- 11/16/10 08:44 AM ET
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) added this week to the chatter among Republicans about the possibility of a third party in U.S. politics.
McCain, the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nominee, warned that a third party could pop up if the GOP were to revert to the kinds of policies and practices it had employed when it was last in control of Congress, from 1995 through 2007.
"I predict to you that unless Republicans act in response to the American people, they will reject Republicans," McCain said at the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council meeting. "If Republicans use their power in the fashion, frankly, we did previously when we were in the majority, then I think you will see an emergence of a third party in America."
McCain is the latest senior GOP figure to begin talking seriously about the threat of a third-party challenge. Republicans feel as though they face intense pressure and expectations, especially from the conservative Tea Party movement, whose members voted out a number of incumbents and establishment GOP candidates in primaries this year.
The expectations facing Republicans are especially high now that the party has a stake in the governing process; the GOP won back control of the House in the elections earlier this month, and increased the size of its minority in the Senate.
Two of the party's possible presidential candidates in 2012 have talked about the possibility of a third party, too. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has asked "why not a third party" if the GOP strays, while Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has said there will be a third party if Republicans "do not govern according to our principles."
McCain said that voters have good reason to be skeptical of Republicans' promises over the next two years.
"They have every reason to be skeptical, because when we were in charge, we let spending get out of control," he said. "We engaged in earmarking and pork-barreling, which is corruption — I've seen it with my own eyes."
McCain, the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nominee, warned that a third party could pop up if the GOP were to revert to the kinds of policies and practices it had employed when it was last in control of Congress, from 1995 through 2007.
"I predict to you that unless Republicans act in response to the American people, they will reject Republicans," McCain said at the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council meeting. "If Republicans use their power in the fashion, frankly, we did previously when we were in the majority, then I think you will see an emergence of a third party in America."
McCain is the latest senior GOP figure to begin talking seriously about the threat of a third-party challenge. Republicans feel as though they face intense pressure and expectations, especially from the conservative Tea Party movement, whose members voted out a number of incumbents and establishment GOP candidates in primaries this year.
The expectations facing Republicans are especially high now that the party has a stake in the governing process; the GOP won back control of the House in the elections earlier this month, and increased the size of its minority in the Senate.
Two of the party's possible presidential candidates in 2012 have talked about the possibility of a third party, too. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has asked "why not a third party" if the GOP strays, while Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has said there will be a third party if Republicans "do not govern according to our principles."
McCain said that voters have good reason to be skeptical of Republicans' promises over the next two years.
"They have every reason to be skeptical, because when we were in charge, we let spending get out of control," he said. "We engaged in earmarking and pork-barreling, which is corruption — I've seen it with my own eyes."
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