Dancing on John McCain's Grave
The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire ignites a Twitter firestorm, and begs the question, "when is it acceptable to celebrate a person's death?"
In case you’re a bit too normal of a person to keep track of such information, Thursday marked the fourth anniversary of the death of former U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona. To most, it was a day like any other. To the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, it was a cause for celebration. To mark the occasion, they tweeted this picture of Meghan McCain, the late Senator’s daughter, and a former co-host of the worst show on television, weeping at her father’s funeral with the caption “Happy Holidays.”
The tweet in question subsequently got ratioed — which for those unaware, is Twitter parlance for getting more comments than likes on a tweet, and is generally an indication that you’ve expressed a very unpopular opinion. Most of the comments consisted of other users chastising the state party, including former representative Justin Amash of Michigan, who left the GOP for the Libertarian Party shortly before his exit from Congress after not seeking re-election in 2020. Amash’s reply got more likes than the original tweet.
There were, however, many users who came to the defense of the LPNH, bringing up McCain’s long history of warmongering, some sharing graphic pictures of the aftermath and victims of U.S. bombings throughout the decades that John McCain served in Congress. “Should we show compassion like John McCain did?” “Why would we mourn a war criminal?” “McCain is responsible for countless deaths and you take issue with a mean tweet?” Others pointed out McCain’s ties throughout his lengthy career to everyone from neo-Nazis to radical Islamic terrorists that he kept when it suited his foreign policy agenda to do so.
Having, myself, a unique history with John McCain, I feel at least as qualified as any other internet schmuck to comment on his death and his legacy. If you’re unfamiliar with my work history, I was the Maricopa County field director for the 2016 U.S. Senate campaign of Kelli Ward, the former Arizona state senator who currently chairs the state Republican Party. Before the drama surrounding the 2020 election that Kelli is now most widely known for, I simply knew her as the candidate taking on John McCain who advocated for fiscal conservatism and foreign policy restraint, which painted a stark contrast between herself and her opponent. She was endorsed by some of my heroes, like Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and most importantly, Ron Paul.
When all was said and done, Kelli lost by about 12 and a half points. But it was still the most serious primary challenge of McCain’s Senate career, and as her field director for the county that is home to more than half the state’s residents, I can say that there are very few people who can claim to have bled more than myself to stop John McCain and his reckless, chickenhawk agenda. All this is to say, I have a very, very strong distaste for the man, and do not remember him fondly in any regard whatsoever.
One might guess that since this is the case, I am probably on the side of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire in this matter, but that is not so. John McCain was a deeply flawed man, a reprehensible warmonger, and undoubtedly holds partial responsibility for the deaths of untold numbers of people in just about all corners of the globe. He was all of these things and more, yet I hope in earnest that he got right with God before his passing.
I could go on ad nauseum about the harm John McCain caused abroad, as well as at home. When it came to matters of domestic policy, he merely warmed a seat for what was at that time a deep red state that could have elected a true fighter to rein in the size and scope of the federal government. His last major act as a Senator was to betray his party and save Obamacare. He held a position of leadership in that party, and chose to steer it as far as possible from the roots planted by men like President Calvin Coolidge, and McCain’s own predecessor in the Senate, the great Barry Goldwater.
All of these things can be true, and they are. It can even be true that the world is a safer place without him, and it can still be simultaneously wrong to mock his family’s mourning and to celebrate his death. As a Christian, it is my belief that no one is beyond God’s forgiveness, grace, and redemption. Whether or not McCain accepted that gift I can’t claim to know, but I do know that just like you and I, for all his sins, God loved him. I know that despite the destruction he caused with it, his life mattered. I also know that it accomplishes nothing to dance on his grave here in 2022. Sure, it may be worth reminding people about the atrocities of the GOP’s Bush-era neocon establishment, and that its remnants still need to be rooted out (Here’s looking at you in 2024, Mitt Romney), but that’s not what the LPNH chose to do. They didn’t use the opportunity to highlight what their party can do to move past the fiscal and geopolitical woes caused by John McCain, but instead chose simply to mock him.
To my friends in the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus, whom I know recently gained control of the national party and many state affiliates, and whom I was proud to assist with said takeover in Nevada, you have my support. While I wish your efforts would be spent with a party capable of winning elections, it is nice to know that the party bearing the title “Libertarian” will actually live up to its name instead of shying away from condemning mask mandates and nominating presidential tickets that are essentially surrogates for the Democrats. This kind of tactless behavior and messaging does not serve our ends, though. Look back at Ron Paul’s presidential campaigns. He spoke the truth, and called out the liars and scoundrels, but he kept his attacks policy-focused, and his campaigns had an atmosphere that was full of love, hope, and excitement, not anger and bile. That’s what drew so many, myself included, to the message of liberty.
I’d like to encourage my readers, regardless of party affiliation, to rise above celebrating the deaths of our political opponents. I said the same thing when Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed that I’m saying now. I even said the same about Fidel Castro, who was one of modern history’s worst monsters. It was also incredibly atrocious to see many prominent Democrats praise Castro, and I will say that I certainly understand the feelings of many of my Cuban friends who expressed their happiness at Castro’s death, but like it or not even he was still a human being loved by his Creator, and I hope he, too, got right with Him.
Taking the high road demonstrates a refusal to play into the toxic narrative of dehumanizing one’s opponents that is commonly used by the left to justify completely cutting off friends and family who merely voted for a different candidate. Dehumanization was also the tactic used by McCain and other neocons that allowed them to justify the invasion of Iraq and the bombing of many more countries. As someone who was a child on 9/11, I grew up being fed a message of fear and hate, and it was Ron Paul himself whose words finally got me to consider the humanity of the Iraqi citizens, and to empathize with them.
When I called out the left for their utter nastiness following the death of Rush Limbaugh last year, I knew no one could call me a hypocrite. Someday every person who influenced your ideology and worldview will die, and you will be angry when you see nasty, vitriolic people reveling in it. You’ll want to give them a piece of your mind, and you should! But let it not be said about you, and about our movement, that we don’t have the moral standing to do so.
Friends, as a personal favor, please share this article on social media or email it to a handful of friends and encourage them to subscribe. In return, I’ll continue to provide more fresh perspectives and intellectual ammo that our movement needs to keep our momentum going! If you haven’t already, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter as well. Thank you for all of your support, and never let your guard down in the fight for liberty.
-Brady
Totally agree. Thanks for all the time you are putting into this. Very well written.