Boehner Endorses McCain - UPDATED

NOTE: Originally posted at 1:15PM; the importance of UPDATE 2 below is the cause for change in timestamp.

This just in...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) endorsed Senator John McCain (R-AZ) for President of the United States. Boehner released the following statement:

“John McCain is an American hero and will make an excellent President of the United States. McCain has a solid conservative record as one of the most vocal opponents of wasteful spending, a staunch defender of America’s national security, and a strong believer in the sanctity of human life. He is uniquely suited to lead our country forward as we take on the many opportunities and challenges of the years ahead.

“John has been a vocal advocate for taxpayers who are tired of wasteful pork-barrel projects, the threat of tax hikes, and a government that can’t get its fiscal house in order. Eliminating wasteful spending is something Congress needs to address if we ever are going to begin to fix Washington, and John has proven his willingness to lead the fight.

“John McCain will keep America on offense in the War on Terror, which is the single greatest challenge facing our nation. He understands the consequences of failure and complacency, and is committed to ensuring we have the tools and the intelligence necessary to thwart attacks and defeat our enemies.

“And guided by a strong belief in the sanctity of human life, John McCain will nominate Supreme Court justices like John Roberts and Sam Alito -- judges who understand that courts should not be legislating from the bench.

“Furthermore, McCain has a proven ability to attract independent voters who aren’t interested in the higher taxes and weakened national security of an Obama or Clinton presidency. He’s a man of great character and integrity who understands Washington is broken; together I believe we can fix it.”

Boehner serves as honorary chairman of The Freedom Project (www.freedomproject.org), a political action committee (PAC) established in 1995 to provide assistance to Republican candidates for federal office. Its mission is to help Republicans earn back the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Freedom Project is committed to a better America based on freedom and security, empowered citizens and personal responsibility.

UPDATE: Mark has been asking some very good questions about this in email, and we have some answers that we will be sharing later tonight. If you are having any doubts about this endorsement and what it means for conservatism going forward, you will want to come back and check out the update when I get to paste it together and get it posted.

UPDATE 2: MARK HAS QUESTIONS

Earlier today Mark had this to say about Republican Leader, my Congressman and a Great American -- John Boehner -- 's endorsement of Maverick John McCain. Here are the key points that Mark had to ponder:

A few questions. Given that I have heard Boehner disagree at times with McCain-Feingold, what would be the Leader's position on McCain's ideas to expand the reach of McCain Feingold and leading the Republicans against their own commander in chief?

Also, in regards to Sen. McCain and Sen. Kennedy and the "amnesty bill" what would be the Leader's position on this if a President McCain brought this up before securing the borders?

Also, regarding Senator McCain's cosponsoring of a bill with Senator Lieberman regarding emissions and handcuffing businesses, what is the Leader's position on this bill known as McCain-Lieberman?

Finally, what about the McCain-Edwards Bill, which was a proposal beneficial to trial lawyers? What is the Leader's position on this?

What I am asking is this: is Mr. Boehner, even while endorsing McCain as the most conservative option available, ready to stand against his own party's leader if he compromises things like border security, freedom of expression, etc. that Sen. McCain has done in the past? Is Boehner willing to, even while endorsing McCain, realize there are battles ahead?

Thanks,

Mark of WMD

The response from our source was VERY encouraging:

I appreciate your concerns. Boehner's decision to make this endorsement did not come without thorough contemplation of what it would mean. Up to this point, Boehner remained neutral as was appropriate because of his position of Chairman of this year's Republican National Convention. However, recent events have shown that Sen. McCain will be the nominee of the Republican Party and so Boehner made the decision to endorse.

Now, that being said ... you're right in that Boehner has had his disagreements with some of the positions Sen. McCain has taken over the years and that McCain's positions have at times put him at odds with the Republican Party and/or Conservatives. Boehner said as much himself both during a meeting of the House Republican Conference and then at the press conference where he announced his endorsement.

But maybe what's more important than the issues on which they disagree are the issues on which they agree?

McCain is committed to fighting America's enemies tooth and nail, and pursuing them to the ends of the earth. He's been pretty clear on this point ... I believe he promised to chase Osama bin Laden "to the gates of hell." One cannot overemphasize how critical our national security and our winning the Global War on Terror are to the future of our nation. McCain's credentials and track-record on this issue are second-to-none as is his commitment to us winning.

McCain is committed to reforming earmarks and stopping wasteful pork-barrel spending. We've seen over the past year how hard Democrats will fight to preserve their precious pork and how important it is that we get spending under control by being serious about putting Washington on a diet.

McCain is committed to defending the sanctity of life.

McCain has said he will put judges in the mold of John Roberts and Sam Alito on the Supreme Court.

McCain has also made no bones about the fact that he believes Washington is broken and it needs to be fixed. (Gee, from whom have we been hearing this for at least the past year?)

McCain is also committed to a Republican majority. He raised more than $10 million in 2004 and about the same amount in 2006 for the party and, over the course of both cycles, participated in more than 100 events for Republican House incumbents and candidates.

To briefly run through the issues you raised, in order: Boehner opposed McCain-Feingold. He has absolutely no regrets about that vote, and will not hesitate to say so publicly during the campaign if the issue comes up. Similarly, Boehner opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants. As you will recall, Boehner was rather outspoken (and controversial, at times) last year in his opposition to the bipartisan immigration bill put forth by the Senate, and he has no plans whatsoever to retreat from that position. Boehner also forcefully opposes job-killing environmental mandates, supports passage of tough new laws to keep renegade trial lawyers from defrauding the judicial system, and opposes opening new avenues of litigation for trial lawyers seeking to profit from junk lawsuits that rip off taxpayers and needlessly restrict free enterprise. You can count on John Boehner to stand firm on all of these positions during the coming year and beyond, regardless of which way the political winds blow.

One more thing – John Boehner is the kind of guy who will tell you how it is ... he's not going to hold back because your feelings might be hurt. He sees it as a responsibility to tell his friends and his colleagues what he believes. If he disagrees with something McCain is saying/doing, he'll let the Senator know that.

What's important right now, and which resulted in the endorsement, is that Sen. McCain looks to be the GOP nominee. He's got a lot of work to do between now and the Convention -- such as continuing to show conservatives that he can earn their trust and raising money. The more we can get behind one candidate who shares many of our core values and the more the Democrats continue to fracture, the better chance we have of putting a Republican in the White House come November.

This is a very good argument...not only for McCain, but as a rallying call for electing conservatives to Congress to ride herd on Maverick. This election is too important to sit at home pining for the good old days... Conservatives have a lot of work to do in the coming months and years to assure our agenda continues to be advanced while staying true to our principles and core beliefs.