During an interview on MSNBC this year, Eisenhower said there is no comparison between her grandfather’s foreign policy and the foreign policy of today’s Republican Party.
Over the last few months, there has been speculation that Lieberman will speak at the Republican National Committee Convention.
In April, Lieberman told The Hill, “If Sen. McCain, who I support so strongly, asked me to do it, if he thinks it will help him, I will.”
Chafee said he “hadn’t thought” of addressing the Democratic National Convention in Denver and that he “hadn’t been asked.” Throughout his Senate career, Chafee regularly bucked the Republican Party and was the only Republican in the Senate who voted against the Iraq war in 2002. He refused to endorse President Bush in 2004 and instead wrote in former President George H.W. Bush’s name when he voted.
Larry Hunter, a former adviser to President Reagan and president of the Social Security Institute, said he might consider working with the Obama campaign if asked. Hunter, who said he will attend the Democratic convention in Denver, has been critical of both McCain and Obama for their Social Security plans. He added he “has taken quite a bit of criticism” from GOP friends since he publicly backed Obama.
Texas businessman and former Marine Jack Holt said this year would be the first time he has ever voted for a Democrat to be president. Holt endorsed Obama in 2007 after supporting McCain and Bush years ago. He cited the Iraq war and fiscal responsibility as the main reasons why some Republicans are crossing over.
McCain has sharply criticized the GOP’s recent fiscal record and has pledged to rein in spending.
Nick Shapiro, an Obama campaign spokesman, said, “We are reaching out to Independents and Republicans who know that our country can’t afford another four years of President Bush’s failed policies…. The network of volunteers and the infrastructure built up during the primaries have given us an enormous and unprecedented opportunity to reach out to Republicans in states that have traditionally been red in the past.”
Tucker Bounds, a McCain campaign spokesman, said, “John McCain has strong support among independents, Republicans and conservative Democrats — because he’s a proven bipartisan reformer and who puts his country before politics and partisanship. Barack Obama on the other hand did not win the majority of voters in his primary election — that’s a far-cry from universal support even in his own party.”
There has been a lot of conjecture that Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) will endorse Obama. Hagel, a critic of the Iraq war, is the only senator who has not endorsed a presidential candidate. Hagel is traveling with Obama and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) on their congressional delegation trip to the Middle East.
Similarly, retired Gen. Colin Powell said in April he has not decided whom he will vote for this fall. Powell, who served as President Bush’s secretary of State, donated to McCain’s campaign in 2007, but made clear the contribution should not be read as an endorsement of the Arizona senator.
In 2004, Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) was the keynote speaker at the Republican convention and delivered a scathing speech about Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), then the Democratic presidential nominee. Miller did not respond to a request for comment on which candidate he backs this year.
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