The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations

by John McCain

least, I was a Republican, a Reagan Republican. Still am. Not a Tea Party Republican. Not a Breitbart Republican. Not a talk radio or Fox News Republican. Not an isolationist, protectionist, immigrant-bashing, scapegoating, get-nothing-useful-done Republican. Not, as I am often dismissed by self-declared “real” conservatives, a RINO, Republican in Name Only. I’m a Reagan Republican, a proponent of lower taxes, less government, free markets, free trade, defense readiness, and democratic internationalism. I also believe government should respond to our biggest problems and prepare for our biggest future challenges, be as transparent as possible and as efficient as possible. There are a lot of government responsibilities that have needed to be reformed for decades, especially one of my pet peeves, our broken government acquisition system. I believe the same can be said about the rules of contemporary politics, the way redistricting is done in most of the country, and the explosion of unlimited and dark money in campaigns, an invitation to corruption made possible by the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case, a mistake made by five justices who never ran for any office and were more naive than a cloistered nun about the corrupting effect of unlimited money in politics. I believe in the separation of powers, a press free to report without fear or favor, and free to infuriate politicians—including me—as they do. Lastly, I believe in principled compromises that mov...