QUELLING THE McCAIN MUTINY
Here are a few things Sen. John McCain needs to do to garner a true conservative following
BY CHUCK MUTH

Chuck Muth is president and CEO of Citizen Outreach. He is a professional political consultant. Find more about him and read more of his work at www.chuckmuth.com. Other stories by Chuck Muth

At press time, John McCain had all but officially sown up the Republican Party�s presidential nomination. He also had a mutiny on his hands on the starboard side of the ship, a mutiny which is far wider and far deeper than many in the GOP would care to admit. 

The fact is John McCain has gone out of his way to poke conservatives in the eyes for years on a range of issues � from taxes to guns, from immigration to free speech. So what does McCain have to do to put down the insurrection and unite the right? He could start with three things. 

First, select a bona-fide conservative running mate who is acceptable to both the social-conservative and economic-conservative wings of the party. And under the assumption that McCain�s age may preclude him from a second term, the No. 2 slot should go to someone the party could rally behind in 2012. 

Someone with a combination of comparative youth and experience. Preferably, someone with executive experience. Someone like South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. Or Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. Maybe Mitt Romney. But not Rudy Giuliani, and certainly not Mike Huckabee. Social conservatives will never accept Rudy and economic conservatives will never get stuck with Huck. 

Next, if Sen. McCain truly wants to pull conservatives of every stripe comfortably into his camp, he should sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform (ATR). Sen. McCain is on record during the campaign saying he would veto any tax hikes. But he has yet to put that commitment down in writing. Which raises suspicions on the right, especially since he signed the pledge as a senator and signed it as a presidential candidate in 2000. So why not now? 

Conservatives are no longer willing to read a presidential candidate�s lips on taxes. Been there, done that. They want it in writing. Preferably in blood. 

And how about a little walk to back up the new talk on illegal immigration? 

McCain�s presidential campaign went into a tailspin last summer after he teamed up with Sen. Ted Kennedy on an immigration reform bill that included what most considered an amnesty provision. He has since told conservatives that he�s learned his lesson from that experience and is now firmly committed to securing the border first. 

Fine. Where�s the bill? 

Actions speak louder than words. If skeptical conservatives are to believe McCain has truly seen the light and experienced a conversion on this issue, let�s see him put forward a tough border security bill and fight for it with the same unrelenting passion and stubbornness he exhibited for McCain/Feingold. Forget McCain/Kennedy. Let�s see McCain/Hunter � as in border-security champ Rep. Duncan Hunter. 

McCain has some time to rebuild bridges and make peace with much of his conservative base. But those conservatives aren�t going to be persuaded by what McCain says; they want to see what he does. No more read-my-lips assurances. For conservatives who are being asked to support McCain�s presidential bid, the operative phrase is: Trust, but verify. 

Now where have we heard that before?