Right Wing Nut House

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.

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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.”

I realize that my legions of devoted followers have been sitting on the edge of their seats for days wondering when I was going to make a formal endorsement for a Republican candidate for President.

Not wanting to deprive you, my gentle readers, of an adequate oxygen supply any longer, you may now stop holding your breaths; it’s Fred.

No surprise to readers of this site but I think even my most devoted House Nuts didn’t understand the dilemma I was in. You see, I’m endorsing Fred Thompson despite the fact that I don’t think he can win, that a miracle would have to strike for Fred to capture the nomination.

“Don’t believe the polls!” is the battle cry of politicians who are way behind. This is pure sophistry when you consider the fact that many candidates have their own internal polls telling them pretty much what the public polls are saying; you’re behind and you don’t have much of a chance of winning. In Fred’s case, the polls reflect a very sobering reality; he’s got too much ground to make up and not enough time to do it.

He’s doing exactly the right thing by abandoning any thought of campaigning anywhere else except Iowa. It is in the Hawkeye state - the first in the nation test of strength - that Thompson must show himself a viable candidate. His own expectations are for third place. This is probably doable except for one thing; finishing third with 10-12% of the vote (which is where he’s at now) is not going to excite anyone anywhere. I think the only way Fred will be able to realistically continue the campaign is if he shocks the world and finishes second. This also is possible although the absolute latest from Iowa shows McCain in second with 20% and Romney 3rd with 17%. The important thing is that Romney is tanking. That leaves an opening for Thompson.

Where do you suppose McCain is most vulnerable? If you said immigration, you win a cookie. And who is the strongest candidate on immigration left in the field now that Tom Tancredo has exited the race? If you guessed Fred Thompson you get nothing because everyone knows that.

With Romney slipping, Thompson has a whisper of a chance at second place if he can hammer McCain between now and January 3 on immigration. This will probably end up helping Huckaduck also but that can’t be helped. A second in Iowa keeps the campaign alive at least through South Carolina.

But enough of the strategy, why endorse Fred now if I don’t think he can win? A simple matter of standing up for your guy when the chips are down and he’s at his lowest explains it. The most recent polls in Florida and South Carolina have Fred in 5th place and in single digits. If ever Fred needed a boost, it is from those of us who have liked what he stands for but held back from endorsing him for one reason or another. In my case, it was between Fred and Romney. But today’s news about Romney backpedaling on his contention that Governor George Romney marched with Martin Luther King during the civil rights era is the straw that broke the camel’s back. It never happened and his campaign disingenuously came out with a statement saying that Mitt was “speaking figuratively” not “literally.”

Well, figuratively speaking, I’m a fine figure of a man, devilishly handsome, and have women three at a time when I’m not battling terrorists and making liberal’s heads explode.

On the other hand, if you want to be “literal” about it, I’m 50 pounds overweight, devilishly cute, haven’t spoken to another woman since I met my Zsu-Zsu, and I write long, logical, cogent articles against terrorism while making liberal’s heads explode.

I don’t trust a man who speaks “figuratively” as an adjunct to using plain English. Romney speaks “figuratively” fluently - on abortion, gay marriage, immigration, and other issues. I can’t abide politicians who find it necessary to shade, color, or otherwise try to obscure their positions on issues. It smacks of pandering which is not only dishonest but reveals an inconstant character and someone without any core principles or beliefs.

Fred Thompson has no such weakness as far as I can determine. He is a man who knows his mind and has the intellectual heft to flesh out his ideas in an impressive, rational, and completely logical way. He knows government, knows the Congress, and knows what he believes. As a communicator, he may lack passion. But he makes up for it by speaking clearly and concisely about issues he cares deeply about.

Fred is real - what you see is what you get. In a way, he reminds me more of Eisenhower than Reagan. Not a simple man but a transparent one. There is little subterfuge or guile and his direct, no Mickey Mouse style of speaking and campaigning is a breath of fresh air when placed against his blow-dried rivals Romney and The Huckster.

In short, Fred Thompson is head and shoulders the better man when compared to any other Republican candidate. He may not be the best speaker. He may not shine on the campaign trail. But just who or what are we electing next November? The guy with the pretty smile and easy joke? Or are we trying to elect someone with the penetrating mind and the Iron will to go to Washington and really try and change things while being able to stand tall for America as we face the many serious threats against us in a very uncertain world.

