Posted on 08/02/2009 1:27:35 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
Next week, I’ll be riding a Harley at the Sturgis Biker Rally in South Dakota—with the very same bad-asses who helped reinvigorate my dad’s campaign when it needed it most.
So many memories of my father’s political career, especially the two times he ran for president, include bikers. There is something about bikers and biker rallies that makes me feel particularly patriotic and—dare I say it?—Republican.
Let me start from the beginning. I have been going to political rallies since I was a young child. If you delve far enough into the depths of Google—and look at pictures scattered throughout my parents’ house in Phoenix—there is photographic evidence of this. At many rallies, I can remember bikers being in the parking lot and at events outside. One of my favorite things about my father’s political rallies is when bikers show up and my dad asks them to rev their engines—it gets the crowd and my father pumped. You can’t understand it unless you’ve been there. The sound of a Harley’s engine revving just makes me feel so...American.
I don’t know if all Republicans feel this way, but I give credit to bikers for a lot of my father’s success as a candidate, especially in the dog days before the Republican primaries. If you recall, there was a point a few summers ago when the odds of my father becoming the nominee were grim, and as a result, what was left of the campaign put together the “No Surrender Tour.” Joining the tour was a biker group called Rolling Thunder, an organization of bikers that rides in honor of veterans, specifically to bring awareness to POW-MIA soldiers. I remember thinking that even if the campaign was soon going to be under, what a way to go out: with bad-ass American bikers following the bus to every stop. I could tell the sound of the Harleys was energizing my father. I still love the Rolling Thunder, and they were active and present throughout the rest of the campaign.
The organization Bikers for McCain ended up being one of our most successful supporters and, I admit it, my favorite. During the election, there was a time when then-candidate Obama went overseas for a European tour. I remember watching him speaking in front of 250,000 screaming Germans. It was not a good moment: the now-president and his campaign acting as if he had already won, and the feeling was felt on the road. After Obama’s speech, our next big event was at the Sturgis Biker Rally in South Dakota. It became my favorite memory from the general election, and my favorite campaign stop of all time. My dad got on stage and made a speech in front of 150,000 screaming bikers, which I still think is much cooler than 250,000 screaming Germans. Everyone felt invigorated again, pumped. It felt much more relevant and, yes, more American to stand and give a stump speech in front of a crowd of bikers. Later, when I went on my own small bus tour through Ohio, my favorite events were attended by—you guessed it—Bikers for McCain.
After the election—in fact, I believe it was the very next day—I vowed that I would go back to Sturgis, and that is just what I will be doing next weekend: riding for veterans and speaking on behalf of my family, our military legacy, and our love for the biker community. I couldn’t be more proud and excited. I am honored to be continuing my family’s relationship with the bikers of America. And I still think it’s more bad-ass than speaking in front of a political group.
Meghan McCain is a columnist for The Daily Beast. Originally from Phoenix, she graduated from Columbia University in 2007. She is a New York Times bestselling children's author, previously wrote for Newsweek magazine, and created the Web site mccainblogette.com.
We’re not all outlaws. ;>)
Quit askin’ to ride on the handlebars you stupid bitch!
Quit askin’ to ride on the handlebars you stupid bitch!
She’ll be right at home, nekkid on a harley with a bunch of beads around her neck.
What’s the difference between a Harley and a Hoover? The dirtbag is on the INSIDE of a Hoover.
Is she actively seeking “Dykes on Bikes?”
>> with the very same bad-asses who helped reinvigorate my dad’s campaign when it needed it most.
Hey Porkie — daddy lost! Were you, like, y’know, AWARE of that?
They have “double-wide” Harleys?
She’s a poser. A wanna-be.
Meghan always gives us a few laughs. I fear she is in our future in a less benign way.
She also would do well in the wet t-shirt competition.
Isn’t she just so out-there, swearing like a sailor? Very admirable, Megan. NOT.
She reminds me of Spring Break meets Bike Week in Daytona. The college kids buy all the leather they can find, chains, spiked collars, anything with the Harley logo, etc... Then they hang out in front of the Boot Hill Saloon, cussing and wishing they were old enough to get in.
She thinks she can buy her way into being a “bad-ass American biker” if she buys all the right accessories, and says “bad-ass” enough times. Really, she’s just a fat-ass.
As I listened to her on Larry “Cadaver” King, I kept thinking about something about which Boortz frequently reminds his male audience: “At some point, you’ll have to try to have a conversation with her.” I also kept thinking that she HAS to be from California until I remembered that Arizona also has valleys.
I notice that the “viewer mail” section at her blog contains not one negative comment about her, her thoughts, or the policies of her father. Guess all who read her written “product” absolutely adore her ruminations.
LOL!
She is neither, and she kinda grosses me out, but I would date her ONCE if it involved duct tape (for her mouth) and a box of cabernet (to counter my innate revulsion at spoiled RINO chubbies).
She is neither...
Yep. I saw her on Fox & Friends just this morning.
...I would date her ONCE if it involved duct tape (for her mouth) and a box of cabernet (to counter my innate revulsion at spoiled RINO chubbies).
Well, that certainly sounds like a grand evening :)
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