Last month the AP reported that Lieberman denied an interest in becoming VP on the McCain ticket.  Conventional wisdom tells us that John McCain must pick a conservative or someone who can deliver the South.  As this election has proven, conventional wisdom no longer applies.  McCain will likely pick Lieberman as his VP or at the very least a moderate Republican.

    Let’s analyze the situation.  Super Tuesday, over 14 million  voters on the Democratic side voted compared to the Republican side which had only some 8 million voters, of which only 75% were Republicans.  It is obvious that many conservatives stayed home.  McCain prevailed because moderates, independents, & democrats voted for him. Why would one believe that suddenly in the general election, conservatives will rally around McCain and enter the voting booths?  In his speech to CPAC, McCain acknowledged without apology that he is moderate.  McCain will continue to do what has worked for him in the past.  He will continue to target moderates, independents, & democrats and a conservative VP candidate would thwart such a strategy.  Yet Lieberman will advance his standing with this group of voters.  McCain won on Super Tuesday by winning in the Blue States and a conservative VP will fail to deliver those blue states in the general election.  Yet, Lieberman can deliver those states, especially if Hilary Clinton is the Democratic Nominee given that 50% of the Nation claims to despise her. And the South will go McCain’s way without a conservative VP due to his support of The War on Terror.

    I fail to believe that the Republican base will rally around McCain just to defeat the Democrats.  It didn’t happen in the 06 elections, why should one believe it will happen this year.  In 2006, The Republican Party failed to show its base (Conservatives & Evangelicals) that they will adhere to conservative principals which lost them the vote for Congress.  Today, the Party continues on its moderate path.  McCain has proven over the last few years where his political ideology lies. He is the end of the Republican Party as we know it.  Just as the Democratic Party has for decades used the Black vote by consistently making undelivered promises, the Republican Party has used evangelical Christians and conservatives by doing the same.  The difference is that evangelicals and conservatives grew tired of undelivered promises and expressed their exasperation with the Party in 2006.  Without the base of the party, the Republican Party cannot survive.  By giving us McCain, the Republican Party once again is failing to deliver to its base with or without a conservative VP. Although a percentage of evangelicals are becoming more moderate, it’s not enough to carry McCain through and the base of the Party will stay home on November 4, 2008.