I'm confused...

I’m not being funny or sarcastic here… I really am trying to understand this.

Okay, the Romney supporters are pissed at the Super Tuesday results. McCain has a serious lead, and lots of momentum. He has won key states that many Romney-ites seem to have thought they had in the bag… CA, NY, NJ, and CT among them.

I am the first to admit that McCain has a less than stellar Senate record… both on missed votes (57% during this Congress alone) and in crossing the isle (only an 87% party vote record for his Senate career). However, he clearly WON the states mentioned above… at least for registered Republicans, if not “Reagan conservatives” (whom I assume voted for “Ron” Romney).

My question is this: Do pundits like Levin and Hannity actually think that the Romney supporters WON’T vote GOP in the general, if McCain wins the nomination? What is the alternative? Take the kids to a movie? Paint the house? Of course, the conservatives in CA, NY, NJ, and CT will vote for whomever the GOP nominates, right?

The absolute hatred for John McCain by Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, Mike Church, et al astonishes me to no end! Levin actually called him a “socialist” on my way into work! Why is this?

The Cato Institute (you can’t get more conservative than THAT!) listed 30 key Senatorial votes since Feb of 2005, and showed how each Senator voted. Out of those 30 votes, McCain only voted AGAINST the party majority 4 times. Four out of thirty ISN’T enough to qualify him for “liberal” of the year, is it?

Let’s look at those four votes…

H.R.810; Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005. The GOP members voted 36 to 19 against it, with McCain voting in favor… along with Orrin Hatch, Trent Lott, Lamar Alexander, Arlen Specter, and Bob Bennett. These aren’t “liberal” names, by any means, right?

Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to the Consideration of S. J. Res. 1; Marriage Protection Amendment. Here, in an attempt to begin the Amendment process to define marriage as between a man and woman, the GOP voted 47 in favor, 7 against, with McCain against… along with Arlen Specter, Trent Lott, and John Sununu (sp?).

S. 2611 As Amended; Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. This was a big vote, I’d guess… especially in light of the election issues. 32 GOP Senators voted against it, while 23 voted for it. Among the “ayes” were John McCain, Thad Cochran, Arlen Specter, Mitch McConnell and Norm Coleman.

Conference Report H. R. 6; Energy Policy Act of 2005. Another biggie, giving tax breaks to companies working for energy independence and lower pollution levels. 49 voted yes, 6 voted no… including McCain, Sununu and Kyl.

My point is simply that he wasn’t a “lone dissenter” in the GOP crowd… he had some pretty conservative company as he crossed the isle on these key votes. Yet I don’t hear Coulter or Hannity calling Lott, or Specter, or Sununu out onto the carpet for their votes… only McCain is labeled as a “liberal” and a “socialist” because he made some un-GOP votes.

McCain has been quoted here as having “heard the message” about immigration and secure borders… so he has changed his position. Is that any different than Romney changing his position on gay marriage, or abortion?

Maybe the majority of real conservatives in CA or NY did vote Romney, but that doesn’t mean they will hold back a vote if McCain gets the nomination… so what is the panic? Why is Levin saying that “his” voice won’t be heard for the next 12 years? (I only wish that were true!)