According to The Hill, at least 14 Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse Sen. John McCain for president.

While most would not comment on specific reasons for not backing McCain, others did base their decision on McCain’s energy policies and the Iraq war.

Throughout his career in the House and Senate, McCain has been at odds with his party on a range of issues, including campaign finance reform, earmarks, immigration, healthcare, taxes and energy.

I can’t help but wonder why the GOP would ever nominate McCain, if he can’t get the base party support, nor the support of Congressional leaders who he will need in order to raise funds and run in this race.

My belief is that the GOP will be banking on the idea that the party will come together and support McCain, even though they may not totally agree with him on all of the issues. With the clear advantage that the Democrats have in this election cycle, and the excitement that Barack Obama is creating all over the country,  the GOP are certainly going to have to band together and do whatever it takes to at least try and keep the race close, and that includes every race down the entire ballot.