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Meghan McCain

Why I Love Bikers

McCain campaigning Heather Brand Photography Today 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.

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.

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: 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.


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July 30, 2009 | 11:07pm
Comments ()
TheRuralJuror

There's nothing I love more than reading badass columns about badass Meggie McCain's badass family and all the badass stuff they do in their badass lives. They are badasses!

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12:25 am, Jul 31, 2009
mredder4

Mavericky badasses, don't forget.

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9:04 am, Jul 31, 2009
tonyjenson

I would hate to think John McCain's legacy would clouded by a campaign's choice of Vice President. Senator John McCain is a Maverick.
I disagree with McCain on a lot of issues, but Sen. McCain is a true statesman, a statesman in the tradition of Sen. Kennedy on the Left.
John McCain is the "Loyal Opposition" that our system of government demands. I only wish he replaced Mitch McConnell as Minority Leader.

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1:06 pm, Jul 31, 2009
msln123

I read your column, because i think its funny- i laugh at you not with you.
your father lost the campaign, so regardless if 150,000 bikers are cooler then 250,000 Germans, Obama was liked better- you need to get over it- i am so tired of republicans like you defining what America is, it only seems to be something "republican" i know PLENTY of bikers that would not even begin to consider voting republican. that have respect for woman's rights, gay rights and accept all Americans regardless of there race, color and gender choices. your ignorance and shallow mindedness reminds me of another republican women, what was her name oh yeah we call her how we won the election palin! thank your father again for his brilliant choice in running mate.
I wonder, will you be offering yourself to the wet T shirt contest at Sturgis as your father offered your mother last year?

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7:59 am, Aug 3, 2009
allstonian

That was badazzzzzzzzzzzzz...

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12:17 pm, Jul 31, 2009
hithere3

your comment is made of pure win

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3:44 pm, Jul 31, 2009
crashtestDummy


hey dork meir
there are lot of different riders
the ones who missed high school or passed that grade are the food and
fodder of republican wars
republican youth are shipped off to war to die for their republican masters

the educated riders?
uh uh

the article calling bikers a base
are the difference between have and have nots
in this case
its a difference of education

republicans use the uneducated to gain traction and bodies to fight wars of
economic gain

fuucin users...



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6:01 pm, Aug 1, 2009
AlexandraJordan

I would just like to say to you, crashtestDummy, that not all Harley riders are uneducated, and, frankly, I find it insulting that you think all of them are. My father has ridden Harley's all his life and has his master's degree in engineering. For some, a Harley (which gets around 54 mpg, by the way) is an economical way to commute to work. So don't you dare say that Harley riders are uneducated.

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11:19 am, Aug 2, 2009

This user is no longer registered.

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11:49 am, Aug 3, 2009
andyi99

Maybe just asses?

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12:09 pm, Aug 3, 2009
SugarMuffin

Would you enjoy Harleys with no mufflers screaming past your home all day and all night? Would you like to have to turn your TV up so loud your ears bleed just to hear it over the Harleys? What happened to respect for other people and the place they call home? If Harleys are the new Republican party, I'm just not there.

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1:29 am, Jul 31, 2009
Maur33n

Hahahaha. I literally "lol'ed" when I read your comment, The Rural Juror. I second that!!

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1:37 am, Jul 31, 2009
rahrah

I'm happy for you Ms. McCain, and I'm sure the bikers will be pleased to see you.

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2:08 am, Jul 31, 2009
chrismcathens

I dont know Miss McCain about your fathers rallies but first not all bikers are republicans to use in such maner to make a point and second I trust you understand that all bikers first of all are bikers and not political driven machines to use in anyones interset.

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2:50 am, Jul 31, 2009
doko84

she actually gets paid to write this crap?

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8:20 am, Jul 31, 2009
sauce21

I was wondering the exact same thing. Also, is there an editor for these things, or is it just kinda throw some shit at the wall, and hope something sticks?

