Saturday, February 9, 2008

Ron Paul: Thanks, chumps!

UPDATE Saturday 10:30 p.m.: Newbie bloggers, pay attention. If you say your prayers at night, one of these days, you might get the awesome Instalanche. Thanks, professor -- even if I am a little harsh sometimes. I've been hanging out with Ace too much, I guess. Or maybe Jimmie.

Also, I'm posting this from a borrowed computer in LaFayette Hall at George Washington University, and Marilyn gives a big shout-out to all her GW College Republican homeys. (More updates below.)

* * * * *
First, Mitt quits, now Ron Paul hangs it up:

With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero. But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining, and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get. But with so many primaries and caucuses now over, we do not now need so big a national campaign staff, and so I am making it leaner and tighter. Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican party, so there will be no 3rd party run. ...
I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen.
In the presidential race and the congressional race, I need your support, as always. And I have plans to continue fighting for our ideas in politics and education that I will share with you when I can, for I will need you at my side. In the meantime, onward and upward! The neocons, the warmongers, the socialists, the advocates of inflation will be hearing much from you and me.
Translation:

"Hey, chumps, ever heard of something called a 'bait and switch'?
"Remember all that money you donated so I could campaign for president?
"Well, instead I'm going to use it to campaign for re-election to Congess, you stupid chumps.
"However, just in case you're not smart enough to realize you've been played for a sucker, I will maintain a token presidential campaign. That will allow me to continue paying fat salaries to the genius pimps who masterminded this scam.
"You've been so totally punk'd, dude. I got your hopes up, then screwed you over.

"To quote a great American, 'Never give a sucker an even break.'
"If I can't win re-election in Texas, my advisers plan for me to have a second career doing late-night infomercials for no-money-down real-estate scams.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game."

Like the Romney supporters left brokenhearted by Thursday's announcement from Mitt The Quitter, now the Paulistas can begin to come to grips with the fact that they've been misled and exploited.
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I'm still at CPAC -- or, actually, I'm about a block from CPAC, at the home of my friend Matt Keller. I understand that another of my friends, Matt Vadum, got shanghaied by bloggers last night, while I was hanging with ... well, that's another post.
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UPDATE (Saturday p.m.): Guess Matt Vadum wasn't lying, huh? And excuse me for my inability to modulate my voice. Also, excuse my French. Mon dieu!

UPDATE Saturday 2:15 p.m.: More at Memeorandum, Reason Magazine, The Caucus, and Don Surber, who says:

If he is not a 3rd Party candidate, then I was wrong about the guy. I apologize for being so harsh to judge him and his supporters.
Don, the problem is, you were not harsh enough. Please keep reading.

And to the stupid commenter who accused me of being un-American: Screw you, you gullible chump. You just got played, and you don't even recognize when somebody's trying to give you a clue. A sucker is born every minute.

UPDATE Sunday 6:40 a.m.: I cannot believe the True Believers in the comment field. I mean, isn't profound skepticism intrinsic to the libertarian worldview?

Friday and Saturday, I spent several hours conferring (as we say in Washington) with the libertarian brain trust, including Shane Cory, Bob Barr, staffers at Cato and CEI, and the editors of Reason magazine. While not all of them agree with my ultra-cynical analysis of Paul's Friday night letter, I think it fair to say that Brian Doherty's reaction of disappointment is widely shared.

UPDATE Sunday 9 a.m.: As Deborah Corey Barnes testifies, the DCVIPCC's invitation-only party at CPAC was a smashing success:

[I]t was a blast held by Stacy McCain and Matt Vadum until the hotel management cut it off ... there are many luxury suites in the Omni Shoreham. In fact, it seems like the management spends most of the nights during CPAC breaking them up. Why?
My theory, Mrs. Barnes? God gives us enemies for a reason, and thus we should be grateful for His blessings.

Like the Roman centurion, Jesse the Security Chief is "a man under authority." Who knows what misery was averted by Jesse's intervention? What might have happened, I ask you, if Jesse hadn't broken up the party before Bob Barr arrived? I remind you that Congressman Barr has been known to exercise his Second Amendment rights at social occasions.

Therefore, I will be grateful. And next year, we'll either (a) convene our soiree elsewhere, or (b) invite Jesse to the party. This will be a topic of discussion at the next meeting of the DCVIPCC.

As to the historic nature of the "blast," I will quote one of our uninvited guests (I have a nostalgic admiration for clever party-crashers): "Dude, that was epic."

Exit question: Was Stephen Glass a fabulist ... or a visionary?

Friday, February 8, 2008

CPAC: Friday blogging

UPDATE 10:45 a.m.: Just heard that Ace of Spades will receive "Blogger of the Year" award today. Another vindication for the AOSHQ Lifestyle!

Just saw Saul Anuzis of the Michigan GOP, who says of John McCain, "He's our nominee." Saul gave a speech listing non-negotiable points on the conservative agenda and declaring to Crazy Cousin John that if he will stand up for that agenda, "We've got your back."

On the other hand, I also saw columnist Don Feder, who said: "No way I can vote for McCain."

We continue blogging live at the fabulous Omni Shoreham Hotel, where 6,800 conservative activists are recovering from the amazing first day: Vice President Dick Cheney's speech, Mitt Romney's stunning announcement, John McCain's speech (reviewed by Nice Deb).

Oh, and today President Bush gave a 7 a.m. CPAC speech.

Expect updates ....

Thursday, February 7, 2008

CPAC late-night blogging

The management of the fabulous Omni Shoreham Hotel has requested that we blog quietly.

Shhhhhhhh. (Will update.)
UPDATE: I have no idea why they would think that we were too loud. Just a few friends getting together in a hotel room. I mean, it's about hospitality, right?

The guy in the grey sweatshirt (center) is the Washington bureau chief for Investor's Business Daily.



Among the fabulous people on hand were Becky Banks of Students For Life, Jason Mattera of Young America's Foundation, Mary Katharine Ham of Townhall.com, and Matthew Sheffield of Newsbusters. (Ace of Spades had to be cropped out of that picture because ... I don't know, he said something about his photo being in the post office.)

Also in attendance, but not pictured: Little Miss Attila, Doug Giles, Mike Adams, James Joyner, LOTUS, Sean Hackbarth, Nathan Tabor, Martha Zoller, Phil Kent ... the mind grows hazy. There were a lot of super-fabulous cool people there.

Just about the time that the management of the fabulous Omni Shoreham Hotel decided we needed to be quiet, my close personal friend Bob Barr showed up.

We blame Bob. I mean, why not?

UPDATE II: Just when we thought it was over, Richard Miniter showed up ...

