July 19, 200818 yr McCain adviser Gramm leaves campaign Former lawmaker from Texas resigns after 'nation of whiners' comment The Associated Press updated 9:43 p.m. ET, Fri., July. 18, 2008 NEW YORK - Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm resigned Friday from his role as Republican presidential candidate John McCain's campaign co-chairman, hoping to quiet the uproar that followed his comments that Americans had become a "nation of whiners" whose constant complaints about the U.S. economy show they are in a "mental recession." Gramm, a past presidential candidate, made the remarks more than a week ago. McCain immediately distanced himself from the comments, but they brought a steady stream of criticism just as McCain is trying to show he can help steer the country past its current financial troubles. Gramm said in a statement late Friday that he is stepping down to "end this distraction." "It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Senator McCain on important economic issues facing the country," Gramm said. "That kind of distraction hurts not only Senator McCain's ability to present concrete programs to deal with the country's problems, it hurts the country. To end this distraction and get on with the real debate, I hereby step down as co-chair of the McCain campaign and join the growing number of rank-and-file McCain supporters." Gramm made the comment to The Washington Times and later explained that he was talking about the nation's leaders not the American people. Democrats claimed at the time that the Gramm comments showed that McCain is out of touch with voters' concerns over high gas prices, the struggling housing industry and the shaky economy in general. The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Gramm's departure will make little difference to McCain's economic policies. "The question for John McCain isn't whether Phil Gramm will continue as chairman of his campaign, but whether he will continue to keep the economic plan that Gramm authored and that represents a continuation of the policies that have failed American families for the last eight years," said Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan. Link What a douchebag, glad to see he's out.
July 19, 200818 yr What a douchebag, glad to see he's out. He was entirely correct on his main point but the worst 5 words were extracted from context to make him sound like a douche.
July 20, 200818 yr Author I don't think I've ever met a John McCain supporter. (I hold to the definition the a supporter is more than someone who simply casts a vote). With Barr in the race I predict he loses the popular vote by 10%. :thumbup :thumbup
July 20, 200818 yr I don't think I've ever met a John McCain supporter. (I hold to the definition the a supporter is more than someone who simply casts a vote). With Barr in the race I predict he loses the popular vote by 10%. I know a few, but it is a point well made.
July 20, 200818 yr I don't think Barr will make that much of push and hurt McCain. If a Paul or Huckabee ran as an independent or a lib. then I would worry, but I think Barr hardly effects the race. I think McCain will do much better in the popular vote than he will in the electoral college. Especially in some traditionally blue states. I see a lot of Obama hate in states like RI, who always votes blue, but seems to be leaning McCain in the popular vote side.
July 22, 200818 yr Author Does anyone know why the libertarians didn't go with Ron Paul? He seemed like he had a lot of support (for whatever reason). Was it because he ran on the GOP ticket?
July 22, 200818 yr I don't think I've ever met a John McCain supporter. (I hold to the definition the a supporter is more than someone who simply casts a vote). With Barr in the race I predict he loses the popular vote by 10%. I hope you're right. Reporting from Florida, in a normally prime democtaic stronghold, I'd say the Barr effect is minimal, and I surprisingly have met or heard of quite a few who at least profess that they're strongly leaning towards McCain(it's more anti-Obama, lack of trust). As I say I hope you're right with your final prediction, but I wouldn't count on Florida. Things can change though, and I see an uptrend towards Obama.
July 22, 200818 yr Author You have it backwards. They wanted him. He didn't want them. He holds the viewpoint that he could make a better impact by trying to reform the Republican Party and change it back to its original platform (something that more closely resembles Goldwater conservatism). While Paul dislikes the current two party system, he feels third parties are most futile. He's not always clear on his motivations (he hasn't endorsed anyone) but quite clearly his main purpose is to influence the Republican Party. This is why he has organized a parallel convention in Minnesota. With this in mind he formed the "Campaign for Liberty" which is a strategy designed to continue his efforts. He's been receiving a fair amount of attention on the cable news channels (for a candidate out of the race) regarding the current economic problems in our country. Fair enough. I wasn't sure what the deal was. If he had been able to get on the ballot for November, I have a feeling that he would do a lot more damage than Barr.
July 22, 200818 yr Author Don't you think that Barr is just a Republican pretending to be a libertarian? I agree that his voting record is pretty conservative.
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