Anxiety suffuses GOP convention
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After a full-throated defense of President Bush’s policies on Iraq, Iran and even port security, Sen. John McCain shrugged his shoulders and explained why: “It’s easy to be loyal when the guy is at 65 percent.”
“I’m not going to kick him while he’s down.”
His message echoed throughout a weekend convention of GOP activists and potential 2008 presidential candidates who rallied behind the embattled Bush, mostly for his wartime leadership. But a second theme was less forgiving, and it was aimed at the White House and the entire Republican leadership:
Get your acts together.
Several speakers accused their own party of drifting from conservative values, especially the promise to control government spending, and warned of defeats in November if dispirited GOP voters stay home.
Outside the convention hall, several delegates to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference said they were shaken by a string of White House mistakes and suggested Bush may need a new team.
“I am sorry for letting you down when it comes to spending your money,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told several hundred delegates Saturday. “We’re going to turn it around and if we don’t, we’re going to be in trouble” in November.
He apologized for the lobbyist scandal that has tarnished the Republican majorities in Congress.
He apologized for Republican-run Washington failing to stand up to China and India on trade matters.
And, finally, Graham urged activists to make sure the party returns to its roots before Election Day.
“We’re not going to win by being Democrats,” he said “Conservatism sells.”
Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, forced by state law to balance his budgets, chastised Congress for runaway spending at the federal level. “It’s hard to tell which party is which,” the potential 2008 candidate said.
Even an architect of Congress’ fiscal record denounced it. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee said there was “no justification for a one-way ticket down a wayward path of wasteful Washington spending,” which seemed to be an indictment of the institution he leads.
During the convention, McCain epitomized how Republican candidates are judiciously handling their approach to Bush.
While praising the president for the fight against terrorism, the Arizona senator criticized the free-spending habits of Congress and noted that President Reagan vetoed a bill with 152 special spending projects. Without mentioning Bush or the president’s unused veto pen, McCain told delegates in his Friday night address that a spending bill recently was signed into law with more than 6,000 such projects.
“My friends, that’s your money. We cannot do that with American tax dollars,” McCain said, slashing the air with his finger as he raised his voice to a shout. “We cannot do that!”
Delegates praised McCain on Saturday for being both fiscally conservative and loyal to Bush who, despite sagging poll numbers, is still supported by three-fourths of Republicans.
“You don’t hear McCain defend the president very often and I found that very encouraging,” said Adair Schippers, a delegate from Cheatam County, Tenn.