HAVE THE REPUBLICANS ALREADY GIVEN UP?

If you read Joe Klein's article in Time Magazine you come away (at least I did) with two distinct impressions: 1. The Republicans are a whacky group, and are ready to fall on their sword for the sake of principles, like they did in 1964; 2. The Republicans want to win at all costs, even if it means nominating someone they aren't really happy with (Mitt Romney) because he has the money to wage a battle. I am no fan of Joe Klein, in fact, I find him obnoxious, and this article is just another example of his smugness. The Republican party can stand on principle and they can raise the money to compete with any of the Democrats.

MIKE HUCKABEE - A TRUE CONSERVATIVE?

The Politico has an article about Governor Mike Huckabee, the other man from Hope, Arkansas. I've always liked Governor Huckabee. But I've never thought that he is a viable candidate for President. The article in the Politico really points out what I think his fatal flaw is - he is a social conservative, but really a fiscal moderate. It will be interesting to see what happens to Huckabee when and if Fred Thompson gets into the race.

DAILY KOS TRIES TO SMEAR MAINE BLOGGER

Patrick Ruffini has a terrific article about the Daily Kos trying to smear a Maine Blogger. It's well worth taking the time to read this strange article.

DEMOCRATS PLAY POLITICS WITH SCHIP

The Democrats have made a campaign issue out of votes of Republican House Members against the SCHIP legislation. The DCCC Chair Rep. Chris Van Hollen said that they intend to label those Republican House Members as obstructionists. What he failed to mention is that the House Schip bill would reduce payments to Medicare Advantage Plans, and make a number of revisions to Medicare. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill. In the Senate, there are enough votes to override the President's veto, but in the House there are not presently enough votes to override his veto. It should be an interesting campaign. Thanks to River West for the information.

BILL FRIST HEADS TO BANGLEDESH

Dr. Bill Frist continues his work to help cure illnesses and poverty around the world. For the next ten days he will be working with Save the Children in Bangledesh. Dr. Frist is firmly committed to using medicine as a currency for peace. Those of us who respect and admire Dr. Frist can only hope that his mission succeeds.

A BAD IDEA

The Census Bureau wants the government to stop enforcement actions during the 2010 census. Why? They say that they need to be able to count the illegal immigrants, and that if our government is conducting raids on illegals, the immigrants won't trust the government, and won't cooperate with the census takers. It is never a good idea not to enforce our laws, regardless of the consequences.

CNN REPORTS THAT FRED THOMPSON IS GETTING IN THE RACE

Cnn News is reporting that Fred Thompson is definitely going to enter the race for the White House. It will be interesting to see if he has waited too long. In any event, his entry into the race will really shake things up for the Republican field.

THE STEELERS NEW MASCOT

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a new mascot. After spending a week in the Pittsburgh area recently, I can tell you that the majority of the Steeler nation that I talked to are not very happy with a mascot at all. Their attitude is, as it has been since the Steelers came into existence - Steeler fans don't need mascots because we are the mascots. Our fans are among the most rabid fans anywhere in the country, and weird sights are routine at every Steeler game. Check out the mascot and let me know what you think.

THE WASHINGTON POST AND ALBERTO GONZALES

Dan Eggen of the Washington Post has been writing story after story about Alberto Gonzales. Well, surprise, surprise!! Not all of them have been accurate. Powerline has the story under the heading "The Washington Post facricates a 'contradiction.' "
It makes me wonder what the media thinks they are doing!!

MOVEON IS AT IT AGAIN

Move On has launched another campaign against Republican candidates. They are going to highlight the cost of the Iraq war for individual congressional districts. The article is important reading for all of us. According to CNS NEWS.com MoveOn is being helped in this latest tactic to derail the Iraq war by the National Priorities Project. My thanks to my good friend River West who provided me with this article.

THE DEBATE ON THE THREATS TO CONSERVATISM

Patrick Hynes has written a thought provoking post titled "Identity Group Conservatism" at Ankle Biting Pundits and Patrick Ruffini has written a compelling response titled "The Threats to Conservatism". I believe that this type of debate is exactly what the Conservative movement and the Republican party needs to engage in. We must get back on track with all of the voters who call themselves Republicans, and this is a good start. An open and honest dialogue about where we want to go as a party is crucial.

WHERE ARE ALL THE GOP SENATE CANDIDATES?

Chris Cillizza, who blogs for the Washington Post at "The Fix" has an interesting story about the GOP candidates for Senate races. I'm not sure that the situation is as dire for the GOP as Cillizza makes it sound, but it is worth reading, especially for his list of the top ten Senate races.

BILL HOBBS - MORE ON MEDIA BIAS

Bill Hobbs, who is one of my favorite bloggers, has an article in Newsbusters expanding on the media bias that seems to have become a way of life. Take a look at his story titled Media Bias Shows in Coverage of Complex Securities Case

ALLEN ROTH ON HOW TO BUILD A CONSERVATIVE WEB OPERATION

I have enjoyed reading Allen Roth for quite some time. His article on how to build a conservative web operation is a must read for every Conservative.

THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND THE TRUTH

Just read a fascinating article about the misrepresentations of the MSM. This article particularly talks about CBS News, but this kind of reporting is all too common.

BUSH FINDS A WAY AROUND CONGRESS

According to the Associated Press, President Bush intends to push his agenda without Congress. It will be fascinating to see how the President's strategy develops. While there are a lot of things that President Bush can do in the form of executive orders and regulations, he runs the risk of making things much worse for Republican candidates across the country, by pursuing agendas that are unpopular with the American public.

PADILLA FOUND GUILTY

Score one for the good guys. Jose Padilla was convicted of federal terrorism charges.

MEL MARTINEZ - IS IT TIME TO LEAVE?

Redstate has a devastating post about Mel Martinez. They call him an incompetent fool. What has the folks at Redstate so riled up? It seems that Mel attacked Rudy Guiliani and Mitt Romney for their opposition to illegal immigration. As Redstate correctly points out, one of the fundamental principles of the Republican party is DO NO HARM. Seems like Mel forgot. He has been to say the least, an ineffective Chairman of the Republican Party.

ABC NEWS - DON'T WORRY IF IT ISN'T TRUE

Powerline has a good post on how the media can twist a story to achieve the result they want. ABC News has been doing some research on Mitt Romney, and the investments he has made. Their headline reads "Romney in Stem Cell Biz, Despite Political Opposition." As Powerline correctly points out less than one thousandth of Romney's fortune is invested in a company that carries out some kind of stem cell research. Check out the Powerline article.

IS MICHAEL VICK GOING TO ENTER A PLEA BARGAIN

There are all kinds of stories being reported on Cable News today that Michael Vick is about to enter into a Plea Bargain, where he will plead guilty and serve one year in jail. If it is true, its not a bad idea. Vick is young enough that he could give up one year of his career and still be a force in the NFL, that is if the NFL will let him come back.