Tea Parties, Harleys, and the Gipper

My latest column at The American Spectator:

Rhonda Lee Welsch has a vision. "When we go back to Washington next year, there's going be a lot of Harleys," the Florida activist said. "And those Harleys make a lot of noise."
Making noise may not seem like much of a goal to D.C. political strategists, but if thousands of thundering Harleys roll up in front of the White House as part of a national Tea Party march on Washington, Welsch's vision might make more impact than Beltway wizards imagine. . . .
A breakthrough moment, she says, was when she joined the 9/12 March on D.C. and attended a seminar on organizing led by veteran conservative fundraiser Richard Viguerie.
Welsch returned to Florida and went to work on her vision: Bike Week Freedom Rally, scheduled during late February's annual motorcycle gathering in Daytona Beach. . . . .

Please read the whole thing, to figure out how the Gipper fits into that story. You can also follow Rhonda Lee Welsch on Twitter. I met Rhonda last month when I covered the last stop of the Tea Party Express in Orlando -- see "Tea Party Nation" -- where I was the guest of Barbara Espinosa of American Freedom blog.

February in Daytona? Yeah, sounds like an important story I need to cover. But first, there's the BCS Championship game Jan. 7 in Pasadena. Hit the Pasadena tip jar.

Tim Tebow: Nothing to cry about

Stogie at Saberpoint has a bikini photo of the Florida QB's girlfriend. He lost the SEC title and probably won't win the Heisman, but his girlfriend's got the NCAA Rule 5 championship locked up.

Stogie's wondering what scripture verse Tebow would write on his eyeblack in honor of this girl. I don't know, but it's not hard to guess her favorite Martina McBride song.

UPDATE: Speaking of blessed, I have been blessed with readers who appreciate both accurate reporting and good fun. There is some dispute among commenters as to whether Stogie's photo of Tim Tebow's girlfriend are real, but I think we can all agree they're spectacular.

'Bama wins, Tim Tebow cries

Sorry to ruin your Heisman hopes, man:

Somebody needs to ask the Climate Research Unit to investigate this claim: Tim Tebow's tears cure cancer.

Also, I agree: If Mark Ingram doesn't win the Heisman Trophy, it's racism.

UPDATE: Carol at No Sheeples Here:

Indeed, the chomplessness of the Gators shocked me. Tebow is a great quarterback and, after his performance in last year's SEC title game, I thought he was unbeatable. However, as someone said, "Tebow might be able to walk on water, but he can't run on the Tide."

Which was what it came down to, really. Alabama assigned linebacker Orlando McClain to stop Tebow from running the ball on the option or scrambles. Give Nick Saban credit for choosing to receive the opening kickoff (he usually defers), so that the Tide offense got the chance to show it could move the ball on Florida. Once 'Bama took an early lead, the Gators were forced to play catch-up and the dynamics of the game changed.

While RB Mark Ingram and QB Greg McElroy will get most of the credit, it was a team victory for Alabama. McElroy hit four different receivers -- Marquis Maze, Ingram, Corey Peek and Julio Jones -- and Ingram's 113 yards rushing were less than half of 'Bama's 260 total rushing yards. The Tide's offensive line was excellent, and the defense produced some of the most exciting plays of the game, including Javiera Arenas' game-clinching interception.

If Alabama could beat Florida, they should have no problem with Texas on Jan. 7 in Pasadena. Longhorns QB Colt McCoy -- damn, that's a great name for a Texas quarterback, isn't it? -- was decidedly unimpressive against Nebraska. His inept management of the clock on the final drive nearly cost the 'Horns the game. Texas fans will say, "A win is a win," and that's true. But Texas only rushed for 18 yards against Nebraska and the Longhorns' offensive line allowed their quarterback to be sacked repeatedly.

Both Tim Tebow and Corey Colt lost their shot at the Heisman Trophy last night. Alabama's never had a Heisman. If Mark Ingram doesn't get the Heisman now, I'd join any Heisman protest Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would care to lead.

