I sent the following email to conservative bloggers who support Fred Thompson for president:

Dear Friends,

Rick Moran
Right Wing Nuthouse

If you are a blogger who supports Fred, please participate in this Blogburst. If you know of a blogger who supports Fred, I urge you to contact them and ask them to participate.

For me, it comes down to this. If Fred isn’t nominated, I doubt very much that I will show up at the polls next November. Not to punish the party but simply because there is no one in the race who would be representing my views or who I could in good conscience, support for president.

This is why despite his long shot status, every effort must be made to help Fred Thompson continue the campaign by contributing to his efforts in Iowa. I’m going to give on Thursday and I hope you do too.

UPDATE: 12/26

By sheer coincidence (I have not been in contact with the Thompson campaign) I received this email from the campaign today:

I have a terrific new TV spot. You can see it now at Fred08.com. Take a look, and forward this message on to 10 of your friends.

All we need is air cover—which the spot on our website will provide.

It would seem that the proposed blogburst will come at an extremely fortuitous time for the Thompson campaign.

Let’s redouble our efforts to make it a big success.

UPDATE: THANKS, GLENN

Glen Reynolds linked to this post and while not endorsing Fred, obviously feels a kinship with his home state senator.

Until I get my official Blogburst post up tomorrow, please give to Fred’s campaign by filling out the convenient widget below:

UPDATE: 12/27

Join the Marbleheaders for Fred!

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze’s famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware River.

This post originally appeared December 25, 2004.

It is perhaps the most parodied image in American history.

In countless advertisements, cartoons, sitcoms, movies, and plays, the image of George Washington (or some comical replacement) standing heroically by the bow of a boat as it navigates the frozen ice floes of the Delaware River has etched itself permanently into the American psyche. More often than not, the image has been used to show a haughtiness on the part of the individual substituting for Washington or to poke fun in an iconic way at America itself.

What the painting and its imitators doesn’t show is how near a thing it was that American independence died that night and how the iron will and gambling nature of one man changed the course of history and virtually assured freedom for the colonies.

Just three days prior to the attack on the Hessian outpost at Trenton, Tom Paine published the first of his “Crisis” articles whose ringing words still tug at the heartstrings of patriots everywhere:

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

At the time of the crossing, things couldn’t have been worse for the patriot cause. Washington had seen his army continuously thrown back since the previous summer’s ill-advised campaign to meet the British army in New York. Every battle became a humiliating defeat. Every retreat saw his army shrink. From a high of 20,000 at the battle of Brooklyn Heights to its now paltry 4500 ill fed, ill clothed, scarecrows, the Continental army had become something of a joke to their enemies.

New York was lost. New Jersey was mostly occupied with more and more patriots giving an oath of allegiance to King George so that they could buy food for their families. The Congress in Philadelphia had fled to Baltimore where they hoped somehow to carry on a war that seemed all but lost. In effect, George Washington was not only in charge of the military for the young country, he was head of the government as well, acting as something of a military dictator but always careful to inform the Congress of exactly what he was doing.

But George Washington desperately wanted to go on the offensive. Seeing an opportunity with the way the British had spread out their garrisons throughout the New York and New Jersey countryside, Washington decided to take the biggest gamble of his career. An inveterate card player, (Wist was his game of choice) as well as being offensive minded by nature, he knew that his little army was about ready to disintegrate what with enlistments up after the first of the year. In his own mind, he felt he had no other choice but to attack. And attack not just one but two of the more isolated British outposts. He had it in mind to threaten the huge British supply depot at Brunsiwck, New Jersey thus causing General Howe in New York to shorten his lines and relieve the pressure on New Jersey patriots.

The choice of Trenton was based on both geography and necessity. But the attack on Princeton was a strategically brilliant concept. By taking both Trenton and Princeton, Washington would cut off the British Army in New York from their main base of supply in New Brunswick. And such a move would free most of New Jersey from British occupation and rally patriots in that beleaguered state to the cause.

None of this would matter unless Washington could get across the Delaware and attack the overconfident Hessians at Trenton. Using an extraordinarily sophisticated intelligence operation, Washington was able gather enough information about the Hessian defenses at Trenton to make the enormous gamble worth taking. Throughout the war, Washington acted as his own spymaster, developing networks of patriots in and around New York city. The British couldn’t sneeze without Washington knowing about it.