Shane Greer loves CPAC

Shane Greer is a blogger with the Young Britons Foundation:

Kirby Wilbur says: "CPAC Rocks!"

Kirby Wilbur of KVI Seattle is joined by two cool College Republicans from UC-Santa Cruz:

CPAC: Thursday afternoon

Excuse the long delay in blogging. Had trouble connecting with the WiFi system. There will be many updates to come, but right now ... wow. What a day.

From my report for TheConservativeVoice.com:

The announcement stunned many of Romney’s supporters, especially hundreds of college-age supporters who had been handing out Romney lapel stickers in the hotel lobby just minutes earliers.
“I am incredibly shocked … profoundly saddened,” said Ruth Malhotra, an activist with Evangelicals for Mitt. “I can’t support John McCain. He is not a conservative. … He’s stabbed his party in the back and he’s betrayed the conservative movement.”
Her sentiments were echoed by Orit Sklar of Jews for Mitt. “There’s no way I’m voting for John McCain,” she said.
In an exhibition hall, Romney supporters gathered around a big-screen TV to watch the speech. Many had tears in their eyes. ...
Now John McCain is on TV talking about his conservative principles. Should be a short speech.

Will update later ....

UPDATE: At this point, among conservative McCain opponents, people seem sort of stunned. I just had a long conversation with Tony Blankley, who suggests that Rush, Ingraham, Levin and others will eventually support the Republican nominee.

We'll see. There are now people in the hotel lobby waving "Stop The McCain Amnesty" signs.

You know who's happy now? The Paulistas. Ron Paul just gave a speech -- he's very popular with College Republicans.

CPAC: Thursday a.m. blogging

UPDATE: Pam of Atlas Shrugs last night in the Omni Shoreham lobby:


She's so shy and retiring. We're trying to get her to come out her shell a little more ...

On my way into the lobby this morning, I was greeted by Shane Greer of the Young Britons Foundation. Came down to breakfast at Robert's Restaurant in the Omni Shoreham. Then had a brief interview with David Keene of the American Conservative Union. Then said "hi" to Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Associated as he arrived. Great event.
Just hanging out with College Republican activists Dan Lipian and Rachel Coolidge when who should show up but Marcus Epstein of the Robert Taft Club. Next, we saw Ruth Malhotra with Orit Sklar. Everybody is here. Estimated attendance: 6,800.
* * * * *
Woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. Tried reading Jonah Goldberg's "Liberal Fascism" a while, but kept thinking about what I have to write for TheConservativeVoice.com today.

I'm crashing on the sofa at Matthew Vadum's place on Connecticut Avenue, two blocks from the Omni Shoreham. Matthew's asleep -- snoring slightly -- and his cat, "Dr. Gonzo," is prowling around. Of course, the name "Dr. Gonzo" reminds me to check in at Anita Thompson's Owl Farm Blog, where Anita (a Hillary supporter) is mocking Obama:
As I've said before, I love the sound of Obama's gorgeous voice, even it consists mainly of vacuous rhetoric.
Heh. Last night was fun, convening in the lobby bar of the Omni Shoreham -- me, Matthew, Matt Keller (who did a "Draft Newt" site last year), Pamela Geller, Kirby Wilbur, Kirby's producer Matt (lots of Matts around) and some friends I knew from last year's YAF West Coast Leadership Conference. Just about closing time, we finally convinced blues legend Ian Walters to favor us with some tunes on the piano. It was nice.

The press coverage of the Republican presidential campaign is almost uniformly atrocious. Here's a headline from Time's Web site:
McCain: Frail with the Far Right
Ask yourself a couple of questions:
  • Would Time magazine even admit the existence of a "Far Left," much less suggest that they were dissatisfied with a leading Democratic candidate?
  • In what sense are the 60-70% of Republicans who have voted against John McCain "far right"? Does this term refer to the supporters of Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee? Are the 28,000 Georgians who voted for Ron Paul "far right"?
No, apparently, Time has in mind three people in particular:
McCain spent the run-up to the nearly-national primary responding to blistering attacks from iconic conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh, James Dobson and Sean Hannity. While all three talk for a living — and their antipathy for McCain is an old saw — the impact of their comments was undeniable; even in his home state of Arizona, McCain lost self-described conservatives to Mitt Romney 47%-36%.
Two popular talk-show hosts and the founder of Focus on the Family (here's Dobson's explanation of why he can't vote for McCain) -- these people are "the far right" in America, according to Time.

What the term "far right" thus denotes, apparently, is that Limbaugh, Hannity and Dobson are dangerous extremists, whereas John McCain is merely "right-wing." That's the big-time journalism for which the publishers of Time are paying. Here's more:
But the real test of the gulf between McCain and conservatives — and his ability to bridge it — comes Thursday at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference in Washington. CPAC is the Lollapalooza of the Republican right, and its founder, David Keene, has been an outspoken critic of McCain's perceived anti-conservative transgressions on issues ranging from campaign finance reform (McCain's for it) to gun control (for it, in certain instances) to global warming (against it). As a result, McCain has routinely skipped the event; last year, he was booed in absentia.
Notice how this is all framed as "ooh, those wacky conservatives": Keene is "outspoken"! And why? Because of "perceived ... transgressions," an artful phrase, with overtones of the Inquisition.

Never once does Time give its readers a clear understanding that it is McCain who has attacked conservatives ("agents of intolerance," he called them) and not the other way around. According to Jay Carney's narrative, John McCain is the victim of "far right" intolerance.

Well ... the dawn is breaking out on Connecticut Avenue. Got to shower and get over to breakfast. Busy, busy.

Here's the CPAC schedule, here's NZ Bear's feeder (which doesn't include me), and here's a nice analysis by (far-right?) Ace of Spades of the basic problem between conservatives and Crazy Cousin John. Expect updates ....

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

CPAC blogging begins!

Live from the fabulous Omni Shoreham Hotel -- it's CPAC '08!

This week: Bush! Cheney! Romney! Crazy Cousin John! And, of course, Ron Paul (who will be introduced by my close personal friend, Bob Barr).

It's a GOP cage match -- a titanic struggle for the soul of the Republican Party and the future of America! And this political apocalypse will be blogged by an all-star squad of conservative bloggers.

Did I mention Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter will be here? (Also, "Trout Pout" is in the house.)

Will update frequently as events continue. I am here as special correspondent for TheConservativeVoice.com and, baby, we are ready to rock.

Blogging from the lobby bar, where I've just been enthusiastically greeted by the lovely Pamela of Atlas Shrugs.

