McCain Promises to Fight for California

(Stockton, California)

 

Sen. John McCain pledged to wage battle in California this summer and fall, for the Presidency of the United States. That's an unusual promise for a Republican, as many in the GOP have written California off as a Democratic state. But Ronald Reagan carried his home state twice, and George H.W. Bush won here in 1988. The point is that - with the right GOP candidate - it may be possible to win here. McCain is from neighboring Arizona and is a moderate Republican. He noted that both states have issues in common, including severe water shortages. "Barry Goldwater used to say that we have so little water in Arizona, the trees chase the dogs," McCain said to roaring laughter.

 

McCain appeared before a late afternoon crowd in a hangar at the Stockton Airport. Earlier, he made two appearances in the San Francisco Bay area. Stockton is pretty conservative, while the Bay Area is quite liberal. Still, the South Bay has conservative pockets and big-wallet donors from Silicon Valley, who lean Republican. So the candidate may have been here more for the money, but also to raise the profile of a very viable Republican Congressional candidate named Dean Andal, who is running against a first-term Democrat in a right-leaning district. That race is a potential GOP gain in the House.

 

Terrorism and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were front and center for the former Vietnam War POW. "We face the transcendent challenge of radical Islamic extremism," McCain said. A woman in the crowd caused a ruckus when she interrupted by screaming, "Iran is not a threat." She was escorted out, as the crowd chanted, "We want Mac! We want Mac!" McCain added his signature line from the campaign: "If I have to chase him to the gates of hell, I will get Osama bin Laden." The crowd cheered wildly again.

 

Of his likely November opponent, McCain said, "I respect Senator Obama. For a young man with very little experience, he has done very well."  But McCain criticized Obama's willingness to sit down and talk with sworn U.S. enemies, such as the leader of Iran. "History shows that we don't negotiate with terrorists," McCain said. Taking another shot at Obama, he said, "Setting a date for withdrawal (from Iraq) is setting a date for surrender, and I will never surrender."

 

The crowd was estimated at 1,200. Among those in attendance, a woman named Bobbie from the Bay Area. She is a Democrat who is crossing over to McCain. So why not Obama? "I'm a Democrat, but I just don't trust him," Bobbie said. "If it was Hillary, I could vote for her; but he (Obama) just doesn't have the experience."

 

Also in the crowd were Becky Moreno and her daughters Sarah, 14, Arianna, 11, and her two-year-old son Michael, who was born on the 4th of July. Moreno is a lifelong resident of Stockton. She's backing McCain. "I think he's a man of integrity," Moreno said. "We need him!"

 

McCain also talked about cutting wasteful spending in Washington and vetoing the current farm bill, as well as many others. "I've got a veto pen. I've got a pen Ronald Reagan gave me years ago," McCain said. "I am going veto every pork barrel project."

 

The GOP candidate stuck around to shake many hands and then held a news conference. At that news conference McCain condemned the very controversial remarks of the Rev. John Hagee and then renounced Hagee's endorsement. Hagee had discussed a theory, based on Biblical prophesy, that Adolf Hilter drove the Jews back to the promised land. McCain called the remarks "crazy and unacceptable."

 

While in Stockton, I interviewed Congressional candidate Dean Andal, who is running in a district that stretches from the San Joaquin Valley to the Bay Area. We'll have more on that in tomorrow's blog.

 

Check back often at www.MarkCurtisMedia.blogspot.com.

 

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