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Previously we reported on the petition allowing activists to salute Sarah Palin and her contribution to the 2008 US Election. Now it’s the turn of John McCain. Over on his official site there’s a petition allowing supporters to express their gratitude to Senator McCain.
The American conservative movement has some hard days ahead, and the post-mortem on this election is already well under way. Senator McCain, though, who produced so much uplifting oratory during the campaign as he urged us to “stand up and fight” and to “serve a cause greater than yourself”, offers these words from which we can take heart:
“I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history, we make history.”
YBF activist Matt Robinson reflects on the outcome of the 2008 US Presidential Election exclusively for TYC.
After spending the election in Ohio, travelling back to DC and now taking a break with friends in North Carolina I have started to pick over the carcass of the Republican defeat, and Obama’s landslide in the polls, so here goes.
Firstly credit where credit is due. The Democrats campaign was run incredible well, they appealed to previously untapped- the young voter, ethnic voter and ambivalent voter. Added together these gave the Democrats a huge ground swell of support and a huge amount of positive energy which the Obama campaign rode to victory.
Secondly, where was the positive message from the Republicans? I understand it is hard to be positive in the middle of an economic downturn and two wars, but the politics of fear seemed to be employed a little too frequently.
Third (i), John McCain was never allowed to be John McCain. Since the last serious contender bowed out of
the primaries (and by that I mean Mike Huckabee and not Ron Paul), John McCain seemed to be gagged, he was not allowed to be the maverick we have heard so much about.
Again I understand that McCain needed to appeal to the right of the Party, and that may explained the Palin V-P pick. But GOP supporters picked McCain fully aware he wasn’t a Republican of the right. Furthermore it is my view that they picked him exactly because he was not the average Republican! He was the GOP candidate best placed to beat a Democrat female candidate or Democrat African-American candidate. So why then stop using the thing that set him apart from most other Republicans his appeal to independents, swing voters and moderates?
Fourth, talking to many Republicans in Ohio, around DC and now North Carolina I have heard the line repeatedly ‘John McCain was always my second choice’. Again the base of the Republican party were never comfortable with McCain, and struggled to really get on board, until the Palin pick.
Fifth, Donal Blaney says that the Republican victory of 1988 was not George H.W. Bush’s victory but a victory for Ronald Reagan. In the same way, I feel that this election was a bit of a referendum on the last 8 years of George W. Bush. Many voters told me the reason they were supporting Obama was ‘well he’s not George Bush’ (… personally I think that’s a ridiculous reason but anyway…). The Democrats did a great job at painting a potential McCain administration as continuing the Bush administrations policies, and the GOP were always hamstrung by this.
Sixth, one Republican volunteer told me that, ‘a bit of blood-letting isn’t a bad thing, and we haven’t had a purge in a while’. At first I was taken aback but when I thought about it they were right. A good kicking is sometimes required to shake people out of their closed minded malaise. This may be the chance the Republicans have to develop some new exciting ideas.
Finally, and possibly most controversially (sorry Ed) but I am still not certain that Palin was the correct 2008 VP pick, or is the obvious 2012 pick. I have said before that she has millions of supporters, and is exciting and breaks the normal Republican mould. But, she repulses many millions too, and she was the reason that some voters didn’t vote for McCain. Now I am not saying that McCain would have been more successful with a different VP pick, but Palin is divisive. A few more years as Governor will give Palin the time to develop new ideas and gain credibility in office.
If you listen to the liberal media in the USA then the Republicans are in trouble; they have a dearth of ideas and exciting candidates. But Fred Barnes on Fox News made an excellent point - four years ago Barack Obama was still a State Senator in Illinois, and four years is an incredibly long time in politics.
We’ve posted before on Nick Vaughan’s team in Ohio, and Matt Robinson guest posted from the road for us earlier this evening. The Times, too, has picked up the story of British activists, both YBF’s conservatives and opposition party members, flying out to campaign for McCain and Obama.
MATT ROBINSON REPORTS LIVE FROM THE US ELECTIONS IN OHIO
Barack Obama vs John McCain in a bare knuckle election bout that will be remembered through the ages. On Wednesday 5th November, one of these men will be the President-elect and history will be made.
I am not going to speculate on the result, but I will say watch the following states- Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and North Carolina. The polls in these states are all over the place, and a huge amount of Americans really are undecided, and will choose their President as they stand in that booth looking at the two names of the candidates. 
About 10 Brit’s have been in the state of Ohio for a week campaigning for John McCain thanks to an opportunity offered by the Young Briton’s Foundation. And if you think you have been in a rough, tough, hellaciously paced election campaign before then come out to the US and join the fun.
Example- A John McCain and Arnold Schwarzenegger rally in Columbus, Ohio. Imagine Conservative Party Conference on speed! From the ‘thunder-sticks’ and pom-poms given out to the crowd, the home made signs that people had taken the time to make, the Pledge of Allegiance and US national anthem, the country music been played from loud speakers (inc dancing) and entertainment to warm up the crowd… I was ‘pumped up’ as Arnie would say when the main event hit the stage. A full arena cheered the Governator and the Mac as they delivered speeches that almost took the roof off the Columbus National Arena.