Clockwise from top left: The Other McCain (note clever product placement); Matthew Vadum of Capital Research Center; the lovely Pamela; Eric of No Pasaran.

If you're at CPAC, we'll see you soon!

NZ Bear has a CPAC blog feed, but for some reason it doesn't list me. I won't pout.

Message to Mitt: Concede nothing

"Calm down," says Crazy Cousin John. Calm down:
Republican John McCain . . . told his conservative critics Wednesday to dial back the animosity and focus on issues where they agree.

"I do hope that at some point we would just calm down a little bit and see if there's areas we can agree on," McCain said at a news conference in a Phoenix airport hangar.
Yeah, you do that, Makaniak. You and your sycophantic chorus of Smithers-like propagandists, you "just calm down a little bit." Have fun at CPAC (with 6,000 conservatives whom you purposefully snubbed last year).

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney needs to make like Donald Trump, look around at some of his insanely overpaid consultants and ineffective staffers and say, "You're fired."

It's still nearly six months to the GOP convention. Six months is forever in politics, and Mitt's CPAC speech should be a bold expression that he's not quitting, he's not conceding, he's fighting all the way to Minneapolis.

"All in," as they say in Vegas. "Go Down Gambling":




(Sorry for the live version with pointless 2-minute guitar shred at the beginning. The original studio version is much better.)

Happy Birthday, Gipper!

Today is Ronald Reagan's birthday -- and Young America's Foundation is celebrating with an open house at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, Calif. Here's a quote from YAF spokesman George Allen:
“President Reagan’s clarion call to defeat the forces of totalitarianism freed millions from the shackles of Communism. And with his historic tax cut, he took upon his shoulders the cause of economic freedom and individual liberty. President Reagan was uniquely destined for his time, and his words will carry on for generations to come.”
I'll update later with more, but for right now: Happy Birthday!
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UPDATE: Here's part of Ronald Reagan's classic 1964 "Time For Choosing" speech:
Wow. It's still awesome, isn't it?
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And here is his 1982 "Tear Down This Wall" speech at the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin:
Here's former Reagan speechwriter Peter Robinson, at last year's 20th anniversary of the "Tear Down This Wall" speech, talking about the origins of the speech:
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UPDATE II: What got me thinking about Ronald Reagan today was my dissatisfaction with the mediocre communicators of today's Republican Party, as I said after last week's debate:
It's the damnedest irony in the world: The party made great by the Great Communicator is in decline because nowadays Republicans can't seem to master the basics of being even a Fairly Decent Communicator, and the GOP's speechwriting teams seem to be composed entirely of Michael Gerson clones ...
This complaint was seconded by a commenter today:
Your comments about the mediocre communicators on Mitt's team are spot on.
We have been given far too many broad platitudes without enough specifics (such as the ones you suggest). Even my 13 year old son picked up on the lack of specificity during the debates.
His Michigan win was very focused on specific proposals and he clearly benefited from that.
There is a reason why Mitt is losing to McCain on the economy, and it's because of the poorly communicated message.
Just so. I have no idea how an experienced executive like Romney can allow himself to be surrounded by such a second-rate message team. He's got every top communicator in the conservative movement -- Limbaugh, Malkin, Ingraham, Mark Levin -- in his corner, and yet Romney can't seem to figure out what the problem is. It's frustrating to watch.
UPDATE III: Thanks for the link, MK. Be sure to check out my "Message to Mitt."

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Super Tuesday Super Updates

UPDATE 2:42 a.m: I think Mark Levin is too glum here:
There was an explicit anti-Romney vote in the south. ... Well, the heartland spoke last night and about the only message it sent was that, no matter what the talk radio guys say, they're not voting for a Mormon no way no how. The rationale for Romney continuing his campaign is that he's the conservative alternative to McCain. The message from Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee is that he will never be accepted as such by the conservatives' electoral base.
That's waayyy over-reading the data, Mr. Levin. Mitt's problem is that he's been tag-teamed by the Mack 'n' Huck show, sandbagged by Bill Kristol and the MSM's "increasingly likely" bullshit, and saddled with a team of mediocre communicators.

Mr. Levin, you're feeling discouraged because that's how the Elite Establishment wants you to feel. Don't give in.

Look at the Georgia results (still only 93% of precincts reporting, as we close in on 3 a.m.): You've got more than 10,000 morons in Georgia who voted for Rudy and Fred, to say nothing of more than 27,000 Paulistas. The Paulistas sure as heck don't want Senor Juan or the Huckster to win this.

Have hope, Mr. Levin -- it's a long way to Minneapolis.

UPDATE 1:30 a.m: Still 9% of precincts left to report in Georgia, and the fight for second place between McCain and Romney involves a margin of less than 12,000 votes. But I've got to get some sleep in order to get ready for CPAC.

Thanks for the link from Buzz Brockaway at Peach Pundit, as well as from Orit Sklar at Jews for Mitt, who reports:
While flipping channels, trying to escape the coverage, I wound up finding Tom DeLay commenting on the results. He believes we have a long way to go before the convention, specifically mentioning the states that are voting on March 4th -- Texas and Ohio -- and that John McCain won't be able to garner enough delegates. And, when asked about the most popular topic of the day -- James Dobson's comments -- DeLay had this to say about his former colleague, "McCain has done more harm to our party than anyone I know." And, he didn't stop there. "He's always been the anathema of the conservatives of the party." (Emphasis added.)
We'll have to wait and see what the delegate count after Tuesday's results. The strong showing by the Huckster could make things interesting. I remind you that it was Tony Blankley of The Washington Times who first made headlines by discussing the possibility of a brokered convention.

And to answer the commenter who wondered why Fulton County is taking so long to report its precincts: Fulton County is run by Democrats. It takes a long time to count the votes of dead Democrats, especially when they insist on voting in alphabetical order.

UPDATE 12:25 a.m: Just watched Bill Kristol on Fox pronouncing Senior Juan the "almost prohibitive favorite for the Republican nomination" ... based on what?

McCain got 48% in Illinois, 51% in New York , 52% in Connecticut, and 56% in New Jersey -- all states that Democrats will carry easily in November. But in Florida he got only 36%, and today, he didn't even break 50% in Arizona.

These aren't the kind of numbers that indicate a strong Republican candidate. McCain is not a conservative, he will lose in November, and Kristol doesn't even seem to care.

Previously:
UPDATE 12:05 a.m: Still 1/3 of precincts to be counted in Paulding County (a fast-growing suburb north of Douglas and west of Cobb) where so far Senior Juan is running third:
  • Huckabee 42.6%
  • Romney 28.1%
  • McCain 25.2%
The pattern you're seeing is that, over and over, McCain does worst in the most-Republican areas. But we knew that already.

