On the Western Banks of the Shenandoah

From The Note, we have snippets of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s remarks to the RNC, and from what is sounds like, he’s not too optimistic about where the party stands:

“You can walk from Canada to Mexico and from Maine to Arizona without ever leaving a state with a Democratic governor,” said McConnell. “Not a single Republican senator represents the tens of millions of Americans on the West Coast. And on the East Coast, you can drive from North Carolina to New Hampshire without touching a single state in between that has a Republican in the U.S. Senate.”

Pretty stark words coming from a standard issue Southern Republican. You know you have issues when even the region leading the party points out that they are not on the road to victory. So what do we do?

“As Republicans, we know that common sense conservative principles aren’t regional,” said McConnell. “But I think we have to admit that our sales job has been. And in my view, that needs to change.”

“Too often we’ve let others define us. And the image they’ve painted isn’t very pretty,” said McConnell. “Ask most people what Republicans think about immigrants, and they’ll say we fear them. Ask most people what we think about the environment, and they’ll say we don’t care about it. Ask most people what we think about the family and they’ll tell you we don’t — until about a month before Election Day.”

That’s all very well and good, but just how do we get those conservative principles out there without betraying the base nor alienating the center? We know the problem, but how do we fix it?

That will not be an easy task and is the one at hand for today’s victor.

Congressman Randy Forbes lays out his opposition to the Stimulus, and notes that he has been one of just 16 Republicans to vote against every stimulus or bailout package that has come through. Listen here.

I have never seen a more elegant message about the potential of every unborn life. Too often pro-life supporters venture into the grotesque to get their point across. Here the point is crystal clear but simple: regardless of the circumstances, each life has great potential and is thus precious and worthy of the highest order of protection.

This ad was slated to air during the Super Bowl, but NBC refused, as was within their right. However, we still have the internet. Spread this far and wide. 

As promised, now former Governor Rod Blagojevich put on quite a show on his way out. Fairly typical stuff for a last-gasp stand against, well, everyone. However, while fighting for his political life, he still managed to fit in an anectdote about former Senator John Warner on his way out:

Now, I understand the importance of JCAR committee, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. I understand that six of you here in the Senate are members of that. The fact that you’d be picked to be on JCAR means you’re in good standing with your legislative leaders. I remember when I was a legislator. I remember when I was a freshman in Congress and I got a chance to be on what they called a conference committee–when you get to sit with the leaders of the different committees in the House and in the Senate–and what a thrill it was for me to be able to, as a freshman congressman, be in a room with legendary U.S. senators like John Glenn and Ted Kennedy and John McCain and John Warner, the senator from Virginia who, incidentally, had once been married to Elizabeth Taylor. That’s all I could think about when I saw him in that room. And then he asked me for a cup of coffee because he thought I was a staffer. And I didn’t tell him I was a congressman. Instead I went and asked him, “How do you take it?” And he said, “Black.” And I went and got him the coffee. I saw him the following weekend and he asked me for another cup of coffee. He obviously forgot I was a congressman.

After that, he swung into full pity mode. Take in the arrogant glory of his final words:

or what happened. But I can’t because I don’t think–because I didn’t do anything wrong. These are circumstances that have happened and I’m sorry that we’re all in this. I’ll apologize for that. And I’ll apologize for maybe pushing and prodding too much and the rest in the past. But I want you also to know that whatever you do here–and I hope you think about the big, broad picture and the big consequences, not me–think about future governors, think about the constitutional rights that are involved, think about the precedent, think about the civil liberties that we Americans all enjoy, think about the dangerous precedent of removing me without proving any wrongdoing. If it can happen to a governor, it can happen to any citizen. And then I would say to all of you, think about the things we’ve been able to do together: Health care for all of our kids, first in the nation. Pre school for 3- and 4-year-olds, best in the nation. Record amount of money in education. All of our senior citizens riding public transportation for free. Holding the line on taxes. Think about all the good things we’ve been able to do for people. Give me a chance to stay here so we can roll up our sleeves and continue to do good things for people. Thank you very much.

You’ll note that the word “sell” or “Senate seat” never came up once. Instead, he decided to focus on the allegations surrounding his handling of health care. Because really: who needs the public trust when you’re doing “great work.”

From SWAC Girl in Augusta County we have a great example of conservative action at the ground level. Activists are speaking out against outrageous increases in assessments (in some cases over 50%) that will lead to de-facto tax hikes if rates are kept at the same level. 

This is sort of organized action and the sort of citizen reporting we need in Shenandoah County.

From Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a take on the results of the December Senate Run-Off in Georgia, where Saxby Chambliss trounced his opponent by 15 points in a race that saw turnout much closer to mid-term election:

It can be precarious to draw global conclusions from a single state, yet the Georgia Senate race does give Republicans some hope for 2010 and Democrats a cause for concern. In short, while the latter can turn out their large constituency with Barack Obama atop the ticket, can they do so when he is not on the ballot?

In Georgia, the answer was no. Obama pulled 47 percent of the presidential vote–a losing share to be sure, but the highest for any Democratic presidential candidate in the Peach State since native son Jimmy Carter in 1980. Helped by the outpouring of African-American support for Obama, Martin drew 46.8 percent of the vote, putting him only 3 points behind Chambliss.