I was impressed by the McCain rally, but was even more impressed two days later when Governor Palin (alone, no warm up act) went to the a small town fairground and had 7,000 supporters there to greet her! And the hottest Governor from the coolest state delivered a great speech. Is she divisive? Yes. Has her rise been meteoric? Yes. But, does she have supporters? Yes….millions!
The morale among Republican volunteers has been incredible. Never have heads dropped, or have they contemplated giving up. When told that the polls show an Obama lead these people give up another hour to phone voters or knock on doors. It was fantastic to come back from 3-4 hours canvassing to be greeted by the worlds biggest barbecue, cooking what I can alone assume was a herd of cattle! Volunteers are well looked after, and are always smiling while they work.
I must be honest: the Americans are confused as to why 10 Brits are here helping them, but they are loving it. They are learning a thing or two from us (mostly that we are British and not European), and we are learning a great deal from them about life in the USA, election campaigning, and the priorities of US citizens.
I have stopped turning on a TV now, as it is saturated with election adverts, mostly Obama adverts on TV and McCain on radio because of the huge disparity in funding.
The US certainly knows how to do elections on all levels, from Presidential down to dog catcher, and to see history unfold is incredible. The atmosphere is electric and it really is impossible to call here on the ground in Ohio.
We’re pleased to see that Birmingham University Conservative Future have followed the noble lead set by Edinburgh University Conservative Association and endorsed the McCain/Palin ticket, ahead of polls opening across America tomorrow. The executive was balloted, with a majority voting for McCain – full results published.
Further, they’ll be hosting a poll of their members tomorrow, with the results to be announced tomorrow night.
What with all the ‘Tories for Obama’ we’re heartened to see such staunch conservatives in the Tory Party as Edinburgh University Conservatives – evidenced by the declaration that they’re officially backing the McCain/Palin ticket. Vice-Chairman Ed Kozak has it entirely right, when he echoes Donal Blaney on Tuesday, saying “It really disturbs me how blindly people support Obama.”
Morton Blackwell says that we should never “fully trust anyone until he has stuck with a good cause which he saw was losing.” We hope that doesn’t yet apply to McCain/Palin yet – certainly this author still believes victory is in possible – but we do applaud all those conservatives who are keeping their heads and remembering the core values of conservatism in the face of so much demagoguery, sirenous spin and socialism from the Obama camp.
It’s not exactly secret that this blog is squarely behind a McCain/Palin victory. Whilst, of course, such backing only lends moral support to the campaign it is important to take a stand, and so we laud Harry Cole and Ed Kozak for their principled announcement.
Action point: It would be good to establish a ‘Roll-call of the Faithful’ listing all those university societies, student branches and working life branches who endorse McCain/Palin. If your conservative group is endorsing McCain/Palin then write in and let us know!
Here at TYC we don’t do a Hero of the Week column (we leave that to YBF). But if we did, this week’s might well be Nick Vaughan, for being such a fine example of how far a committed activist can travel.
Nick, a 23 year old University of Essex gradutate, and, since May 2007 a councillor, was national Chairman of Conservative Future 2005-2006.
Take a look at this archive piece from 2006 when The Independent profiled him as national chairman. It makes an interesting read, comparing Conservative Future’s current position with where it was in 2006, the aims it had then and the achievements realised. It’s particularly interesting to note that back then the need to decentralise CF was high on the agenda, and issue which is still at the heart of its agenda two chairmen later, highlighting the need for further reform.
If that’s not enough, he’s also fundraising for a sponsored cycling ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats! (Sponsor him here); and works without remuneration for the Young Britons’ Foundation.
That’s all certainly testament to his previous commitment, but what really leads us to praise him is his latest assignment – leading British volunteers in Ohio for McCain. He’s just had an article published on ConservativeHome in which he explains why he supports McCain, which you should read too.
We salute Nick as an activist rolemodel to be emulated. We’re just jealous we can’t be joining him on the campaign trail for McCain!
Some of you may have been involved in a rapid response unit during a crucial election. McCainVote is quite like that. If this whole concept is new to you, a brief explanation. One of the best ways to influence floating voters is polls. People see the way the statistics are going and are quite likely to follow the current. The outcome of polls can help set the tone, influence the public debate and the way people feel towards a candidate. It’s just another medium for getting our message across.
Polling can take all forms, but here we’re focusing online. All you do is take the brief introductory tour on McCainVote, and then start voting McCain/Palin in all the polls the site offers you. The internet is awash with polls and surveys, but now there’s no need to go visiting countless sites – McCainVote brings them to you in one, simple site. All you need to do is vote on them.
Check back often to vote in fresh polls. Do you part to defeat Obama – visit McCainVote.com
Dr Tom Grant, who has been working with the McCain campaign in Arlington, VA, will be in London on Monday 20th October. He has agreed to attend an informal gathering of supporters upstairs at the Texas Embassy Cantina from 6:30pm. (1 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DL). Tom will provide insight into his experiences and thoughts looking forward to the election.
All are welcome and there is no charge to attend. Food and drink will be available for purchase.
