In a recent column excoriating Michelle Malkin for having the temerity to suggest that she should actually do some research and develop some principles, Meghan McCain writes, “The old conservatives of the past need to start accepting that this is a new era and I am a part of a new generation.” This “new generation” (which, presumably, Ms. McCain is speaking for) is apparently one whose values are being “moderate” and “inclusive” and which has an “emotional connection” to the Republican Party. This last part is somewhat gratifying, as if Ms. McCain claimed an intellectual connection to anything, it would risk reducing her readers to fits of hysterics not seen since Monty Python’s fictional “killer joke,” but this small bit of relief is vastly overshadowed by a few very simple truths, which are easily proven:
1. Ms. McCain does not speak for the new generation of Republicans or conservatives.
2. Ms. McCain has failed to live up to her own ideals of “inclusiveness” on numerous occasions.
3. Ms. McCain’s ideas are not, contrary to her spin, new. In fact, they are older by far than the ideas espoused by those she derides as “old conservatives of the past.”
Let us begin with the obvious first point – that in speaking as the voice of the new generation of Republicans, Ms. McCain is claiming a mantle she does not possess. While Ms. McCain may speak for a subset of the GOP’s young recruits, there is virtually no metric by which she can justify the idea that she is, to use the words of South Park’s version of Kanye West, “the voice of a generation.”
Not that she doesn’t try. In the aforementioned article, Ms. McCain writes “Malkin has the No. 1 book on the New York Times bestseller hardcover nonfiction list, but I have nearly twice as many Twitter followers as she does. And trust me, Twitter is more of an indication of where young people are than books published by the hyper-conservative publisher Regnery.” Not only does this “Twitter follower” measure of influence echo the most infantile argument in the middle school debate playbook (“You have no friends, therefore your argument is invalid!”), but it actually backfires on Ms. McCain when you consider her other assertion that “We will not get anywhere by continuing to sell hate and fear.” Presumably, this is intended as a dig at someone like Karl Rove, who has been accused of writing the GOP’s electoral strategy since the 2000 election.
Unfortunately, by Ms. McCain’s own standard, she has no right to criticize Karl Rove. Why? Because Mr. Rove has roughly 1.5 times as many followers on Twitter as she has! By her standard, this clearly means that Karl Rove speaks for the new generation, something which I think many of us would not find objectionable. But more importantly, if Ms. McCain wants to learn something about the new generation of conservatives, why hasn’t she shown her face at CPAC, which this year hosted about 8500 attendees, 40% of whom were younger voters? And moreover, if she wants to speak for us, the least she can do is add us as Facebook friends. What, does she think she’s too good for us or something?
But let’s address the second point – that Ms. McCain doesn’t meet her own standard of inclusiveness. Now, while I agree with Ms. McCain that more “inclusiveness” of different political imagery, lifestyles and communications strategies is something the GOP can only profit from, her argument for the idea suffers from its obvious double standard. Again, let’s use Karl Rove as our example. In an article dated April 20, 2009, entitled “Karl Rove, Twitter Creep,” Ms. McCain lets her inclusive, gay-friendly, post-racial Republican mask slip just a little and reveals the catty, vapid high school cheerleader mentality underneath:
“I am now being followed by Karl Rove, and my local sheriff, and God knows how many other political pundits. We need to take Twitter back from the creepy people,” Ms. McCain writes. “I can’t shake the fact that Karl Rove is following me — it can be creepy. So watch out.”
OMG, like Karl Rove is following meh. What, does he think I’m going to the prom w/ him or something? LOL.
Ms. McCain, being followed by Mark Foley is creepy. Being followed by Ted Kennedy is creepy. Being followed by Karl Rove? Not creepy. And trust me, I know. He follows me, too.
But when she’s not acting as though political strategists who consulted on her father’s campaign are dirty old men, Ms. McCain also seems to be unable to stop herself from complaining about other Republicans with more influence than she has. She has called Joe the Plumber a “dumbass,” for instance, and complained loudly about being put in a different category from Dick Cheney because she thinks his only claim to fame is being an “old man.” This isn’t inclusiveness; it’s high school locker room bitchery. At least Malkin and Coulter (another McCain target because of “her voice”) have the good taste to go after their opponents’ arguments before they insult them.
But thirdly, Ms. McCain’s ideas are neither new nor exciting. In fact, if you took Nelson Rockefeller’s speech to the GOP in 1964 when Barry Goldwater was nominated, toned down the language so a whiny teenager would understand it, inserted a few pointless digs at other peoples’ appearance/online fan base, one or two lines of bizarre biker fetishization, and peppered it with logical fallacies and non sequiturs, you’d have the makings of a pretty standard Meghan McCain column. In fact, if you took the former self-described “conservative” and two-time Adlai Stevenson supporter Peter Viereck’s thoughts on Joseph McCarthy and replaced the name “McCarthy” with the name of any socially conservative Republican politician/commentator, and replaced the terms “communists” and “reds” with the word “gays” or “bikers,” you’d also have the makings of a pretty standard Meghan McCain column. Both of these people ended up lost on the ash heap of failed Republican political figures, a destiny which Ms. McCain herself is destined for if she keeps on offering unsolicited advice.