But that was Martin’s high-water mark. In the runoff, he drew barely half as many votes as he had in November, compared to a falloff of roughly one-third in Chambliss’ vote. In a number of populous counties with a significant African-American population, the runoff vote for Martin was less than half as large as Obama’s tally a month earlier. Among the counties in this group: Those that include the cities of Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah.

Martin sought to spur Democratic turnout in the runoff by tying himself closely to Obama. He argued that he would be a loyal supporter of the new president, with one flier declaring: “Jim Martin for Senate, Don’t Stop With Barack.”

But there were no Obama coattails without Obama himself. He sent campaign volunteers to the state, cut a radio ad for Martin, and recorded an automated phone message for the candidate. But conspicuously, he chose not to campaign personally in support of Martin.

The results plus similar outcome seems to indicate that we haven’t quite entered a new Democratic era.

LISTEN HERE AT 10PM!

Tonight is episode three of my podcast, and hopefully we have a good one lined up. We’ll be taking some more about state and local budget transparency, the continuing “struggle” to find a new state song, the RNC Chairman’s race, and how the stimulus is affecting both state and local governments (at least in their thinking). We’ll have that plus Stump the Craiger, Craig’s Pick, andour Conservative Quotable, all starting tonight at 10 P.M. EST.

Call in at (646) 727-2982 or chat with me at www.blogtalkradio.com/Craig–Orndorff.

From the campus of George Washington University in Washington, DC, word that a College Democrat has been engaged in less than respectful opposition to his opponent’s message. From the Hatchet:

 

A number of crosses used by the Young America’s Foundation during a anti-abortion event last week were desecrated and left in a Marvin Center office, and a member of the College Democrats has taken responsibility.

Members of the College Republicans found the crosses on Monday morning scattered around the office they share with the College Democrats. One was pinned upside down on a bulletin board and draped with a condom, another featured a drawing of Jesus along with the words “pwned” and “lol,” and others were emblazoned with words like “Darwin” and “Amelia West,” the vice president of the CDs.

A CD statement Thursday morning said a member of their organization had stepped forward and apologized for the vandalism. The perpetrator was not named.

Surely there must have been more civil and respectful ways of showing opposition to the message of YAF? Kudos to the College Democrats for distancing themselves from the individual members and apologizing on their behalf.

In a sign that we are indeed nearing the apocalypse, some are chattering that, perhaps in these pre-RNC Winter Meeting days, Rush Limbaugh is the closest thing we have to a leader on the right. And I, for one, could not be less thrilled. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

 

It happened the other day while Obama was visiting with congressional Republicans in an effort to get them to support his economic stimulus package. Said Obama to the lawmakers: “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done.”

On his Monday program, Limbaugh shot back that the president was “obviously more frightened of me than he is of (Senate Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell. He’s more frightened of me than he is of, say, (House Minority Leader) John Boehner, which doesn’t say much about our party.”

It wasn’t that Obama’s mention was mean or personal, analysts said. But in citing Limbaugh as influential, the president of the United States elevated a talk show host to his level – the leader of the free world. And in a leadership vacuum like the one that conservatives find themselves in after last November’s devastating electoral losses, loud voices – like Limbaugh’s with his 13 million weekly listeners – echo even louder.

 

I have the utmost respect for Rush Limbaugh. He was able to rise up from nothing to become on the most recognizable voices on the right. He is able to spin ideas in very folksy turns of phrase and able to coalesce his followers around an issue or politician. One thing he is not, however, is a heavy thinker. He is a conveyor of ideas, yes, but he is not one who thinks into the wee hours of the night about how to solve our national crises. He is also not a political practitioner; he is not into himself able to influence policy or make deals. He is influential–he surely deserves some credit for zero Republicans voting for the stimulus yesterday. At the end of the day, however, he does not care who he offends. 

 

But while an Oval Office shout-out may temporarily elevate a man who refers to himself as El Rushbo, it doesn’t make Limbaugh the de facto leader of the Republican Party or the conservative movement. He is, analysts say, a “conveyer belt” of information, influencer of the wider talk radio universe and an outside-the-Beltway party whip who reins in wayward Republicans – as in those veering toward political moderation.

“Whenever a national party is in search of its identity, its mojo, figures like Rush will fill the vacuum,” said Mike Franc, a vice president for government relations at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “But in this situation, he doesn’t fill the idea. He’s more of an idea aggregator.”

 

Read more…

Michael Powell writes over a New Majority about some of the challenges facing out party. Unfortunately, but perhaps for the better, they are not uni-dimensional. One key problem: communication. 

Additionally, to have a future an institution must appeal to generations of the future. Appealing to youth is vital for rebirth. Yet, we seem trapped in a time warp. The Party has failed to fully comprehend how the young interact and communicate in an era transformed by the digital revolution. We do not yet appreciate their passions and their fears, nor pause to look at the world through their eyes. Battling to be a voice of technology and innovation is vital. In the world of youth, you must first “get it” before you are listened to.

However, what good are those tools for communication if our values are unclear or unappealing:

Finally, we must restore a commitment to competence. Knowing how to govern well is vital in a world of colossal problems. It is too convenient to build an ideology around what we are against, and being against government excuses the need to field players with real solutions and the skills, temperament and expertise to execute them. While Republicans are a proud party of values, politics is not a faith. It is an instrument for winning the consent of the American people to steer the nation that they love into a future they believe in. It is a sacred responsibility.