Update, 1:00 PM: Not surprisingly, as Politico reports, there is more to the story: With news of the affair and bizarre cover-up, down goes Sanford. Very sad. Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford did what? For eccentricity's sake, I almost want to hear someone uncover more to the story than the governor of a state dashing off to South America on a whim without telling anyone. Or maybe we're just left to wonder why his staff told the media he really was hiking along the Appalachian trail (and may have "flat out lied" about the Argentina story). To think, just last week I was musing about a possible presidential candidate to support for 2012, and Mark Sanford by default rose to the top of the unofficial and utterly … [Read more...]
Senator Jim DeMint Sets Up a Great Framework for Rebuilding the GOP
If there is anyone currently in the U.S. Senate of whom I would consider myself a fan, Jim DeMint of South Carolina would be on that short list. I understood where he was coming from but found it a little disconcerting when he said: "I would rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who really believe in principles of limited government, free markets, free people, than to have 60 that don't have a set of beliefs." What a great relief then to see Senator DeMint's excellent column in yesterday's Wall Street Journal -- what I consider an opportunity to revise and extend his remark. His rhetoric is blunt, and his analysis is clear: … [Read more...]
He Wasn’t Their First Choice, But Wadhams and Hillman Both Pleased with Michael Steele as RNC Chair
Not exactly breaking news: former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele is the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. Polipundit has a blow-by-blow account of the six rounds (and five hours) of yesterday's balloting to achieve a majority of support from the 168 delegates. Five candidates started the day. At the end it came down to Steele and South Carolina's Katon Dawson. Steele prevailed by a count of 91-77. I followed up with two of Colorado's three voting RNC members afterward to get their thoughts, and received very similar reactions to the results. "Michael Steele will be a great spokesperson for our party," said state GOP chairman Dick Wadhams. "Michael Steele is one of the Republican Party's most articulate … [Read more...]
1861 Was Not 1776: An Essay
Update: An astute observer has corrected a factual mistake. James Madison wrote "much of" - not "most of" - the Federalist. Alexander Hamilton wrote more, though Madison wrote many of the key essays that frame the meaning of Union. My faux pas. The following is adapted and expanded from an email listserv essay I wrote recently, inspired initially in response to the following phrase someone had written: "The American Republic created by the founding fathers was destroyed by the civil war...." Here is my argument why libertarians should think long and hard before embracing a defense of the Confederate cause: Quite simply, the noble libertarian impulse to champion resistance to government encroachment on people's freedoms has led many … [Read more...]
South Carolina Predictions
If Michael (picking McCain) and Steven (picking Huckabee) can do it, let me venture a stab-in-the-dark prediction at today's South Carolina Republican primary results. Because, with Rasmussen seeing an extraordinary amount of uncertainty and the unusual weather apparently driving down turnout, this one is up in the air. So without further ado, here is my prognostication: Huckabee ... 28 Thompson ... 24 McCain ... 22 Romney ... 13 Paul ... 7 Giuliani ... 6 Such a finish would knock McCain down a couple notches and give Thompson the boost he needs heading into Super Tuesday as a viable competitor with Huckabee in the Southern states and with Giuliani & Romney in some of the other states (provided Rudy can win Florida, of course … [Read more...]
Fredmentum Firsthand
"The man finally comes around," writes Red State's Erick Erickson for Human Events, as he travels with the Thompson campaign in South Carolina:Though barely mentioned in the national media, Senator Fred Thompson has been on a barn storming tour crisscrossing South Carolina for more than a week. In a unique approach, he is not just going to major media markets, but to rural areas of South Carolina. On my first day on the trail with Senator Thompson, he drew a crowd of 180 people to a small Mennonite restaurant in Abbeville, South Carolina — population 26,000 with a median income of $15,370. He capped off the day at the Orangeburg-Calhoun County Technical College in Orangeburg, South Carolina with over 200 people braving a rare snow shower … [Read more...]
David Limbaugh: Give Fred Thompson a Second Look, Answer His Call
David Limbaugh eloquently tells conservatives why now is the time to give Fred Thompson a second look and fearlessly answer the call of his campaign:Fred does not run from his record -- more to the point, he doesn't need to. He shoots straight without the constant self-serving reminders that he does, as in telling us he's driving the "Straight Talk Express." More importantly, Fred is right on the issues, and there's little doubt his positions are firm. Research his stances; read his position papers. You'll find he's very strong in all areas important to mainstream conservatives, including national defense, taxes, spending, life, immigration, federalism, appointing originalist judges, health care and education. I'm not drooling over … [Read more...]
Why South Carolina Should Pick Fred
At the American Spectator, Quin Hilyer makes the best case I've seen for South Carolinians to support Fred Thompson in Saturday's primary:If I were a South Carolina Republican voter on Saturday, then for parochial, tactical, and philosophical reasons, I would vote for Fred Thompson. This doesn't mean that I would not have voted for Mitt Romney in Michigan on Tuesday, if I were a Michigander, or that I would not vote for Rudy Giuliani in Florida later this month. Voting in each state, especially in a drawn-out nomination battle, involves particularly local considerations as well as national ones. But for South Carolinians who are mainstream conservatives, those local considerations seem to cry out for a boost for Fred Thompson. Read … [Read more...]
Romney Wins, Now What?
Mitt Romney recorded an impressive win in the Michigan primary tonight. Hats off to him. Now here's hoping that Fred Thompson surges back to take South Carolina and Rudy makes a comeback with a Florida victory. It will drive all the pundits mad, simply mad - especially those in the MSM beginning to mourn McCain's demise. Can you imagine it? The phrase "Republican frontrunner" will set off unending fireworks on all the cable news programs. So should the word "momentum," which professional and amateur prognosticators appear to have put too much stock into this far. Huckabee's Iowa win got him what? Back-to-back third-place finishes. And McCain went from one week as the New Hampshire darling to badly beaten in Michigan the next. So who … [Read more...]
GOP Primary Thoughts for the Day
Today is the Michigan Republican Presidential primary: Here's hoping that my home state can do its part to derail the McCain Train before it carries the whole Republican Party and conservative movement off the cliff. Meanwhile, Fred is on fire in South Carolina: See here and here for a sample of the details. On the other hand, Paul Mirengoff at Powerline opines that a McCain Michigan victory catapulting him to frontrunner status coupled with Fred's rising status as the leading conservative challenger in South Carolina might do wonders for Fred's campaign. Perhaps, but I'm not willing to take the chance with McCain. Today, I cheer for Romney. … [Read more...]