I am a great admirer of Beltway columnists like Ruth Marcus, Chris Cillizza and Dana Milbank, people who get that Both Sides Do It. This space will be used to try and write the smelliest piece of centrist trash possible.
The Maverick has done it again.
Senator John McCain has proven throughout his three decades-plus in Congress that he's a fierce independent. When he sees his party straying from its values, he's not afraid to call them out. While other senators are beholden to conservative and liberal super PACs, McCain stands alone.
In times of extreme partisanship, it seems like McCain is the only man willing to buck his party. No surprise there: He's always been a maverick.
But the Maverick's latest ploy was perhaps the greatest in his illustrious career. McCain was calling for an end to the shutdown games of the Republican Party. While Republicans, along with Democrats, were relishing the shutdown as a brazen way of scoring political points, McCain saw through the facade. Behind the scenes, he called out leadership on both sides of the aisle, as he has always done.
There's a trite phrase that goes around the liberal blogosphere: "It's good news for John McCain!" Well, this maverick columnist is here to tell you that this is indeed good news for McCain, because it's good news for America.
After badly losing the 2008 election, in which he compromised parts of what made him America and the media's favorite senator, McCain returned to Washington and found again why we think he's so special. He found that independent spark that was missing from his 2008 campaign. Renewed and refreshed, McCain worked across party lines, leveraging his maverick brand to cut spending and help through crises that both parties have become infamous for.
At this point, McCain should start his own party: the Maverick Party.
Imagine if, instead of Republicans and Democrats returning to Washington next week, it was a party of mavericks, led by McCain. Unbeholden to the extremes of their party always more concerned about the next election or the next fundraising, these mavericks would finally tackle our growing entitlements. They would close loopholes while lowering rates, giving President Obama the revenue he craves.
McCain was bested by a hungry upstart in 2008. That candidate, Barack Obama, swept into office promising change. What he's given us is the status quo, and he's now just another cog in the establishment. Not McCain, though. What the Maverick needs to do is go on "Meet the Press" and make his case for a whole slew of Washington mavericks, like Paul Ryan and Rand Paul, to come together and force D.C. to fix the debt. Wouldn't it be nice to see Obama bring McCain, Ryan, Paul, Alan Simpson, Erskin Bowles and Pete Peterson to a Rose Garden press conference and announce that's he finally serious? The Maverick can spur this kind of change, the kind that knows no partisanship.
In a town that turns its nose toward independence, we need to turn our attention to our most independent senator. McCain wasn't afraid to call out both sides for its fearmongering the shutdown and potential default. Now it's time for him to take charge on the most difficult challenge our country has ever faced.
The debt.
If anyone can do it, it's the Maverick.