It’s been building for some time now. The animosity of #1 and #3 towards # 2. I am talking about the DEAL that had obviously been going on for weeks now between McCain and Huckabee to block Romney out. Would anyone be surprised if McCain choose Huckabee as his vice president running mate- or at least some offer? Whatever offer McCain has made Huckabee he won’t be able to deliver!
Unless there is some miracle, John McCain will be the Republican (by name only) nominee and he will lose worse than Bob Dole did. McCain has walked away from the Conservative base (maybe he was there 15 years ago) and conservatives will either note vote for him in November, or vote for someone else (Obama or Michael Bloomberg?).
Conservatives will remember West Virginia for the back room politics that it was!
This is what Super Tuesday looks like?
Romney, who addressed the state GOP convention in person Tuesday, comfortably led the first ballot at the convention, leading to a three-way second ballot contest between the three contenders. Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic reported Tuesday that, after the first ballot, McCain’s campaign called his supporters there and urged them to vote in favor of Huckabee…..to stop Romney!
“Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain’s inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney’s campaign of conservative change,” Beth Myers, Romney’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
Huckabee won the contest on the second ballot with 567 votes, or 51 percent, to Romney’s 521 votes, which put him at 47 percent. McCain finished the second ballot with 12 votes. Where did the McCain votes go? Duh! McCain is making Bubba’s deal-making (as in Bill) look like child’s play!
On the first ballot, McCain had 176 votes to Huckabee’s 375 and Romney’s 464 votes. Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) received 118 votes on the first ballot, but because he failed to finish in the top three, he was not included on the second ballot. By winning Tuesday’s state convention, Huckabee was awarded 18 of the state’s 30 delegates…………….and McCain sealed his fate as a BIG LOSER in November.
The Rubicon has been crossed and McCain’s fate has been sealed from the “back room”.
ernie@lrchouston.com