So I would say to my fellow bloggers who, like me, know our endorsement means very little as far as the big picture of the campaign is concerned, that our collective voices, if shouted loud enough, just might do some good. The time is now to stand up for Fred if you support him. He needs our help desperately. Give as much money as you can spare. Write about the campaign often between now and January 3.

Go Fred!

UPDATE

Michelle Malkin commenting on Tom Tancredo’s coming departure from the campaign, offers a list of attributes she would like to see in a nominee:

Where do conservatives who take homeland security seriously turn?

I don’t need a candidate with whom I agree on 100 percent of the issues. At the very least, however, I’d like a candidate who doesn’t share the Left’s utter contempt for, apathy, or sheer condescension toward grass-roots Republicans and immigration enforcement activists. Character counts. Steadfastness counts. A spine would help. So would genuine passion and energy.

I would guess that her last criteria - “genuine passion and energy” - was probably a dig at Fred. I don’t necessarily disagree. Just go to Fred’s YouTube page and watch some of his early speeches and talks before small groups.

Deadly boring.

Does this mean Thompson lacks passion? Or “energy?” I think it means that Fred tries to engage people on an intellectual rather than emotional level. In politics, that doesn’t work very well. His recent performances are much more focused and yes, more energized. But being able to reach out and touch a voter’s soul may not be one of his strong points.

Other than that, Malkin was describing Fred Thompson to a “T.”

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.

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

September 1: 8:00 AM

Got up early this morning thanks to Fausta falling out one of the hammocks Ed had strung up in the living room. Apparently, the poor dear fell right on top of Frank of Political Vindication who yowled in protest. This caused his partner Shane to wake up with a start and hit his head on the underside of the First Mate’s 18th century walnut Louis the XVI Gilded Trumeau, the poor guy forgetting he had fallen asleep underneath it.

Shane didn’t cause too much damage and I’m sure after applying a little Super Glue and chewing gum, the priceless antique will be as right as rain.

At any rate, the opening of the convention isn’t scheduled for another two hours but there’s big news coming out of the closed door meeting of the Rules Committee this morning.

According to Rule 16 (f), there is no appeal of the sanctions applied by the RNC to the 5 states who violated party rules by holding their primaries before February 5. But when did rules ever stop politicians? The deal worked out involves suspending the rules and seating the delegates anyway. This will be accomplished by the chair recognizing Florida and Governor Charlie Crist asking for the suspension of rules regarding infractions. The other 4 states will second the motion while a 5th state - probably New York - will also second thus fulfilling the rules requirement that 5 delegations be in favor of the rules suspension. The chair will put it to a voice vote where the “ayes” will have it.

Thus, a bloodbath is avoided - temporarily. It seems with the whole world watching, everyone so far has seen it in their own interest to try and maintain some semblance of decorum and unity. As Samuel Johnson said (or maybe it was Ben Franklin), “The prospect of being hung in the morning concentrates the mind wonderfully.”

Indeed.

A couple of notes on speakers. As you know, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will be the keynote speaker tonight. The speech is being billed as a plea for unity (duh) and a call to defend America from all enemies both here and abroad. I would hope that Governor Jindal has a few words of comfort for Democrats who may not be able to stomach voting for Hillary. There are certainly enough of them and reaching out to centrist Democrats would be a good idea politically.

Also, CNN is reporting that James Dobson is upset at his being slotted tomorrow afternoon. Did the guy think he rated a prime time shot? Pretty arrogant considering the fact that he’s still threatening to bolt the party if Rudy gets the nomination.

Finally, President Bush’s speech tomorrow night will probably begin around 9:00 PM local time (10:00 PM eastern). There was some thought given to shortening Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin’s speech but in the end, it was decided that the “anti-Hillary” concept was too important to shortchange.

Mostly boring rules debates this morning. Senator Coleman’s speech tonight is probably the next bit of news so I will update this post after he’s done.

