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| McCain, GOP secretly courting another Dem to switch |
| 2009-12-25 |
| Republicans are stepping up their efforts to persuade more House Democrats to switch parties and are zeroing in on a second-term Pennsylvanian who acknowledged the efforts but said he has "no plans" to do so. Democratic Rep. Chris Carney received a phone call Wednesday from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) asking him to consider becoming a Republican, a top GOP official told POLITICO. Carney's office at first did not comment other than to acknowledge the call, but Carney released a statement Wednesday night saying, in part, "I appreciate the Republican Party's outreach, but I have no plans to change parties." DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen spoke to Carney Wednesday and received assurance that the Pennsylvanian was not switching, according to a senior Democratic aide. Speaker Nancy Pelosi's aides talked to Carney staffers, as well, and received the same assurance. In a brief interview, McCain declined to offer details about his conversation with Carney. "I just said, 'Whatever you do, I know that you'll make the right decision for the country,'" said the Arizonan. A source familiar with the call said that Republicans thought Carney might be susceptible to McCain's entreaty because, like the senator, the 50-year-old House member served in the Navy . McCain's call to Carney comes one day after freshman Alabama Democrat Parker Griffith announced that he was uncomfortable with his party's direction and was becoming a Republican. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 It would be awfully nice to have enough Republicans to be able to filibuster -- they need only one make one into a former Democrat to achieve that, even if he is a RINO the rest of the time. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-12-25 23:09 |
| #7 Bloody Mugwumps. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-12-25 22:54 |
| #6 no, no, no...it was just a mistake...McCain really meant to ask him to become a Rino not a Republican. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2009-12-25 21:20 |
| #5 If McCain is wooing him, then we don't want him. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2009-12-25 15:40 |
| #4 I'm surprised McCain couldn't win him over with his youthful exuberance, winning attitude and commitment to principles. |
| Posted by: regular joe 2009-12-25 11:34 |
| #3 "I can get more boodle from the Dems." |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-12-25 10:10 |
| #2 "I appreciate the Republican Party's outreach, but I have no plans to change parties." "Be British!" (last command of E.G. Smith, Captain of the Titanic) |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-12-25 10:05 |
| #1 Neither hot nor cold, but somewhere in between. Let us put it this way. The less amount of pots your paw is in, the less the bees tend to sting you. |
| Posted by: newc 2009-12-25 00:32 |