UPDATE 11:45 p.m: A commenter thinks I'm wrong about the chance that Crazy Cousin John will finish third in Georgia. With 86% of precincts counted, the margin between McCain and Romney is still about 12,000 votes (out of close to 885,000 votes counted so far).

OK, let's wait and see. I took a good nap this afternoon, so I'll be up a while. But the 14% of precincts remaining to be counted are likely to be more than 14% of the vote. (If you don't understand the difference, I won't bother explaining.)

As of 11:45 p.m., with nearly all the rural Hucktard vote counted, there are still 43 precincts to be counted in Cobb County, still 13 precincts to be counted in Gwinnett, and still 194(!) precincts to be counted in Fulton County. We shall see ....

UPDATE 11:30 p.m: Douglas County just reported 25 of its 27 precincts and ... Huckster was strong in my hometown:
  • Huckabee 39.7%
  • Romney 28.3%
  • McCain 27.8%
Yet another third-place county for Senior Juan.

UPDATE 11: 15 p.m.: Look at the way Juan McCain is getting blown out in Gwinnett County:
  • Romney 35.6%
  • Huckabee 34.2%
  • McCain 26.6%
One reason: Illegal immigration. Senor Juan's amigos in Gwinnett County are dealing meth that American dopeheads won't deal.

UPDATE 11 p.m: Still nothing from Douglas County, and both Cobb and DeKalb counties have more than 40 precincts each yet to be counted.

Orit Sklar of Jews For Mitt tells me that the Associated Press just called Georgia for Huckabee, and that's probably right -- Huckabee's in front by 35,000 votes. But the battle for second place is what I'm watching now. Orit got to sit with Mrs. Romney today, but says the election results are giving her a migraine.

Thanks for the links from Jeremy Lott at The American Spectator and Bryan Preston at Hot Air.
UPDATE 10:50 p.m: Forsyth County just came in:
  • Romney 35.7%
  • Huckabee 32.7%
  • McCain 28.4%
This cuts the statewide gap between Romney and McCain below 11,000 votes.

UPDATE 10:25 p.m: Holy crap! As of right now, there are still zero precincts reporting in Republican powerhouse Forsyth County, an upscale exurb on Ga. 400. That could be huge. Will be back in a minute with demographics and political history of Forsyth.

Forsyth County, U.S. Census 2000:
  • Bachelor's degree or higher: 34.6%
  • Median household income: $68,890
It's upscale, like I said. The question is whether this will translate into votes for Romney, as it has in other upscale Atlanta suburban areas.

In 2006, Forsyth delivered nearly 33,000 votes for Gov. Sonny Perdue. As of 10:35 p.m., Romney's less than 12,000 votes behind John McCain statewide. Still nothing from Douglas County, either, and I also notice no results yet from Floyd County, where I lived from 1992-97.

UPDATE 10:10 p.m: Georgia counties where John McCain is currently running third: Cherokee, Coweta, Dawson, Fayette, Gwinnett, Henry, Rockdale. Except for Dawson County (which is in the mountains), all of these are suburbs or exurbs of Atlanta -- with lots more precincts to be counted. And there's still no numbers from Douglas County, where I grew up.

UPDATE 9:56 p.m: Allah's so gloomy, now he's even arguing with Michelle:
MM notes that McCain’s in trouble in a number of states he was supposed to win: Missouri, Georgia, Arizona, and Alabama (which he’s already supposedly lost). True enough — but it’s Huckabee, not Mitt, who’s knocking him off.
Dang it, Allah: Trust the Georgia boy to know Georgia. As of 9:54, with 56% of precincts reporting, and Romney's within 13,000 votes of overtaking McCain -- who looks likely to finish third in the state!

UPDATE 9:50 p.m: More county-by-county analysis ... As of 9:40 p.m., still nothing has been heard from Douglas County (the booming suburb west of Atlanta where I grew up) and that area's congressman, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, endorsed Romney.

In Cherokee County, with 40 of 46 precincts reporting, it's Huckabee 37%, Romney 33%, McCain 25%. Very simple: McCain is unpopular where illegal immigration is unpopular.

UPDATE 9:40 p.m: If this trend continues, John McCain will finish third in Georgia. With 48% of precincts reporting, it's Huckabee leading, followed by McCain and Romney, but look at Cobb County where, with 108 of 177 precincts reporting, it's Romney 39%, McCain 30%, Huckabee 29%.

The rural precincts are mostly already county. Given Huckabee's dominance in rural areas and Romney's strength in Metro Atlanta, the trend we're seeing means that McCain will likely finish third, with Huckabee and Romney neck-and-neck for first place. What will be interesting is how the district-by-district delegates are allotted. Expect further updates ....

UPDATE 9:06 p.m: Look at Cherokee County (Canton/Woodstock -- northwest of Atlanta) where Huckabee campaigned Sunday. Huckabee's leading there, but McCain's running third.

UPDATE 9:02 p.m: Now, the first results from Cobb County come in. With 91 of 195 Cobb precincts reporting, it's Mitt 39%, McCain 31%, Huckabee 29%.

Note the way these big suburban districts are slowly shifting the statewide totals toward Romney: With 28% statewide precincts reporting, it's now Huckabee 36%, McCain 32%, Romney 29%. Hang on for a long night -- it's still too close to call.

UPDATE 8:48 p.m: Just doublechecked. No results yet from these Metro Atlanta suburban counties -- Forsyth, Cherokee, Cobb -- and only one precinct reporting in Paulding County. The results in Fayette County (posh suburb south of the Atlanta airport) and Gwinnett County (see below) are both showing Romney ahead. To repeat: Do not freak out.

UPDATE 8:38 p.m: As expected, Romney comes on strong in suburban Atlanta. With 56 of 165 precincts reporting in Gwinnett County (a GOP-heavy suburb east of Atlanta that's been hard-hit by Mexican meth gangs), it's Romney 37%, Huckabee 33%, McCain 28%. The question is whether the Metro Atlanta turnout for Romney will be strong enough to overcome the rural Hucktards.

UPDATE 8 p.m: With 1% of the official county-by-county vote reporting, it's mostly from mountain counties (e.g., Dade, Dawson) and South Georgia, while none of the Metro Atlanta vote is reporting. At this point, it's Huckabee (39%), McCain (37%) and Romney (21%), but that will change in Romney's favor. I repeat: Do not freak out.

UPDATE 7:50 p.m.: Malkin begins her night thread, and gives a link to the Georgia boy. Much obliged, ma'am. Hope to see you at CPAC.

