to reach out to conservatives, giving Pat Buchanan a major place on the program and so on. It didn’t work. The media savaged Bush for pandering to conservatives, and conservatives saw it as too little, too late.” If McCain does not act soon, “conservatives will start writing off the presidential race,” Viguerie said. “Yes, most – not all – will vote for him, if he is the Republican nominee. But they will not make telephone calls, send out e-mails and postcards, go door to door, contribute money, and do all the hard work that makes victory possible in November.” RICHARD VIGUERIE SAYS BALL IS IN McCAIN’S COURT …offers ways McCain can reach out to conservatives before it’s too late (Manassas, Virginia) Republican presidential candidate John McCain has a short time to reach out to conservatives--to “stop the bleeding before it’s too late,” Richard A. Viguerie said. “It’s not enough for him to make a speech at a conservative meeting, or declare himself a conservative, or get a member of the Washington establishment like Bob Dole to vouch for his credentials,” Viguerie said. “He must take immediate steps to show conservatives that they have a real stake in his election. “The ball is in Senator McCain’s court. For years, he has made himself the adversary of conservatives. Now he must take the initiative in reaching out. “Rush Limbaugh has declared that McCain’s nomination would destroy the Republican Party, and Dr. James Dobson says he will not, under any circumstances, vote for Senator McCain,” Viguerie noted. “But it’s not just famous conservatives who feel this way. It’s grassroots conservatives, who remember what the Senator did on taxes, immigration, freedom of speech, the ‘gay marriage’ amendment, ‘global warming,’ and a score of other issues.” Viguerie noted that, “To get conservatives on board, Senator McCain doesn’t need to repudiate long-held positions, or appear to kowtow. He would diminish himself if he did that. “What he can and must do is to reach out to conservatives with concrete proposals to bring real change to Washington – to go beyond even what Reagan was able to do. He must pledge not just to get rid of earmarks, but also to dismantle entire programs, agencies, and Cabinet positions. “And he must answer this question: What kind of people would he surround himself with, if he became president? Would he recruit from Wall Street and K Street, or will he bring a new generation of conservative leaders to Washington? What kind of people would he pick as judges, as Cabinet members, and, most importantly, as vice president? “He must show conservatives that his presidency would be an extension of what was started with Ronald Reagan.” If McCain is the GOP nominee, many conservatives will hold their noses and vote for him, Viguerie said. “But that’s not enough. If he is to be elected in November, he must have the enthusiastic support of nearly all conservatives, not just the grudging support of a plurality. He must have conservatives excited about his campaign, going door to door, making telephone calls, and sending out postcards and e-mails – all the things that require them to sacrifice time they could spend with their families. They won’t do that if the only reason they’re supporting McCain is that the Democrat is even worse.” If McCain reaches out to conservatives in the right way, Viguerie said, “conservatives will reach out to him. For John McCain, there is a pathway to citizenship in the conservative movement – if only he will take it.” Return to Home Page |
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