Beginning the crossing at 2:00 pm on Christmas day, Washington’s plan called for three separate columns to descend on Trenton at the same time. But due to an ice storm that came up early that evening, the other two columns never made it to the battlefield. Only the tirelessness of General John Glover’s “Marblehead Regiment” who courageously battled the ice and cold by manning the oars that took Washington’s boats containing 2,500 men, horses, and two precious cannon across the river made the victory possible.

The march from the New Jersey side of the river to Trenton was a nightmare. It was said one could see the progress of the army’s march by following the bloody footprints in the snow; many of the 2,500 men did not have any shoes. Two men died of the cold on the march. And instead of reaching the Hessian encampment while it was still dark, Washington’s threadbare little army didn’t reach Trenton until well after dawn.

Nothing, however, deterred Washington from attacking. After overcoming the sleepy outposts, Washington’s troops entered the town and before the Hessians could get organized, surrounded the enemy, killed Colonel Rall the Hessian commander, and forced the garrisons’s surrender. By noon of the 26th, Washington was back across the Delaware with almost 1000 prisoners and a huge cache of supplies.

A few days later, Washington scored perhaps his most audacious victory at Princeton. Crossing the River again, he confronted General Cornwallis whose 1500 troops had occupied a position between Washington and Trenton. With darkness falling, Washington left 400 men to tend campfires, giving Conrwallis the impression he was staying put while taking the bulk of his army clear around Cornwallis to attack a garrison headquartered at Princeton.

At first, the battle went badly for the Continentals. As the British surged forward and threatened to rout Washington’s army, he spurred his horse forward, rallied his men, and with bullets flying all around him, led the troops to a decisive victory. Then, before Cornwallis could cut off his retreat, he led his force to Morristown where he went into winter quarters.

General Howe in New York was beside himself. He realized that Washington, from his secure position on the heights above Morristown, could swoop down and attack any of his isolated garrisons at will. Accordingly, he pulled back his forces to the immediate vicinity of New York. In the space of 10 days, Washington had defeated two separate British forces, captured tons of desperately needed supplies, rallied the patriots, and levered the British out of New Jersey. No matter what defeats lay in Washington’s future, his reputation and position in American history was secured by his victories at Trenton and Princeton.

Two recent treatments of Trenton are worth mentioning. David Hackett Fisher’s “Washington’s Crossing” a finalist for the 2004 National Book Award and 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for History is eminently readable and is a treasure trove of tidbits on Washington and the continental army. The book also has some excellent background on Washington’s unconventional but very effective intelligence network.

And then there’s the made-for-cable production called “The Crossing” which stars Jeff Daniels as George Washington. Daniels, who gave an excellent portrayal of Colonel Joshua Chamberlain in Ted Turner’s “Gettysburg” falls a little flat trying to play Washington. While the movie is very watchable, I don’t think there’s an actor living or dead who could do justice to the part of Washington. The iconic image of Washington as father, savior, and ultimately civic saint makes the portrayal of such a gigantic historical figure problematic.

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

Not the best picture of Ebony

I told my Ebony that about 15 minutes before my friend of 16 years took her last breath.

She never tired of me calling her a “pretty girl.” As I would repeat the endearment over and over, her face would scrunch up in pleasure and she would purr loudly. She connected the same way if I repeated her name again and again. In the end, she couldn’t purr anymore, but her last hours were filled with emotion and pathos nonetheless.

The last few weeks had seen a change in her behavior. She was more demanding of attention, more vocal. She would actually jump on the back of my computer chair and butt her head against my shoulder if I didn’t drop everything and pet her, tickle her.

And then about a week ago, she simply began to disappear for long stretches of time, coming out only to nibble on some food and drink some water. She was under the bed or behind the couch, content to lie there for most of the day and sleep.

Then on Thursday, I went out in the morning to make some coffee and lo and behold, lying in the middle of the kitchen floor directly in front of the coffee pot so that I couldn’t miss it was a very dead mouse. And five feet away, lying on the floor and cleaning herself proudly was Ebony. I gave her some catnip and stroked her lovingly.

I didn’t see her again until late last night when she began a pitiful series of cries. After a few of those, Sue and I decided to move the couch and find out what was wrong. When we pulled it away from the wall, she was lying on her stomach, face down and obviously in bad shape.

Her breathing was very shallow and she was very weak. She couldn’t hold her head up. She trembled and she was very cold. We both knew then that the end was very near.

We laid her on her cat bed. Sue had some heating paks left over from when she had surgery so she heated those up in the microwave and placed them on top of the warm blanket we threw over her. We spoon fed her a little of her favorite food which she enjoyed immensely. The heat seemed to ease her breathing. And then, the death watch.