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9:49 am, Jul 31, 2009
RRoseH1

Seriously! Is this an example of what is referred to as writing? Every entry is boring and ridiculous. I think she's a wannabe politician.

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10:22 am, Jul 31, 2009
tonyjenson

And what were you doing 2 years out of college?

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1:07 pm, Jul 31, 2009
soitgoesjen

lol, you know she would never be a columnist on TDB if she weren't Sen. McCain's daughter. Hell, she never would've even gotten into Columbia.

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2:04 am, Sep 1, 2009
tankertodd

I would love pictures of Meghan on a bike to accompany this!

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1:14 pm, Jul 31, 2009
oldpunk

Wearing her colors of course , not so much Sons of Anarchy more Sons of No Hope.

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2:49 pm, Jul 31, 2009
Ritarita

Each piece
Gets progressively
More boring.
I think you might be headed
To the hot dry reality of
Overexposure Meghan.

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8:57 am, Jul 31, 2009

This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.

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8:58 am, Jul 31, 2009
tankertodd

That's racist. I will flag.

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1:15 pm, Jul 31, 2009
atwork

that's a stretch. i will flag.

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3:32 pm, Jul 31, 2009
BullMoose

Please don't insult white trash by comparing them to this creature.

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1:21 pm, Jul 31, 2009
Fredocanada

right and bikers (and republicans) are never racist

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3:07 pm, Jul 31, 2009
Artist50

The difference between the two "rallies" is that 250,000 showed up to see Obama speak and your Daddy just showed up to speak at group already assembled of 150,000 bikers. They didn't show up to hear him speak.

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9:00 am, Jul 31, 2009
Old-Hippy

and as we use to hear. . . . " And That's the way it is " . . . .

PS, I ride a bike and I am a Biker . . You put pretty girls, lots of booze, and you can get a BIker Rally ! ! No big deal. The big deal is getting the authorities to allow it ! !

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11:04 am, Jul 31, 2009
Konchster

Exactly 150,000 drunks and then offered his wife up as Miss Buffalo chip last years winner got naked and distributed oral sex

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7:45 am, Aug 1, 2009
AlexandraJordan

Thank you for this. That's the perfectly exact difference.

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11:21 am, Aug 2, 2009
mredder4

"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."

Ms McCain, your articles used to be pretty much free of this snide GOP elitism. It made them interesting to read, since it was an attempt by a conservative to raise the level of discourse. So why are you descending now into the digs and subtle (or not-so-subtle) insults involving the standard Republican targets of Europeans?

I'd take any German over any biker any day. The German is more likely to be employed, educated, and open-minded.

(Disclaimer: I was born in Germany to Air Force parents and am of German-American descent.)

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9:07 am, Jul 31, 2009
mrsatlas

I will never understand why Republicans think they are somehow "more American" or why it's a bad thing for other countries to like our President. When will the fact that they lost force them to shut up and change things within their own party and stop insulting the winners? BTW, great post.

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1:43 pm, Jul 31, 2009
downbytheriver00

True, they would be more likely to be employed, educated, and open-minded... but they would also do some weird fashion shit like wear a green tie with an orange shirt (and none of it would be cotton or wool), or wear pentagon shaped glasses with a slight blue tint. (just a joke!)

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7:12 am, Aug 1, 2009
Rdschenkel

Another article by the Self-Hating Republican Meghan McCain!

BTW, with the exception of Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo, I would have preferred any Republican Nominee for President Other Than your father.

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9:42 am, Jul 31, 2009
contrary55

So will you be wearing hot pants and acrylic high heels or chaps and topless?

Bikers are fun for a few laughs and they have made MIA's their cause The best thing they have done is drown out the protests of the crazy Wichita preacher and his family at soldiers funerals. But they are often prejudiced, drunk, and appallingly ignorant. I say this as a person who also enjoys a bike rally now and then and I have been to Sturgis and Red River and several others. Their politics is one of the least attractive thing about bikers though.

