McCain, paying the price for stepping on toes

Via the NYT - Taking On Big Donors, McCain Takes a Big Risk

A ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee like Senator John McCain could normally bank on a bonanza of campaign contributions from the defense industry, especially if he was under pressure to raise money fast.

But as Mr. McCain races to play catch-up with his Republican presidential primary rivals before the end of the second quarter, he is only reminding military companies and lobbyists why they have never liked him. “Defense contractors are more concerned with winning the next contract than performing on the current one,” he charged at a recent campaign stop.

At a critical moment for him, his presidential campaign may be paying the price for a career of positions seemingly calculated to alienate constituencies that according to Washington custom should be prime sources of campaign cash.

I have to applaud McCain for speaking his mind and for sticking up for the consumers. In fact, I actually liked the guy when he ran against Bush in 2000. However, his position on the war makes him a total no go for me. And there is also this:

Several fund-raisers said Mr. McCain was no more likely to tailor his messages to his donors in person than he has been in the Senate.

“I tell him all the time: ‘Everyone knows where you are on Iraq. Let’s talk about the environment, pork barrel spending, health care, dependence on foreign oil,’ ” Mr. Shansby said, reflecting the concerns of wealthy Sonoma Valley Republicans — many of whom are skeptical of the war.

Mr. McCain nonetheless made his support for the war the centerpiece of his fund-raiser. “He gets very agitated about a few issues,” Mr. Shansby said, “the war, immigration reform, campaign finance.”

I certainly have no desire to have yet another man in office who is unwilling to listen to reason. . .