How do you say goodbye to a friend? For all the cats I have been possessed by, I had never gone through this. Previous kitties had been stolen or more likely killed by a car or captured by some family despite the tags I had on them. A couple of long time companions I had to give to friends when I moved to a new place that didn’t allow pets. But with all the cats I’ve loved, I never had to sit by and watch one as they died.

We talked to her constantly and stroked her continuously. Every once and a while, she would reach out and grab one of our hands and pull it tight to her chest, vigorously licking our fingers – an act that would make both of us dissolve in tears. She would also occasionally raise her head and look at me right in the eyes, reaching out her paw as if to touch my face. The effort would cause her to tremble and shake and she would fall back, resuming her struggle to keep breathing.

Her breathing got shallower and quicker. She slept a bit. I kept telling her goodbye but I think after a few hours, she couldn’t hear me. Her eyes were already glazed over and barely open. Then I dozed off briefly. When I awoke, she was gone.

Everyone owned by a cat has stories of their magic, their feats of athleticism, their maddening aloofness. My Ebony was no different. She was an extraordinary athlete who loved the outdoors, a tremendously attentive and loving mother, an affectionate and hugely entertaining companion. She had that cat sense of knowing when you needed company and when to avoid you. But mostly, she had that otherwordly sense of how best to fit in to my life, to be awake when I was awake and recognize the rhythms of my day.

Our other cats sense our loss and are depressed this morning. We have made a special effort to pay attention to them, to reassure them. Aramas, Ebony’s son and lover, is especially upset, walking around aimlessly and looking at us pitifully. He and the little one are now asleep and I hope they stay that way until after the burial.

Our Christmas season is darkened somewhat by the death of my friend. But we had been expecting the end for many months as her physical condition deteriorated. To have it happen early morning on Christmas eve was very sad. We had just trimmed the tree on Saturday night and were laughing about how Ebony would take up her accustomed spot, lying for hours on end on the stand cover underneath the tree, the colored lights reflecting off her shiny coat giving her a weird glow.

Instead, we will simply remember her and all that she gave us and thank her for being our friend.

Via Allah, we get a real potential roadblock for Huckabee – something that would even cause his most ardent supporters to look twice at.

Apparently, the Huckster isn’t very concerned about from where some of his money comes, including taking speaking fees from a company – Norvo Ordisk – that conducted embryonic stem cell research.

Here’s Norvo’s stem cell policy:

Novo Nordisk, along with the majority of the scientists working within the field of stem cell research, finds that it is essential at this time to proceed with research in both adult and embryonic stem cells in parallel, partly to gain basic knowledge about the normal cell maturation processes and partly to clarify the potentials of the two cell types. Cell nucleus transfer and therapeutic cloning do not presently offer any advantages that in any way outweigh both the inherent scientific risks and the ethical dilemmas.

Research in human embryonic stem cells has evoked an important ethical debate and Novo Nordisk wishes to contribute to an open dialogue and an ethical and political clarification regarding the use of human embryonic stem cells. In Europe large differences exist between the different countries with regard to the legislation and control of research on human embryonic stem cells. This is a cause for concern and Novo Nordisk therefore urges all countries to establish legislation that will ensure that this important research is adequately regulated and controlled.

The problem with Huckabee running a not so subtle “I’m the best Christian in the race” campaign is that any hint of hypocrisy is magnified a hundredfold.

And this certainly qualifies as hypocritical. To profit by taking money from a company engaged in research that he considers akin to murder reveals a dishonesty in the man that seems to be emerging the more opponents attack him.

Is there anyone who believes that the cross in his “Christmas message” commercial (that excluded non-Christians in its sentiments) was an optical illusion or an “accident” as Huckabee claims? To believe so means that he’s got the most incompetent political admen in Christendom. Nothing goes on television in the form of an ad that isn’t scrutinized minutely for what is in the foreground and background.

For Huckabee to lie through his teeth about that ad was disturbing. Now he is caught taking money from murderers (by his lights) and one begins to wonder what else might be in his past that gives the lie to his pious pronouncements.

At the very least, controversies like this blunt the Preacher Man’s momentum in Iowa and elsewhere. And with the GOP electorate already antsy about their choices, many could now give other candidates a second look.

Take one moderately conservative governor of a small southern state. Add a little cornpone humor, endow him with an unctuous speaking style, fill him with syrupy policy prescriptions. And then dump a truckload of socially conservative positions in the mix and what you have is the future mold of the Republican party candidate for president.

