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Meghan McCain: The New Face of the GOP?

Posted by DENNIS SANDERS in Politics, Society.
Apr 19th, 2009 | Comments

Talk about the apple not falling far from the tree.

Senator John McCain had been noted in the past as being a “straight talker.” I think that this aspect about him was sadly muted during his run for President. That said, it seems that the penchant for straight talk can also be found in his daughter, Meghan. Meghan McCain spoke Saturday at the national convention for the Log Cabin Republicans and presented a new face for the GOP: a conservative that is forward looking on issues like the environment and gay rights and yet able to hold on the core values of the party.

In her speech, McCain isn’t simply calling for Republicans to use old ideas with new technology ala Twitter and Facebook. She is calling for the GOP to start to wake up the current realities, a says that there is soon to be a civil war within the GOP. Here is a sample of what she had to say:

People in our country have much more important issues to deal with on a daily basis. But the experience did reinforce what I learned on the campaign trail in some major ways.

I’ll summarize them in three points:

1. Most of our nation wants our nation to succeed.
2. Most people are ready to move on to the future, not live in the past.
3. Most of the old school Republicans are scared shitless of that future…

..I feel too many Republicans want to cling to past successes. There are those who think we can win the White House and Congress back by being “more” conservative. Worse, there are those who think we can win by changing nothing at all about what our party has become. They just want to wait for the other side to be perceived as worse than us. I think we’re seeing a war brewing in the Republican party, but it is not between us and Democrats. It is not between us and liberals. It is between the future and the past. I believe most people are ready to move on to that future…

…Simply embracing technology isn’t going to fix our problem either. Republicans using Twitter and Facebook isn’t going to miraculously make people think we’re cool again. Breaking free from obsolete positions and providing real solutions that don’t divide our nation further will. That’s why some in our party are scared. They sense the world around them is changing and they are unable to take the risk to jump free of what’s keeping our party down…

…I am concerned about the environment. I love to wear black. I think government is best when it stays out of people’s lives and business as much as possible. I love punk rock. I believe in a strong national defense. I have a tattoo. I believe government should always be efficient and accountable. I have lots of gay friends. And yes, I am a Republican.

Read the whole speech. McCain puts forth a clear vision for what the party can be, not just on the issue of gay rights, but on a whole list of issues.

Yes, some will say that making changes will mean we lose our conservative roots. But what they are saying is they want to cling to the past. True conservativism honors the past, but it move forward into the future with ideas to deal with that future.

Kudos to Ms. McCain. I could not have said it better.

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DaGoat

Meghan McCain is spelling out how the GOP can survive, but also is a reflection of why it may not survive. From what I've read at Hot Air and other conservative sites, many GOPers have the same regard for McCain that liberals do for Ann Coulter.

I think her suggestions are spot on, and that the GOP cannot prosper unless it eventually softens on social conservatism. I just don't see that willingness existing in the GOP though. I read through the comments thread on Meghan at Hot Air a few weeks ago and over half the comments were calling her a fat cow and worse. Besides the fairly obvious inconsistency in criticizing people because of their weight (I mean I can't think of any other prominent conservatives with weight problems you know), there was an almost complete unwillingness to consider her views. The mantra that the GOP needs to be more conservative was repeated over and over.

This mirrors what I'm mostly seeing on other popular conservative sites as well. The only chance for Meghan McCain is the eventual formation of a moderate third party, and with Obama's popularity I can't see that happening any time soon. Still one can never underestimate the ability of Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory so who knows.

pdx632

Meghan provides the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe the time has come for you to realize that your party is no longer what you want it to be and at it's "base" doesn't want to change. I believe that the moderates of both parties could easily join forces and lead this country to its greater potential.

superdestroyer

If Meghan McCain is the future of the GOP, the the Republicans should just go out of business today. It is easy to figure out what Meghan McCain's positions are, they are identical to what the average urban upper class white Democratic thinks is hip. The Democratic-LIte idea is just one method for the Republicans to commit suicide. The Democratic-lite idea has been tried in New England and has been found to be a total failure.

I have read what he said and read her campaign blog in the past. Meghan McCain is devoid of original thought and is just as incapable as her father of thinking of the long term consequences of her policy positions.

pdx632

Thanks for making my point

superdestroyer

pdx3632

The moderates in the Democratic Party are almost as irrelevant as the entire Repubican Party. The blue dog Democrats have been shown to be liars. They have voted in rubber stamp fashion for the liberal agenda of the Obama Administration. NOw that they Democrats have 60 seats in the Senate, people like Tester and Webb are voting along with the liberal Democrats in the Senate.

Don Quijote

Perfect face for the GOP: The grandchild of a multi-millionaire, a woman who has never missed a gourmet meal in a entire life, a woman born with a diamond encrusted golden spoon in her mouth and who doesn't even know it.

TheMaineView

I'm sure this has been talked about here before, but I think now is a good time to bring it up again.

Are we moving toward having one large viable third party? The repubs are boarding on a "civil war", mostly over social issues. Dems are in a similar situation, except over fiscal issues. Will the social liberal/fiscal conservatives in each party break tradition and join each other?

While I don't think this is likely, it makes for some interesting speculation. What would a three party US look like? What would that do to the political structure of this country? Political financing? What would this alternate history look like?

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