During the latest edition of Facing the Future Steve Duprey, a longtime friend of the late Senator John McCain, discussed his legacy. Duprey, a New Hampshire businessman and Republican national committeeman, also touched on midterm election results and the New Hampshire primary in 2020.
Duprey praised McCain’s character and approach to politics.
“He was willing to admit when he made a mistake in judgment or fell short of his own expectations of how he should handle something,” Duprey said.
“I think his lasting legacy is that you don’t have to attack people’s motives if you disagree with them,” Duprey said. “Too often, the first line of attack is to question the motivation of the other side.”
McCain warned that allowing politics to devolve into such personal attacks would harm our democracy, and stressed that people can disagree without being disagreeable. It is imperative that we search for common ground.
The friendship between Duprey and McCain began with politics and humor, and grew from there.
“I was immediately impressed with him because he liked to joke and cut wise cracks,” Duprey said. “And his sense of humor and mine kind of lined up.”
“The more I got to know him, and watched him in action, I saw that he told you what he thought,” Duprey said. McCain’s campaign mantra, the “straight-talk express,” became particularly well-known.
Concord’s New Hampshire State Director Tyler Sweeney also joined the show to discuss how fiscal policy could be made more relatable to voters. Sweeney found that to be one of his biggest challenges when he began explaining Concord’s priorities and why fiscal responsibility matters.
“I’m trying to break it down where even my close friends, who are as apolitical as it gets, can understand what I’m talking about,” Sweeney said.
He mentioned comparing the national debt to a personal credit card, the federal budget to a household budget, and the demographic trends impacting the Social Security system to stage diving (leaping from a stage onto a crowd).
“These examples are really apt for people my age,” he said. “It helps them get into this conversation at the ground floor.”
I host “Facing the Future” each week on WKXL, NHTalkRadio.com (N.H.), which is also available via podcast. Join us as we discuss national fiscal policy and related issues with budget experts, industry leaders, elected officials and candidates for public office. Past broadcasts are available here. You can now subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play or through RSS.