With the ascension of Mike Huckabee to near front runner status in the race for the Republican nomination, the Grand Old Party is looking at something of a hybrid candidate compared to past hopefuls; a “big government” conservative who projects a more moderate image on fiscal and economic issues but whose stand on abortion, gay marriage and other social issues matches those of the rock ribbed, grassroots Christian conservatives that increasingly are making a decisive difference in the primaries.

Not that the Christian conservatives didn’t make an impact in previous campaigns. But this is a different Republican party than the one that confidently put forth George W. Bush for a second term in 2004. The party’s losses in the 2006 election cut deeply into some of its traditional strongholds in the upper south and Midwest while nearly destroying the party in New England and the northeast. The color of the electoral map is beginning to match the mood of the GOP; getting bluer as time goes on. Even in the mountain west, a Republican stronghold for decades, is seeing serious challenges to Republican hegemony in Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico.

There are as many reasons for this swing of the pendulum as there are pundits. But one basic fact overrides all others; the American voter is less conservative, more open to government solutions than they were just a decade ago.

And perhaps most importantly, they believe the Democrats can do a better job of dealing with issues that are most important to them.

For example, a recent USA Today-Gallup poll showed that the American people believe the most important issue confronting the country is the War in Iraq. By a 10 point margin – 48%-38% – voters believe the Democrats are better able to deal with the war. The second most important issue named in the survey was the economy. Voters feel Democrats better able to handle that issue by a 50% – 38% tally. The GOP scores with the third most important issue; illegal immigration. They maintain a plurality of 44% – 37% of support for their approach.

But a further sign that the Republicans are in trouble comes from their shrinking lead among voters who view Homeland Security/Terrorism as an important issue. From a lead of 58% – 36% on election day 2004, the Democrats have closed the gap to 48% – 38%. And with national security fading in importance as an issue, not only will the Republican advantage become less pronounced but the issue won’t cut against the Democrats so severely.

Beyond specific issues, a Pew Research poll found Americans growing less socially and economically conservative over the last decade while younger voters show more faith in government solutions to problems than their elders. And for the first time since the 1970’s, the phrase “The best way to insure peace is through military strength” garners a bare plurarlity who agree (49% – 47%).

All of this points to an electorate that would seem to be unfriendly to the kind of traditional conservatism candidates like Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Fred Thompson are running on. And this is where Mike Huckabee’s more moderate, government friendly kind of conservatism may play better among the general populace than his fellows.

Make no mistake. Huckabee is extremely conservative on social issues. Some of his utterances over the years raise the hackles of women, gays, AIDS patients, and those less outwardly religious than the Baptist minister.

But his record as Arkansas governor reveals someone who was more interested in results than ideology. He has earned the enmity of the conservative Club For Growth for his tax and spending policies during his 10 1/2 years as governor because Huckabee did some decidedly unconservative things while in office. He funded road building by raising taxes. He initiated a state sponsored health care program for kids. He raised taxes a total of 21 times, increasing the average tax burden on state residents from $1,969 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 1997, to $2,902 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005.

Huckabee has since embraced the so-called “Fair Tax” proposal that would tax consumption and not income. No one gives the proposal a ghost of a chance to win approval in Congress and the candidate’s adopting the idea may have been so that he could tap in to the grass roots enthusiasm for the measure. Fair Tax advocates are passionate about the idea and they have flocked to Huckabee’s banner since he is the only Republican candidate pushing the program.

Huckabee was extremely popular in Arkansas because he addressed the needs of the people and made government work efficiently to address their problems. As the country moves more toward the center, this is the message they want to hear from politicians. What traditional Republican candidates are offering may play well within the party but the broader electorate could ultimately reject. A candidate who can speak the language of government as helper without making it seem as if he is a traditional liberal while espousing conservative social views may be the wave of the future for Republicans. And Huckabee may be riding that wave all the way to the nomination.

UPDATE

Lest there be any confusion, this is in no way and endorsement for Huckabee or his policies. Regular readers know I can’t abide his shameless pandering to the Christian right nor his squishy foreign policy or blatantly liberal fiscal and tax policies.

But Slim Guy has it pegged in the comments – his appeal goes beyond Christian conservatives and has tapped a rich vein of “Main Street” conservatives – people who have an affinity for the religious right and who see the party as too “corporate” or beholden to Wall Street.

