John McCain went into a bit of a rant during a recent lecture, blasting what he called “Half-Baked, Spurious Nationalism”.
“Abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe” and “refuse the obligations of international leadership … for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems” is unpatriotic.
“As unpatriotic,” he continued, “as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history.”
“We live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil,” McCain said. “We are the custodians of those ideals at home, and their champion abroad. We have done great good in the world. That leadership has had its costs, but we have become incomparably powerful and wealthy as we did. We have a moral obligation to continue in our just cause, and we would bring more than shame on ourselves if we don’t. We will not thrive in a world where our leadership and ideals are absent. We wouldn’t deserve to.”
Check out the video.
As reported by Allah Pundit for Hot Air:
Many a high-five was exchanged in the hallways of Salon Conservatives Club this morning over this passage from McCain’s Liberty Medal speech last night. And I’d bet many a high-five was exchanged in the Breitbart offices too.
The nice thing about being a populist is that you win no matter how the establishment reacts to you. If McCain gave a speech extolling the virtues of nationalism, great!
Steve Bannon could cite that as proof that his ideas are making inroads in Washington and bending powerful Republicans to his side. If McCain gave a speech taking a dump on nationalism, which is just what he did yesterday, great!
The contempt of a crusty old RINO disliked by much of the base is a valuable recruiting tool, proof that nationalism is the way to go. My enemy’s disdain is a badge of honor and evidence that I’m on the right track.