Allen West: 'Governed by your inferiors'

In a letter to his supporters, retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West quotes Plato -- "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors" -- and talks about the problem of "impostors" in politics:

We are all quite familiar with the Bernie Madoff case which devastated many people here in South Florida, quite a few in Florida Congressional district 22. So many people placed their trust in what we now know was an elaborate “ponzi scheme”. The life savings of countless individuals was lost.
Just recently we have experienced another such case in the Ft Lauderdale area with a local lawyer named Scott Rothstein. The dollar amounts are not in the same strata as Madoff, only $1Billion, but that is still a pretty substantial number. One would think that we would be more attuned after the realization of what Madoff had executed.
But on an even greater scale we see the future and legacy of our Republic being stolen away by those who truly are our inferiors, impostors. . . .

Read the whole thing. You can also visit the Allen West campaign site. I first interviewed Col. West last year for the American Spectator. Given my notorious Hayekian tendencies, I was a fan as soon as the colonel started quoting Frederic Bastiat.

Last year's failure of the NRCC to spot West as a potential superstar -- they actually tried to recruit other candidates to run against him in the FL22 primary in 2008 -- was a harbinger of the problems that subsequently developed in NY23 this year. Small wonder that West singled out Doug Hoffman for praise:

The candidacy of Doug Hoffman in NY-23 portends the direction the elections of 2010, a true conservative providing an answer to the wasteful, arrogant spending of the Democrats in charge of Congress.

Fortunately, the NRCC has now awakened to the "Go West" phenomenon, so maybe things are moving in the right direction.

(Cross-posted at Hot Air Greenroom.)

Charlie Crist going negative on Rubio

This is what the National Republican Senatorial Committee is endorsing:

Buffeted by weeks of negative press and a newly threatening rival from the right, FL Gov. Charlie Crist's (R) campaign will step up direct engagements with his opponent, insiders tell OnCall.
Crist will attack former FL House Speaker Marco Rubio (R), citing his rival's failure to advance some conservative causes while leading the state House, for spending excessively while in the Speaker's office and for dragging his feet on immigration legislation that many Republicans favored.
"We're now running a campaign, and it's one where this campaign will aggressively talk about the governor and his record and his vision heading to Washington as a candidate for the Senate, and we will aggressively talk to voters about our opponent's record, a record that was eight years in the state legislature, a record that has not been discussed to date," said Eric Eikenberg, Crist's new campaign manager.

So this is what your NRSC donations are paying for: Republican attacks on Marco Rubio, one of the most promising young Republican leaders in Florida.

NOT ONE RED CENT!

UPDATE: Pat Austin notes that Crist's new campaign manager has a predictable habit:

According to The Buzz, Rubio isn't worried about the addition of Eikenberg to the Crist team. Rubio supporters point to his work on the campaigns for both Clay Shaw and George LeMieux. They both lost.

More at Memeorandum.

VIDEO: Orlando Tea Party

I've got lots of video and photos to upload from Thursday night, when Tea Party Nation erupted in Orlando's Lake Eola Park. It will take a while to get them all uploaded, so come back for the updates. Andrea Shea King, Carol Tackett and Donald Douglas have also blogged about Tea Party Nation, as has Barbara Espinosa.

Let's start with the arrival of the Tea Party Express, which was like the Beatles landing at JFK in '64 for Barbara and her friend Susan Wellington:

Lloyd Marcus leads the crowd singing "2010."

Rivoli Revue performs "U.S.S. of A.":

Brief interview with Ron and Kay Rivoli:

Interview with Kenneth Gladney, who was never involved in politics until he got beaten up by SEIU goons while selling flags at a town-hall meeting:

First Amendment or "angry mob?" We report, Pelosi decides.

Ron and Kay Rivoli.

Kenneth Gladney, Barbara Espinosa, and Tea Party organizer Sal Russo, an alumnus of Team Reagan.

Click the photo and you can see that the orange flyer is promoting a "Freedom Rally" during next February's Bike Week in Daytona. You know you want me to cover that one, right?

Barbara and Susan with my son James.

Who is that woman with WDBO radio star Mike Synan? It's Eyewitness News anchor Barbara West, who asked Joe Biden about Obama's socialist agenda last year.

Not sure exactly why Susan decided on the "off-the-shoulder" look, but let's face it, there's nothing like a gal with a "Don't Tread On Me" flag, except maybe a gal with a "Don't Tread On Me" tattoo.

Barbara hangs out backstage with Lloyd Marcus. BTW, Barbara's yellow 9/12 volunteer T-shirt was the equivalent of an all-access pass in Orlando. I'm surprised she didn't just write her name into the program and give 'em a speech.

