McCain Democrat

McCain Democrat or simply McCainocrat is a term applied to Democrats who have endorsed or plan to vote for Senator John McCain in the 2008 United States Presidential Election. [ [http://blog.washingtonpost.com/stumped/2008/02/am_i_a_mccain_democrat.html Am I a McCain Democrat?] ] [ [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/04/03/so_you_want_to_be_a_mccain_democrat/ So You want to Be a McCain Democrat?] ] [ [http://mccaindemocrat.com/ McCain Democrats] ] [ [http://www.democratsformccain.com/ Democrats for McCain] ] A series of Gallup Polls since June have shown a downward trend over time in cross-party support for McCain. From June 9 to August 17 McCain's cross-party support fluctuated between 10% and 13%. In the poll for August 18 to August 24 support for McCain among Democrats peaked at 14%. Since then the September 29 to October 5 poll showed McCain's support among Democrats eroding to 8%, which is the lowest thus far. [ [http://www.gallup.com/poll/109042/Candidate-Support-Political-Party.aspx Candidate Support by Political Party] ]

History of the term

The term "McCain Democrat" first appeared during McCain's 2000 primary campaign. McCain garnered attention for reportedly having cross-party appeal. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E6DD1F3EF931A25751C0A9669C8B63 The New York Times (February 12, 2000)] ] In Texas, Charles Gandy explicitly ran as a "McCain Democrat." [ [http://www.amarillo.com/stories/031700/tex_LD0640.001.shtml Amarillo.com] ]

In 2006, McCain's speech at Liberty University and his continuing support for the Iraq War alienated him from those liberal or progressive voices who had supported him, like Richard Cohen. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/15/AR2006051501189.html Washington Post] ] It is therefore unclear how much the current "McCain Democrats" reflect those of 2000.

Conservative Democratic voters and Hillary Clinton supporters

The largest group of "McCain Democrats" are conservative for members of their party, sometimes referred to as Blue Dog Democrats, "DINOs", or in some cases Reagan Democrats. The Gallup Poll indicates McCain's support among individuals calling themselves "conservative" by party standards has varied from a low of 15% to a high of 26% according to Gallup, [ [http://www.gallup.com/poll/108049/Candidate-Support-Political-Party-Ideology.aspx Candidate Support by Political Party and Ideology] ] but these voters represent a minority of all Democrats. The General Social Survey indicates that 12% of Democratic voters voted for George W. Bush in the 2004 election, with 11.6% doing so in 2000, [ [http://sda.berkeley.edu/quicktables/quicksetoptions.do;jsessionid=3C6BE13C96C66A5911B90D071B4A1F6A?reportKey=gss06%3A0 General Social Survey] ] , which sets a general baseline standard for cross-party appeal for any Presidential candidate.

There has been media discussion of Hillary Clinton supporters backing McCain, although not all those who voted for Clinton in the primaries are Democrats. [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/17/many_voting_for_clinton_to_boost_gop/] When it comes to women voters [ [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gP-1Puq75vWi4w3xx8ARg7_JBjqAD93CC8A80 AP] ] , a Lifetime Television poll indicated that 83 percent of Democratic women support Obama, which is lower than the percentage of Republican women it lists as supporting McCain. [ [http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/09/22/pollster-palin-put-women-in-play-for-mccain.html US News and World Report] ] However the poll does not indicate what level of support McCain has among Democratic women.

Debra Bartoshevich [ [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=762052 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel] ] , who was elected as a convention delegate supporting Clinton, gained attention for shifting her support to McCain. [ [http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_10170139?source=commented-news Denver Post] ] She was removed as a delegate when the Wisconsin Democratic Party determined that she had violated local party rules and had reneged on a pledge she signed when she stood for election as a delegate. [ [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=766269 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel] ]

Democrats and former Democrats endorsing John McCain

*Former Democratic majority leader of the Rhode Island Senate (pre 1992), David Carlin [ [http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/article.php3?id_article=2222 Commonweal Magazine]
*Likewise I say, “John McCain is the worst possible candidate for president-except for all the others”..."Even though-being a Democrat of the FDR-Truman-Kennedy-LBJ variety-I’m pretty conservative by contemporary Democratic standards, still I’m a Democrat, and that means that I have deeply ingrained anti-Republican prejudices."]
*Formerly Democratic [ [http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/memberlookup.aspx New Hampshire House Page] ] member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Brenda Ferland. [ [http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081002-NEWS-81002021 SeaCoast Online] ]
*Former Mayor of Tampa, Florida, Dick A. Greco. [ [http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=0ac30a07-8d71-44e0-a6b2-5f781f258e82 ABC action news] ]
*Former Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona (1990-94), Paul Johnson [ [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2008-08-07/news/postmodern-mccain-the-john-mccain-some-arizonans-know-and-loathe/9 Phoenix New Times]
*"Paul Johnson, former mayor of Phoenix, who spent much of the early 1990s publicly loathing the senator, is now a Democrat for McCain."]
*Former Lt. Governor (1963–1967) of Minnesota, Alexander M. Keith. (conservative, member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party) [ [http://www.minnesotaindependent.com/view/democrats-for-mccain Minnesota Independent] ] [ [http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/06/john-mccains-dinos.html "McCain's DINOs" at Open Secrets] ]
*Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Doreen Howard. [ [http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20080916-NEWS-809160347?sfad=1 SeaCoast Online] ]
*Senator and 2000 Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Joe Lieberman (ID-CT)
*President of the Los Angeles, California chapter of National Organization for Women, Shelly Mandell. [ [http://www2.presstelegram.com/ci_10641675 Long Beach Press Telegram] ] [ [http://www.ocregister.com/articles/palin-mccain-women-2180284-democrat-obama Orange County Register]
*"lifelong Democrat and president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization For Women, Shelly Mandell. While NOW has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama as best representing women's interests in the race, Mandell has taken a different view."] First noted in connection to the Ginny Foat case. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE5D81E3BF931A15755C0A960948260&sec=&spon= "Sororicidal Warfare", New York Times (June 22, 1986)] ]
*Former Representative (1983–1995) Tim Penny (once a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party) [ [http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/06/john-mccains-dinos.html "McCain's DINOs" at Open Secrets] ]
*Businesswoman, Hillary Clinton fundraiser, and third wife of Sir Evelyn Robert de Rothschild, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild. [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080917/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_clinton_backer Yahoo News] ]
*Former Concord, New Hampshire Mayor Bill Veroneau [ [http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081002-NEWS-81002021 SeaCoast Online] ]
*Former state representative in Minnesota Stephen Wenzel. (Bush appointee to the USDA, since then he has only contributed to Republicans) [ [http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/06/john-mccains-dinos.html "McCain's DINOs" at Open Secrets] ] [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-76962303.html Minneapolis Star-Tribune] ]

ee also

*Reagan Democrat
*Party switching
*Obama Republican

References