granite idealism

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has invited ServeNext to ride his Straight Talk Express on Thursday morning to Stratham, where he will host a Town Hall Meeting with the service-minded employees of The Timberland Company and meet with their CEO and long-time National Service supporter, Mr. Jeffery Swartz.  Once an AmeriCorps member based in the same offices, I will now serve as a member of the Press Corps covering McCain’s visit.  The bus ride provides ServeNext with the opportunity to get some ”straight talk” on the issue of National Service, a topic on which McCain has yet to focus much of his time thus far on the campaign trail. 

A National Service ”non-believer” in the early-1990’s, McCain would eventually come around and be one of the program’s biggest supporters.  Following 9/11, he co-sponsered the Call to Service Act with U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), which aimed at expanding AmeriCorps to 250,000 members annually – a drastic increase.

National service is an issue that has been largely identified with the Democratic Party and the left of the political spectrum. That is unfortunate, because duty, honor, and country are values that transcend ideology. National service, both civilian and military, can embody the virtues of patriotism that conservatives cherish.

Do you have a question for Senator McCain?  Post them over at BlogNext!  We’ll try to get in as many as possible before arriving in Stratham from Bedford.

Also, be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 7:00pm EST on either MTV or MySpace for a Presidential Dialogue with the Senator.  We have a couple ServeNext members with tickets to this LIVE Town Hall-style event at Southern New Hampshire University!