This is also indicative of an urban/rural split in the GOP that absolutely must be healed if the Republicans expect to win next November.

We’ve had some big problems with the site the last 24 hours. However, the good folks at Blogs About are working on the latest DNS attack of the spam bots and it’s a little better this morning.

I aplologize for the inconvenience and hope to have a post up later today.

I’m running out of ways to make a play on words of Governor Goober. Pretty soon, I’ll be forced to simply call him stupid.

This past week, Huckafraud lied through his teeth about a cross being subtly but strategically placed in a campaign ad to make it appear the candidate was a preacher in a pulpit. He dismissed such thoughts as a conspiracy theory, saying that anyone who saw a cross rather than a bookcase also probably heard “Paul is dead” if you played the ad backwards.

But Dan Riehl proves how the lighting in the ad was manipulated. And beyond that, we’re talking about political advertising. There is not one thing in the foreground or background that isn’t deliberately placed. To expect anyone to believe otherwise is to believe in Santa Claus.

Buttressing the idea that the cross is deliberately placed is the fact that Huckabee not so subtly also mentions “Christ” in the ad. Now before people go ballistic on me, allow me to point out that by mentioning the savior, Huckabee deliberately excludes anyone but Christians from his Christmas message. This is extraordinarily unusual for a man running for president in a multi-faith country. And for Huckabee to deny that the ad was not targeted at the Christian right is ludicrous.

This has been my beef with Huckabee – his willingness to inject his religion and religious beliefs – subtly or not – into the campaign. It is done to pander to the Christian right and it is working. But Huckabee’s efforts to obscure his left leaning record on a variety of issues as well as blatant flip flops on some others and now this blatantly exclusionary commercial all add up to a slick, untrustworthy, dissembling man and unworthy to be considered for the presidency.

If that weren’t enough, now comes word that a member of his campaign or an “ally” depending on who you read, decided to tug on superman’s cape and criticize entertainer/pundit Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh describes the attack:

So the Huckabee Universe Guy said, “Honestly, Rush doesn’t think for himself. I mean, that’s not necessarily a slap because he’s not paid to be a thinker, he’s an entertainer. I can’t remember the last time he’s veered from the talking points from the DC-Manhattan chattering class. If they were praising Huckabee, he would be, too.”

That’s just… I can’t believe that there is a Republican alive today who thinks this, whether supporting the Huckster, Giuliani, whoever. Then this also, said the Huck forcer, “I have to think that he’s dying to have Hillary in the White House. Bill Clinton made Rush a megastar. Having another Clinton back in power would make him the Leading Voice of the Opposition, once again.”

Ed Morrissey chides the Hucksters for “Bringing A Water Pistol To A Firefight.” Limbaugh’s response proves the wisdom of that remark:

What this supposed Huck supporter… I’m not even sure it’s a Huck supporter. This sounds like something a Clinton person would say. You know, this is what the Clinton people believe, that Bill Clinton made my career, that all I want is somebody in office that can make me even bigger, and that I don’t think for myself. You people are just mind-numbed robots. I can’t believe there’s anybody on Huckabee’s staff that ignorant about what happens on this program. If this is indeed Huckster forces attacking Rush, then he’s got some people on his staff that are going to cause him problems because that’s just simply idiotic. This notion… I have to explain this too often, as far as I’m concerned. This notion that I was nothing, that I was just wandering aimlessly in the radio muck field until Bill Clinton came along, and voila! I blossomed into what I am today is frankly absurd. This broadcast commenced with 56 little radio stations and WABC New York on August 1st, 1988. By 1993, when Wilhelm Von Der Schlick Meister was inaugurated as president, number 42, we had 500 radio stations and our audience was at about 17-1/2 maybe 18 million people.

To buttress the idea that this indeed is what the Huckabee camp thinks of Rush and, more importantly, is part of an emerging strategy to create an “Us vs. The World” mentality among his supporters, here’s a great analysis by Allahpundit on a similar dustup the Hucksters are having with Ann Coulter:

The more the conservative world comes out against him, from Will to Peggy Noonan to NRO to Rush to Sean Hannity, the more he’ll be forced to pitch an “us against them” campaign to his supporters. He’s too far left on too many issues to tack right credibly, so the only way to keep them in the fold is to try to build on that religious and economic populism he’s peddling and make this a full-blown Cause against the conservative establishment. The trick is keeping the few truly big players like Limbaugh neutral, since they really do have the chops to tilt this thing in a two-man race. Sounds like it might already be too late.