This one's for you, Charles Johnson!

Orlando Tea Party: LIBERTY!

The final stop of the Tea Party Express at Lake Eola Park was a whirlwind of wonderfulness. So many good people, so little time and a deadline for The American Spectator:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Andrea Shea King stood backstage during Thursday night's Tea Party rally at Lake Eola Park here, where thousands turned out on a cool, overcast evening to raise their voices for liberty.
"You should have been here in March," said King, who spoke at one of the earliest rallies in what has since become a nationwide phenomenon. "It was mobbed -- and the media barely paid attention."
The media are paying attention now. They have no choice. . . .

Read the whole thing. Photos? Videos? I got megabytes of that stuff. But I'm tired now.

A few hours ago, Mike Harris and his amazingly translucent wife Rachel left the posh Hilton HQ of the National Desk. Watching a journalist trying to hit his deadline is probably not everybody's idea of entertainment, but the Harrises seemed reasonably amused. Just a sample of the photos:

Free Republic babe magnet Jim Robinson with Barbara Espinosa of American Freedom and Andrea Shea King of Radio Patriot.

Carol Tackett attracts yet another lovestruck admirer.

These two dudes married beautiful women. What's your excuse, buddy?

Orlando Diary: 'Mom's going to kill us'

That's my son Jim's verdict about the enviable poshness of our existence here at the Hilton International Resort in Orlando.

I've got an excuse. I'm here to cover the final stop of the Tea Party Express. How was I to know that Barbara Espinosa of American Freedom blog had booked us into such luxurious accommodations? My teenage son (yeah, that's him in the poolside photo) is spending the trip sprawled on the king-size bed watching the big-screen TV, or lounging around the pool and chilling in the hot tub. Me? I'm sitting here blogging, just like I'd be doing in my own basement.

Enjoy these three short videos of Jim's scuba lesson. And please tell Mrs. Other McCain we miss her!

UPDATE: Barbara corrects me: It was her friend Susan Wellington of Michigan who selected the Hilton as our Orlando headquarters. So now we know who to blame for destroying my blue-collar, low-budget blogger street-cred.

Rebellion in Florida GOP?

Here in Orlando for today's last stop of the Tea Party Express, I find some interesting local news:

The rebellion against Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer appears to be coming to a head. As first reported by Gary Fineout of The Fine Print, a number of GOP leaders Florida are demanding a "special emergency closed meeting'' of the state party's executive board.

Notice that the St. Petersburg Times is forced to admit they got beat by a blog. Gary Fineout reports:

Greer, the state GOP chairman since 2007 and an ally of Gov. Charlie Crist, has been accused of everything from playing favorites, turning his back to dirty tricks by party operatives and failing to properly supervise the use of party credit cards. While some have characterized Greer’s critics as a small minority, the call for the meeting shows that recent incidents are beginning to worry party leaders.

Part of the controversy involves the Florida GOP's relationship with accused Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein. No wonder Charlie Crist is starting to panic.

Orlando: Life is good

When Barbara Espinosa of American Freedom blog invited me to join her in Orlando to cover Thursday's final stop of the Tea Party Express tour, her offer to provide a hotel room seemed an afterthought.

A hotel is a hotel is a hotel, right? Wrong. This place puts the "luxe" in deluxe.

My son James just got back from a swim and I heard him on the phone to one of his buddies, "Dude, this is the most awesome place ever."

After 27 hours on the road to get here, I'm almost too tired to enjoy it. Almost, I said. But I'll be enjoying it in my sleep.

We're going to Disney World! Er, actually, no, but it's kind of in that neighborhood

As previously blogged yesterday, I've been invited by Barbara Espinosa of American Freedom blog to join her in Orlando to cover Thursday's final stop of the Tea Party Express tour.

Mrs. Other McCain has to work, so she can't make the trip, but two of my sons -- James, 16, and Jefferson, 10 -- will be coming along for the ride. Jeff was packing this afternoon and I said, "Make sure you bring a swimsuit." And he asked, "Why?" I said, "There's a pool at the hotel and besides, it's Florida. We may get a chance to go to the beach."