(The photo is a little CPAC inside joke. Matthew Vadum of the Capital Research Center is my "running mate." Our platform? Be fabulous.)

UPDATE 7:35 p.m.: Don't let the early numbers in official county-by-county results freak you out. The early precincts reporting so far are all rural, which is why they're dominated by Hucktards (about 41%), McCain (about 37%), with relatively few for Romney (20%).

The Hucktards will dominate redneck districts. Romney's strength is in Metro Atlanta areas where more people are (a) under 70 and (b) have jobs and educations.

(Thanks for link, Dan Riehl.)

UPDATE 7:20 p.m.: Official county-by-county Georgia GOP primary results here.

BTW, the way the Associated Press reports exit poll data is pretty close to useless. We need charts of numbers with candidates names and percentages, on a state-by-state basis. Instead, the AP gives us this generic national crap.

UPDATE 7:10 p.m.: Polls close in Georgia -- "too close to call," which is good news. This means neither McCain nor Huck ran away with it in South Georgia. (But how come Allah don't link a Georgia homeboy for Georgia news?)

UPDATE 6:30 p.m.: Don Surber (who's gone over to the Dark Side), summarizes what happened in West Virginia:
Mittens had 41% of the vote, Huckster 33%, Mac 15% and Ron Paul 10%. Paul’s people left and Mac’s people basically went to the Huckster in an effort to shut out Mittens. This gave Huckster a majority of the votes cast on the second ballot, and he won the 18 delegates.
Not to "whine," Don, but the point is: Crazy Cousin John and the Huckster are tag-teaming as part of an anti-Romney plot that's been going on for months. Huck's only purpose for staying in the race at this point is to help McCain beat Romney. Maybe Huck's envy of Romney's wealth accounts for the personal venom in Huck's class-warfare rhetoric.

UPDATE 6:20 p.m.: Via Dan Riehl: "Independent" morons for Crazy Cousin John. Also: Hucktards hurting Romney.

UPDATE 6 p.m.: Still an hour until the polls close in Georgia.

UPDATE: Romney wins the Talk Radio Primary. Yeah: 20 million listeners can't be wrong.

Michelle Malkin's also doing the all-updates, all-the-time meme.

Did somebody say "meme"?

* * * * *
Crazy Cousin John joins forces with the Huckster to screw Mitt in West Virginia:

"Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain's inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney's campaign of conservative change. ...
"Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party."

Via Riehl World View.) Sad, unfortunate -- that's what Republican Party officials will say if McCain gets the nomination and 1/4 of the party stays home (or votes for somebody else) in November.

More at Hot Air and Protein Wisdom.

Previously: Georgia Key for Romney.

'Petulant grandstanding'?

So says Roger Kimball of those who refuse to roll over for the the Elite Establishment Republican plot to foist Crazy Cousin John on us.

Jeff Goldstein of Protein Wisdom replies, and I don't have much to add, except that I'm heartily tired of the "Oooh, get on the McCain bandwagon or the Democratic bogeyman will get you" style of argument.

John McCain will lose in November, period. He's old, bald and grumpy. Not exactly a formula for electability.

Georgia key for Romney

Further updates here.

UPDATE 1:25 p.m. More analysis at Protein Wisdom and Liberty Pundit.

UPDATE 1 p.m.: Just got off the phone with veteran Georgia political observer Phil Kent.

"I think it's going to be close here with Romney and McCain," Phil said, citing the final Insider Advantage poll showing a three-way neck-and-neck race. Georgia "could be the upset that's going to buck this McCain trend."
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In case you haven't seen this (via Ace of Spades):


UPDATE 11:40 a.m.: Michael Barone analyzes Georgia:

The first state to close is Georgia, at 7 p.m. . . . Republicans have a close three-way race here. Romney needs to win the high-income Atlanta suburbs (I'll be looking at the Cobb, Fulton, Forsyth, and Cherokee County returns); McCain needs to stay even with or ahead of Mike Huckabee in south Georgia, as he did in most of South Carolina.
Barone's analysis very much tracks what I was getting from the Romney volunteers in Georgia last night: "If it was up to Metro Atlanta, Romney would win, but ...."

But, keeping Romney competitive in the more rural parts of the state depends on (a) overcoming anti-Mormon bias, and (b) getting evangelicals who support Huckabee to understand that a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain (whom the evangelicals hate).

* * * * *
UPDATE: Super Tuesday roundups at Michelle Malkin and Hot Air, and Jim Geraghty handicaps Super Tuesday at NRO. Linked at Riehl World View -- thanks, Dan.

MORE UPDATES: The Dole-to-Rush letter is panned by Malkin. Notice what Rush says:

On his radio show Monday Limbaugh said that if McCain is elected president, he would destroy the Republican party by working with Democrats to pass liberal legislation.
"This is how he's going to get even with Republicans for defeating him in South Carolina in 2000," Limbaugh said. "The Republican Congress will effectively be neutered." ...
Limbaugh also suggested conservatives should be wary of media endorsements of McCain. McCain has won the endorsement of the New York Times.
"It was just six months ago that if a candidate was endorsed by the liberal media we were instantly suspicious of them," Limbaugh said.
Now he said, "we've got drive-by media organizations having orgasms about McCain."
The sounds very much like what I've said:

John McCain wants to lead something other than the Republican Party that elected Ronald Reagan to the White House 1981. He is in defiant opposition to the Republican Party that captured Congress in 1994. His campaign is one of unlimited personal vengeance against the Republican Party that rejected him in 2000.
John McCain is out to destroy the Republican Party as we have known it, and he certainly needs no advice on how to do that, given how much he's already done.
* * * * *
Georgia looks like the state to watch in the Super Tuesday battle for the Republican presidential nomination.

While Romney is surging in California, and McCain is comfortably ahead in winner-take-all New York, polls in Georgia show it too close to call, reports from my friends at Team Romney indicate a tough fight in a competitive three-way race for 72 delegates in Georgia -- the third-largest Super Tuesday state and the largest of the states with a proportional distribution of delegates.

The problem for Romney in Georgia is simple: Some voters are too stupid to understand that, at this point, a vote for Huckabee is effectively a vote for John McCain.

"They don't get it," a very tired Romney volunteer told me of her encounters with Huckabee voters. "They hate McCain, but they're voting for Huckabee, and it's the same thing."

Key endorsements may swing some undecided voters and "soft" Huckabee supporters toward Romney. Sadie Fields of the Georgia Christian Alliance came out for Romney on Monday, an important endorsement in a state where Romney's volunteers say they're encountering a lot of anti-Mormon bias.

