Even though Senator John McCain has cozied up to prominent religious conservative leaders many pundits have placed his chances as less than good in a nasty GOP primary. Some conservatives are still riled over the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law that they view as a restriction on the freedom of speech. Additionally, the very mention of the McCain-Kennedy Immigration plan that was proposed in the Senate is enough to make many conservative activists red in the face.

Personally, I think McCain’s largest asset in a GOP primary battle could be Hillary Clinton. If she runs, and if she looks to be the prohibitive favorite in the Democratic primary, the republicans will be desperate to find a candidate they think could beat the Clinton juggernaut. If McCain presents himself as the only GOP candidate that could beat Clinton, then the conservatives may just choose electability over ideology. Obviously, this scenario depends on Clinton running and being the front-runner.

What do you think? Are there other scenarios that would make the conservative base hold their noses and vote for McCain in the primary?

After an extended hiatus for the 2006 campaign season, Stop John McCain 2008 is back. As always, please send any tips or suggestions to stopjohnmccain2008@gmail.com.

Poor, Poor Senator McCain. Seems he had his delicate feelings hurt by the meanies at the New School Graduation:

The Arizona senator said he has spoken at schools throughout the country but never before found himself in a situation in which it became difficult for him to get his message across.

“I’ve got to say that maybe the students at the New School could learn a lesson in courtesy from the students at Liberty University,” he said.

“I was saddened that these young people live in such a dull world that they don’t want to hear the views of someone who disagrees with them.”

No, Senator McCain, you are the one reacting negatively to opposing ideas. You don’t want to hear that the American people refuse to buy your lies any longer. You moderate image will continued to be assailed. If I were you, I would get used to it.

Digby takes note of McCain’s strategy for ending the civil war in Iraq:

“One of the things I would do if I were President would be to sit the Shiites and the Sunnis down and say, ‘Stop the bullshit,’” said Mr. McCain, according to Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, an invitee, and two other guests.

Brilliant. What’s he got in mind for Darfur, smacking the Janjaweed around a little? I’m sure that’s the problem in Iraq - no one’s ever told those guys to just cut it out…

Does the Middle East have some sort of sick sex appeal when it comes to pompous militaristic bloviating by republicans?  This is what Senator John McCain has to say about American Security Threats:

“The greatest single threat that we are facing right now to our national security is Iran,” he said. “If they get that weapon, and they have the capability to deliver it, put yourself in the position of the government of the state of Israel. This could be one of the most unsettling and difficult challenges that we have ever faced.”

Senator John McCain seems to forget that unlike Iran, North Korea likely is in possesion of at least one nuclear weapon. Moreover, North Korea is ruled by a maniac dictator that has shown previous indifference to starving his entire country.

Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons. Its government appears to want them, but unless our ally Pakistan gave them a couple, they don’t have any at this point.

So who is the larger threat to America?

Seems his associates in Texas have been up to no good:

Sen. John McCain’s Straight Talk America PAC returned $20K in contributions from Sam and Charles Wyly after the STA finance team learned that the Wylys were under federal investigation for alleged tax evasion.

McCain attended a May 15 fundraiser in Austin, TX co-hosted by the Wyly brothers.

“After the checks were received from Sam and Charles Wyly, it was discovered through the normal vetting process here at Straight Talk America that a federal inquiry is ongoing into the two gentlemen,” said STA exec. dir. Craig Goldman in a statement. “Once that was discovered, we have a policy internally not to accept contributions from people in that situation, so the checks were returned.”

Good on McCain for returning the tainted money, but shouldn’t he have known beforehand that these folks were under federal investigation?

Much about a person’s character can be deduced by the company they keep.

When Senator John McCain recently visited New Hampshire, he conveniently refused to mention that his New Hampshire State Director pled with a judge for leniency for the Republican convicted in the 2002 Phone Jamming Scandal:

Last week, Republican lobbyist Mike Dennehy, Senator McCain’s New Hampshire State Director, sent a letter to Judge Steven McAuliffe that asked the judge for a lenient sentence and called Tobin the “the most ethical man I know” despite the fact that Tobin was convicted of multiple felonies over his role in the 2002 phone-jamming crime. The letter was the only such letter from any Granite Stater.

Dennehy’s appeal on behalf of Tobin comes weeks after Senator McCain hired Terry Nelson–Tobin’s supervisor at the Republican National Committee and National Republican Senate Committee–as a senior political strategist. Even after learning about Nelson’s possible involvement in the phone jamming scheme, McCain later said that he had “no qualms” about Nelson’s ethics and that he considers Nelson to be “a fine man” who was “very helpful to President Bush.”

No sign of the “Straight Talk Express.”  If Senator McCain was really interested in reforming the campaign process, he would not have hired staff that are closely tied to dirty campaign tricks.

Jean Rohe, the student speaker at the New School graduation who spoke out against McCain, shared her experience over at Huffington Post:

It really wasn’t his fault that he got invited into a pit of very well-educated vipers, and it really wasn’t my fault that I did what I had to do in the situation. Had he been speaking at something other than our graduation, or had he spoken about almost anything other than his life and his position on the Iraq War and Darfur it might have been OK. But what did he expect? Campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination at the New School is like trying to catch fish in a swimming pool. It was just totally out of place. Many thanks go to the people in the audience who managed to capture with a few yelled and widely-quoted phrases, just exactly what was going on there.

Check out the rest at Huffington Post.

Poor old man never had a chance when student Jean Rohe took him head on in her address:

“The senator does not reflect the ideals upon which this university was founded,” Rohe proclaimed to loud cheers, with McCain sitting just a few feet away.

She added that she knew what McCain would be saying to the graduates since he had promised to deliver the same speech he gave at Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University last weekend and Columbia University on Tuesday.

“He will tell us we are young and too naive to have valid opinions,” Rohe said. “I am young and though I don’t possess the wisdom that time affords us, I do know that pre-emptive war is dangerous. And I know that despite all the havoc that my country has wrought overseas in my name, Osama bin Laden still has not been found, nor have those weapons of mass destruction.”

When McCain got up to speak, it was to a smattering of boos and hisses.  Many graduate wore or carried orange to signify their disapproval of McCain’s war-mongering stance and his continued support for intolerance.

Thank you New School graduates for exhibiting the disgust at McCain that all moral Americans would if they new the straight truth.

Congressman John Sweeney has been a busy guy. Many folks on the blogosphere know him from his infamous drunken photo-op at a frat house in New York. Then there’s Sweeney’s lobbyist skiing trips and defense of Tom DeLay. When his opponent, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand stood up and called Sweeney on his nonsense, Sweeney responded with patronizing sexism.

So, what does this have to do with John McCain? You guessed it, the Senator from Liberty is swinging by New York for a fundraiser with Sweeney. Let me get this straight: McCain’s shilling for a corrupt Congressman who parties with frat boys, goes on skiing retreats with lobbyists, votes the party line, and refers to his female opponent as “a pretty face”? Yep, looks like “The Straight-Talk Express” has left the station.