August 31, 2008 at 5:05 pm
If you’ve been reading the conservative blogs the last fews days you are probably aware of video floating around showing former DNC chair Don Fowler saying Gustov shows God is on the side of the Democrats. He made the comments on a flight back to South Carolina with SC Democrat Congressman John Spratt who seemed to think the comment was funny. If you haven’t seen the video, here it is.
FOX News has been reporting on this today and interviewing congressional Democrats about the comments. It’s fun to watch them squirm and try to redeem the individuals involved. Continue Reading »
November 8, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Disclaimer: This is a group blog and as such I want to make it clear that I speak for myself in this post. Others on this blog may disagree with my conclusions.
Conventional wisdom is an interesting thing. It is certainly the easy path. After all, it doesn’t require a lot of thought. Yet those who excel don’t typically follow conventional wisdom. If they did they’d be like everyone else. They’d be average, not excellent.
Conventional wisdom is nothing more or less than what most people think. Or at least most people within a specific group. It is certainly possible that conventional wisdom on a particular subject is the best course but I think it is unlikely. Conventional wisdom says you should limit your risk, taking only those risks that don’t cost much if you are wrong. That may lead you to a safe retirement but it won’t lead you to be a millionaire. Continue Reading »
October 2, 2007 at 7:00 am
I am 48 years old, very happily married for 25 years and I have two children, one in college and one recently graduated from college and married. I have degrees in political science and religion. I am also a committed Christian and my political views flow naturally from my religious convictions. Continue Reading »
August 12, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Watching FOX News today and seeing Carl Cameron being patted on the back for predicting a Romney was irritating at best. Of course Romney won! He outspent all other participants by huge numbers. As well, the Iowa straw poll is a fund raiser for the Iowa Republican Party and they way they raise money is by the candidates paying for busses and the $35 per head it cost to get in. Romney brought in a ton of people and he won, as predicted by everyone. However, he didn’t win big and that is a problem for him.
In interviews since the close of the straw poll yesterday, Romney has defended his victory and who can blame him. But he has to be very disappointed that he didn’t run away with it. He certainly spent enough to expect that, yet it didn’t happen.
In contrast, Mike Huckabee spent very little and he came in second! Huckabee is the big winner in Iowa. Romney spent maybe ten times as much as Huckabee. So now Huckabee, a second tier candidate to this point, is poised to move into the top tier of Republican candidates.
To date I’ve been a Fred Thompson supporter but I’ve been watching Huckabee closely. I went to a Huckabee event a month or so ago and he really impressed me there. Huckabee knows his subjects. He is able to not only speak intelligently about all manner of topics, but he can field the questions well too. And, Huckabee is clearly a true conservative. On issue after issue Mike Huckabee’s position is the conservative position and he presents and defends those positions very well. The only problem for people like me was his electability or lack thereof.
That one concern appears to be fading. With his showing in Iowa Huckabee could surge ahead of other candidates right into the top tier. If that happens, Fred Thompson will be scratching his head wondering what happened to his strategy. There is no way Thompson planned on this outcome in Iowa.
For his part Fred Thompson has been playing a dangerous game. He was strung out his announcement perhaps too far. Supporters like me who have grown impatient have already been looking around for another possible candidate who fills the conservative roll. You haven’t read about it because many, like me, haven’t been especially vocal about their impatience but it is there, believe me.
If Huckabee moves into the top tier as a result of the Iowa straw poll, the big loser may be Fred Thompson. Clearly Thompson has planned on taking support away from Romney when he enters the race. If much of that support has already moved to Huckabee, Thompson will not gain nearly as much as he planned on.
Huckabee is the man to watch over the next few weeks. His ability to raise money just got a huge shot in the arm and if he can translate that into campaign cash and a solid organization he may end up as the man to beat. Giuliani and McCain never stood a chance with the conservative vote so right now it looks like a race between Romney, Huckabee and Thompson for those voters. If Thompson doesn’t move very soon, he will be too late.
August 8, 2007 at 7:32 am
Is Ron Paul a "True" Conservative?
June 6, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Watching the attention that Fred Thompson continues to generate has to have the top tier Republican candidates worrying. Romney says he welcomes Thompson into the race but it stretches credulity to think he really means it. McCain, a close friend of Thompson, also has to be concerned. While Thompson isn’t likely to attack him personally, McCain has to sense that Thompson might just suck up all the air.
Many conservatives have expressed dissatisfaction with the current crop of candidates. Certainly Giuliani isn’t a conservative and many conservatives would not consider McCain to be among their ranks. Romney has worked hard to establish himself as the true conservative candidate but many conservatives are leery because he has changed his position on a number of issues they care about. That he changed his positions isn’t as much a concern as the fact that the timing of his changes seems suspect.
And there is Fred Thompson.
There’s been buzz about his potential as a candidate for a couple of months now. Thompson upped the ante a few days ago with the announcement that he is forming an exploratory committee. That allows him to hire staff and begin raising money before actually declaring himself a candidate.
Thompson sprang a new surprise that should come as no surprise on Hannity and Colmes last night. He introduced his new website, ImWithFred.com (photo above). With each passing day it looks more and more like Thompson is really going to be a candidate. While he told Sean Hannity that there had been no decision about a July 4th announcement date, few people doubt at this point that sometime in July he will declare. At the point the dynamics of the race will change.
To this point Thompson has not been in the debates but he has been everywhere else. He has been certainly been able to get his message out. From appearances on numerous news programs, particularly on FOX News, to his guest spots on Paul Harvey’s radio program, Thompson has increased his visibility enormously. He has not been saddled with any reporting requirements and he has managed to keep the buzz going around his potential candidacy.
Once he announces, of course, things will change. To this point Thompson has not revealed any sort of platform. While he has taken conservative positions on myriad issues, positions that are consistent with his voting record in the Senate, Thompson has not had to face serious questioning about how he would deal with any of these issues. He has not had to be specific or come up with concrete plans for dealing with Iraq, foreign policy, the economy or other domestic issues.
Thompson seems to be the man to watch at the moment. Many pundits believe that once he is a declared candidate his appeal will diminish. They think that he will find it more difficult as a candidate than as an outsider. This much seems clear, Thompson is going to run and the other candidates will have to find a way to deal with him. Can he win the nomination? Time will tell.
