The Fix: McCain Goes Negative with Flyer in Charleston, SC contrasting himself with Romney, Giuliani

[flpoljunkie]

on various "hot button issues" that stir the hard core right to the polls in the primaries.

Posted at 03:45 PM ET, 04/17/2007
McCain's Negative Flyer

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/

To date the leading candidates for president have largely avoided any direct confrontations with one another, believing -- perhaps rightly -- that any sort of major scuffle will leave both sides damaged in the eyes of voters. But, behind the scenes an all-out war of information (and misinformation) is going on as each campaign seeks to ensure that reporters, activists and other political hangers-on are made aware of each and every negative article, misstatement or controversial policy position made or advocated by their opponents.

While most of these attacks fly below The Fix's radar screen we managed to get our hands on a flyer that was handed out last Friday night at a gathering of the Charleston (S.C.) County Republican Party.

Paid for by Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) presidential exploratory committee, the handout compares and contrasts McCain's positions on hot-button social issues like abortion, gay marriage and gun control with those of his two main rivals for the presidential nomination -- former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

On abortion, the flyer cites a Christian Science Monitor article from May 15, 2006 that says the Senator "consistently votes the antiabortion rights position" while noting that Romney "says he's pro-life" but then quotes from a 2002 gubernatorial debate in which he says he will "preserve and protect a woman's right to choose." Giuliani's statement to CNN in November 2006 that he is "pro-choice" is also mentioned.

On judges, McCain is quoted as supporting "judges who interpret the Constitution and don't usurp...the public's right to elect representatives to write out laws." For Romney, a Boston Globe article is cited that says Romney as governor bypassed GOP lawyers in favor of Democratic and Independent attorneys. Giuliani is quoted seemingly praising Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg appointment to the court.

You get the idea.

McCain's campaign confirmed the authenticity of the flyer but offered no comment on its contents.

Link to the flier in pdf form: http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/pdf/sc-mccain-20070417.pdf

[AX10]

1. This is what I've been waiting for. The GOP candidates...

will have a bloodbath to the nomination in 2008. It is this that will bring the party down completely.

[Bucky]

8. Well, it'll certainly knock Romney and probably Giuliani out of the Final Two

McCain is down a bit, but he's still the man to beat. And neither of his current top rivals is the man to beat him. Cue Fred Thompson... his entrance is coming up in the next Act.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. I can understand McCain wanting to replay SC from 2000 where

* and Rove went seriously negative on his ass, and he wasn't ready or prepared for it.

Now he's gonna be * and get the jump on (and stomp on) his rivals for the SC primary votes.

This guy is a walking Greek tragedy, isn't he?

[DCKit]

3. McCain could probably win in SC - Rabidly RW and fundy n/t

[Cha]

7. Does "fundy" mean you love killing

other cultures in the guise of war and you think you know what's best for a woman's body?

[DCKit]

11. My Dad's church prays regularly for the death of RW enemies (and HOMOs)

And Z, I'm glad to hear that, but that doesn't leave many options.

[Cha]

15. Yowzer!

Nice! Can't tell me those people following the teachings of Jesus Christ.

[DCKit]

17. Their version. But that's why we no longer talk.

Having watched my Dad in action, I knew the first time I saw Dumbya that he was one of those people who could justify any action using their own depraved, twisted morality.

Full speed ahead and damn.... what consequences?

[Cha]

19. Right, no consequences..karma

isn't in their vocab and neither is "consequences" for lying or whatever to get what they want. Must be nice..doesn't the mafia operate like that too?

[DCKit]

20. Nah, that's the whole Catholic issue, last rights and all.

Fundamentalists don't need that, they're pre-approved.

What was it Jesus said about works and deeds? They are sooooo going to hell : )

[elizm]

9. I'm from South Carolina...

...And the Republicans here detest McCain....They HAVE to after the 2000 election when they jumped solidly on the GW wagon and brutally trashed McCain in order to get the win. No way they will 'flip flop' and admit they were wrong.

[tularetom]

4. SC voters will undoubtedly remember

McCain fathered a black baby
His wife is a drug addict
Voted against breast cancer research
He wipes his ass on the confederate flag

All these stateements (well not the last one) were made about McCain by bushrove in 2000.

[Bucky]

5. I don't have a dog in that race, but it sure seems silly to call the flyer "negative"

It's all fair game, far as I can tell. All he talks about is issues and it's all factual. It's tough on his opponents, but hardly dishing dirt. Since when have facts ever become "going negative".

[flpoljunkie]

13. McCain has said he was both for and against civil unions--in the same interview on This Week!

"Straight talking"McCain says in the flyer that he is against gay marriage--does not mention whether he is for or against civil unions--yet blasts his opponents for their support for civil unions.

On ABC’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos asked McCain why he supported , saying it “actually denied any government benefits to civil unions or domestic partnerships. Are you against civil unions for gay couples?”

First McCain said: “No, I’m not.”

“I think that initiative did allow for people to join in legal agreements such as power of attorney and others,” he said. “I think that there was a difference of opinion on the interpretation of that constitutional amendment in Arizona.”

“So you’re for civil unions?” Stephanopoulos asked.

“No,” he said. “I do not believe gay marriage should be legal. I do not believe gay marriage should be legal,” he repeated. “But I do believe that people ought to be able to enter into contracts, exchange powers of attorney, other ways that people have relationships can enter into.”

Later, he came back: “I just want to point out again: I believe that gay marriage should not be legal. OK?”

http://www.azcongresswatch.com/?p=2575

[flpoljunkie]

14. That's not my word, but pundits always seem to call these issue contrast flyers "negative."

[Cha]

6. Yeah, dirty ol' lying warwhoremongers

wantin' to decide what's between and woman and her doctor.

[IChing]

10. McCain To Send Self Back To Vietnamese POW Camp To Revitalize Campaign

PHOENIX, AZ—In what insiders say is an attempt to revitalize his flagging campaign and convince voters that he is still a straight-talking maverick, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) announced Sunday that he will subject himself to the same mental torment and physical abuse he endured nearly 40 years ago at the same Vietnamese camp where he was once held as a prisoner of war.

"Just when you think McCain is down and out, he announces the most brilliant move we've seen in American politics in a generation," ABC political correspondent George Stephanopoulos said. "With Giuliani beating him in the polls and Romney outpacing him in fundraising, McCain's only remaining advantage is that he successfully withstood atrocities beyond our comprehension. And to subject himself to those same unspeakable acts of physical violence at the age of 68 should dispel any doubt among voters that he's too old to be in the White House."

"In John McCain's attempt to find the old John McCain, he is actually just solidifying his position as the new, more pandering John McCain," Winston said. "Yes, the old John McCain withstood seemingly endless torture, and people respected that. But a second time around? It just looks desperate."

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/mccain_to_send_self_back_to

[Hart2008]

16. Actually, McCain is 70!

[Grandrose]

12. Good...hope he keeps it up!!!

Will be fun to sit back and watch. I guess he is using the 2000 Bush campaign tactics? :popcorn:

[Colobo]

18. Let them beat each other... we'll beat whoever wins among them...