Georgians for Romney lists the Romney endorsers in Georgia's House delegation: Rep. Jack Kingston, Rep. Phil Gingrey, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, and Rep. Tom Price. As one of my Georgia sources told me with scarcely concealed disgust, the state's two Republican senators (Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isaakson) both endorsed McCain. "They both ran as conservatives, but as soon as they got up there, they both supported McCain on amnesty -- until they found out the voters were against it, then they changed their minds."

Romney held a huge rally at Georgia Tech on Monday:

Romney is running neck-and-neck with John McCain for the Georgia presidential primary, with Mike Huckabee trailing in third.
Romney said he expects to do well here Tuesday and in California and in many of the other 20-plus states where ballots will be cast.
"Georgia is going to have a big role in this," Romney said. "I keep hearing from my friends here that Georgia is going to come my way."
Here's CNN video from the Georgia Tech rally:


(Hat-tip: Jews for Mitt.) According to Peach Pundit, popular Atlanta radio host Herman Cain introduced Romney at the rally.

In the end, the story in Georgia comes down to those stiff-necked, thick-headed Hucktards, with polls continuing to show the Huckster at around 25%, despite his having zero chance of winning the nomination.

"I haven't had a full night's sleep since Thursday," a weary Romney volunteer told me Monday night, explaining she'd just had a 30-minute nap. "It's unbelieveable."

The Romney volunteer had joined a group of Evangelicals For Mitt supporters who went Sunday to Woodstock First Baptist -- one of the state's largest megachurches in a Cherokee County suburb north of Atlanta -- where the Huckster preached a "Jesus wants you to vote for me" sermon:

“I'm not here today to campaign,” said Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor during his visit to Sunday service.
But as Huckabee gave his testimonial at the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, there was little doubt about the conservative voters, who support him.
Attempts at "outreach" to the Baptists of Woodstock by the Evangelicals For Mitt crew were ... not exactly received with blessings and thanksgiving, let's put it that way.

The Romney campaign unleashed a last-minute round of robo-calls in Georgia on Monday. At Peach Pundit, former Fredhead Chris Farris endorsed Romney. (Remember, more than 200,000 Georgians have already cast their ballots in early voting.)

We'll keep an eye out on Georgia and update ...

Monday, February 4, 2008

Pam, the Lost Ramone!

From Atlas Shrugs, Pamela Geller rocks out to the tune of the Ramones' "Rockaway Beach":



What will Hugh Hewitt say?

'Bravo Sierra, Bob Beckel!'

Hot blondes, hot Jews -- what we need is a hot lesbian now:



Proving once against that the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy has more "diversity" by accident than the Left has on purpose!

Great quote by Tammy:
If this country is going to be driven into a wall at 80 miles an hour, I'd rather have a real liberal doing it, as opposed to a fake conservative. ... There is a reason why he's the Democrats' favorite Republican.

CPAC, Coulter & YAF, redux

Dec. 10, I reported that the Young America's Foundation had made special arrangements for Ann Coulter to give a speech during CPAC.

Now, nearly two months later, the leftoids at ThinkProgress and Crooks & Liars have finally noticed -- big news! (If the Left claims to be "progressive," how come they're always so far behind?)

For the benefit of any lefties who might have missed it, here's another Coulter update: Not only will Miss Coulter speak during CPAC at a special 3:30 p.m. Friday event -- sponsored by YAF, Human Events, Townhall.com, Citizens United, and Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute-- but she will also speak Saturday night at George Washington University.
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Twice the Ann, twice the outrage -- what a bargain!
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UPDATE: Speaking of hot right-wing chicks at CPAC, Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs will be introducing Mark Steyn.

Here's Pamela with with an entire bevy of her young proteges. ("Aunt Pam, how can we be cool like you?")

PREVIOUSLY:

GrandCentralPolitical.com column

So, ya wanna be a pundit, kid?
When Rachel Marsden sent me a message suggesting I contribute to GrandCentralPolitical.com, my immediate reaction was, "What does it pay?"
Her reply began with the acronym "LOL," which perfectly expresses the fate of punditry in the New Media age. If you think you're going to get rich sharing your opinions online, pal, LOL.
The Great Blog Bubble of the past five years was dependent on a mythology of easy money and instant success. According to the myth, any half-bright clown with a laptop, an attitude and a rudimentary knowledge of HTML could throw up a Blogspot site and, in no more than six weeks, have a syndicated column, a book deal and his own half-hour weekend gig on MSNBC. Just quit your day job, add ".com" to your name, and by the time the rent came due, you'd be the next Ann Coulter.
Good luck with that career plan. It's never really worked that way, and it never will, because it can't. ...

Kristol: McCain opponents hate America

BREAKING: Mitt-mentum! (more updates below).

* * * * *
William Kristol has been a chief cheerleader on the Crazy Cousin John bandwagon. As I recall, Mr. Kristol's Weekly Standard -- as part of its patented "National Greatness" campaign -- was pushing McCain in 2000, and Fred Barnes' sycophancy for McCain has been as shameless as the disgustingly hagiographic tonguebath he performed on Dubya.

Now, in the pages of the New York Times -- via Hot Air Headlines -- Mr. Kristol bids us admire his handiwork:
When the primaries are over, if McCain has won the day, don’t sulk and don’t sit it out. Don’t pretend there’s no difference between a candidate who’s committed to winning in Iraq and a Democratic nominee who embraces defeat.
Notice this tactic: To fail to support John McCain -- the candidate whom Mr. Kristol and his associates have labored diligently to impose on an unwilling Republican Party -- is to unpatriotically endorse defeat in Iraq.