Now, there is one response that Ms. McCain could make to all of this, which is what she said in the aforementioned attack on Ann Coulter: “I am not suggesting that extreme conservatism wasn’t once popular, nor am I suggesting I should in any way be any kind of voice for the party. I have been a Republican for less than a year.” This is the closest Ms. McCain gets to wisdom, but it begs the question of why she bothers to write a column which constantly castigates the GOP, if she doesn’t see herself as a spokesperson. Worse, she actively contradicts this in the above paragraph, where she writes, “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.” Unfortunately, in the fight between poster woman Coulter and poster girl McCain, I think we all know which side would win in an honest and open debate about principles. There are legitimate criticisms of the GOP’s communications strategy, or the pundits who employ it, but Ms. McCain is a liability for those who want to make such critiques and an annoyance for those who disagree but still want to have an honest debate about them. Before her next column, she should stop, read a few books, take the time to consider arguments fairly and stop thinking that her last name and her age somehow entitle her to lecture the rest of us on how to run the party we’re going to grow up to inherit.
Mytheos Holt is the Vice Chair for Communications of the Connecticut Union of College Republicans and a blogger for the California Independent Voters’ Project.
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August 13th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Excellent post. Ms. McCain will set the record for fastest route to irrelevence in the history of politics. She should, as you state, go read a few books and come back when she is capable of actually understanding and articulating a principled position on something….ANYTHING. Then maybe someone will take her seriously (maybe).
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August 13th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
@Robert,
Didn’t she have to be relevant at some point to be on a route to irrelevance?
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August 13th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Yes, excellent post. Meghan McCain is simply another child with daddy issues, worried more about being popular than adopting a sound position or even thinking before speaking. This is, of course, why she makes such a big deal out of her ‘Facebook friends’. Can anybody imagine Reagan doing such a thing? Meghan McCain is an embarrassment.
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August 13th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I like this post so much I read it three times! Now if only Meghan McCain would read it three times and learn something from it. She’s so caught up in her world of self-absorption I’m not sure she’s capable of learning much of anything.
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August 16th, 2009 at 10:09 am
@Allie,
Tha apple didn’t fall far from the tree, did it?
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August 13th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Does Posh Spice Girl McCain have any clue that the only reason TV invites her on is because she slams fellow Republicans? That she is being callously exploited? And that her media buds would turn against her just as quickly as they turned on her dad the moment they sense she is no longer aiding the Democratic Party?
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August 14th, 2009 at 9:49 am
@Brad, Excellent point. She has learned from Daddy, at least the pre-Palin daddy. Take down the GOP for your own benefit an popularity. Is she kind of like the Paris Hilton of the young GOP. Famous for being famous, but no subsstance whatsoever.
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August 17th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
@ed, +1
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August 13th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Excellent is right, Mr. Holt. Bravo!
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August 13th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Ahhh, the luxury or having a NAME.
In the old days it was only good for Ivy League admittance.
Now, you can make an ass of yourself and people actually listen.
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August 13th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
If the Voice of The New Generation “can’t shake the fact that Karl Rove is following her”, maybe she should take advantage of the literacy bestowed on all members of post-digital generations and *block* him, for pity’s sake.
The self-proclaimed victimhood smacks of a recent refugee from Liberal Land.
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August 14th, 2009 at 11:31 am
I think that Ms McCain has had her 15 minutes of relative fame.Can we not move on to dealing with the destruction of our economy and leave the discussion of her bright sayings to the moonbat liberal bloggers?
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August 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am
The Republicans have their first Valley Girl.
Great article…..
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August 14th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Ugh. Why to people who want to appear to be smart try to use the phrase “begs the question”? They don’t know what it means (hint, the preceding sentence is a good example of _actually_ begging the question).
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August 14th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Hit the nail on the head here. It is so obvious that the only reason she has a platform is her name and her willingness to throw Republicans and Conservatives under the bus with every breath and word. How can anyone take a person who call oneself “a pro-sex woman” seriously. What the hell is “pro-sex”? I think that is the stupidest, emptiest statement I have heard out of a public figure in the past few years.
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August 17th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
@Aaron,
It’s much like claiming religious people who produce a lot of children are against sex. Sounds devastating, but makes no sense in reality.
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August 14th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Do you remember Andrea Huffington? Yea it’s like that.
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August 14th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Isn’t she related to the guy who lost the last presidential election? Maybe I’m missing something, but that makes her counsel suspect, does it not?
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August 14th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
She sounds like a junior high student. How pathetic. Michele Malkin and Anne Coulter are so far above her, it’s laughable. I truly wish she and Daddy would just go on and switch to the democratic party. Though I respect John McCain’s service to our country, I deplore him as a political leader. I hope he is voted out of office.
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August 14th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
@docweasel
Idioms apparently escape you.
