Dear Senator McCain:
In 1972, conservative Nixon beat ultra liberal McGovern . Score: 520 electoral votes to 17.In 1984, Reagan beat ultra liberal Mondale by 525 to 13. Neither Nixon nor Reagan thumped their opponent by trying hard to be like them. In 2004 Bush eked out a win over John Kerry and John Edwards. Kerry was rated the most liberal senator and Edwards was in the top 5. Why was 2004 so close?
In my judgment, three reasons. One, Bush may be the worst president since Carter. He blew every chance to get things done with a Republican congress. Two, Bush can’t talk. If you can’t talk you are like a boxer in the corner taking punches and throwing none. Three, Bush, unlike Nixon and Reagan, didn’t campaign by differentiating the ways his conservative platform would affect the voters vs. the Kerry platform. He couldn’t do that because he was executing the Kerry platform. Except for taxes, he was a flaming democrat. Increased spending, bigger government, more deficits, no energy policy, no repair to social security, etc.
So, Senator, if you want to squeak out a possible win over an opponent who is even more liberal than Kerry or Edwards, stay on your present course. Ignore what the people are saying and do what you think you have to do to get elected. Maybe.
If you want to move toward the kind of decisive victories that Nixon and Reagan enjoyed, then pay attention to what the majority of the people are saying. The jig is up with congress hiding from the energy mess. Just read the local editorials. More and more people are not buying the Big Oil baloney. They are pointing the finger right at you and your colleagues in Washington, Senator McCain. They want action and they want it now. Take a poll. You may not want to keep saying you are an environmentalist and you won’t do much to help our pitiful energy mess that you caused. Maybe admitting you were a part of the problem would help.
People want less government. People want the war to be over sooner not later. People want less taxes. People want progress that leads to more jobs. Your record in the senate in these area is not the greatest. You need to change. Obama is running on change without saying what it means. We are starting to get it. More taxes, bigger government, more regulations, more intrusions into our lives, and the sunset of America. Look at Michigan, he wants to do that to America.
Senator, you are pandering to the 15% of the ultra liberal Americans whose vote you won’t get. Truth of the matter, that might be all Obama would get if you weren’t trying so hard to be like him rather than working to distance yourself so the democratic voter who doesn’t trust him might just vote for you. Maybe that’s how Nixon and Reagan thumped the liberal democratic candidate. Also, you need to distance yourself from President Bush, and you are not doing that very well.
Stop running against Obama and start running for something. Get it right and stay on message. He can’t run on your message since he is obligated to the 15%. You can appeal to the 85% and stomp his butt.
Get yourself some new advisors and do it soon, Senator. I suggest you hire Newt Gingrich,now. He is making far more sense to your party than you are. Better sit down and listen. I had a conversation with a congessman this week and he’s listening more to Newt than you. He hopes he can get elected despite you.
So that’s the best advice I can give you Senator McCain. I believe you are a fine man, but so was Bush. I truly believe you can win decisively in November, but not with your current direction. If Congress has a lower acceptance rating than Bush, who has the lowest in history, what an opportunity you have to take voters from disgruntled democrats. To do that you need to understand why they are unhappy and deliver against that. It should not compromise you much, since voters from both parties are unhappy for the same reasons and your opponent isn’t hearing them either. Any successful high school football coach in America could tell you how to win this game. Exploit the opponent’s weaknesses. Give the voters what they want and let the other guy pander to the 15% ultra liberal voter. Of course, the media will give him 85% of the coverage since they are part of that 15%, but they would do that anyway. At least your 15 % coverage would be heard. Now, it won’t matter since it sounds just like the other guy’s noise. And, he can give us noise. He can out talk you ,so you need to be concise. He’s younger, has more energy, and has his ethnic vote sewed up. You need to elevate your game, Senator.
Respectfully,
A Long-Time Republican
Bill,
I certainly hope that McCain reads your letter and takes your very simple advice. Listen to the majority of the people who are fed up with our current course. I have been to a number of family and friend gatherings lately and unlike past gatherings, politics has become the main topic of discussion. Democrats and Republicans alike are dismayed with Congressional leaders and both are in fact looking for Change and Change that is directed at the vast majorities concerns.
The Candidates do not need all of their high priced campaign strategists who have developed half baked plans for winning an election that can easily be won. All you have to do is look around and listen to what the majority of American people are saying and dedicate yourself to delivering on their needs and concerns.
Most of all, remember you work for the majority of the voters who got you in your jobs and can also take you out. If you want to be president, pretend you are a CEO of a large American company whose shareholders are very upset with the performance of the company share price. Shareholders are looking for growth and shareholder value to appreciate in value and have the confidence our investment are well managed and safe.
You need to refocus on the basics and take some decisive actions to get this Country turned around before any number of our foreign competitors can come in and take away our market share and put us out of business, which is exactly what is happening right now. We are ripe for a takeover and unless we do something fast, we are going to be bought out for pennies on the dollar, or worse yet, just forced out of business.
As Bill suggests, first start by hiring Newt or even Bob Barr or Romney, who understand what it is going to take and needs to be done to get this country turned around.
The Shareholders of this Country are fed up and are ready to fire the current board of directors and bring in and appoint a new CEO. It’s that simple.