My father is a lifelong pro-choice, pro-gun control, anti-death penalty, independent-thinking, cattle-ranching Republican. He is a World War II Navy veteran who places duty to family and country above all else.
In 2000, he told me he was voting for Sen. John McCain in the California primary because “he deserves my vote.” He admired McCain’s unflinching service to his country and his independent, principled stands on issues. My father was not alone in his reasoning.
Now McCain’s 2008 campaign is floundering, short of money and supporters. In order to win primary voters, he shifted from being libertarian on social issues to pandering to the hard-core conservatives of his party. Along the way, he did not pick up the doubting conservatives and he lost many of the “live-and-let-live” moderates.
For example, McCain has always been anti-choice, but he originally opposed overturning Roe vs. Wade and later switched to supporting its repeal. He initially took on the religious right, but in the last couple of years has appeared at Christian colleges, standing next to the conservative leaders he had previously berated. He opposed a federal gay marriage ban, saying that issue should be left to the states, and supported it in Arizona.
As a result, conservatives still don’t trust McCain and moderates wonder if he is the man they thought he was. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, himself a switch-hitter on choice, has siphoned off the conservatives in the Republican Party and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has attracted the moderates. McCain is left without a home base. His finance problems and massive campaign cuts reflect that.
To make things worse, McCain is sticking with his strong support of the Iraq war even as the majority of Americans now oppose it. Like President Bush, he doesn’t have a proposal for winning the war, only a sincere belief that we can’t quit. But when voters can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, and a presidential candidate can’t provide one, voters won’t get on that train.
What’s sad about McCain’s stumbling campaign is that he has been an independent and principled public servant. Even many of us who disagree with him on issues have respected his willingness to work across the aisle for policies he values. But he lost some of that in his desperate search for primary votes.
John McCain’s implosion has some lessons for us. If you’re going to present yourself as the principled candidate, independent of special interest pressures, you can’t change course and cave in to your party’s fringes. Even when it’s difficult, you must stick with your principles. McCain has generally done that, but he has undermined his credibility by cozying up to the right wing since his 2000 primary loss.
Next, if you’re going to buck public opinion on something as important as the war in Iraq, you need to present options for solving the enormous problems we face there. Staying a losing course is a formula for failure.
Finally, the magic seems to have deserted McCain’s persona as the alternative candidate moderates of both parties could support. Maybe voters are tired of his persistent contrarian positions as well as his loyalty to a disastrous war. Maybe he’s the wrong generation as younger voters who were born after the Vietnam War head to the polls. Timing is critical in politics; his time may have passed.
For candidates hoping to “deserve” Americans’ votes in 2008, particularly in a divided state and country, sticking to your principles, proposing solutions to difficult problems, and understanding the importance of timing will be key to success.
Gail Schoettler (gailschoettler@email.msn.com) is a former U.S. ambassador and Colorado lieutenant governor and treasurer.
