Meghan McCain is Redefining Republican

by Michael Jones · 2010-01-19 15:16:00 UTC
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Meghan McCainTeabaggers are definitely getting all the attention these days when it comes to the Republican Party. Look no further than Massachusetts, where Republicans have graciously told their candidate, Scott Brown, to shove a curling iron up Democratic nominee Martha Coakley's butt, or to Oklahoma, where teabaggers have prayed for Senate Democrats to die.

Talk about a civility FAIL. Is there any hope left for the Republican Party? Maybe some sort of superwoman? Or, well, at least a super Tweeter and/or blogger?

Enter Meghan McCain, the daughter of U.S. Sen. John McCain, who has grown tired of childish kvetching and teabaggers. She's ready to redefine Republican, and for her, that starts with increasing the number of Republicans supportive of marriage equality for gays and lesbians.

McCain is scheduled to speak at George Washington University's "Marriage Equality Week," scheduled for February 9. That is, unless a civil war among students breaks out. A student gay rights group is thrilled that she's coming. But a student Republican organization feels like they were duped. They wanted Meghan McCain to speak about the new face of the Republican Party, and now they're miffed that she'll be talking about marriage equality.

"Our executive board was told that Meghan McCain's primary focus would be her opinion on what it means to be a Republican," said a GWU college Republican. "We later discovered through her Twitter and subsequent conversations ... that she would be giving the keynote address for Marriage Equality Week." Cue Republican boos and hisses.

But that's just it. From McCain's perspective, her opinion of what the Republican Party should be about is enmeshed with supporting marriage equality. In fact, the student Republican organization was hoping Meghan McCain would speak under the banner of "Redefining Republican: No Labels, No Boxes, No Stereotypes." Given that frame of reference, doesn't marriage equality as a topic du jour make sense?

McCain herself probably said it best last year, in the wake of several marriage equality victories in states like Iowa, Vermont and (at the time) Maine. "Gays and lesbians are a vital part of our communities. They are doctors, teachers, firefighters, emergency personnel and neighbors. In this way, marriage equality is also about supporting good citizens and strengthening our communities."

Leave it to a party dominated by teabaggers to disagree with that sentiment.

Photo credit: progressive Republican

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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