As John McCain piles up endorsements from Republicans who are often at odds with the party’s conservative base, rival Mitt Romney has begun an aggressive effort to cast himself as the only candidate who can unite the traditional GOP coalition.
Romney campaign strategist Alex Gage said Thursday that McCain’s victories in Florida, South Carolina and New Hampshire were made possible by moderates, independents and voters who disapprove of the Bush administration. He predicted those constituencies would have less sway on Super Tuesday, just four days away.
“Conservatives, self-identified Republicans, and voters who approve of President Bush are likely to be majorities of the electorate in all of the February 5th states,” Gage wrote in a campaign strategy memo. “It is therefore easy to see how we defeat McCain in a two-man race by focusing on traditional Republican primary voters.
“We still have an uphill battle in front of us — the mainstream media is ready to anoint John McCain,” Gage acknowledged. “But Gov. Romney has a clear path to victory on February 5th and beyond.”
Many conservatives thought Romney got the better of McCain at the California GOP debate Wednesday by accusing the Arizona senator of “dirty tricks” for falsely claiming that Romney advocated a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Even liberal pundits said McCain seemed overly snide when slamming Romney’s wealth and record as a venture capitalist. Romney also took McCain to task for opposing conservatives on immigration, taxes, campaign finance and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
“If you get endorsed by The New York Times, you’re probably not a conservative,” Romney said.
Prominent moderate Republicans are also backing McCain. On Wednesday, he was endorsed by departing GOP rival Rudy Giuliani, who opposes conservatives on abortion, gun control and gay marriage. On Thursday, McCain was endorsed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who, like McCain, is often criticized as overly eager to compromise with Democrats.
“Senator McCain has proven over and over again that he is reaching across the aisle in order to get things done,” said Schwarzenegger, flanked by McCain and Giuliani at a solar energy facility in Los Angeles.
McCain then praised Schwarzenegger for his “embrace of green technologies,” which he said will “save this planet.” He proclaimed that “climate change is real,” even though many conservatives are skeptical.
When a reporter pointed out that endorsements from Schwarzenegger and Giuliani might have a “down side” among conservatives, McCain unapologetically praised the pair as heroes.
“You will see a flood of endorsements across this country from both liberal and conservative,” he said. “We need all parts of our party together if we’re going to win in November. I believe our party is beginning to realize that.”
