WashPost: McCain accepts drop in polls, fundraising $$$ losses in order to stand firm on immigration bill
The Washington Post reported that Senator McCain has been absorbing an enormous toll politically, for his principled stand in favor of the immigration bill. This toll can be measured both in declining poll numbers and in attempts to raise money. According to the article:
His stance on immigration is making life ever more difficult for his fundraisers. He is expected to again lag behind rivals in money raised when the quarter ends on Saturday.
McCain’s staff has sought to make a virtue of what appears to be an anchor on his political fortunes. In an e-mail to supporters on Monday, campaign manager Terry Nelson said that McCain “is running for president not to do what is easy. He is running to do the hard but necessary things to protect our country from harm and to fix the challenges that we face as a nation now, not later.”
The next day, McCain canceled some critical fundraising events to participate in a key vote on the bill. And he is isolated on the front lines of the country’s debate over illegal immigration — alone among Republican presidential candidates, the rest of whom oppose the overhaul of the nation’s border-control laws…
A top fundraiser for the Arizonan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk for the campaign, was more blunt: “It’s hurting with the main money guys. Overall, it’s definitely a negative.”
He added that the constant barrage of criticism from the likes of Rush Limbaugh is making it difficult to raise money from the conservative wing of the party.
“Like it or not, our base listens to that stuff,” the fundraiser said. “Whether its a good bill or a bad bill or an indifferent bill doesn’t matter. The folks who are listening to that stuff, it’s hard to persuade them with facts.”
Mark Salter, one of McCain’s top advisers, said his candidate is “not a poser, not a panderer, but a problem-solver.”
Salter said members of town hall audiences in Iowa and South Carolina who hear McCain explain his support for the immigration bill often leave convinced of his integrity, if not of his position…”
Read the entire article here.
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