Here is the conservative crack up writ large. Not a regional schism but rather cultural one. It’s the rural/devout Christian/big government/compassionate conservative wing of the party vs. the urban/secular/traditional/libertarian factions. I wrote about this urban/rural split in my Pajamas Media article:

It is more related to the urban/rural tensions in the party than perhaps any objection to Huckabee using his faith to energize the Christian right. Surely there are as many urban evangelicals as there are rural libertarians. But the heart of the party is still in the south and what used to be called “The Bible Belt.” These Republicans are more socially conservative than party members who live in the urban and suburban centers of the north and west.

They have stood by and watched as what they call the “Wall Street ” wing of the party denigrates their social agenda and takes their vote for granted. Supporting Huckabee and listening to the rest of the party wail about the candidate’s faith and unelectability only makes them more determined to support him. This also goes for the growing number of “Main Street” conservatives who have an affinity with the Christian right and have bought into Huckabee’s vision of a less corporate, more compassionate party.

Huckabee is running toward a gasoline dump with a lit match and no one appears able to stop him. Rudy is fading. Romney is dropping. Fred is struggling. McCain’s campaign is holding its breath, hoping not to get sidetracked by the coming New York Times hit piece. And emerging from all of this relatively unscathed will be the Preacher Man, fully able to exploit the cleavage between those who think he would be a disaster as a candidate and those who see him as the future of the party.

In this volatile race, anything is possible. And while it was not very smart to attack Rush Limbaugh (the campaign says it didn’t come from them) it is fully in keeping with a strategy that seeks to unite supporters as a Band of Brothers against those who would destroy them.

This may very well allow Huckabee to win the nomination. But what happens to the party and conservative movement as a result of his deliberate challenge to the establishment is another matter.

The votes are in from this weeks Watchers Council and the winner in the Council category was “Pearl Harbor… And 9/11” by Joshuapundit. Finishing second was “A Deeply Flawed NIE Changes Nothing & Everything” by Wolf Howling.

Coming out on top in the non Council category was “Men of Valor: Part IV” by Michael Yon.

If you’d like to participate in the Watchers Council vote, go here and follow instructions.

Note: We’re going to play a little counterfactual game today based on the following input: Suppose the primaries end and no GOP candidate has achieved a majority of delegates? In that case, the role of the Republican convention will revert to what such conclaves used to be about; a venue where nominees were actually chosen rather than the idiotic beauty pageants and love fests they’ve become today.

Following are some excerpts from my blog posts from the time I arrived in Minneapolis on August 30, 2008 to the end of the convention.

(I will update this post for the next few days) Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here.

*******************************************************

September 2, 11:00 AM

The adventure at “Ed Morrissey’s Happy Bottom Riding Club and Flop House” continued this morning when several dozen of us wanted to take a shower and shave. Cleanliness may be next to Godliness but that didn’t stop the First Mate from standing outside the bathroom with an egg timer, giving everyone exactly 2 minutes to shower. If someone dared go over she would immediately threaten to send Ed in with a wet towel to snap the offending guest on the rump – regardless of the sex of the bather. It worked. All but a few of us had hot water although I have about 5 nicks on my face from shaving so fast. Ed gave me a palmfull of Brut to rub on the cuts so now I not only look like Scarface but I smell like a gigolo.

Arriving at the Excel Center, you immediately notice the prevalence of social cons in the crowds milling outside. They’ve come for the big floor fight this morning over the anti-gay marriage amendment or, as some refer to it, the “unnaturally offensive amendment.” That’s because of this passage that the social cons are fighting to keep in the plank:

“We believe that marriage should be defined as a union between a man and a woman and should be preserved and protected from unnatural alterations.”

Such an amendment would make sense – if we were talking about preventing men from marrying sheep or women from marrying goats. But the social cons want their pound of flesh (and an expression of their nauseating bigotry) so there was no compromising in meetings leading up to the convention.

As an aside, I believe there is a secular case that can be made against gay marriage. I am less and less swayed by it but people of good conscience and character can disagree.

But no purpose is served by referring to gay marriage as “unnatural.” Therein lies the rank bigotry that makes many of us secular conservatives ashamed of that ideological label.

It’s almost as if the social cons are bringing on this fight to deliberately anger the rest of the party. They made it clear in no uncertain terms that the savaging of Mike Huckabee during the primary campaign was just about the last straw.