UPDATE: 1:00 PM

Just got handed this press release from Mark Sanford’s people:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(No Embargo)

Governor Sanford will address several southern delegations later this afternoon in an effort to garner support for his campaign…

Not entirely unexpected. Sanford mulled running this year but held off, smartly in my opinion. The tip-off to this move came when he failed to endorse McCain last January (after endorsing him in 2000) following the Arizonian’s shocking win in New Hampshire. It was at that point that talk of an up-for-grabs convention really started to become more than idle curiosity and perhaps Sanford saw a possible opportunity.

Regardless of what he says, he is, in fact, a “favorite son” candidate - and a regional one at that. His goal is to force the number of ballots go beyond 4 or 5. At that point, if he has a pocketful of delegates, he could probably name his own price in a Thompson administration (most observers see him leaning toward Fred). If Fred has retired at that point, he may offer himself as Romney’s Vice President.

How many delegates could he realistically hope for? A nice round figure would be 100. And in a close race where every single head is being counted, 100 votes is a huge number.

Sanford is a very capable and attracive politician - a man whose time may be in the near future. Is there any scenario where the convention could stampede his way? I would think only if the delegates were exhausted and had no where else to go would they consider someone outside of the Fab Five who are already here.

One humorous note: There’s a rumor that Rudy’s people are hopping mad at the order in which the candidates will be nominated on Wednesday night. Each candidate will be allowed one nominating speech and one seconding speech lasting no more than 5 minutes. They have also limited the “demonstrations” of support to no more than 15 minutes.

The Giuliani people are upset that since they are going first the speeches and demonstration for Rudy will begin before prime time - around 5:30 eastern. The order was determined by lots so I don’t exactly know what Rudy’s people think the RNC could do about it. The rules require that the voting begin immediately after the nominating speeches are over. Since it’s already likely to be a long night, I think the RNC is doing well to get the speechifying and demonstrations over by 8:00 eastern so at least people can see a little of the drama of how this convention will play out in prime time.

More after Coleman’s speech.

UPDATE II

And so ends Day I of what is proving so far to be something of a love fest. The two speakers tonight acquitted themselves well. Norm Coleman’s welcoming speech was short, sweet, and funny. The bit about Minnesota being in the midst of an Al Gore caused heat wave was priceless.

Everyone was interested to see Bobby Jindal, Louisiana’s new governor and someone many believe might make a run some day for president. As keynote speaker, his job was to hit the themes of the convention and inspire some optimism about the future. An impossible task given the circumstances. Still, he also did pretty well. I think they could have gotten a better speaker (Alaska governor Sarah Palin would, in my opinion, have been a better choice) but Jindal wasn’t a disaster.

Debate on the platform began this afternoon and surprisingly, the social cons were holding their fire. Of course, the real controversy comes tomorrow when the convention takes up the controversial plank on gay marriage.

Given that no one wants to alienate anyone else’s supporters, there haven’t been the bruising fights on the platform this year as there has been in the past. Almost all the major disagreements were worked out in the last two weeks behind closed doors in the Platform Committee.

But the libertarians are not going to sit still for the Huckabee-inpsired amendment on gay marriage which goes far beyond the 2004 GOP platform which didn’t mention gays, only “that legal recognition and the accompanying benefits afforded couples should be preserved for that unique and special union of one man and one woman which has historically been called marriage.”

Huckabee’s swipe at homosexuals to include the word “unnatural” in the plank has set off a firestorm. This morning, the debate hits the floor with James Dobson taking the stage to defend the wording. It will be interesting to see how the party wriggles out of this one.

Back to the Morrissey Hotel for a couple of hours sleep.

Join me today from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM central time for the Rick Moran Show on Blog Talk Radio.

My special guest will be Ed Morrissey of Captains Quarters blog. Ed is also Political Director of Blog Talk Radio and hosts his own show “Heading Right Radio.” We’ll talk some politics and probably some other good stuff so don’t miss it.

You can access the stream by clicking the button below.

You can call in and talk to Ed at (718) 664-9764.

UPDATE

Interesting show. Ed and I went off on some interesting tangents including a discussion of religion, atheism, and their relationship to politics.

You can stream the show on the player below or click the button above to download the show.

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)

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

August 31 - 11:00 AM

I’m sitting in Ed Morrissey’s home office trying to get comfortable on the floor. Every available seat has been taken up by one of the 50 or so bloggers Ed graciously agreed to put up during the convention. It’s not as crowded as you might think although internet access is, as you can guess, at a premium. The only really bad thing about it is the bathroom situation. Ed partially fixed the problem by setting up a couple of port-o-potties in his backyard next to the circus tent where a couple of dozen bloggers are sleeping but it hasn’t helped much - at least judging by how quickly the flowers in his garden are wilting as a result of people who just can’t hold their water long enough.

