As the long race for the White House rolls on, many conservatives find themselves "all agog over Thompson," writes U.S. News and World Report's Kenneth Walsh. His candidacy not yet officially declared, the former U.S. Senator and recognizable actor finds himself at or near the top of most polls among the Republican field. Providing some of the best evidence that Fred Thompson may be the real deal, Politico reports that the Democratic National Committee is using attacks on him to generate fundraising more than a year before the Conventions confirm either party's nominee: Democratic strategists say Thompson's populist style and show-biz allure could prove extremely appealing in a general election at a time when voters are so down on … [Read more...]

It's funny to watch the Colorado Nutroots (I don't need to link to them - you can find them by going to Blog Net News) erupt into spontaneous glee with glib "I-told-you-so's" to anyone who doesn't believe in the perfecting power of the ever-expanding sphere of government, at the release of this report (large PDF). Of course, I haven't even seen any of them actually link to the report, just to articles that mention the report and its apparently bleak picture of Colorado. (Hint: The report says our state doesn't spend as much as other states in some areas. Egads! It must be the death knell of civilization here in the Centennial State.) Critical analysis? Don't expect any from the secular statist fundamentalist crowd. They've found their … [Read more...]

In his latest Townhall column, George Will tackles the problem many union leaders have employing force rather than seeking favor: Democracy is rule by persuasion, but the unpersuasive often try to coerce the unpersuaded. Recent days have provided two illustrations of this tendency, both of them pertaining to labor unions, whose decades of declining membership testify to their waning power to persuade workers that unions add more value to workers' lives than they subtract. Will devotes much of his column to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Davenport case. I won't retread that issue now (previous Mount Virtus coverage featured here), except to say you can tune in at 10 o'clock this morning local Denver time to the Mike Rosen … [Read more...]