McCAIN TELLS THE RIGHT-WING CORE OF THE GOP HE CAN WIN WITHOUT THEM. THEY TELL HIM "GOOD LUCK, POPS"

McCain just announced he's officially running for president on late night TV. The normal thing for a Republican candidate to do would be to follow that up today with a speech at the annual convention of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the biggest right-wing get together of the year. It's been a huge event for the right-wingers since Reagan's time and every single Republican candidate will be speaking at it-- except one. McCain's campaign, knowing he would be boo-ed by the right-wing core of the party, decided to keep him away. "Sen. John McCain is the only major Republican presidential candidate who will not address the nation's premier gathering of conservatives this year," wailed the Moonie Times.

McCain tried to do an end-run around the nutroots and just have a private reception for big money Republicans while forgoing addressing the convention. "It was a classical McCain move, dissing us by going behind our backs," said William J. Lauderback, executive vice president of the American Conservative Union... Conservative activists have speculated that Mr. McCain did not want to be seen on television 'pandering' to Republican 'right-wingers' but wanted to court those same activists at a reception in the same hotel. 'He turned down repeated CPAC offers to speak but then tried to get around us by having his office call the hotel to rent a room for a reception for CPAC attendees-- without first seeking approval of CPAC organizers,' said Mr. Lauderback."

The kooks who put this together claim as many as 5,000 fanatics and maniacs-- including busloads of the creepiest college students from across the country-- at what promises to be the largest and most suicidal CPAC ever. The people who come to this nut house are the one who knock on doors for the neo-fascist extremists the Republicans run for office; "they support and make up the core of the ground troops on whom any candidate has to rely. By simply dismissing them, as Senator McCain has done, he is telling them more about himself than perhaps he wants them to know."

The nutroots doesn't care if McCain is there or not, of course. They have their nasty Newt and, biggest of all, they have Shooter coming to give them only of his rousing pep talks. Maybe McCain just didn't want to have to undergo the embarrassment of appearing on the same stage as him.


UPDATE: EXTREMIST LOON/LOSER RICK SANTORUM WEIGHS IN WITH AN "ANYBODY BUT McCAIN" PRONOUNCEMENT FROM THE OUTER REACHES OF NUTSVILLE

Now a Fox News propaganda writer, gigantically defeated wingnut Rick Santorum says he's met all the Republicans running for the White House and states unequivocably "The only one I wouldn’t support is McCain.” Although McCain's voting record is 100% anti-choice, he's not anti-choice enough for a maniac like Santorum (although I'm not certain how one could be better worse than 100%.) "Over the years, however, Santorum said they have clashed on campaign finance reform, environmental policy, tax cuts, immigration and other issues. Santorum suggested that McCain also wasn’t as solidly anti-abortion as he would like. 'He may be pro-life, but I served with him for 12 years, and I know how pro-life he is,' Santorum said."