Sunday, April 01, 2007
McCain Mulled Leaving GOP
Sen. John McCain, frustrated after his loss to George Bush in the 2000 Republican primary, came close to leaving the GOP in 2001, according to Democrats involved in the discussions.
Before talking to the Arizona Republican, Democrats had contacted then-Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island about possibly leaving the Republican Party, the influential publication The Hill reports.
In late March 2001, weeks before Jeffords did leave the GOP and became an Independent, former Democratic Rep. Tom Downey of New York met with John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist, over lunch in Bethesda, Md.
According to Downey, Weaver asked why Democrats hadn’t asked McCain to switch parties.
Downey, then a well-connected lobbyist, said he told Weaver: "You’re really wondering?”
"Well, if the right people asked him,” Weaver said, according to Downey, who responded: "The calls will be made. Who do you want?” Immediately following the lunch, Downey called several powerful Democrats, including then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
In an interview with The Hill, Daschle said that throughout April and May of 2001, he and McCain "had meetings and conversations on the floor and in his office, I think in mine as well, about how we would do it, what the conditions would be. We talked about committees and his seniority.”
At the time, soon after Bush’ inauguration, McCain was working with the Democrats on many issues, from gun control to healthcare to campaign-finance reform, and some Republicans publicly criticized him, The Hill notes.
Downey said that at one point he thought McCain’s departure from the GOP "was almost a certain deal.”
Daschle stressed that McCain never considered becoming a Democrat, only an Independent.
But after Jeffords announced his departure from the Republican Party, turning over control of the Senate to the Democrats, McCain and Chafee broke off talks with Democratic leaders, sources told The Hill.
McCain, in a statement released by his 2008 presidential campaign, flatly denied that he nearly left the GOP. "As I said in 2001, I never considered leaving the Republican Party, period.”
And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a longtime friend of McCain, said on Wednesday: "I have never heard one word from John’s mouth to suggest he was going to leave the Republican Party. These are political-intrigue stories that have no basis in fact.”
Sen. John McCain, frustrated after his loss to George Bush in the 2000 Republican primary, came close to leaving the GOP in 2001, according to Democrats involved in the discussions.
Before talking to the Arizona Republican, Democrats had contacted then-Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island about possibly leaving the Republican Party, the influential publication The Hill reports.
In late March 2001, weeks before Jeffords did leave the GOP and became an Independent, former Democratic Rep. Tom Downey of New York met with John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist, over lunch in Bethesda, Md.
According to Downey, Weaver asked why Democrats hadn’t asked McCain to switch parties.
Downey, then a well-connected lobbyist, said he told Weaver: "You’re really wondering?”
"Well, if the right people asked him,” Weaver said, according to Downey, who responded: "The calls will be made. Who do you want?” Immediately following the lunch, Downey called several powerful Democrats, including then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
In an interview with The Hill, Daschle said that throughout April and May of 2001, he and McCain "had meetings and conversations on the floor and in his office, I think in mine as well, about how we would do it, what the conditions would be. We talked about committees and his seniority.”
At the time, soon after Bush’ inauguration, McCain was working with the Democrats on many issues, from gun control to healthcare to campaign-finance reform, and some Republicans publicly criticized him, The Hill notes.
Downey said that at one point he thought McCain’s departure from the GOP "was almost a certain deal.”
Daschle stressed that McCain never considered becoming a Democrat, only an Independent.
But after Jeffords announced his departure from the Republican Party, turning over control of the Senate to the Democrats, McCain and Chafee broke off talks with Democratic leaders, sources told The Hill.
McCain, in a statement released by his 2008 presidential campaign, flatly denied that he nearly left the GOP. "As I said in 2001, I never considered leaving the Republican Party, period.”
And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a longtime friend of McCain, said on Wednesday: "I have never heard one word from John’s mouth to suggest he was going to leave the Republican Party. These are political-intrigue stories that have no basis in fact.”
# posted by Charles @ 7:54 AM
