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Meghan McCain Calls "Joe the Plumber" a "Dumb***"

(CBS)
Over the past year, Meghan McCain has made rounds proclaiming her support for positions that aren't exactly like other Republicans. She has spent a significant amount of time criticizing the tactics of other Republicans, including Ann Coulter and Karl Rove.

Additionally, McCain has been rallying against anti-gay marriage Republicans – including the man that became the symbol of her father's presidential campaign.

In an interview with Out Magazine, McCain said, "Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumb*** . He should stick to plumbing," in response to Joe the Plumber's comment that he "wouldn't' t have [gays] anywhere near my children."

McCain also said that, although she isn't generally received well in the conservative movement, she's an example of the reconciliation between being a Republican and being in favor of same-sex marriage.

"There are a lot of people who have said, 'I'm Republican and I'm pro–gay marriage. Thank you for showing that you don't have to be anti–gay marriage to be a Republican.'," McCain said.

McCain's position is significantly different from what she calls "old-school" Republicans, who she says have been receding into their conservatism in fear of the future. On "The Colbert Report" earlier this year, Out Magazine reports, McCain said the GOP stance on keeping government out of the people's private lives is hypocritical when it came to gay marriage.

According to Out Magazine, McCain's shock at the passage of Proposition 8 in California last year prompted her to begin public advocacy for gay rights.

"Homophobia is the last socially accepted prejudice," McCain said, saying she believes the struggle for gay rights to be "my generation's civil rights movement."

Meghan isn't the only McCain to support gay marriage either. "My mom was always for gay marriage," Meghan McCain said of Cindy McCain. "But I think me being so vocal about it has made her want to be more vocal about it."

As for her father, Meghan said that she hopes he will "someday come around" although "he's 73 and of a different generation."

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