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9:44 am, Jul 31, 2009
LitaMarieH

Agreed. Guns and Bikes are a blast. It's the people that glorify them that are awful to be around. Just like people that glorify knitting. Or scrapbooking. Or swinger's parties. Yeah, it's cool..now stfu.

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9:58 am, Jul 31, 2009
Old-Hippy

Megan in Acrylic High Heels and Topless??? . . . now I might even go for that !

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11:06 am, Jul 31, 2009
maryblair

Do you really mean that? Ick.

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1:36 pm, Jul 31, 2009
MariosRight

Second that. If she wants to play biker, she should pay her dues. Show her rack at Sturgis!

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5:32 pm, Jul 31, 2009
BullMoose

I thought the Supreme Court banned that Westboro nutcase from protesting? Why is he not jailed when he shows up at the next funeral?

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3:57 pm, Aug 2, 2009
LitaMarieH

??Yeah biking is a blast. I think "Duh" is the word I'm looking for. I don't understand what I was supposed to get out of this article....? Meghan, you're cool, and I understand what you are trying to do, but please try to give us something intellectual, something that we didn't know before. One would think that you've learned alot about politics and philosophy in your years, having hung out with some very high-profile, high-opinioned people. Telling us about how awesome guns and motorcycles are...well....yeah, they are. But I don't want to read articles that just briefly state the obvious. Give us something with depth...becuase I'm super bored. All you're doing at this point is feeding the stereotype of the GOP. Tell us something we don't know. Convince us.

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9:55 am, Jul 31, 2009
sauce21

"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."

So we've reached a point in this discussion, where it's simply, my dad is better than your dad. Wait im sorry, not only is your dad better than mine, but he's cooler too! good for you. good for him. nobody cares.

Am I taking crazy pills, or is this not the most useless drek? I wish TDB would actually pay her to stop writing.

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9:56 am, Jul 31, 2009
rainchild

agree 100% , i actually thought she was refreshing when i saw her on Bill Maher show, but this article was pure garbage

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3:47 pm, Aug 1, 2009
teejay1324

Meghan, it's pretty clear that you being a Republican, and love people who love being Republican. Whether they're bikers, live in NYC, gay, whatever we all get it.

You would be better served using this space to promote your thoughts on what the GOP should be doing right now with national issues.

Where is your stand on healthcare reform? Where is your stand on the closing of Gitmo and what to do with it's prisoners? Where is your stand on the path our foreign policy has taken with Obama in office? Where is your stand on the failure of the stimulus to stimulate??

If I had this space with all these readers I would be unloading my stands on national issues every single week from now until next spring and then I would roll out support for Republican candidates who agree with you or whom you agree with on these issues.

And finally have you ever considered your not a Republican? If you listed your take on all issues and then compared it to Republican, Democratic and Libertarian beliefs you might find that you are indeed not a Republican. And there is nothing wrong with that.

But please make some statements on the issues, something more relevant than bikers.

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9:58 am, Jul 31, 2009
atwork

meghan's thoughts: "my dad is john mccain. i am young. i am republican. more young people should be republicans. i even like gay people, too. blacks are OK. but not europeans. my dad is john mccain) what's wrong with republicanism? do YOU like taxes? all i know is that my daddy (john mccain) and his rich friends pay them, and i've never seen anything from it. i'm too rich. because of that, i bet no one in america benefits anything at all from anything governmental. young republicanism! my dad is john mccain."

you can find all of these views, repeated ad nauseam and in poorly structured prose, in the every one of the dozens of same-thing-again articles she's written here.

sorry ms. mccain. i was really pulling for you for a while. but i haven't heard anything new or constructive or, arguably, intelligent, from you in a long time i've given up.

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3:28 pm, Jul 31, 2009
CarrieCouldBe

At the age of 24 (25?) Meghan is still so terribly attached to the apron strings of both her mom and her dad. Her dad is super-duper famous, though, so I'm sure she likes him best!