But we’re here anyway -witnesses to what most observers are saying is going to be the most exciting convention in 100 years. Five candidates have arrived with enough delegates to challenge for the Republican nomination for president - the result of an extraordinary primary season that saw no candidate receive the 1191 delegates necessary to claim the nomination.

As a refresher, here’s where we stand:

1. Guiliani - 712 pledged delegates and superdelegates
2. Mitt Romney - 633 pledged delegates and superdelegates
3. Mike Huckabee - 502 pledged delegates and superdelegates
4. Fred Thompson - 278 pledged delegates and superdelegates
5. John McCain - 255 pledged delegates and superdelegates

(About 135 of the superdelegates have made it known that they are committed to their candidate for the first ballot only.)

And to give you an idea of how contested this convention is going to be, even the number of delegates it takes to win is up in the air. That’s because the current number of delegates who are to be seated may change when the rules are discussed at tomorrow’s session.

Back in November 2007, the GOP National Committee decided to punish Florida, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina, and Wyoming by taking away half their delegates because they held their primary or caucus before February 5, thus violating Party Rule 16. That’s an extra 136 delegates that each of the winning candidate in those states would dearly love to add to their total. If the rules challenges are successful, the magic number rises to 1259.

So tomorrow will have a lot of blood on the floor. That’s because in their infinite wisdom, the rules committee, meeting last week, decided to take up the challenges to Rule 16 on a state by state basis rather than en masse. This has assured a bloodbath as individual candidates will seek to deny the others the full fruits of their caucus or primary victories.

(There’s already a rumor that Florida is going to seat its entire delegation regardless of the outcome of the rules vote. The imagination has not been invented that can conjure up a more horrific scenario.)

All the candidates sound confident. Thompson thinks he’s a third or 4th ballot shoe in. Romney is banking on disaffected Guiliani delegates from the northeast to put him within spitting distance of a majority after the second ballot where switches will then be allowed. Rudy has the same strategy only grabbing disaffected Romney delegates. Huckabee says he’s doing a lot of praying. And McCain doesn’t think he has much of a chance but came to Minneapolis to honor the commitment of his supporters.

An ABC delegate canvass that ended yesterday shows that Giuliani has a chance for a second ballot win - if the rule 16 fight goes his way in Florida where he edged Huckabee in late January. But there are so many uncommitted superdelegates that it’s just too hard to be definitive about anything - as ABC points out.

I’ll update this entry later if any news breaks.

UPDATE: 11:00 PM

Got a few minutes before the scramble starts to find a place to sleep. I see where Jon Swift has taken the entire dining room table, the lucky sot. And I can’t be sure but I think Ace deliberately chowed down on raw garlic so he could have the sofa all to himself.

The First Mate is being a good sport about everything except I think I overheard her talking to a lawyer. Something about “extreme cruelty” although I couldn’t be absolutely sure.

At any rate, I just watched a Charlie Gibson interview with Mike Huckabee who seemed imbued with the spirit throughout. As near as I can tell, the Huckster is looking for a compromise on Rule 16 that would guarantee all delegates being seated after the 2nd ballot is over. This would seem to help Giuliani but I think the governor believes the goodwill engendered will buy him some delegates when the Chairman calls for switches following the second ballot. And if he can keep Rudy from going over the top, that third ballot should be the wildest convention scene since the Democrats in Chicago in 1968.

Meanwhile, ABC is also reporting that Mitt Romney met with representatives of Thompson late this evening. No one is saying anything but the speculation has been that if Thompson can’t get any closer to the frontrunners following the second ballot, that he may throw his support to Romney.

And yes, you can bet that the Veep spot will be discussed. It is thought that Rudy’s negative ad campaign against Thompson in Florida, hinting that his health problems may return, soured the Tennessean on Giuliani to the point he would never accept the second spot from him. But Fred has no problems with Mitt although he went after him for flip flopping in South Carolina - one of the 6 states he won. But this is September and the convention where bygones will be bygones - as long as the Veep spot is in play.

