Fmr Michigan Gov withdraws endorsement of McCain --"He is not the McCain I endorsed"

[grantcart]

http://www.mlive.com/grpress/news/index.ssf/2008/10/former_governor_milliken_backs.html

Former governor Milliken backs away from McCain
by Pat Shellenbarger | The Grand Rapids Press
Friday October 10, 2008, 6:57 AM

Former Republican Gov. William MillikenGRAND RAPIDS -- He endorsed John McCain in the presidential primary, but now former Republican Gov. William Milliken is expressing doubts about his party's nominee.

"He is not the McCain I endorsed," said Milliken, reached at his Traverse City home Thursday. "He keeps saying, 'Who is Barack Obama?' I would ask the question, 'Who is John McCain?' because his campaign has become rather disappointing to me.

"I'm disappointed in the tenor and the personal attacks on the part of the McCain campaign, when he ought to be talking about the issues."

Milliken, a lifelong Republican, is among some past leaders from the party's moderate wing voicing reservations and, in some cases, opposition to McCain's candidacy.



During a stop in Grand Rapids on Thursday, Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican U.S. senator from Rhode Island, said he's voting for Obama and urging others to do likewise.

McCain campaigned for Chafee's unsuccessful re-election bid in 2006, but Chafee said he is concerned McCain has swung to the right, a divisive strategy that could make it difficult for him to govern.

"That's not my kind of Republicanism," said Chafee, who now calls himself an independent. "I saw what Bush and Cheney did. They came in with a (budget) surplus and a stable world, and look what's happened now. In eight short years they've taken one peaceful and prosperous world, and they've torn it into tatters."

As for McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for his running mate, "there's no question she's totally unqualified," Chafee said.

He had similar reservations about Obama's lack of experience, but said the Democrat's handling of the campaign convinced him he's ready to lead.

Chafee said he has spoken with several other moderate Republican leaders, and "there are a whole lot of us deserting."

"I think the straight talk is gone," he said, describing himself as a member of the party's moderate wing. "I think he's pandering to the Christian right. That's some straight talk from me."

Whether they represent a widespread movement or a few disenchanted members in the Republican Party is unclear.

[youthere]

1. If only he'd hold a press conference and say this.

[Schulzz]

2. Every sane person should stay away from his campaign.

Glad to see it's beginning to backfire.

[my2sense]

3. K & R

Hopefully we'll hear of more folk yanking their endorsement of this asswipe.

[occe]

4. Thanks for posting

K&R

[grantcart]

39. welcome

[ourbluenation]

5. this is what we were hoping for, right? one by one the decent righties doing the right thing.

and actually putting country first.

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. Yes, and you're really starting to see it pick up momentum now

As people recoil from the frothing lunacy of the Palinites.

The radical right of the GOP is quickly becoming irrelevant, and I think no small measure of the Dow's collapse can be attributed to the truly frightening mob behavior going on at the McCain/Palin rallies. These people are in a frenzy, and it is very very dangerous for the stability of the nation to have lunatic mobs revved up into fits of rage, especially when an economic crisis is already going on.

[NatBurner]

6. lol

where's my money, JohnMcCain?

*SLAP!*

I love it

[Alter Ego]

7. Michigan GOP is PISSED at McCain for backing out of the state.

This is just another side effect.

[skipos]

8. MI is totally rejecting McCain

woot!

[Barack_America]

10. MI is totally rejecting Neocons.

And I couldn't be happier about it.

[BlooInBloo]

9. Wow - I wonder if that'll lead to a trickle -> flood of them.

[grantcart]

12. I think that is what the polls are showing and Ed Rollins grim assesment that

they are likely to lose 10 Senate seats

[Peacetrain]

11. This is good!

[Why Syzygy]

13. K&R!!!

Whoopee!

.."Milliken backs away from McCain" .. Step AWAY from the hate candidate. Step BACK! ahaa

[Mother Of Four]

14. ...

:wow:

[yardwork]

15. Ship, sinking, rats abandoning.

[Virginia Dare]

28. It sucks that they're taking the whole country down with them..

but I'm satisfied watching it nonetheless.

