McIntosh Takes Heat From Conservative Groups

Vulnerable incumbent draws criticism from right and left


Considered to be one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the 2008 election cycle, Dlg. Steven McIntosh (C-LIA) is coming under attack from all sides.

Not only is McIntosh facing attacks from liberal opponents, the Lial Conservative is also drawing criticism from conservative groups, for comments he made in an interview with the GBC's Kevin Walters last week.

Asked what his campaign strategy was, McIntosh responded, "My strategy is focusing on economic issues and environmental issues, and the war, because those have been my issues. Every citizen in Lial, like people everywhere across this country, I'm sure, are concerned about the war in Iraq. They're worried about global warming. And they're worried that Nationalists, and quite frankly, some Conservatives, are going to over-spend government money and give this country a huge deficit."

Walters then asked McIntosh if he would devote as much attention to hot-button social issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

"I don't think Lialans really care about social issues. I think they're more concerned right now with getting our country out of Iraq. They're more worried about climate change. You know, when it comes to things like abortion and same-sex marriage, Lialans are really willing to just kind of keep those feelings to themselves, and focus more on the more pressing issues at hand."

That answer drew scorn from many conservative and Christian groups.

"It sounds like Dlg. McIntosh is out of touch with the voters of Lial," said Dr. Richard Thompkins, President of the National Family Council, a Monvaille-based Christian group. "He thinks global warming is a greater threat to our people than same-sex marriage? He thinks a balanced budget is more important than the thousands of abortions that occur every year in this state? Obviously, he doesn't know what he's talking about."

Michael Enslinger, a conservative talk-radio host based out of Sonoma City, said on his nationally-syndicated show that McIntosh is simply ignoring conservative Christians and pandering to left-leaning independent voters and Nationalists.

"McIntosh is just basically ignoring all of us values-voters. He's essentially saying that he is not going to stand up for the sanctity of human life or the sacredness of marriage. Listen up people, he's basically telling us he does not care about these issues."

But McIntosh spokesman Jared Strong said that's simply not true.

"Dlg. McIntosh absolutely does care about social issues. He does care about abortion. He does care about same-sex marriage. It's just that he feels we can only focus attention on these important social issues after we've addressed basic, fundamental issues such as getting our troops out of Iraq, and being good stewards of our environment."

Thompkins also threatened that conservative Christian voters, who in 2002 put their support behind McIntosh, might withdraw their support and instead vote for a more conservative candidate or even a Traditionalist candidate.

"If Dlg. McIntosh refuses to address these issues, which are the most important issues facing our country right now, then we cannot support him for the House of Delegates. We can't send someone like that to represent our state and to lead our country," Thompkins said.

In the past, Nationalists have criticized McIntosh for being too supportive of the Byelle Administration on fiscal issues. Fellow conservatives have criticized him for his moderate stance on social issues. It appears, says Richard Messler, a political scientist from Lial University in Clothen, that McIntosh can't please anyone.

"He's trying to be conservative on some issues and more liberal on others. He's trying to be a moderate, but he can't satisfy everyone on the political spectrum," Messler said.

The problem, Messler adds, is that McIntosh is a Conservative in traditionally liberal Lial.

"Mainstream Conservatives have a hard time getting elected in Lial because it is so liberal. So most conservatives in public office in Lial are moderates to some degree."

In many ways, McIntosh is liberal-leaning. He is a staunch environmentalist, which has angered many industry-favoring Conservatives. He has also led the fight against global warming and climate change--also putting him at odds with his party. He supports gun control and opposes deporting illegal immigrants. He has challenged the president on the Iraq war several times, and has called for troops to come home.

He also supports some forms of stem cell research.

But McIntosh is also strongly pro-life. He opposes same-sex marriage (though he has said in the past he would support civil unions), and he supports teaching intelligent design side-by-side with evolution in public schools.

So is McIntosh a conservative, moderate, or liberal? He considers himself a conservative with alternative views.

"First and foremost, I am a Conservative--but I have alternative views that some people in our party don't share. Unfortunately, within both the NAT and CNS parties, there is this idea that you either support every position the party holds or you don't. If you disagree with any of the positions, you're a traitor, you're unfaithful, unloyal. It's just wrong. We wouldn't be anywhere if everyone held the same views. We need to branch out and expand the compass of our party."