It's a dog eat dog world in the GOP - warning issued to McCain

[CatWoman]

***EXCLUSIVE: The Republican establishment is beginning to express long-suppressed exasperation with the McCain pirate ship. In an early-morning phone call to Playbook, one of the most senior Republican strategists in the land warns the McCain campaign after reading the WashTimes interview:

“Lashing out at past Republican Congresses instead of Pelosi and Reid, and echoing your opponent’s attacks on you instead of attacking your opponent, and spending 150,000 hard dollars on designer clothes when congressional Republicans are struggling for money, and when your senior campaign staff are blaming each other for the loss in The New York Times 10 days before the election, you’re not doing much to energize your supporters.

The fact is, when you’re the party standard-bearer, you have an obligation to fight to the finish. I think they can still win. But if they don’t think that, they need to look at how Bob Dole finished out his campaign in 1996 and not try to take down as many Republicans with them as they can. Instead of campaigning in Electoral College states, Dole was campaigning in places he knew he didn’t have a chance to beat Clinton, but where he could energize key House and Senate races. I think you’ll find these sentiments shared by MANY of my fellow Republican strategists.”

http://www.politico.com/playbook/

[CatBO]

1. This deserves a kick...

If only for "echoing your opponent's attacks on you". McCain looks crazy and befuddled when he criticizes Obama for the very things that he himself is, and is the only one, doing.

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. My only surprise here is that they didn't have this conversation after the 2nd debate

Honestly, at this point, I figured they'd send Failin' to AK, OR, NM, and CO and send McSame to MN, NC, NH, and FL to save house and senate seats, while still campaigning in "meaningful" states. If they'd played it smart, they probably could have kept their Senate losses to 3-4 seats; as is, 7 seats lost will be considered a great victory; 10-11 seats is not likely, but it's possible.

[Democat]

3. Republican Strategist: Give up on presidency now and fight for Senate!

Wow!

[The Blue Flower]

4. And the $150K going for clothes, not congressional races

That's a huge point. Has to be ticking off a WHOLE lot of people.

[femrap]

8. All bought at Sak's and Nordstrom's....

What's wrong with Sears, Target, or even the sale racks of 50% off at Macy's for summer clothes????

And I'm sure all the clothes were manufactured in China...as well as those 4" heels I saw her in. No, maybe those were Italian if they came from Nordstrom's.

[jillan]

5. You have to really wonder what McCain is doing because

people liked him (no not us, but people in the center).
People respected him for being a war hero and speaking out at times.

Now he is a flaming idiot that people can't stand.
The things people used to like about him are ALL GONE.

Is this really how he wants to be remembered?



I have a feeling that one day in the not to distant future, he will wake up and realize what he did to his legacy, and he will fall into a deep depression.

[cui bono]

6. I used to think he would have sleepless nights about losing his integrity,

about lying to smear an honorable colleague to the point of insinuating he's a terrorist. But I think you're right. If he does think about what he's done I bet it will only be about how it tarnished his legacy and not about how he sold his soul and the wrongs that he's done.

Either way, I hope he never gets another night's sleep until he publicly atones for his actions in this campaign.

[dgibby]

16. Sociopaths never have sleepless nights.

And McCain never had any integrity or honor to lose. Contrary to popular belief, he was never a war hero, either.

McCain's military career was marked by his self-centered disregard for his shipmates and juvenile, irresponsible behavior.

REAL heroes don't retire to the "ready room" to watch their ship and shipmates burn. REAL heroes don't abandon their shipmates after a disaster to go on shore leave, while the rest of the crew attend to the dead and dying.

As for his conduct as a POW, I find it highly suspect, to say the least. Suffice it to say, his nickname "songbird" says it all.

Considering his despicable, dishonorable military service, it is no surprise that he would willfully shut down an investigation into the fate of other POWS and MIAS.

In short, McCain is a narcissist who is only interested in John McCain. He is a spoiled brat with a nasty temper and impulsive personality, who holds grudges and is filled with anger and hatred.

[formercia]

7. McCain is a MAVERICK. Don't you get it?

He doesn't listen to you old fogies, even though he is one. He's a loose cannon. You selected the rat for your race. Now you tell us you made a big mistake. That's been the MO for the last 8 years. We told you he would be more of the same.

This is going to continue until you load the CNP on to the next freighter for Alpha Centauri.

Get over it.

[ACTION BASTARD]

12. Maverick = Willful arrogance.

He's a stubborn SOB and it's all about him. He wants to be the Prez so bad it's eating him alive. Whenever the MSM points to the polls and asks him how does he feel about being so far behind, his face tightens up.

[formercia]

15. It's that sense of entitlement.

Just like he was in the NAVY. I'd bet he wasn't shot down. Someone probably taped a bolt to the inside of one of his air intakes. Let the North Vietnamese deal with him.

"Do you know who I am?!!"

My grandpa was an Admiral and my daddy is the CNO. Don't get in my way.

[Laelth]

9. They run a tight ship over there. Even the "Maverick" is supposed to toe the line. n/t

-Laelth

[eshfemme]

10. My advice to the GOP: You guys should have had this talk a lot earlier

This is what made the 8 years even possible that too many of the Republicans took way too fucking long to realize when things needed to change.

You guys should have spoke to McCain after the first interviews with Palin.

[JuniperLea]

11. "...but where he could energize key House and Senate races ..."

In other words, you fucked up you sorrowful and pathetic old geezer! Retreat, count your losses, and go try to boost support for the Senate races! And don't say anything stupid this time! And get that Caribou Barbie person back to Alaska and out of those clothes! Maybe you can still return them!

:rofl:

[Kind of Blue]

13. I don't blame them for taking so long to act because these tactics have

worked well for them in the past. Furthermore, my husband learned the hard way these past 8years about speaking out against the Rethugs at work, so I can imagine that even some repugs had to bite their lip as they descended into necon idiocy.

[Matariki]

14. Perhaps McCain and Lieberman can start their own party.

I think we're seeing the end of the Republican party anyway. Hopefully it will dwindle to a handful of Fundie kooks that no one pays attention to.

Maybe, after he loses the election, he could go back to being the moderate that people had some respect for.