. . . I change my mind. What do you do, sir?"
In the wake of Senator John McCain's death, a pair of videos have been shared on Twitter and linked on news stories. In these videos, McCain confronts questions from voters concerned about then-Senator Barack Obama. I invite you to watch them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrnRU3ocIH4
There's dignity in which McCain addresses these questions. There's venom in the questions he's being asked.
At times I've felt a little embarrassed at having switched my party affiliation. After all, we seem to deride flip-floppers, wafflers, and RiNOs in these political times. I voted for McCain. I even contributed to his campaign. In fact, he's the last candidate to whom I ever made a political donation (not that my $50.00 meant that much in the grand scheme of things).
When I look now at McCain's responses, I don't feel a bit of guilt or shame in having voted that way back in those days, when decency was an instinct to a party nominee.
When I look at the questions posed, and in particular the reaction of that crowd in the first video, I know that leaving the party was, without doubt, the right thing for me to do.
One doesn't need to go back to Reagan to pine for the good old days of the Republicans. It was there in John McCain's answer in 2008. But the way of the future was there in the catcalls and jeers he received. And that's a future (or present, I guess) of which I want no part.
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