One last morsel of info. The National Committee is thinking of putting Haley Barbour in the Chair for the rules fight tomorrow. Haley is an old hand and could probably maintain control as well as anyone.

Off to bed. I wonder if the dog would mind if I slept in his basket…

In the internet age, it doesn’t appear to matter if you’re right or left because some people will do anything for attention.

There was a story yesterday about a conservative student at Princeton who claimed he was harassed and beaten up ostensibly by liberals for promoting a conservative values agenda on campus:

After receiving multiple death threats, a Princeton student was beat unconscious last Friday in what appears to be a politically-motivated assault. The attack came after emails saying, “WE WILL KILL YOU,” were sent to the officers of a student group that promotes traditional views of marriage and sexual ethics.

Francisco Nava ‘09, suffered serious abrasions, bleeding, and a light concussion after being beat until he lost consciousness this Friday. The attack, which occurred within blocks of Princeton’s campus, appears to be connected to multiple death threats received by Nava and other officers in the Anscombe Society. Nava was assaulted on Witherspoon Street near the Princeton campus while walking to the home of a local youth he mentors through a student volunteer organization.The attackers did not take any of Nava’s belongings.

One of two assailants, identified as a white, college-aged male, stopped Nava and asked him if he would “help someone who’s been hurt.” The assailant then pulled Nava into a dark area where another male joined in holding Nava’s jaw shut. The two assailants thrust Nava’s face against a brick wall causing abrasions, according to an email sent to administrators. Nava was then punched until he lost consciousness. When he awoke the assailants were beating him with a glass bottle. Nava’s two attackers said, “shut the f* up,” apparently echoing words that had appeared in messages received by Nava and four others affiliated with the conservative Anscombe Society. After the assault, Nava was taken to Princeton Medical Center for treatment. He was released late Friday evening.

There were also some threatening emails sent to a couple of conservative professors.

However, there were a few weird items in Nava’s description of the attack. First and foremost were the “black clad” attackers. Ski masks I can see. But getting into a costume to rough up a classmate doesn’t sound very credible to me.

Also, the description of the beating given by Nava would have left anyone absorbing that kind of punishment in the hospital if not the morgue. While he went to the medical center, he was released after treatment.

Both of these parts of the story had my BS antenna on full when I read about it yesterday which is why I didn’t blog about it although some conservatives did. And sure enough, today we get the truth of the matter:

Francisco Nava ‘09 has admitted to fabricating an alleged assault on him that he said occurred Friday evening and also to sending threatening emails to himself, other members of the Anscombe Society and prominent conservative politics professor Robert George, Princeton Township Police said today.

“He fabricated the story,” Det. Sgt. Ernie Silagyi said.

Nava was released to Public Safety and charges “have not been filed pending further investigation,” according to a statement from Township Police.

I suppose this is what happens when you criminalize thought. That is, hate crimes receive an inordinate amount of attention compared to a run of the mill assault. We have already seen numerous “victims” of hate crimes - most recently a fireman from Baltimore who faked a threatening note that was accompanied by a hangman’s noose - who filed false police reports because of the national attention drawn to racially motivated or religious bias attacks.

Most of the perps are young like Nava although a few teachers have also been caught faking on campus hate crimes. It raises an interesting question about the efficacy of criminalizing incorrect thinking.

Nobody is saying that hate crimes don’t occur. The question should be why make it a more serious crime as a result of how someone views the victim? At bottom, we are asking prosecutors to read the minds of criminals in order to determine whether a true hate crime was committed or not rather than words exchanged “in the heat of the moment” as so often occurs in scuffles and fights.

Then there are the racially motivated assaults and killings where it was somehow determined that sentencing under the old criminal statute was inadequate to address the nature of a hate crime. I find this an unconvincing argument if only because circumstances always play a roll in the sentencing decision by a judge who can throw the book at a perpetrator of a violent crime for his motivations just as hard if the criminal act was deemed a hate crime.

The national attention given many of these name calling attacks and threatening letters will almost certainly mean that we will continue to see these incidents staged so that some attention starved kid gets his name in the paper. In the case of young Mr. Nava and his fantasy of suffering for his political beliefs, let us hope the police come down hard on him as a warning to others what happens when you send the police on a wild goose chase.