McCain And Cantor Create This Thing

Jillian Bandes | May 04, 2009 10:55 AM

Sen. John McCain and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor are on to a new venture called the National Council for a New America. The ostensible goal is to "listen to, partner with, and empower the American people with ideas and solutions" -- in other words, do exactly what politicians are already hired to do -- except now they can do it

at pizza dinners under the banner of their sparkly new coalition.

The names associated with the thing are pretty impressive: House Minority Leader John Boehner, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour, Jeb Bush, Bobby Jindal, Mike Pence, Pete Sessions, Roy Blunt, Mitch McConnell, and Lamar Alexander, to name a few. And I like the fact that it might spurn some dialogue -- "through a series of forums, town halls, and an online effort" -- but I can't help but think of it as a massive PR move designed to soften the blow of the GOP's recent defection and make conservatives amenable to diluting their ideology.

I like Chip Hanlon's summary:

Is this really the plan to launch the GOP back into the majority? The race for 2010 is virtually here, Senator McCain and Congressman Cantor. If you two don't already have clear belief systems and you need to go on a listening tour to determine what we need to accomplish, then A) God help us and B) you're no better than what we always accused Bill Clinton of being: a windsock.