It is Palin’s party now. And that’s a shame for America.
I’m not going to wax rhapsodic about McCain prior to his debasement by Bush and Rovian republicans. But I feel comfortable noting that the years since have changed the man, and his “maverick” image, a lot.
You don't have to take my word for it, see for yourself: Charlie Rose Interview with John McCain, 9/24/2002
It’s clear from the video linked above that McCain still wanted to be the rascal with a populist cause, the “little guy’s champ” in his party. And I think he thought that his party would ultimately dispense with the play rough tactics of Bush and his ruthlessly partisan hatchet men in favor of moderate appeal. He was wrong. His party was going down. So was he.
Tonight’s speech made that evident.
Beneath the heavy cloud cover of his discordant acceptance speech, the old McCain tried to send up reformer flares:
I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Sen. Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust when we valued our power over our principles.
The constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn't a cause, it's a symptom. It's what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not you.
Republicans in attendance were nonplussed, unresponsive.
He struggled for applause for the most basic of populist concepts out of that crowd:
Instead of rejecting good ideas because we didn't think of them first, let's use the best ideas from both sides. Instead of fighting over who gets the credit, let's try sharing it. This amazing country can do anything we put our minds to. I will ask Democrats and independents to serve with me. And my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability.
We're going to finally start getting things done for the people who are counting on us, and I won't care who gets the credit.
It's a shame that their hearts didn't soar on the notion of Americans united for common good, regardless of McCain's tepid delivery. But soar they did not.
McCain is a dispirited, old man. He is no longer a maverick. And he will never again be allowed to champion the causes of all the people. The speech he gave tonight, and the reception that he got while making it, indicate that McCain is a hostage, not an outsider.
Gone, for good, is genuine conciliatory sentiment from the party that nominated McCain. America seems to be nothing more than a “culture war” battleground for right wing winner-take-all games of amoral politicking. McCain is only there to smooth-talk about radical departures.
McCain and the Republican Party are smoldering reminders of what they once were.
It’s Palin’s party now.
Update: Someone expressed reasonable concerns about complacency, if you accept the basic premise of this diary. To be clear, it changes nothing about how hard we need to work to get Obama elected. The radical right wing is a mighty, destructive machine. We still have to work hard to get every vote we can. I take nothing for granted. Neither should you.