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August 14th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
@Logical Fallacies,
Oh idioms, as in enough idiots mis-using an expression they don’t understand until the incorrect usage becomes the common usage? Sorry, I refuse to embrace the stupidity. YMMV.
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August 14th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
@docweasel,
LOL.
Nice job using an internet meme to emphasize the point that idioms are stupid. Very persuasive. I mean, really. You’ve completely won me over.
~*~
Also, bloody amazing article. Can’t wait to see more of and from this talented, young author in the future.
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August 15th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
@highlyamused,
The difference is, I used it correctly. I didn’t butcher it, then claim that someone else was stupid or picky because I misused it.
But I guess you’re one of those people who use “irregardless” and “reoccur” with perfect aplomb, because so many other stupid people do, and that makes it right.
But good try at equating 2 completely different things.
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August 15th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
@docweasel,
idiom |ˈidēəm|
noun
1 a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light).
It doesn’t matter if you used it correctly or not. The point is that an internet meme is still an idiom, and you just criticized those who use idioms.
Look, I know your type. You’re the kind of person who has such a low sense of self that you need to insult other people on a daily basis just to make yourself feel better. You cling desperately onto the idea that you’re more intelligent than the rest of the “idiot population” that you spurn, if only because they have spurned you first.
It is these types of people who, too busy wallowing in their own self-pity, bicker over semantics in political debates instead of focusing their attention on what really matters. I used to get so angry at these people since they bring nothing but conflict, but now, I just feel sorry for them. I really hope you can realize what a miserable existence you lead, and can stop living in denial because only then will you be truly happy.
I await your response, because your type must always have the last word, and a cruel and insulting last word it will be, but will resist the temptation of responding.
Good day, and good luck.
P.S. Apologies, Mr. Holt. I know how annoying it is for people to get into arguments about tangentially related topics on an article one has written. For this reason, I will henceforth bite my tongue. Best wishes, everyone! =]
August 15th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Using idioms is something up with which we shall not put. Also, I would like to register my sincerest annoyance that Mr. Docweasel not spelled out his supposed title of “Doctor”, but instead opted for the vulgar shortening of the term to “Doc.” I must also register my confusion that there is no space between his supposed title and his name, and finally complain that not only did he abbreviate the term “Your mileage may vary,” but also clearly does not understand that “mileage” only applies to automobiles and thus his usage of the term to refer to a human being’s tolerance is incorrect and vulgar. God save the Queen!
August 14th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Another thing Megan misunderstands is the significance of web 2.0. technologies amongst young people. Actually, there are more Twitter users over 25 years old:
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/teens-dont-tweet-twitters-growth-not-fueled-by-youth/
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August 14th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Meghan McCain certainly has a place in the Republican Party. I believe there is a phone bank in Tucson that needs volunteers.
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August 14th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
“Not only does this “Twitter follower” measure of influence echo the most infantile argument in the middle school debate playbook (“You have no friends, therefore your argument is invalid!”), but it actually backfires on Ms. McCain when you consider her other assertion that “We will not get anywhere by continuing to sell hate and fear.””
The twitter follower argument further backfires on McCain because out of the ~55k followers she has, she can only be bothered to follow 100 of them. (assuming all 100 people she follows, follows her back). This is a social media tool, something she’s spouting buzzwords about relevence, and she can only be bothered to follow 100 people on twitter?
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August 14th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Megan McCain actually makes Ron Reagan, Jr. look good. Politically, they are birds of a feather. But, at least Ron has the decency not to claim to speak for other Republicans or, for that matter, to even call himself a Republican.
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August 14th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Oh this article is GREAT!! Goodness, that girl is an INSULT to the name of conservatism.
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August 14th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Although I agree with Limbaugh that she is irrelevant and should be ignored I must say this post is AWESOME! Great read!
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August 14th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Excellent post! That’s going to leave a mark.
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August 14th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
What Ive heard from Megan McCain is Repbulicans need to be sexier and accept gay marriage–she then goes on to call herself a Chrristian. Ms McCain, Christianity is not about being sexy, having sex before marriage or about negating the teachings that appear repeatedly in scriputre from the old testament through the New testament on the topic of homosexuality and sex in general. If you are a Christian, your chrsitinaily is supposed to trump your party affiliation. So why dont you hold to the teaching of your church and stop trying to win a popularity contests and be seen as cool and make over the rebpublican party in the image of the democrat one. The world always attacks people who dont jump on the free sex and love bandwagon as prudes and not hip etc. Oh well, if you can’t take the heat, become a Democrat. If republicanism wants to assocaite itself with Chrstian values then those values need to be embraced and practiced no matter how much at odds with the current culture they are
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August 14th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
WTF. My BFF said in Singapore they have a reward for twits who tweet. I believe it involve like some kind of bamboo.
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August 15th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Megan is merely saying aloud what her father says in private. Think of her as a sock puppet.
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August 17th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Ms Mccain also blockers twitter users that question her or openly knock her on ths issues. She blocked my twitter hand BRISKUSMC when I ask her why she was so pro gay marriage.
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