McCain builds ties to liberal bloggers

WASHINGTON, May 17 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is reaching out to liberal and non-partisan bloggers in an effort to bring new voters to his presidential campaign.

McCain invited them to join his regular conference call Thursday, the Washington Times reported. The call took place after McCain gave a major speech outlining his plans for the next four years if he is elected president.

"The plan is to take the work we've already built on with conservative bloggers and to open up a dialogue with non-conservative bloggers and even non-political bloggers," said Patrick Hynes, in charge of the campaign's blog outreach.

McCain, before he became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, used conference calls with right-wing bloggers to build ties to the party's conservative wing. While McCain shares most of their views, the party's right wing objects to some of his positions, notably immigration and campaign finance.