It's not a vacation for me, but it is for two of my six kids. And if you guessed that this is the post where I put up a picture of my cute kids and try to guilt-trip you into hitting the tip jar, you're right.

That's my wife and three youngest at a Hagerstown Suns minor-league baseball game last year. Consider this a "family values" message for aspiring bloggers. If you want to succeed in the blogosphere, it helps to have a beautiful family.

Now, please hit the tip jar. Even if we can't afford to go to Disney World, these kids are going to eat a lot of footlong hot dogs ($3), drink a lot of Slushies ($2), play Skeeball at the boardwalk arcade ($10), and demand that I stop every time we see a "Fireworks" sign at the Interstate exit ($50).

Tea Party Express: Orlando, here I come!

The Tea Party Express bus tour will end Thursday in Orlando, Fla., and my friend Barbara Espinosa -- "Grandma Is an Angry Mob" -- has invited me to attend the event. Barbara writes at her American Freedom blog:

I was a volunteer for the Tea Party Patriots and Freedom Watch at the 9-12 march in Washington D.C. also have attended Townhalls and Tea Party Rallies across Arizona protesting Government Run Healthcare, Cap and Trade, Higher Taxes, Out of Control Spending, taking over Banks, Car Industry, TARP, Stimulus.......I will be attending this GRAND FINALE and encourage all that can do so DESCEND on ORLANDO. . . . Be a part of history in taking back our government.

OK, so it's a 14-hour drive to Orlando -- 1,800 miles round-trip. At 20 cents per mile, that's $360. I'm hoping to make the trip down in two days, leaving tomorrow (Tuesday) and stopping Tuesday evening in Savannah. Ali Akbar lives there, and the 2010 congressional race in GA12 (a seat held by Blue Dog Democrat Rep. John Barrow) is something I'm interested in reporting about.

Given the extraordinary generosity of readers who funded the NY23 coverage, I hate to rattle the tip jar too hard for this expedition -- you gotta admit, Orlando in November is a pretty cool assignment -- but contributions to the Shoe Leather Fund would nonetheless be helpful in persuading Mrs. Other McCain that this isn't just a holiday.

NRSC's John Cornyn Keeps Fumbling Away GOP's Senate Chances for 2010

The halfwit senator from Texas, whose wrong-headed interference in the Florida primary sparked the Not One Red Cent rebellion against the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has continued his campaign to destroy what little hope remains of the Republican Party's hope for gaining Senate seats in the 2010 mid-term election. John Hawkins of Right Wing News reports:

After [the Charlie Crist] endorsement, the NRSC continued meddling in primaries, but they've done it more subtly. In California, I've been told that Cornyn has told private donor gatherings that Carly Fiorina is the NRSC's choice. Why keep it below the radar like that? To try to cut off funds to Chuck Devore without catching the attention of blogs like this one.
The NRSC is also infuriating Republicans in Colorado with these same kind of the behind the scenes moves . . .
"The chairman of the Colorado Republican Party says he plans to inform a national GOP group today that it created a 'backlash' by registering two domain names for potential U.S. Senate candidate Jane Norton." . . . .
How dare these arrogant jackasses at the NRSC disrespect Republicans across the country be interfering in these primaries? I know what they're thinking, "2010 is going to be a good year. We'll win some seats no matter what and then everyone will agree that we were smart to interfere." . . .

Please read John Hawkins' entire column and send a message to John Cornyn and those treacherous sellout swine at the NRSC:

NOT ONE RED CENT!

Marco Rubio on Immigration:'We must secure our borders'

Beth Reinhard reports in the Miami Herald:

In response to a question about immigration, Rubio dropped his previous pleas against harsh attacks on illegal workers. He said he would not have voted in favor of the legislation -- backed by Crist and Sen. Mel Martinez -- that would have allowed illegal workers to earn legal status, which he called "blanket legalization."
"Nothing is more disruptive to legal immigration than illegal immigration,'' he said. "We must secure our borders."

