McCain we can believe in

I was among the harsh critics of John McCain, for many reasons. But there’s someone who’s voicing the only future the Republican Party has. That person is a McCain—Meghan McCain.

Meghan burst onto the scene with a bold column on The Daily Beast called “My Beef with Ann Coulter”, in which she said, “Coulter could be the poster woman for the most extreme side of the Republican Party. And in some ways I could be the poster woman for the opposite.” That much has been picked up by a lot of the mainstream media. But what caught my eye was a little further along when she said:

“…here is what I don’t get about Coulter: Is she for real or not? Are some of her statements just gimmicks to gain publicity for her books or does she actually believe the things she says? Does she really believe all Jewish people should be “perfected” and become Christians? And what was she thinking when she said Hillary Clinton was more conservative than my father during the last election? If you truly have the GOP’s best interests at heart, how can you possibly justify telling an audience of millions that a Democrat would be a better leader than the Republican presidential candidate?”

“Is she for real or not?” How many people have asked the same question? “Are some of her statements just gimmicks to gain publicity for her books or does she actually believe the things she says?” Don’t we all say that, apart from her True Believers (note capital letters)?

The far right dismisses Meghan as a “RINO” (Republican In Name Only) because, as she says, “I am not ‘conservative enough,’ which is something that I am proud of. It is no secret that I disagree with many of the old-school Republican ways of thinking. One of the biggest issues from which I seem to drift from the party base is in my support of gay marriage.” You go, girl!

If the Republican Party has a future, then Meghan is pointing the way. No party can survive on the extremes, no matter what blowhard media entertainers say. The alternative is not merely a Republican Party “about as edgy as Donny Osmond”, as Meghan put it, but a party that may not even exist. Now is the time for real Republicans to take their party back from the nutjobs and the wingnuts who’ve been running it. It’s either that or remain a permanent minority party or even fade into oblivion. I can live with any of those options.