The post-mortem fingerpointing continues. The latest accuser, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, goes so far as to blame John McCain for betraying conservative principles in his presidential campaign. More below.
The highest-profiler GOP’er yet to condemn McCain, DeMint told a group of GOP officials gathered in Myrtle Beach, SC, that the party had strayed from its own "brand" in this election, according to CNN political producer Peter Hamby (the link is here.)
"We have to be honest, and there's a lot of blame to go around, but I have to mention George Bush, and I have to mention Ted Stevens, and I'm afraid I even have to mention John McCain," he said.
DeMint offered a long list of complaints about McCain's record in the Senate and on the campaign trail.
"McCain, who is proponent of campaign finance reform that weakened party organizations and basically put George Soros in the driver's seat," DeMint said. "His proposal for amnesty for illegals. His support of global warming, cap-and-trade programs that will put another burden on our economy. And of course, his embrace of the bailout right before the election was probably the nail in our coffin this last election. And he has been an opponent of drilling in ANWR, at a time when energy is so important. It really didn't fit the label, but he was our package."
Okay, sooo...McCain should have denied global warming, voted no on the bailout, and supported harsher measures against illegals. Sounds like a winning strategy to me (not!). I just hope they trot it out 2010. We could use bigger majorities in Congress.
No fan of Stevens, DeMint has a warm welcome planned for his return to the Senate:
DeMint said he would introduce a Senate resolution next week to boot Stevens out of the Republican caucus, and "force votes" on Senate seniority rules that have allowed certain members to hold onto power."
Wow, should be fun!