JOHN MCCAIN DIED AND EVERYONE SHOULD BE SAD
Senator John McCain died this past weekend and everyone should be sad because, as of right now, there are no more Republicans with brains. Or hearts. So I have vivid memories from when John McCain ran for president in 2008. I was 18 and super excited to cast my first vote for president. I was also extremely pleased that I would get to cast that vote for Barack Obama. For years, though, I had been a fan of John McCain’s. I followed him on social media (before social media was even really a thing) and respected him after seeing him on the Daily Show with John Stewart. He was so reasonable. He was a Republican. But he wanted the same things I wanted: a happier, healthier, America.
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HE WAS A CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN, BUT HE HAD CONVICTIONS TO RESPECT
So he wasn’t perfect, and I wasn’t going to vote for him certainly. He brought Sarah Palin to the forefront of American politics and American Comedy, which was the beginning of the end for American democracy. But he still was fighting for the right things. He was not a radical right-wing demagogue, and he was definitely not onboard with Trump. He stuck to his convictions throughout his presidential bid and afterwards, all the way through to the end of his life.
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MCCAIN PRESERVED THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, FOR NOW
One of his final actions as a United States Senator was to uphold the Affordable Care Act with a dramatic thumbs-down on the Senate floor. He was determined to make a statement, and he did. It showed me that there could be good Republicans as well as completely crazy ones. But now he is gone, and I don’t think he has left behind many like him.
MCCAIN LEAVES A REPUBLICAN PARTY FILLED WITH IDEOLOGUES
I worry for what is to come. The Republican party has gotten rid of every moderate conservative like John McCain in favor of radical young ideologues who would follow something shiny off a cliff. We will always remember McCain, and I will never stop respecting him for all he did for this country. I hope his party comes to realize how far they have strayed, but I doubt they will.