James Dobson’s reviving his dark mutterings of setting up a third party following the bruising March 4 Texas primary where religion played such a huge role and where Romney’s campaign was resurrected after his month long series of attacks on Huckabee’s supposed “hypocrisy.” The Huckster had it coming after calling himself the only “real” Christian in the race – a gaffe he has yet to live down. It shattered his momentum and put Romney right back in the ballgame with a strong second place showing to Giuliani. That and his big win in Ohio on the same day (and Fred’s surprising second place) assured Romney that he would be in the field until the end.

To placate the social cons, the Platform Committee gave in to most of their demands on the anti-abortion plank, the “Faith in the Public Square” plank which called on the party to defend people of faith (Christians) from attacks of the godless secularists, and the homeschooling plank which called on Republicans to acknowledge the contribution of home schooling to the education of children.

But the Committee and much of the party wouldn’t budge on the unnaturally offensive amendment, thus, the floor fight.

And a fight it is with the social cons doing all the punching. It’s as if all the years of frustration spent in the background have been unleashed – the bitterness and what they consider “betrayal” bubbling and frothing at the surface.

Most of the speakers this morning have been pro-Amendment – many of them preachers from this group or that one. Much biblical quoting, usually passages involving the devil (libertarian conservatives), demons (liberals), and “Judas” (the rest of us). Their over the top rhetoric is being met with roars of approval by supporters in the half full convention hall.

At times, the place takes on the aura of a revival meeting with shouts of “Hallelujah!” and “Amen!” coming from the colorful array of characters dotting the convention floor. Political conventions are famous for their weird and wonderful individuals dressed in funny clothes, wearing funny hats. Christians are no different except their funny hats are festooned with crosses. Once and a while, you catch a glimpse of a bunch of people standing around in a circle with linked arms. They appear to be in deep thought but then you realize that they are praying.

I would not mind one bit of that was the face of the Republican party – people united in faith, sharing that faith with one another in peace and harmony. But that is not the face of the party on display on stage. It is a face I don’t recognize nor do I want to associate with. It is the face of anger, of exclusion, of resentment that has burst forth from the frustrations and slights endured by social conservatives for many years and is pouring out in a rush on national television.

This will go on for another 2 hours at least. Dobson will speak in about 1/2 an hour. I’ve been told that they expect an almost full house for his speech which Fox News reported is going to be very tough on the party and on secular conservatives.

So a very tense, angry crowd appears to be in no mood to compromise. And what was all love and roses last night is now fire and brimstone. How many will sympathize with the social cons and support them in their platform fight is one question. How many would be willing to vote for Mike Huckabee in a fractured, broken convention is quite another.

I’ll be back in a couple of hours with the climax of this fight.

UPDATE: 3:00 PM

Well, that cuts it.

The fix was in on this one all along. There was no way the party was going to commit suicide and present a blatantly bigoted party platform to the American people so basically, they “disappeared” the amendment down a rabbit hole and rammed through another one that simply reiterated what was said about marriage in the 2004 platform.

It’s the power of the chair that can make this kind of thing happen and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it. But it wasn’t a pretty sight and it may very well have fractured the party once and for all.

Dobson’s speech was like throwing nitroglycerin on a fire. In a nutshell, he believes the party has come under the influence of “evil forces.” (I guess he thinks himself too sophisticated to just come out say that the Devil has a hold of us.) He talked about intolerance of Christians. He spoke of the years that Christians have suffered in silence as their concerns have been given short shrift. He said that the party was in mortal danger of losing its soul unless it acknowledged that love between two people of the same sex was “unnatural.” Of course he didn’t actually say that but a five year old could grasp his meaning.

Meanwhile, the crowd was going nuts. Many were weeping. Many had both hands in the air drinking in “the spirit.” The ovation after he was done was long and heartfelt. And then, the railroading.

Before anyone knew what was happening, the chair recognized the delegate from New Jersey who asked that the amendment be tabled (or killed). No debate, no discussion, the chairman asked for the yeas and nays. The tactic caught the social cons by complete surprise. Even though there were plenty more “nays” shouted out than “yeas,” the chair announced that the ayes had it and the motion was tabled.

The pro-amendment crowd still didn’t know what was happening. They were only vaguely aware that they had just had the legs cut out from underneath them.

At this point, it is the custom for someone from the opposing side to ask for a roll call. It wouldn’t matter if that had happened because the chair relentlessly continued. Screaming into the microphone over the wailing objections from a dozen delegations, he recognized a delegate from Wyoming who asked for unanimous consent that the language in the 2004 platform on marriage be offered as a substitute. “Without objection, it is so ordered,” he shouted – despite the fact that not only was there objection but there was a danger right then and there of things exploding out of control.