[tclambert]

17. Drip. Drip, drip. Drip,drip, drip. Drip-drip-drip-drip

Whoooooosh!

[ipfilter]

18. I hope we see more of this.

[Jennicut]

19. Its happening. Other Repubs are calling him out on these nasty attacks.

Took them long enough but we are seeing it now.

[Virginia Dare]

26. Running scared as the repub party totally implodes..

nobody to lead, nobody to right the ship...it's delicious...:popcorn:

[renie408]

20. Ouch. They are jumping ship. n/t

[RFKHumphreyObama]

21. I was hoping for this

William Milliken was one of the truly decent liberal republican governors of years gone by and he endorsed Kerry in 2004. I was disappointed when I read that he endorsed Senator McCain earlier this year and I was hoping that he'd have a change of heart. If there were more like him in the GOP of today, the United States and the world would be a much better place

[vanderBeth]

22. Oh ho ho ho.

}(

[grantcart]

40. lol

[workinclasszero]

23. This is what 8 years of Rush Limbaugh republicanism gets ya....

"I saw what Bush and Cheney did. They came in with a (budget) surplus and a stable world, and look what's happened now. In eight short years they've taken one peaceful and prosperous world, and they've torn it into tatters."

[riqster]

24. The Money Quote:

"Increasingly, the party is moving toward rigidity, and I don't like that. I think Gerald Ford would hold generally the same view I'm holding on the direction of the Republican Party."

The shaitan's bargain the Reeps made with the Fundagelicals back when the Reaganauts took over the Reep party is now crippling them with the traditional party base. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[grantcart]

41. yup

[Overseas]

25. K&R -- Welcome aboard. Bring more Republicans with you too. //

[neomonkey]

27. My new mantra

"That's not my kind of Republicanism," said Chafee, who now calls himself an independent. "I saw what Bush and Cheney did. They came in with a (budget) surplus and a stable world, and look what's happened now. In eight short years they've taken one peaceful and prosperous world, and they've torn it into tatters."

Great to keep in my bag of tricks.

[npincus]

29. the NYT ought to withdraw THEIR'S

[AlCzervik]

30. I'm really glad to see this and i hope more will speak up.

[cui bono]

31. Interesting that McCain's campaign getting sleazy and dishonest

is described as having "swung to the right". Hm...

[JohnMcCant2008]

32. We just need 49 more to make the same statement. Um. Well. 48, anyway. n/t

[catbyte]

33. I remember Milliken

and he seemed pretty reasonable for a Republican, not like that creep John Engler--now *he* was a piece of work.

I'm proud that at least one R leader in my state is principled. :hi:

KEEP MICHIGAN BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Diane


"Tales of hunt will glorify the hunter until lions have their own historians."--African proverb

[Supersedeas]

34. Republicans with Integrity can not believe what they are seeing from McRove and Palin

[Captiosus]

35. I've been saying this for the last week or so

The GOP has fractured itself deeper than the media is letting on.

They're actively throwing their more moderate members under the bus while pandering to the hard right, fundamentalist base. They're turning a lot of moderate Republicans into Independents who are not very happy with the new Republican party. Tom Davis (R-VA) is one such example of Republicans being discarded amongst these other examples in this article.

That would be fine if their base were huge, but it's not. Their base is basically the 15-20% who think Bush is doing a great job. I do not, and will not pretend to, understand their strategy. All things considered, the Republican party has always been "smaller" than the Democratic party so they've had to rely more on Independents in election years. Why would they want to destroy that relationship? I have no idea but it's clear that's what they're hell bent on doing, and it will be the destruction of the GOP.

[SweetieD]

36. Whoa! good post. Hope more conservatives speak up about this.

[liberalpragmatist]

37. Milliken endorsed Kerry in 2004

I guess he had higher hopes for McCain than *, but I guess McCain proved him wrong.

Glad he saw the light. Too bad there aren't more sane Republicans like Milliken these days.

[Window]

38. More, more, more of this.