RICHARDSON, Texas - Republican candidate John McCain has had trouble winning over some of his party’s conservatives, who suspect that deep down he’s not one of them. On Thursday, McCain may have confirmed their suspicions with a slip of the tongue.
“I’m a proud conservative, liberal Republic…,” McCain said before catching himself.
“Conservative Republican,” he said deliberately, as the crowd at a brand-new Texas Instruments manufacturing plant laughed. “Hello, easy there. Let me say this: I am a proud conservative Republican, and both of my likely opponents today are liberal Democrats.”
The Arizona senator had another gaffe later on when he described how he will take on the eventual Democratic nominee.
“It’ll be dispirited,” he said. “It’ll be spirited. Because there are stark differences.”
Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage
Photo credit: REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi (McCain takes a question at Texas Instruments on Thursday)

Trackback
53 comments so far
Previous | 3 | 2 | 1 | Next
New-Born Christians have been used by Republicans for voting purposes. The conservative elite do not care about them. See what happens with Huckabee! No one wants him there. He insists, but he will go nowhere. He won’t even be offered the Vice-presidency. Watch, listen, and learn…
- Posted by AlmaI’m a conservative republican. I’ve voted predominately Republican all of my life, and this is the first time I am disgusted with my party and their back room deals to cut Mike Huckabee out. I won’t be voting for John McCain because he does not mirror my convictions and in short…I just don’t trust him to do what is right. Regardless of how many endorsements he receives from the establishment politicians, our voices should still be heard, we should be the ones choosing our nominee. Our party is broken if all we can do is line up like robots and vote for McCain knowing his left-wing record. He will lose by a large margin to a either democrat. We need someone in our party to represent the people and be competition in Nov… Vote Huckabee!!!
- Posted by cons3rvative@45
Daniel says:
February 29th, 2008 at 5:00 pm GMT
Ed Weirdness said:
“Are they really suggesting that any responsible voter would cast a ballot for any candidate simply because they hate his opposition more? Has our electoral process actually come down to this?”
Uhhhhhh! Yesss!
- Posted by ricknhouston#42….
most of the American people are “brainwashed” by the 24/7 bombardment the Zionist owned American media machine. Let there be NO MISTAKE!!! The war in the middle east IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, about oil! What nobody is saying out of fear of being called “anti-semitic” is that the oil Americans are dying for is for ISRAEL!
- Posted by ricknhouston[...] Oy: Republican candidate John McCain has had trouble winning over some of his party’s conservatives, who suspect that deep down he’s not one of them. On Thursday, McCain may have confirmed their suspicions with a slip of the tongue. [...]
- Posted by Michelle Malkin » John McCain’s botches of the week: “Liberal” and “dispirited”DebinTX,
You say all you care about are the issues, but your comment that \”the man\’s only issue is war\”, shows your complete ignorance of McCain\’s career. If you were to attempt to identify a \”signature issue\” of his at all, it would probably be campaign finance reform.
Oh, but wait… I forgot — you\’re a conservative, so you\’re probably under the delusion that it is in your personal best interest to allow as much money (i.e. corruption)in politics as possible.
My bad…
Oh, and by the way — don\’t lie to yourself. What you are truly angry about, is that for once the primary was UNABLE to be manipulated and stage-managed. McCain was nominated by the majority of republicans, in their infinite common sense, despite, for once, the best efforts of the far right to dictate to the rest of us who they demand be coronated.
Thank God.
(FWIW, I like Huckabee alot. I\’d love to hang out with him, and maybe have dinner and jam a little. But some of his beliefs are a way too extreme for me(and clearly most other republicans also)to want him in charge.)
- Posted by DanielTry and find the word democracy once in the US constitution. It is not there.
The US is NOT a democracy, was NOT a democracy, and will NEVER be a democracy. 300 million people and only two parties to represent all these diferentiated needs? Arguing Clinton or McCain is to argue heads or tails.
McCain is the vote for yesterday, Clinton is the vote for the status quo and Obama is the move towards socialism. Obama will be change, but it will not be what the US founding fathers had invisioned.
- Posted by StanMcCain disgusts me, plain and simple. You can spout all the rhetoric you want, and label him liberal, a RINO, moderate…what I care about are the issues. This man’s only issue is war, and we’re supposed to believe he’s qualified to execute one because he participated in a very different war 40 years ago.
- Posted by DebInTXAt the same time, the man who has the BEST plan to stop illegal immigration and rejuvenate the American economy has been dismissed because he used to be a preacher 20+ years ago. The Republican electorate deserves MUCH better than this manipulated, stage-managed primary. Huckabee gets my vote, write-in or not.
Ed Weirdness said:
“Are they really suggesting that any responsible voter would cast a ballot for any candidate simply because they hate his opposition more? Has our electoral process actually come down to this?”
Yes Ed, it has. If you would rather, as a matter of principle, not vote at all than vote for someone who disagrees with you on one issue (immigration)– then that is your right.
It will, however, make it that much more likely that the country will be run for the next 4-8 years by someone with whom you disagree on every single issue imaginable. Some people prefer to cut off their nose to spite their face, I guess.
- Posted by Daniel“Extremists on the left tend to be just as critical of pragmatism as extremists on the right. Idealism without pragmatism is impotent.” -—Richard Nixon
#7, HILARIOUS!!!
McWar will help you keep your job? Better hope you’re a weapons manufacturer or a food stamp administrator. Course you could always ‘join up’ and get shot at. Hundreds of thousands of valiant men and women are at ’stop loss’ now which makes them slaves. They can’t quit, even after their time in the service is up! That’s what you’ll be signing up for. Nah, seriously I wouldn’t worry because to support the army we’ll need with McWar we’ll have to reinstate the draft.
Godd thing we got rid of that dummy Ron Paul who’s WRITTEN 6 books on economics and has come in under budget EVERY YEAR he’s been in Congress. Wouldn’t want some jerk like that getting in and saving all our jobs, would we?
- Posted by Louis NardoziJohn McCain has allways had it in his power to path things up with conservatives, he simply refuses to do so. At any time, John McCain could have signed the “No Amnesty for Illegals” pledge that was circulated by the NumbersUSA organization. Other Canididates for office have done so. Pragmatically speaking, signing this pledge would have had no negative effect on the McCain campaign, and it would have gone a long way toward alaying the concerns and distrust that prevent conservatives and independents alike from supporting his candidacy. I agree, the Republican party can’t win anything if conservatives and independents stay home on election day. Perhaps its time that Republicans were left to wander in the desert for awhile. Its embarrassing when Republican pundits and advisers assert that “conservatives will come around in the general election”. Are they really suggesting that any responsible voter would cast a ballot for any candidate simply because they hate his opposition more? Has our electoral process actually come down to this? If John McCain truly wants to patch things up with conservatives, he needs to make an effort, sign the “No Amnesty for Illegals” pledge. Otherwise he’s delusional to believe that conservatives and independents have anything to gain or lose by staying home in November.
- Posted by Ed WeirdnessFor a moderate to support Obama- about to become the most radical Democrat ever nominated for the presidency- wouldn’t make much sense.
Most of the American people are in the center. That’s one reason why McCain is going to win this November, the Obama-worshipping media to the contrary.
- Posted by Bob WatersPoor McCain… he is tired and misspeaking and the press picks it up and the comediennes make fun of him. Obama keeps getting sharper and more eloquent and the national debate may be pathetic as he trumps the old man repeatedly. McCain supporters, get ready to wince for your man.
- Posted by cheryll