Read the rest. Meanwhile, a press release from "Not One Red Cent":

[John] Hawkins says the NRSC made a strategic blunder by backing Crist over former Florida Speaker of the House Marco Rubio, a GOP conservative who is also seeking the Senate seat in 2010.
"The leadership of the Republican Party keeps saying we need to get back to our principles and talking about how important it is to attract more young voters and Hispanic Americans," Hawkins said. "Then, we get a viable, young, conservative, Hispanic candidate running for Senate and they arrogantly try to shove him aside to make way for a better connected, moderate pol who's more acceptable to the GOP establishment. This cuts to the core of what's wrong with today's Republican Party."
After [Erick] Erickson reported that he was under pressure from Republicans "begging" him to shut down the anti-NRSC Facebook group, hundreds more conservatives joined the group.
"The NRSC endorsing Charlie Crist, the man Barack Obama calls his favorite Republican, sends a strong signal that the NRSC believes it can take the GOP base's money, then tell them to shut up," Erickson said. "It is an admission that the Senate Republicans, after two back to back disasters, have yet to properly diagnose their problems."

Get the latest updates at Not One Red Cent.

(Cross-posted at Hot Air's Green Room.)

UPDATE: Charlie Crist was for Keynesian bailouts before he was against them. (Via Memeorandum.)

UPDATE II: Club for Growth asks, "Will Crist Pull a Specter?"

"Charlie Crist has shown he's willing to say one thing and do another," said the Club's resident, Chris Chocola. "Voters deserve to know just how far he'll go for the sake of political expediency."

Pundette has excerpts of Rubio's interview with NRO.

ALSO SEE:

• American Spectator: Texas, Florida Rumbling About Cornyn's NRSC Move
• Not One Red Cent: The Rebellion Goes Viral!
• Hot Air: Video: What Charlie Crist Is Up Against
• Green Room: Behind the 'Not One Red Cent' Rebellion
• American Spectator: Video: Interview With Florida Conservative Candidate Marco Rubio
• American Spectator: Florida Conservatives Slam NRSC Crist Endorsement

Texas, Florida Conservative Grassroots Fight GOP Elite Over Crist Endorsement

The grassroots revolt went viral yesterday, the Florida GOP Chairman was forced to back down from his Senate endorsement for Charlie Crist, and now the fire spreads to NRSC Chairman John Cornyn's Texas:

Key Republicans in Texas are alarmed by Sen. John Cornyn's decision, as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, to endorse Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in a contested Senate race 15 months before the GOP primary.
"If they're going to do it in Florida, what's to stop them from doing it everywhere?" a Texas Republican source told me late Wednesday. "It's absurd that the NRSC is doing this. It's an insult to the base."

Read the whole thing. Meanwhile, for your amusement, I had a little personal score to settle:

When a Georgia boy with a degree from Jacksonville (Ala.) State University comes to Washington as a journalist, he becomes accustomed to a steady diet of insults from the snobs of the Beltway media elite.
Some insults rankle worse than others, however. So it was impossible to resist the impulse to rub that insult back into an arrogant Ivy Leaguer’s face: "Of course, conservative bloggers never do reporting because, as liberal blogger Matthew Yglesias says, 'What the right lacks are people with the skill to do the job'' And since Yglesias went to Harvard, he knows everything."

Read that whole thing, too. 'Cause I'm the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Thankyuhvurrrmuch.

BTW, I just realized I've been working continuously since 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. After 24 hours, I figure I could use three or four hours sleep, don't you?

UPDATE 12:50 p.m. ET: Now a Memeorandum thread, as Erick Erickson reacts to Greer's walkback, saying the Florida chairman ""is glossing over the fact that he tried to use party rules to get Rubio knocked off the ballot. He is also ignoring the fact that he made clear at the RNC meeting that the Republican Party of Florida would be supporting only Crist in the Senate race and only McCollum in the gubernatorial race."

UPDATE 1 p.m.: John Hawkins analyzes why GOP leaders are so freaking clueless:

[T]he leadership of the Republican Party keeps saying we need to get back to our principles and talks about how important it is to attract more young voters and Hispanic Americans. Then, we get a viable young conservative Hispanic candidate like Marco Rubio running for the Senate in Florida and they arrogantly try to shove him aside to make way for a better-connected, moderate pol who's more acceptable to the GOP establishment.
Our party leadership goes on "listening tours" where they don't talk about hot-button issues, say the base needs to get over Reagan, and don't seem do any real listening.
We get "moderate" Republicans who provide the crucial votes for the Democrats on every key issue. . . .
What it all comes down to is that the Republican establishment is out of touch, doesn't respect the people who put them in office, and has no principle they wouldn’t compromise for little more than a few kind words from the media.