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6:20 pm, Jul 31, 2009
teejay1324

Does she even read these comments anyway? On ESPN.com some of the guys will actually read the comments and reply back, makes you feel like you can connect with the writers a lot better.

She get's a lot of negative comments on here, some nicer than others but never seems to respond...just another piece of advice for her.

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11:35 pm, Jul 31, 2009
jasondrew

Meghan, you forgot those other Republican ideals that the bikers at Sturgis stand for - binge drinking, wet t-shirt contests, wife-swapping, and t-shirts that say, "If you can read this, the b*tch fell off." Ahhhh... yes, you're right... they're the best America has to offer...

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10:00 am, Jul 31, 2009
jaguarxjs

This is funny. I hate bikers. I hate how they think they can drive between cars or cut off cars with very little space and how they generally ignore things like 'lanes' and drive down the shoulder.

Most of these 'bad asses' are dangerous, and because they want to appear to be 'rebels' so to rebel, they all buy the same vehicle, all dress the same and all gather together to 'rebel' together.

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10:02 am, Jul 31, 2009
MariosRight

Do they scare you when they park those big bikes next to your Jag or ride next to you in traffic, little man?
You know what they say about guys that need a fancy car to make up for their other physical inadequacies....or use it as a screen name.

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5:40 pm, Jul 31, 2009
Artist50

How can you hate bikers! They other day I had "Bob" my 4 lb. Shih-Tzu /Maltese in his little carseat and we were stopped next to some big bad Harley riders. Even though Bob wasn't wearing his Harley outfit and leash those bikers couldn't keep their eyes off him. They looked right over and smiled and winked. Let me tell you it wasn't at me, I'm in my late fifties!!!!!! They just knew Bob was "cool" Harley dude.

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9:15 pm, Jul 31, 2009
Hippievet

So let me get this straight... you're still having difficulty finding a date...and you think we'll take the bait... picturing you as the pivot lady in a circle... date... with 8 or 10 burly biker mates.

Nah, ain't happenin'. They'd sooner have your mom.

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10:02 am, Jul 31, 2009
BullMoose

Thanks for the laugh, God a good belly laugh makes you feel gooder than a pulled pork BBQ sammich.

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1:16 pm, Jul 31, 2009
MariosRight

Right on Hippievet, Mom's a MILF

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5:44 pm, Jul 31, 2009
RRoseH1

I hate motor cycles for the many lives lost and two I witnessed. As for the swipe at President Obama and his huge following in Germany is a far better compliment to the US then a bitter McCain and bikers.
McCain conceded to Obama and promised to work with him. As it turns out. he is just another Limbaugh follower.

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10:19 am, Jul 31, 2009
BullMoose

Was that after he sucked up to Jerry Foulsmell?

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1:19 pm, Jul 31, 2009
Veronicaxy

I don't even bother reading her articles but as soon as I see one I go directly to the comments knowing they'll be worthwhile.

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10:48 am, Jul 31, 2009
jltdb1

What reinvigorated McCain's campaign was Sara Palin, not the bikers.

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10:56 am, Jul 31, 2009
Uncommonsense

And how'd that work out for him?

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12:51 am, Aug 1, 2009
Vermonter

What fluff. Not even entertaining fluff. Please DB, get rid of this blogette, there are so many more talented writers in the cybersphere. The sun has gone down on this particular writer and just about everyone knows it.

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11:10 am, Jul 31, 2009

This user is no longer registered.

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11:21 am, Jul 31, 2009
louiexiii

Maverick!!

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11:26 am, Jul 31, 2009
BullMoose

That it! She has a crush on James Garner from watching Maverick.

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1:18 pm, Jul 31, 2009
AmericanPravda

Sorry Meghan, you lost me with the gun article and you'll never get me back!

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11:56 am, Jul 31, 2009
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Why I Love Bikers

by Meghan McCain

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