VIDEO: The Amateur Meghan McCain

Meghan McCain, daughter of the former Presidential candidate,  showed her true colors in a recent television performance with Bill Marr: an amateur, reactive, and not terribly bright performer who is WAY out of her league. She accuses President Obama of spending too much time blaming his problems on former President Bush, but offers no examples as proof (furthermore, especially since the campaign, I rarely if ever hear Obama talk about Bush). In response, Paul Begala, political commentator and former Clinton Advisor, points out that President Reagan (the GOP “hero”), constantly blamed his problems on former President Carter. Putting Meghan into a corner, she thus responded with ignorance – leaving her open to an even bigger jab by Begala. This was then followed by an insult that can only be found in GOP circles – “you clearly know everything”, an amateur attempt to build sympathy for her ignorance and poor performance. This is only outdone when she completely ignores the former transaction and once again aims for pity as she describes the terrible life of a moderate Republican who single-handedly seeks consensus.

In the end, Meghan McCain, while perhaps well-intentioned, is way over her head. At only 24 years old, and having lead a more than privileged life, her fame is similar to Sarah Palin’s (who at least held an office) – completely undeserved. Meghan’s stardom is only due to her father and she is simply milking the fame as long as possible.

Can you blame her? Not really, most would do the same thing if put in such a position – but that doesn’t mean we have to go along with it either. Meghan is a mostly self-involved individual whose opinions are fairly common for young Republicans (liberal on social issues and conservative on fiscal/security matters). Knowing nothing about politics or “bridging the gap”, she serves only as entertainment of vague and naive talking points.

Rather than pulling punches due to misplaced endearment, the likes of Bill Marr and Jon Stewart should either pummel her on air or not bother inviting her in the first place. If Ms. McCain thinks she’s ready for the big leagues, she doesn’t deserve any quarter or leniency by the other team. 

 

Why GOP Extremists are GOOD for Democrats

Should the Democrats encourage Republican moderation? While it may sound morally right, strategically its unjustifiable. Obviously I wouldn’t recommend the Democrats externally proclaim a strategy of encouraging GOP extremism, but that should be their secret strategy nonetheless.

Why? The reasons are obvious. Perceptions are all that counts in politics. In a country where the moderates and independents tip one side to victory, the side perceived as most reasonable will generally win. Regardless of whether the GOP does or does not moderate, they must be perceived by the general public as reactionary and ancient. However, this strategy is bound to fail when Democrats actively promote moderate Republican’s and their ideals. In fact, Democrats should target moderate Republican’s on election day more than any others!

While some readers may be dismayed by my Machiavellian approach, the conclusions don’t lie. Does the end always justify the means? No. But sometimes they do, and sometimes its necessary to work for the greater good.

The Democratic party for the last few decades has lacked a clear national strategy, waiting only on the Republicans to screw up. If Democrats want to continue winning and actually pass through progressive legislation, they’ll have to leave behind their naivete and start playing hard-ball politics. This means having a strategy that wins. Period.

Winston Churchill famously wrote that “history is written by the victors”. Isn’t it time the Democrats develop a victorious strategy? Reform the healthcare system? Evolve the energy sector? The Republican party has been writing history for too long!

While some readers may believe Obama’s rise will issue a new Democratic era, history denies such claims. President Obama is a blip in an otherwise stable pattern. As transformative leaders like him are rare, 2016 and 2020 will be difficult battles if we just depend on Obama’s success. 

If Republican moderates never get elected to office, this will change the publics perception of the GOP to what it already is, a mostly extremist party of Rush Limbaugh’s, Sean Hannity’s, Ann Coulter’s, Michelle Bachmann’s, etc. If done correctly, the GOP will become a national joke, and the Democrats will continue to win election after election in every district outside of the most conservative areas. Finally, if  the Republican party must eventually choose between their moderate and extreme sides, their voters will split and the GOP will never recover.

 

For the good of the American people (who line up by a wide margin with progressive values), the Democratic party must build a spine and begin working towards the greater good. To do otherwise would only work towards their detriment and give the majority back to the GOP. 

 

Palin Will NOT Run for President: 4 Reasons

Over this July 4th weekend, all politico’s have been asking the same question: What is going on with Sarah Palin??

Having stated that she will not run for gubernatorial re-election, Palin proceeded to drop a bombshell in the form of her resignation – citing reasons of family obligation and a desire to stop media inquiry.

While many believe this is just a political strategy to run for the Senate, or even President, common sense would say otherwise…

A few interesting points to make:

1) Announcements made on a late Friday during a holiday weekend are meant to be forgotten – this is a widely known ploy by politicians if they have something to hide. While Palin will of course get media attention nonetheless due to her inexplicable stardom, she wanted this event to receive as little media attention as possible.

In other words: Either Palin is hiding something or she just happened to make this decision right before the perfect time to make her announcement.

2) Her press conference was so prematurely put together that the local press barely made it on time! Furthermore, her speech was hastily written, and the Lieutenant Governor was just as shocked as anyone to hear the news.

In other words: Palin’s press conference was put together at the spur of the moment, thus begging the question of whether her actual decision was just as hasty. If so, than her resignation was a reaction to something we do not yet know.

3) While Palin may continue to have high approval ratings in Alaska, and possibly even have a chance at the Alaska Senate race if she so chooses, this move (just like McCain’s move to “suspend” his campaign) is guaranteed to lower her approval nationally (to a large margin), and at least somewhat in her home-state. American’s don’t like quitters. While Palin may have a good reason to quit, so-far unbeknownst to the public, she still quit. Period. And her reasons thus far have been less than satisfactory, let alone understandable.

In other words: Palin will have a much more difficult time winning a Senate seat as a quitter than after having finished her term. Furthermore, her national approval ratings will plummet, giving much fodder to Republican primary candidates (like Mitt Romney) who want to win just as bad and won’t pull any punches if she even thought about running for President.

4) If you really pay attention, even Republican’s/Fox News are having difficulty justifying Palin’s move. While they all “wish her well”, very few to none are claiming this as a wise political move. Even Karl Rove criticized her strategy!

In other words: Nobody, not even the Republican’s, know what is going on. Nor do any strategists see this as a smart move for seeking a new office. Consequently, while playing nice, Palin’s “maverick” image is beginning to wear on the GOP’s patience and they’re showing their cards – if this is a move to run for President, be prepared to be skewered by your own party.

While many are offering their own ideas regarding Palin’s actual motivation (one of the more interesting and logical involves a career at Fox News), very few of them make much sense. In my opinion, this either involves a currently unknown scandal, or she actually is serious about staying out of politics.

Talking to some close supporters, Palin said:

“she is out of politics, period. She is fed up with politics. She doesn’t like her life. She feels that she needs to raise her family. She’s sick of the commute from Wasilla to the capital. And she really does not want to run for higher office, that this is not a case where she is stepping down in order to clear the way for a presidential run.”

In the end though, Palin will NOT run for President. And if she does, she’ll lose.

However, the real question is not whether she will run for President, but why she really resigned. Nonetheless, I am more than happy to wish Mrs. Palin good riddance and never see her in the media spotlight again.