Read the whole thing.

Republicans 'begging' Erick Erickson to shut down Facebook protest of NRSC

You may remember my reaction when the "treacherous bastards" at the National Republican Senatorial Committee endorsed Charlie Crist in the Florida Senate race -- 15 months before the primary!

Erick Erickson of Red State started a Facebook group to protest the NRSC's endorsement of Crist, and Erick just sent this message to group members:

Subject: They are listening
I've been getting all sorts of emails begging me to shut this group down.
Instead, please consider inviting ten friends each.
The NRSC will not listen to us unless we help shut down their fundraising. You can help.
Thanks,
Erick

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP.

Meanwhile, there is a new blog HQ for the grassroots anti-NRSC protest: NOT ONE RED CENT.

UPDATE: John Hawkins of Right Wing News is circulating this petition:

Dear Senator Cornyn,
We the undersigned believe that the National Republican Senatorial Committee should be committed to serving ALL the members of the Republican Party.
Additionally, the NRSC should be focused on defeating Democrats, not Republicans. Towards that end, we believe it was completely inappropriate for the NRSC to endorse a candidate in the Florida primary race.
Therefore, we request that both you and the NRSC alter your position on the Florida Senate race, maintain neutrality, and promise to spend no money directly or indirectly in that race.

Things are getting hot for Cornyn and the NRSC.

UPDATE II: Welcome, Instapundit readers! Please also see my post at Hot Air Green Room: "Behind the ‘Not One Red Cent’ Rebellion."

UPDATE III: Red Hot at Red State. And a Memeorandum thread. Certain left-wing bloggers are laughing, failing to understand what this is about. It is good that they don't understand.

UPDATE IV: Welcome, Ann Coulter readers!

Those treacherous bastards!NRSC to endorse Charlie Crist?

Politico reports that the recto-cranial inversion cases at GOP-HQ are planning another atavistic blunder:

Even as Gov. Charlie Crist comes under fire from Florida conservatives, he will be getting some important political backing today as he announces that he’s running for the Senate in Florida.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee will be endorsing Crist, according to a senior Hill operative, marking the first time it has taken sides (for a non-incumbent) in a competitive GOP primary this election cycle.

(Via Memeorandum.) Why would any conservative ever send another dime to the NRSC after this? Marco Rubio is the conservative in that primary, and it was Charlie Crist whose endorsement of John McCain help deliver Florida to that dingbat loser.

To hell with Charlie Crist and to hell with the NRSC. Go give some money to Marco Rubio.

UPDATE: At AmSpecBlog, I quote the chairman of the Conservative Republican Alliance:

"In case the NRSC forgot, it was Governor Crist that openly supported the Obama 'stimulus' plan, and gave the plan political cover here in Florida," CRA chairman Javier Manjarres said in a press release. "Why does the NRSC issue an endorsement without even waiting to find out where the respective candidates stand on the issues?"

Here's Marco Rubio's first ad hitting Crist:

UPDATE II: Mitch McConnell endorses Crist, prompting John Hawkins to ask:

Can endorsements from Kathleen Parker and Colin Powell be far behind at this point?

Hawkins is calling for Cornyn's resignation as NRSC chairman. Just don't send 'em money, whatever you do.

UPDATE III: Oh, good: Now Ed Morrissey hates me, too.

UPDATE IV: Lots more negative reaction from conservatives, including Erick Erickson of Red State, who calls our attention to Dan McLaughlin's Red State blog post, "Charlie Crist picks a fight Republicans don't need."

Dan Riehl is more approving, but perhaps he hasn't studied the situation in Florida in the detail McLaughlin has. Basically, the old wobbly moderate, Crist, is stepping on the career of the promising Latino conservative, Rubio. It's the exact opposite of what we need. It's a triple disaster: Crist will forego a reasonably safe re-election bid as governor, to waste NRSC money running for an iffy Senate seat, creating an expensive GOP primary in the governor's race. It's just bad basic politics, all the way around, and only an idiot like Cornyn could think this was a smart move for the NRSC.

Jimmie Bise Jr. at Sundries Shack doesn't want any of what John Cornyn is smoking.

Charlie Crist in trouble in Florida?

