John McCain. It’s an almost biblical name. Apparently even the very sight of it has raised the ire of not a few conservatives. Ann Coulter, one of many (think Limbaugh, Hannity, Graham), falls in fits at the thought of a McCain nomination. She’s even hinting she'll vote for Hillary Clinton should McCain’s name appear on the November ballot (and it will). To such conservatives, McCain's name seems synonymous with betrayal, or a sort of ideological subterfuge. One might even think his name means chaos: he’s a constitution-hating, Bush-tax-cut hacking, pro-abortion oppressor of free speech bent on giving America to Mexico. He’s the apparent slayer of ‘true’ conservatism’s better son: McCain has killed McAbel.

Come November, as Ann Coulter stands in the voting booth (where?), the checked box alongside Hillary Clinton’s name will not be the mark of Coulter. It'll REALLY be the mark of McCain.

Really, it’s almost too much to bear.

What I hear in all of this frenetic fuss is not a call to true conservatism, particularly since no one knows exactly what true conservatism is. What I hear is more political posturing. Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Jay Severin -- or even sundry bloggers at Redstate.com -- are no doubt sincere and honest: they earnestly want a ‘true conservative.’ But the McCain complaint seems to me to be as much about a wounded conservative psyche as it is a defense of some political ideal. As such, I find it curious how many Republicans find this all very curious, as if they are surprised anyone would find the presumptive front-runner unacceptable. No candidate is perfect, nor is everyone ever happy -- at least at the same time.

It is all rather simple, and since simplicity is probably my wont, I will simply state it: conservatives currently opposing John McCain are hoping he’ll hear them, forcing him to move right. In 1992 and 1998, my little state of NH saw something remarkably similar, as conservatives in ’92 rallied around Pat Buchanan in the NH primary, when he placed second to George H. W. Bush; four years later he’d take first place over Bob Dole. Buchanan’s successes were naught more than the conservative base asking to be remembered; it was a strong plea that the presumptive front-runner move rightward.†

And now that the apparent last great hope, Mitt Romney, has left the campaign trail, we will see Mr. McCain do exactly as predicted: He’ll make his move to the right, Rush will rally the troops, and Ann Coulter will stop twitching.

©Bill Gnade 2008

†Of course, I note that in neither year, '92 or '96, did the Republicans fare very well in their bids for the White House; perhaps Bush I and Dole should have moved even further right -- and more quickly (John McCain, please take note). I note too that NH primary voters chose the apparently left-of-Republican-center candidate this time around. I have no idea what this means for November.