McCain calms GOP critics at MCC

Charm, some tough talk and a sheer willingness to stand in front of his critics for more than two hours helped Sen. John McCain defuse what could have been an ugly confrontation with rank-andfile East Valley Republicans on Thursday.

McCain, R-Ariz., invited questions, comments or insults — part of his standard campaign schtick — at the beginning of the meeting with about 300 Republicans at Mesa Community College. When he was introduced, about half of the aud- ience gave him a standing ovation. The rest remained seated, giving him a few polite claps, icy stares or groans.

But once the question-andanswer session began, the tone and questions defaulted to the tamer fare of Town Hall meetings, with issues ranging from protecting the border to the war in Iraq.

McCain has been under fire from some conservative Republican Party activists who believe he too often sides with congressional liberals and against his own party or Republican President George Bush. Among his recent actions that have raised the hackles of some Republicans is siding with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., to cosponsor an immigration reform bill; and brokering a deal with Democrats to derail a showdown over Senate filibusters of judicial nominees.

Much of the discontent extends back to years-old issues like McCain’s sponsorship of campaign finance reform legislation, support of some gun control measures and opposition to tax cuts pushed by Bush in his first term.

Many of those in the crowd Thursday wore stickers with a circle and a slash — the symbol for "no" — across the words "McCain 2008," a reference to his potential run for the presidency.

But when push came to shove Thursday, there was no pushing, shoving or even particularly hostile questioning.

One early sign of trouble was quashed by McCain when some in the audience clapped at his acknowledgment that there are Republicans who oppose his immigration reform bill.

"I promise to be very courteous to you when you stand up and speak and make your remarks," McCain said. "I would appreciate it if you would give me that same courtesy."

From there, the meeting got downright cordial, much to the disappointment of people like Jim Minturn of Chandler, who had hoped McCain would be peppered with tougher questioning.

"He pretty much shut up everybody at the start of his speech," said Minturn, adding he is particularly upset with McCain’s immigration proposal and the kinship he seems to be forming with senators like Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. "I was hoping somebody would have some tomatoes, but they didn’t bring them."

Minturn said he had a McCain for President bumper sticker on his car in 2000, when the Arizona senator challenged Bush for the Republican nomination.

"Now I’m ashamed of the fact that I didn’t see what was there in front of my face at the time," he said. "We don’t know what to do about him. We can’t throw him out. We just have to put up with him and do whatever we can to get someone more to our liking running for president next time."

The toughest questioning McCain got was about his immigration plan. Thought the most controversial aspect of his proposal is the mechanism allowing those already in the United States illegally to gain legal status, McCain also touted provisions that would toughen border security and crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

"Our borders are broken and it is a national security issue," McCain said.