Anti-McCain coalition building

"McCain Derangement Syndrome." Yeah, Roger, McCain is definitely deranged. It's hereditary, y'know.

"Some people on the right are starting to sound almost Kossack-like." Heh.

Had to drive to Bethesda today to get vaccinated for yellow fever and typhoid, preparing for the journey to The Very Dangerous Foreign Country, where if the mosquitos don't kill you, the water will. (Nurse: "The parasites have a cycle, so even after you come back, if you start getting a fever, go straight to the hospital." Oh, sweet.)

Listened to talk radio there and back. Rush Limbaugh wasn't really going all-out on "Juan McAmnesty," but he didn't have to -- his callers did the job. A Republican activist from Michigan named Laurie called up and ranted against Crazy Cousin John in no uncertain terms. She will not vote for him, period.

Limbaugh then took another call, and ended the segment by telling the second caller, "The people in the Republican establishment do not understand, Laurie's sentiment is widespread out there." Widespread, indeed.

After getting my vaccinations, I spoke briefly to a buddy at a public-relations agency (he's planning a send-off party in my honor). He was likewise bummed by the Florida result, but mentioned the Citizens United anti-McCain ad.



My friend said Citizens United is putting some serious money into the ad buy, which will naturally generate lots of "earned media."

Driving back, I heard Sean Hannity lead his opening hour with a mock "McCain was right, conservatives were wrong" routine, very deadpan.

Then switched over to Glenn Beck, who appears to share my "fight while there's still hope" sentiment, saying of McCain:

This guy is the biggest two-faced son of bitch you can ever imagine. ... A Republican president who's not a Republican. ... (If McCain is elected) we are dead ... taking us to a progressive Hell.

(Yes, I can drive and take notes at the same time)

Beck also had Michelle on his show today. From the Beck transcript:

GLENN: Have you ever seen such an audacious slap in the face to the American people as this?
MALKIN: I haven't felt one like this in a long time, Glenn. I'm still reeling from it. But I do hope that as more people find out about McCain's open border roots that they won't buy the dye job that he's given himself and the instant immigration makeover that he's trying to sell to conservatives and Republicans.
GLENN: Okay, I want you to lay it -- two pieces of audio, one from John McCain being asked about it and then another piece of audio from the gentleman that is now working with him. So you tell me the best time to play it while you explain what he's doing right now behind everybody's back.
MALKIN: Sure. Well, last month I received a tip from a concerned reader and she had listened to John McCain speak to the Hispanic Republicans in Nevada at a conference and apparently at this conference McCain was trying to tout his connection to a man named Dr. Juan Hernandez who has been named the national director of Hispanic outreach for the McCain 2008 campaign. This reader of mine was appalled when she learned of this hire and it had exactly the opposite effect that apparently McCain wanted it to have. This was supposed to be reassuring to Hispanic Republicans that this guy had been hired as outreach. My colleague at hotair.com, Bryan Preston, confirmed this staff hire and, in fact, on John McCain's daughter's campaign website, there's a lovely, cozy picture of Juan Hernandez pivoting with Meghan McCain and Mark MacKinnon who is the campaign guru for John McCain. Well, who is this guy? I'm quite familiar with him. I've debated him several years on the cable TV circuit because he's one of the most ubiquitous ethnocentric open borders zealots on the scene.

Go read the rest.

Nearing home, I dialed up a young volunteer for the Romney campaign. She said she had been discouraged last night by all the defeatist rhetoric at The Corner and elsewhere, and that my "Despair is not an option" post was the first hopeful thing she'd read. She told me about an upcoming Romney event, the date and location of which suggests a bold strategy. She also mentioned that Laura Ingraham was "brutal" on McCain this morning. I told her to spread the word: Hold the fort, the cavalry's coming.

Bryan Preston summed things up pretty well:

First, we conservatives are the bedrock of the GOP and ... our values are the party’s engine. They’re the party’s future. They’re worth fighting for, even if we’re outnumbered by the influx of independents in what was supposed to be a closed primary, and even if we end up with an imperfect party nominee because of that.
So we fight on.

Here's what I see: Conservatives have been distracted for weeks now. First, there was the Iowa-related panic about Huckabee. Then there was all that stuff with the Ron Paul newsletters. Then, there was a detour into watching the Hillary-Obama-Bill race-baiting trainwreck. And, of course, the MSM's spin machine was chaffing the air with the notion that The Big Story in Florida would be Rudy's Last Stand.

Time was wasted, energy, emotion and resources dissipated. Then came Tuesday night. Conservatives who'd spent the past couple of weeks doing a schadenfreude dance over Hillary's meltdown suddenly turned on the TV, saw Crazy Cousin John with 36% in winner-take-all Florida and said, "Holy crap. How did this happen?"

That madman may be less than a week from locking up the GOP nomination and today, Wednesday, a lot of conservatives are bumfuzzled, bewildered and confused. They log onto someplace like The Corner and get a relentless drumbeat of defeatism, "reconciliation," and so forth.

Just wait. People will shake this Florida hangover. There is a debate tonight. In all likelihood, McCain will be overconfident, and Mitt knows the game is on the line. A gaffe by McCain and/or a few really solid punches from Mitt -- hey, by Thursday morning, Mitt might be sailing high again.

Something important: Stop quoting polls. Polls are not votes. With this short six-day run from Florida to Super Duper Tuesday, with Rudy dropping out and so many other dynamics in play, there is no way in the world that pollsters will be able to tell us in advance what will happen on Feb. 5. The reporting of polls can, however, have the effect of a self-fulfilling prophecy, tending to drive a bandwagon effect.

There is an anti-McCain coalition building, but it may take a day or two to show its strength. Be patient.

Finally, let El Rushbo demonstrate the proper attitude:

(HT: Hot Air)

UPDATE: Linked at Memeorandum. (Click that link, or a puppy will die.)