These kind of strong arm tactics by the chair are not unknown to political conventions.But watching it happen in front of you is something else entirely. The chair gaveled the afternoon session to a close as at least 20 very angry people were screaming into their microphones for recognition and delegates in the aisles were pushing and shoving, trying to make their way to the stage. I saw many delegates sitting in chairs, looking lost and forlorn. They had been steamrolled and never had a chance.

Now what? The fallout from this will be grim. And whoever ends up the nominee, I don’t envy him the task of putting this party back together.

Back later with more.

UPDATE: 4:30 PM

As expected, there are many calls from the evangelical right to walk out of the convention. But not many from leaders like Dobson or Pat Robertson, who showed up on ABC and graciously forgave us our folly.

The reason a walkout won’t do anything that already hasn’t been done is because of alternate delegates who will simply take the place of the walkouts. The convention will go on, the damage already inflicted.

But there is much seething and anger is not far below the surface. Anything is possible.

Whatever happens is going to happen later. Allowing a few hours for passions to cool, the convention will now not reconvene until 7:00 PM tonight where the first order of business will be the speech by Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska. She’s the “anti-Hillary” face of the party and I understand is quite an effective speaker. Then the President of the United States will speak. The place will be packed with Bush partisans so I’m sure it will be a rouser.

And now for a change of pace – a little levity in the midst of the tenseness and emotion.

I’ve learned that conventions are fertile ground for all kinds of rumors. Earlier this afternoon, word was flying around the convention floor that Jeb Bush was going to announce his candidacy and that the President would deliver the nominating speech while George Bush #41 delivered the seconding speech. The idea was to stampede the convention to Jeb and give him a second ballot victory.

Apparently, CNN tracked down Jeb Bush who laughed a lot but didn’t deny it outright. Well that set the rumor mill churning even more until finally, George H.W. Bush granted Carl Cameron of Fox News an interview and squelched the idea right there. He denied everything and that was that.

Still, there’s a nagging thought at the back of my mind that the rumor could very well have been some kind of trial balloon. Perhaps not offered by the Bush’s directly but it is not impossible to think they weren’t aware of it. What feedback they got was pretty discouraging. People are pretty tired of the Bush’s right now and the prospect of another one at the head of the party doesn’t excite too many people.

I’ll have a short summary of the speeches later.

UPDATE: 11:00 PM

Back at home base – a considerably less crowded place. Evidently a dozen or more boarders at Ed’s place have found alternate housing. Good for them. Maybe I’ll find some floor space tonight to rest my weary head.

With Sarah Palin, I think you’ll agree with me that a star was born last night. She charmed the delegates with her humor and wit while uplifting the entire convention with her stirring stories of triumph by individuals over long odds. If it wasn’t likely that one of the Fab Five was going to be selected as Veep, that speech might have pushed Palin’s name toward the top of the list. As it is, she is definitely a rising star and someone to keep an eye on.

President George Bush came home last night. His approval ratings still only in the 30’s, the future of the economy uncertain, Iraq still taking two steps forward and one back – but it didn’t matter. He’s a Republican president and for many, that is enough. A covention trip is often a reward for party loyalty and the hall was full of party regulars and Bush loyalists.

One more night in the sun.

Indeed, he was interrupted by applause 19 times in a 45 minute speech. He mainly talked about the importance of a unified party, mixing in a defense of his policies. He was effective, as he has been in all his major addresses.

But for many of us, we were like ships passing in the night. Bush – for better or worse – is now part of history. His legacy will be a mixed one (certainly better than his unhinged critics give him credit for and not as good as his shameless apologists say it should be). He is handing his successor a plateful of problems – some of his own making. I don’t envy the guy who emerges from this scrum.

As the balloons came down signalling the end of the evening and the entire Bush clan stood on the stage basking in the warmth of the crowd’s applause, there were many of us, I’m sure, who were breathing a sigh of relief. The father-son Bush dynasty was not unique in American history; the Adams’ John and John Quincy preceded them. But there was 25 years between the two Adams Admininstrations while 8 short years seperated the two Bushs’. And crowded into the 20 years of a Bush presidency was perhaps more history than a country can bear to live through. The end of the cold war, the Gulf war, recession, the Clintons, 9/11, Iraq, and now a brokered convention.

I feel like we’ve been cursed with the old saw “May you live in interesting times.”