by Alfred S. Regnery - February 7, 2008 - Mentary

Few stuck to that promise, and ultimately many threw their support to Richard Nixon, Jerry Ford, Bob Dole and both Bushes. Most feel badly burned as a result. So it is no surprise that now, when the conservative movement is the dominant force in Republican circles, conservatives feel very wary about supporting anybody who is less than one of their own.

Mr. McCain cannot get elected without the conservative vote. Unless he goes out of his way to assure conservatives that he is as conservative as he likes to tell them he is, many will simply stay home, as they did in 1976, 1992 and 1996, and regroup and find an acceptable candidate for 2012. Rush Limbaugh probably stated it as clearly as anybody when he told a reporter that Mr. McCain could not succeed as president, and that he'd rather see a Democrat fail than a Republican. Unless Mr. McCain makes some very definite proposals, Mr. Limbaugh could have plenty of company.

It will take a lot more than vague promises, but there are a few things that might bring a good many conservatives into the McCain camp.

- Take a firm no-new-taxes pledge. Mr. McCain has said he would not sign any tax increase coming from a Democratic Congress. What about from a Republican Congress, if there is one? He needs to promise that he won't increase Social Security taxes -- especially by lifting the earnings cap -- or increase hidden taxes in regulatory schemes, and that he will try to eliminate the death tax.

- Get specific on spending. Mr. McCain talks a lot about pork barrel projects, earmarks and the need to get spending under control, but so does everybody. He needs to release a bold, Reaganesque proposal with specific reductions he would pursue as president, what programs he will try to eliminate, and how he will attempt to control a spendthrift Congress. Runaway spending represents one of the greatest gripes conservatives have with the Bush administration. By getting specific, Mr. McCain would endear himself to a lot of fiscal conservatives.

- Pick a fight with the press. One of the most persistent sources of conservative suspicion about Mr. McCain is the belief that he has an overly cozy relationship with liberal journalists, and will betray conservatives to remain in their good graces. Once he becomes the nominee, of course, he will be attacked by the media, which will reintroduce us to the "radical right-wing McCain." One opportunity for the senator and the press may be when Gen. Petraeus gives his next report to Congress in March.

- Pick a conservative running mate early. Mr. McCain needs a young vice president with stellar conservative credentials so that conservatives can know that an acceptable successor is being trained and waiting in the wings. Nothing would endear conservatives more, and nothing would make it clearer that Mr. McCain is serious about reaching out to them. Rudy Giuliani, Joe Lieberman and especially his friend, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, will not do, and would send many conservatives over the edge. One option would be 47-year-old Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina.

- Get specific on judicial nominations. Although Mr. McCain has said he would appoint judges in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, he also said he was worried that Samuel Alito wore his conservatism on his sleeve. Mr. McCain needs to pledge that he will appoint judges who will interpret the Constitution based on the original intent of the Founders. That goes not only for the Supreme Court, but all federal judges as well.

Conservatives will never agree with Mr. McCain on everything. They will never forgive him for what they perceive as his abuse of the First Amendment in McCain-Feingold, for his stand on immigration, and for his initial opposition to the Bush tax cuts. But with his record as a foot soldier in the Reagan revolution, his generally strong stand on spending, national security and pro-life issues, he is in a position to correct much of the damage that's already been done.

John McCain needs conservatives more than conservatives need John McCain. Those conservatives who are old enough recall the words of the last Senator from Arizona who ran for our highest office. I'd rather be right than president, said Barry Goldwater in 1964, to the wild cheers of his supporters. Conservative principles are timeless, and will outlast any politician.

Mr. McCain is standing on a precipice. By saying the right things, he could bring a lot of conservatives into his camp. But if he does not, he could lose enough of them to assure a Democratic victory in November.

Mr. Regnery is publisher of the American Spectator and author of "Upstream: The Ascendance of American Conservatism" (Threshold Editions), to be published this month.

Permission to post on Good Neighbor granted by Mr. Al Regnery via phone 2/8/08