Months ago, a conservative Florida Republican named Javier Majarres began e-mailing me to complain about his dissatisfaction with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the state GOP chairman, Jim Greer.

Majarres was a big supporter of Lt. Col. Allen West's FL-22 congressional campaign. (I profiled West for The American Spectator and blogged about his campaign through the fall.) Manjarres felt that Crist and Greer didn't do enough to support West.

Manjarres formed the Conservative Republican Alliance, and blogs at Red County. So today, Kid From Brooklyn has a post at the Hot Air Green Room, linking this Orlando Sentinel story:

Before last fall's election, Crist took time out of his work schedule to campaign for McCain, appearing at rallies, raising money for him in Texas and California and visiting the GOP candidate at his ranch in Sedona, Ariz.
"He was with him so many times I thought he was an adopted member of the family," said Mitch Ceasar, Democratic chairman of Broward County.
Back home, Florida's economic crisis was deepening. But Crist did not step up his workload, according to his schedule.

Florida is one of the states hit hardest by the bursting of the housing bubble. There's been lots of noise about Crist running for Senate next year, but as it is, he might be lucky to be re-elected as governor. Manjarres writes:

Crist's indecision is, in all likelihood, delaying the entrance of several candidates into either the Gubernatorial race or Senate race. . . .
In my opinion, I think Governor Crist is very beatable in a primary election. If the right conservative candidate steps up and directly confronts him on both his record and his lack of leadership, he will force Crist to answer to the base of the Republican Party in a primary election. I think he could very well lose because he has disappointed those who elected him, time and time again during his tenure. . . .
Governor Crist is a wounded deer who has fallen completely out of favor with the base of the Republican Party -- the political cover he gave President Obama by supporting the reckless "stimulus" plan was the final straw for many. [Emphasis added.]

Majarres notes that Dr. Marion Thorpe has declared as a Republican candidate in the Florida Senate race, and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio might also get in the race. There may be a Tea Party conservative rebellion brewing against "me too" Republicans like Crist.

America's leading cause of racism

Florida Democrats:

Gradulations! In 3 minutes and 38 seconds, Corinne Brown turns back the clock at least 40 years. (This video hate is brought to you by Iowahawk.)

Read My Lips: No More Bushes

Over at The American Spectator, Larry Thornberry sees talk of a Jeb Bush run for Mel Martinez's Florida Senate seat as a sign of hope. Sorry, but I see it as a sign of insanity -- according to that definition of insanity as doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

Especially if a Bush 2010 Senate campaign is a prelude to a Bush presidential campaign in 2012 or '16 -- and let's not kid ourselves, that's what it is -- conservatives should oppose it with every means at their disposal. Having fooled 'em once with Bush 41, they fooled 'em twice with Bush 43, and now are attempting to fool 'em again by positioning Jeb to become Bush 45.

No. Not just no, but hell no.

It ought to be clear to intelligent conservatives by now that the Bushes have a hereditary disorder, a genetic predisposition toward bipartisan moderation which they inevitably pursue no matter how many times it leads to disaster. From "kinder, gentler" to "compassionate conservatism," they are the Republican Party's answer to Carrie Buck, and if they are allowed into office again, conservatives will be forgiven for quoting Oliver Wendell Holmes: "Three generations of imbeciles are enough."

I'm seeing Karl Rove and the Bushies now trying to spin a "legacy" for Dubya. As far as I'm concerned, the list of Bush accomplishments begins and ends with "He cut taxes." (Don't get me started on judges -- if it had been up to the Bushies, we'd have Supreme Court justices Alberto Gonzales and Harriet Miers. Only strong opposition from the Federalist Society prevented Bush from appointing these two cronies to the bench.)

Hell no. Not again. Not me. Having a senator from Florida with an "R" beside his name is not victory, if that senator's name is Bush.

Some people didn't believe me when I suggested (on Nov. 1) that the anonymous Republican "insiders" (e.g. Nicolle Wallace) trashing Sarah Palin were Bushies attempting to destroy her because she's a threat to the Jeb 2012 bandwagon. Since then, however, we've learned that Bush loyalist Mel Martinez was one of the anonymous trashers, and now we see Martinez retiring in order to hand off his Senate seat to Jeb.

No. Hell no. This needs to be stopped immediately.