Meghan McCain Threatens to Leave Republican Party

[OmahaBlueDog]

41. This is an interesting story at several levels

Election 2012 will be disected by Political Scientists for the next 20 years. One big reason is that this was the election when the reliable, go-to wedge issues just failed to pay back. Abortion caused Republicans to lose two Senate seays they seemd certain to win. Gay marriage -- an issue that has brought social conservatives to the polls in droves since the Clinton era -- has now become the law of the land in two states as the result of the popular vote -- not the courts. Marijuana for recreational use was approved in two states, and the death penalty was eliminated in California. I wn't pretend either the GOP or conservatism are dead, but this election demonstrated that the strategy they used from 1980-2004 with success needs to be rethought.

Meghan McCain probably represents the thoughts of many Republicans -- especially those who've voted for Ron Paul the past two elections. They want smaller government and lower taxes, but they don't want excessive intervention in their personal lives. However I wonder about something else -- is she positioning herself to run for her father's seat? Does she realize that the numbers -- long run -- wont favor the Brewers and the Sherriff Joes, and she wants to position herself as a new kind of conservative.

That leads to an even bigger question: you operate a conservative superPAC. Right now, you feel angry and ripped off. Do you bet on the GOP again in 2016, or do you start to find independent candidates. Candidiates who support key positions on taxes, spending, and entitlements, but who are far more centrist on issues you don't care about. You wouldn't do worse than you did in this election, and who better than an independent to say "the system is broken and neither party has an answer?"