Democrats regain control of the Senate???
 

http://www.sltrib.com/11182002/commenta/commenta.htm

How weird would that be?http://www.plauder-smilies.de/eek2.gif

McCain would never swich parties.

if hes toying with the idea, then never say never..however the prospect that he would be the democratic presidential nominee could in fact be incentive enough for him..personally, i think he would be a phenomenal presidential candidate.

Being an Arizona voter, I would be very unhappy with McCain if
he switched. I would probably not vote for him again and might even sign a recall petition. (Arizona is noted for forcing recalls)

I always liked McCain. I would have voted him over Gore in 2000 if he made it that far. If he does switch he should run for President as a Democrat. Bush v. McCain in 2004 would be very interesting.

I have fifty dollars that says McCain will not join the Democratic Party. Anyone want to take this bet?

I have no respect for any candidate that switches parties just to win an election.

That bet would never work either way because there is no time limit for him to switch. He could be in the senate another 20 years before he retired. Long time to wait on collecting a bet.

#1 why isn't this in the "Official News Thread"?

-- To reply to the actual topic though...

I think it'd be reprehensible for them to do that. I don't really think that McCain stands to gain much if he switched parties. Remember he failed in the Republican primary to even be a serious threat to Bush. If he was a traitor to the Republican party do you think a single person in the US that identified themselves as a 'moderate Republican" would vote for him?

That's a pretty large number alongside the rest of the party that would be deadset against the man.

If he's smart he'll stay put.

I was pretty much outraged when Ben Nighthorse Campbell jumped parties. Not so much because of his political alignments, but because he ran as one thing, and represented himself as such, and then pulled the 180 degree switch mid-term.

I saw on Fox news someone mention that McCain is doing this to get bills passed and things he wants from the Republicans so he doesn't jump ship. They also said if the Republicans don't give into what McCains wants he probably will jump ship because he would have lost pretty much any power he had in the Republican party.

Jeffords tried to do the same thing and when he didn't get what he wanted he went independant.

I don't see why it's reprehensible. McCain has shown himself to be a politician who is neither far left nor far right and whose beliefs could be equally at home in either party. It's not as if his voting would change.

The fact is, a third-party or independent candidate simply doesn't have as much clout. So if he is upset with the way the GOP is trending, defecting would be natural for him, and it would be reasonable for him to join a powerful party if he could feel at home there. I don't see any reason to believe he'd switch just to win an election; it seems to me that he is one of our few politicians who is more character and less slime. And even if that was his reason ... so what? I'd only start to worry if he starts reversing long-held positions to be more in line with the Democratic platform. A political party isn't a GLO and you're allowed to change your mind!

And for the support of every moderate Republican he'd lose, there are two or three Americans who don't identify strongly with either party and could care less.

Why wasn't this in the news thread? because no one ever debates in there, adn this seems to be a little bit more impactful than some of the fluff that gets in there (no offense znteke).


For those of you who are angry at the thought of McCain joining the Dems, those saying you would never vote for him again. I think that you are demonstrating something that is wrong with American Politics and the voting public. (Actually, this is the biggest flaw with the party system). It seems as though you are blindly voting down party lines. If McCain was the man who you wanted to represent you before, why is his changing the side of the aisle he sits on really of that much importance. Of all the people that could change parties, John McCain is the one who I would pick to not lose any of his principles. He seems to me to have integrity beyond almost all others in the Senate.

McCain, particulalry since he has entered the national spotlight (the time that I have paid attention to him, I have no idea what he was like before) has always seemed to be one of the most progressive politicians around. If he feels that he isnt' being respected by the Republicans I don't see where is it traitorious to change party affiliation.

Anyways it will be interesting to see what happens!

Maybe not. But would he leave and be independant? Thats a more likely sceniaro. There is already a precendent set for it. (Jefferies I think, is the name). That is what happens when everyone gets all extrimist. People who are moderate/progressive get fed up and leave. I want nothing to do with either party. I think we need a new party, based on common sense and integratry. I'll call it the progessives. I am the Progessive canditate in 2016. I'll make Ralph Nader my bitch.

In many ways, this is a matter of political opportunity and age.

If Senator McCain wants to run for president, it isn't likely to happen within the Republican Party while the Bush Dynasty is in power.

They still have the potential of a second term for "W" and then there's Jeb to consider.

Winning elections is, to a large part, dependent on how much money the candidate has to spend -- unfortunately.

As long as there are Bushs to elect and the GOP is dominated by that side of the party, McCain doesn't have much of a shot of running as a Republican.

He has pretty much no shot running as an Independent.

So, if he really wants to be president -- that leaves the Democrats.