Call Me GOP

Those in the far right have called for more moderate members to leave the party. When asked last Friday on Politico which conservative figure needed to shut up, Michelle Malkin pointed to Meghan McCain. McCain responded, “The Republican Party should be a place for all kinds of people…if the party continues to demand that people leave, I guarantee you that they will. If you tell people there is no place for them, they aren’t going to fight for their right to stay.”

She went on to say that there is a place in her party for the far right too, but that they need to reach out and listen to the moderate perspective. So how can the G.O.P., with its many, varied voices, still come together and compromise?

Lately, it seems there’s been a host of young conservatives rapping about politics. From the Young Cons out of Dartmouth to “Just Tax” — a parody of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” — which seems to have gone viral a couple of days ago. In The Daily Beast, Meghan McCain discusses the connection between pop culture and politics. But Autotune and dance beats alone aren’t enough. Is there a generational difference between voters’ ideologies and political concerns? What might young voters care about that the older generations don’t (and vice versa)?

You know, I often admire Meghan McCain for being a brazen, different sort of voice in the G.O.P. She confidently calls herself anti-Coulter, anti-Limbaugh, and anti…well, many of the loudmouths of the Republican Party. Here’s Out magazine’s profile of her (and the Huffington Post’s coverage of it). Meghan may be a more controversial character, but why can’t she (and others like her) be the voice of the G.O.P.? Is this, at least, how the party should be speaking to younger generations?