Forget the Polls, McCain Is Struggling

Chip Hanlon -- a member of the Lincoln Club, president of Delta Global Advisers, and a RealMoney contributor, said in an interview: "The Republican leadership needs to get real and embrace fiscal responsibility with spending control."

I asked Hanlon if the effort was similar to the revolt suggested by Richard Viguerie, a well-known founder of direct-mail fund-raising and author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and other Big Government Conservatives Hijacked the Conservative Cause. Viguerie called on conservatives to stop giving money to the party until they made concerted efforts to reform.

Hanlon confirmed a revolt is brewing.

"Speaking for myself, not the Lincoln Club, there will be a better organized effort to change the leadership, the bloggers, and the message in the media after the elections next year," he said. This sounds ominous for those in the GOP who have supported big spending.

Hanlon said he's supporting McCain, who was not his first choice. He doesn't feel he could trust Democrats to cut spending and reduce government if they controlled the White House and Congress.

McCain and the GOP are in trouble this election. But if they listen to their own disaffected supporters, they would know how to get back on track: By consistently and credibly supporting small government and spending controls.