(pressed)

McCain in Rockefeller Center (NY Times)

Politico reports that John McCain is collecting a cadre of Moderate Republican politicians and taking them under his wing in a move to create a serious bloc of centrist party-members.

“I think it’s important, at this stage in my career, to try to support candidates that I think represent the next generation of leadership in the Republican Party,” the 73-year-old McCain said on his way to the Senate floor for a vote last week.

And support them he does. McCain, known for his loyalty, not only helps his candidates on the campaign trail, but also in the campaign coffers. One of the benefits of being in his circle is access to his list of wealthy campaign donors.

But will this win the support of the party’s media or the financial support of its base? It’s worth considering whether or not McCain, one of the forces behind Campaign Finance Reform, might be behind the times when it comes to raising cash in this fiercely partisan day and age. Erick Erickson, founder of conservative blog Red State, openly distrusts McCain and his “conservative” credentials.

“I’m sure John McCain has a lot of political favors he wants to return in 2010, but I don’t trust his views of who a winning candidate is anymore than I trust his ability to pick a winning campaign staff,” he said. “McCain has never really been a conservative, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s picking non-conservative candidates.”

On September 12^th,  Ben Smith reported that Congressman Joe “You lie” Wilson (R-SC) raised over $1 million from over 18,000 donors. Representative Alan Grayson the Florida Democrat that railed against Republicans over health care reform raised from $125,000 to $150,000 from September 30^th to October 1^st according to Talking Points Memo. Also, let us not forget that Obama himself raised his intimidating campaign war chest by asking for small donations from millions of donors.

All we at Pressed Magazine can say is, “Good Luck, Sir”. It would be nice to believe there is still a dollar for moderation in America’s wallet.