My concern is that the turnout in the GOP primaries and caucuses has been bad from the start, even when Hilly the Hun was “Ms. Inevitability” and McCain was still struggling. Mort Kondracke has an excellent article about the “enthusiasism gap” that McCain has to somehow overcome. He needs to focus on issues like winning the war in Iraq, ending earmarks, keeping taxes and government spending under control, pointing out the dangerous foreign policy ideas of Obama and Clinton, and standing up to a Congress with the worst poll ratings in history.

Call it the Lincoln Chafee Effect – a “moderate” Republican veers so sharply to the Left he alienates his base without attracting many votes from the opposition. Recall that the GOP spend lavishly to defend Chafee, and he still lost handily. Could this be McCain’s fate?

Indeed, it is McCain’s fate. Seeing that the man isn’t a Conservative In Name Only and barely differs from sHillary on many policies, I think his supporters main concern shouldn’t be the Independent vote but attracting the Conservative vote.

The worst case scenario for him and supporters is if B.O. gets the nod. If that happens, he will struggle getting either the Conservative or Independents. The Conservatives will sit out and the Independents will vote for B.O.

Dunno if it’s true or not, but just wanted to throw that out there.

I had thought he was getting a significant percentage of the Independent vote earlier in the primary season, but I could be wrong. I’ll research it sometime later today.

I plan to vote for McCain in November, but right now he has the look and feel of a Grade A lemon. The rationale behind supporting McCain is that he will put “blue” states into play. But what if the reverse happens? What if McCain’s many glaring weaknesses force the GOP to play defense in “red” states like Texas (my home state)? That could happen if he follows the advice of some embittered moderates and blows off conservatives as “having no place else to go”, as one commentator on another blog put it.

Call it the Lincoln Chafee Effect – a “moderate” Republican veers so sharply to the Left he alienates his base without attracting many votes from the opposition. Recall that the GOP spend lavishly to defend Chafee, and he still lost handily. Could this be McCain’s fate?

McCain better buckle down to earning conservative votes – and fast.

I don’t get the notion though that McCain has to “earn (conservative) votes”, though. There seems to be this oddball notion that having won the primary season with his stances that are tough-to-swallow for conservatives, he should now abandon them just as they’re about to do him some good with moderate Democrats and independents. I don’t get it, even on issues where I disagree with the senator. He is Mr Republican right now and the RINOs are the ones talking about sitting this out or (bizarrely) working for one of the Democrats.

Won’t give up their profits easily?

um. No. They have a right to make money. You want to see gas lines and fuel shortages? Try taking “profits” from the oil companies who are not in it to be a charity organization and make $0.

Market place of ideas has Obama bankrupt…..