He decides who the candidate is, then slanders those who disapprove. Nice work if you can get it.
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UPDATE: Demonstrating a favorite Stupid Blogger Trick of mine, I will now find a timely related thread, link it in an update, and trackback. Bryan Preston at Hot Air:
Speaker Pelosi thanks you, Maverick.
UPDATE II: Ragnar weighs in at The Jawa Report, Don Surber seems to be chilling a bit toward the "bandwagon effect" and -- I tell you people, it's a miracle -- Romney pulls ahead in California.
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All three links via Memeorandum, the aggregator preferred by all really cool bloggers. Click Memeorandum, or Hugo Chavez will strangle a cute kitten.
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UPDATE III: Courtesy of commenter "RushBaby" at Hot Air, we learn that Crazy Cousin John's rating from the American Conservative Union -- frequently stated as a lifetime 82 -- actually has been below 70 since 1998. There is also a complete article on the subject by Randall Hoven at AmericanThinker.com.
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UPDATE IV: Malkin's "Mitt-mentum" post observes the pro-McCain tactics:
Meanwhile, McCain’s champions continue their efforts to deride and marginalize opponents. First, they were deranged and Kossack-like. Now, they need to “grow
up
” (Barnes invoking Barry Goldwater) and get over their “dyspepsia” (Kristol in the NYT). Translation: Don’t worry, be happy, shut up.
Michelle's post also offers a treasure-trove of evidence that the anti-McCain backlash is building into a Super Tuesday tsunami:
Hey, answer the phone: It's Rick Santorum!
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Finally, some timely strategic advice:
Always mystify, mislead and surprise the enemy; and when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit. Never fight against heavy odds if you can hurl your own force on only a part of your enemy and crush it. A small army may thus destroy a large one, and repeated victory will make you invincible.
UPDATE V: John Derbyshire:
I'm trying my best here to avoid McCain Derangement Syndrome.
Oh, give in to the urge, Derb!
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UPDATE VI: Martha Zoller:
It's been said that John McCain is the only one who can beat the opposition Democrats. Let's remember another nominee who was told that his opponent was the one who could beat the Democrats. His name was Ronald Reagan. If we've learned anything in this election cycle, it is that polls don't mean much unless they
have voting booths.

CPAC Fever: Pandemic!

Welcome Michelle Malkin readers! And Happy Birthday, Ronald Reagan!

The raging epidemic of CPAC Fever continues spreading across the blogophere. If you haven't caught it, it's not too late to sign up now.

Here, courtesy of Christina Grabosky with CRC Public Relations, is the list of blogs who will be represented on Bloggers Row at the three-day event beginning Thursday at the luxurious Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.

*CPAC 2008 BLOGGERS ROW*

Ace O'Spades
Alarming News
Atlas Shrugs
Bluey Blog
Captain's Quarters
Conservatives with an Attitude!
Fausta's Blog
FreedomWorks
Gay Patriot
Girl on the Right
HotAir.com
Hugh Hewitt
Human Events
Little Miss Attila
Mary Katherine Ham
Matt Sanchez
Musclehead Revolution
My Man Mitt
Newsbusters
Outside the Beltway
Politico
Reasoned Audacity
Red State
Riehl World View
Right Wing News
Sam Adams Alliance
Save the GOP
The American Mind
The Autonomist
Truth Laid Bear


"Now, wait a doggone minute!" you say. "I don't see my favorite blog on that list."

Have no fear. There were only 30 slots available on bloggers row (some organizations requested multiple slots), and so some of us -- ahem, cough, cough -- will sort of be "floating" hither and yon.

Me, personally, I've got a big VIP party to prepare for Thursday, so there won't be that much time for blogging. Other than that, I'll mainly be blogging from the Marquee Bar in the lobby of the Omni Shoreham. Pretty much all the cool people end up in the Marquee Bar sooner or later.
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UPDATE: Riehl World View and Hot Air Headlines linked. Thanks!

UPDATE II: David Keene, chairman of ACU (CPAC's sponsor) has endorsed Mitt Romney.

UPDATE III: The unsettled state of the Republican presidential primary race after Super Tuesday will make this a particularly exciting CPAC.

Regardless of what you hear from the MSM, Crazy Cousin John "didn't close the deal," to quote Jed Babbin.

Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times has a breakdown of exit-poll data showing how conservatives went in each state -- for example, McCain was a third choice for conservatives in Georgia, gaining only 21% of the conservative vote.

Wonder what Cheney and Bush will have to say?

UPDATE IV: Just got a notice from Roger Custer of Young America's Foundation, informing me that the time and venue of Friday's Ann Coulter event have been slightly changed: 4 p.m. in the Empire Ballroom. If you miss Coulter at CPAC, she'll be at George Washington University on Saturday night.

UPDATE V: Don't miss my "Message to Mitt."

Tag-teaming Mitt?

Until he emerged as the sole alternative to Crazy Cousin John, I can't say I was enthusiastic about Mitt Romney, but I wonder why he'd be a bete noir of Republican campaign operatives?
Mitt Romney [is] the candidate who seems to be uniting his Republican rivals almost as much as Hillary Clinton. "The degree to which campaigns' personal dislike for Mitt Romney has played a part in this campaign cannot be underestimated," says an adviser to one of those rival campaigns. ...
The campaigns have denied there's any political collusion going on; they insist all of them simply feel the same way about Romney.
To be sure, the candidates' staffs do seem to have bonded in their dislike of Romney. "It was very common for e-mails to be flying around between the Thompson, McCain and Giuliani campaigns," says the former Thompson staffer, "Saying, 'No matter what happens with us, we all need to make sure it's not him.'" The staffer says that
campaigns would share opposition research on Romney and offer each other tips on how best to undermine him: "Like, 'Hey, I saw you hit Mitt on immigration - have you thought about going after him on this issue?" In some cases, the attitude even extends to the top of the campaigns. The night of the Iowa caucuses, after getting a congratulatory call from McCain, Huckabee told the candidate, according to aides: "Now it's your turn to kick his butt."
(Via Hot Air.) Is it envy? I mean, McCain, Giuliani and Thompson are all old and very bald, while Mitt's a good-looking younger guy with that thick mane of gorgeous hair. So if you're trying to convince Americans to vote for old and bald, you've got to hate the campaign with the young and hirsute candidate.

Also, Romney's a multimillionaire who's willing to self-finance, while the other campaigns -- especially McCain's last fall -- were scrapping for every penny.

So after conspiring against Romney for months, now these professional Republicans have joined Team McCain and are demanding unity. Sweet.
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UPDATE: Linked at Memeorandum and The Sundries Shack, where Jimmie says:
It’s a bit disappointing to see that at least some of the folks who worked for the Thompson campaign also played along with the high-school nonsense and, though Thompson himself wasn’t mentioned, it might explain why he didn’t stick McCain when he could have before the South Carolina primary.
If it’s true that Romney hate overrode Thompson’s conservative principles, I’d be terribly disappointed in him. And I’d be glad that he got out of the race.
Class-warfare resentment of the rich guy -- in a Republican primary? Envy is the most unworthy emotion.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Bad news for Obama

The World's Worst Band(TM) is back together!

The Grateful Dead, the San Francisco cult rock band that has played at political events since the 1960s, will reunite on Monday for the first time in four years to rally support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, a spokesman said on Friday.
Band leader Jerry Garcia died in 1995. Surviving members have played together occasionally since then, most recently in 2004. On Monday, original members Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir will play at a San Francisco theater a day before California's primary.
"They have agreed to reunite for this one-time-only event in order to lend support to Senator Obama leading into the crucial 'Super-Tuesday' series of primaries held on Tuesday, February 5th," the band said in a statement.
I have always considered the Grateful Dead proof positive that LSD causes brain damage. No one with an intact cerebral cortex could imagine that they were ever any better than adequate, and yet for years people followed them across the country -- a Cult of Mediocrity.

I hesitate to call the Dead has-beens, for that would be to suggest they ever were. News that these no-talent geezers are reuniting in support of Obama suggests that a Hillary comeback may be just around the corner.

Stick to the ground game, Giants!

TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS!
Which never would have happened if the Giants had stuck to their ground game.

TOUCHDOWN GIANTS!

But they still should run the ball more. That third-and-4 situation was not necessarily a passing down. They converted it, sure, but to my mind, if your running game's working, you should run it on third-and-4.

* * * * *
I keep shouting at my TV, but those stupid coaches aren't listening.

If you can run the ball, run the damn ball. This is a basic principle of football:


If you run 22 Trap and it gains 6 yards, your next play should be ... 22 Trap.
As long as you keep gaining yards with 22 Trap, keep running 22 Trap until the other team makes an adjustment that stops 22 Trap.

In football, variety for the sake of variety is stupidity for the sake of stupidity.

More Super Bowl blogging at Sundries Shack, Ace of Spades HQ and Hot Air.

UPDATE: Damn these coaches! The Giants had the ball near midfield, third and 6, and I'm thinking, "Draw. Run the draw." Instead, they come out of the huddle and line up in the shotgun and pass, incomplete. Idiots.

On the last series, Manning threw three times into double coverage and once into triple coverage. Keep that up, and sooner or later you throw an interception.

K-Lo advises John McCain

Via Hot Air, here's Kathryn Jean Lopez at the Corner:
If I were him and his campaign, I wouldn't argue he's "the true conservative " (i.e. at CPAC) — that turns conservatives who don't agree he is off. I'd argue, we have differences, my friends — including on the war (Gitmo, interrogation) — but here's why you should rally to me.
"If I were him ...." Sorry, can't finish that sentence.

The breach between Crazy Cousin John and his conservative critics is irreparable. What he did cannot be undone, and it is folly even to imagine it can.

John McCain wants to lead something other than the Republican Party that elected Ronald Reagan to the White House 1981. He is in defiant opposition to the Republican Party that captured Congress in 1994. His campaign is one of unlimited personal vengeance against the Republican Party that rejected him in 2000.

John McCain is out to destroy the Republican Party as we have known it, and he certainly needs no advice on how to do that, given how much he's already done.

UPDATE: Ross Douthat is every bit of 27, which explains why he can write a phrase like "the movement conservative establishment, from Rush and Hannity to the Club For Growth" without imagining the screams of "WTF?" from old dudes like me.

I mean, WTF is Sean Hannity's name doing in the middle of a formula for "the movement conservative establishment"? Hannity didn't get his first radio show (on a crappy college station in California) until 1989, then bounced around until ending up on Atlanta's No. 2 news-talk station in 1992, and didn't get hired by fledgling Fox News until 1996.

So how is it that a guy nobody ever heard of 10 years ago is now part of a supposedly all-powerful "establishment"? That's the kind of mythmaking that springs from the head of a guy as young as Douthat, who was a high-school junior when Hannity was still doing radio in Atlanta, and who thus views a big name associated with a relatively new phenomenon (Fox News) as part of an "establishment."

And the Club For Growth is of even more recent vintage, so WTF again?

Excuse me for being annoyed, but aren't there any grownups at The Atlantic Monthly who can tell these whiz kids that they don't know everything? Douthat just reified this "establishment" in such a way that many of his fellow greenhorns might actually imagine it exists.

UPDATE 9:40 p.m.: You got to hand it Hugh Hewitt. Despite all the ridicule he's taken for being such a homer for Romney, he keeps plugging away:
The fight against McCain-Kennedy in the spring and summer took about two weeks to first organize and then gather overwhelming strength.
The battle against Harriet Miers (yes, I backed the president on the losing side of that one so I recall it well) took a week or so longer.
But once the conservative voice begins speaking as one or nearly one, it is very effective, and that began to emerge on Thursday after the Reagan Library debate.
Indeed. As previously noted, even if polls have failed to register the full effect of the post-Florida backlash against McCain, Don Surber has demonstrated that, with 1,192 delegates needed to win, Tuesday's outcome will likely leave the delegate count at McCain 652, Romney 311.

Romney's still in the game, and with conservative voices loudly protesting the premature coronation of King John, there's still hope.

UPDATE 10:10 p.m.: The miraculous wild-card Giants just knocked off previously undefeated New England in one of the best Super Bowls ever, thus proving that the impossible can happen. But Jim Antle at the American Spectator has no hope:
The conservative establishment came around to Romney too late. ...
That's at least what I suspect. But I've been wrong before. We'll find out soon enough.
Yes, we will. The key for Romney is to knock down this premature "McCain is inevitable" meme.

Go bigtime with Rachel Marsden

At midnight tonight, Rachel Marsden launches GrandCentralPolitical.com, an ambitious effort to create a unique online opportunity for political activists:

“Anyone in the industry – or wanting to start a career in politics or political media -- can sign up for free and get their very own page on the site, in about 2 minutes. They can upload their resume, headshot, YouTube video demo, and experience, and be scouted by media outlets looking for guests, companies looking for lobbyists -- or politicians, public relations firms and even agents seeking new talent,” explains Marsden. “If they want, they can actively search for opportunities, and contribute to the bipartisan, international political magazine to showcase their talent to decision makers.”
Marsden is seeking to expand on the basic Hayekian insight of the blogosphere: The political elite don't have a monopoly on intelligence, knowledge or skill:
  • The facts you know are as valid as (and perhaps more valid than) whatever's on the op-ed page of the New York Times or The Washington Post.
  • Some ordinary guy with a cheap video camera and QuickTimePro can make a political ad as effective as anything produced by the big-money professionals.
  • There is no reason why the cable networks must keep scheduling the same boring talking heads over and over, when there are literally thousands of activists capable of adding important insights to the discourse.
When Rachel told me about her idea, I was sufficiently intrigued that I volunteered to write a series of columns for her site, explaining (a) why the establishment punditocracy is fading and (b) why you can't become the next superstar pundit overnight just by blogging.

If you read my columns and say, "He's full of crap! I could write better stuff than that," that's exactly my point: How come I'm a professional journalist -- I get paid to write this crap -- and you're not? GrandCentralPolitical.com is about hooking people up with opportunities to get paid to do the stuff they already know how to do.

I haven't seen the site yet, but it was designed by TCVMedia, so it's got to be good.