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Rush Limbaugh Says Fred Thompson Is the Real Conservative

Rush says he doesn't endorse candidates for the GOP primary, but he came pretty close to endorsing Fred Thompson last week:

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Huckabee, Whatever Should the GOP Do with Him?

The polls show Huckabee ahead of even Guiliani. Ace is declaring this a disaster, cause Ace says Huck can't win.

A Corner reader thinks Huck emerging indicates a new post-conservatism movement in politics.

Powerline asks if Huck would turn out to be more like Reagan or Carter.

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CNN Used Republican Debate to Create Conservative Wedge Issue

Gays in the military was not an issue in the 2008 presidential campaigns, at least not before CNN manipulated the Republican debate last week to set it up as a wedge issue. This is exactly the sort of thing that Hugh Hewitt was posting about earlier this year when he strongly advised the GOP not to agree to a YouTube debate. Now Jack Cafferty at the New York Times is promoting the whole Gays in the Military schtick.

Some are calling for:  Save the Debate, Ditch CNN  (HT: Instapundit)

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Mike Huckabee Could Actually Win This Thing

I don't like his populist-ish domestic record and inclinations, but wow, gotta give the guy credit.

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The GOP Not Looking So Good Right Now

GOP retirements in both the House and Senate since the party lost in 2006, makes the task of winning back congressional majorities daunting. Plus Republican donors are not donating.

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Maybe Republicans Aren't So Close Minded After All

Brendan Loy, hurricane blogger extraordinaire, has long thought that Rudy Giuliani will be the GOP presidential nominee. Loy notes that Frank Rich of the New York Times is only now discovering that maybe American's aren't as narrow minded as he thought:

 

Why is Rudy doing so well? People in the know used to think the rubes just didn't realize Rudy has dressed in drag and once lived with 2 gay guys; they just remembered him as the star of that 9/11 show they saw on TV that one time.

 

But now it's dawning on the pundits that Americans probably know all that stuff by now, so why isn't Rudy sunk? They're shuffling around for explanations. You could say "terrorism fears trump everything," or "the rest of the field is weak." But Rich thinks the right answer is that Americans really aren't as narrow-minded as they are portrayed...

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Conservative Principles, Today, 40 Years Ago, 13 Years Ago

With the Republican presidential candidates each claiming to be the true conservative, it's good to revisit the core conservative principles. Redstate has a great post that demonstrates how conservative principles have held steady through the decades:

1. First and foremost, he needs to understand that, by the tens of millions, true conservatives do exist in our country. That their unbending beliefs make them -- not only the backbone of this nation -- but the hope for a better future. That they unashamedly love their country and have reached the point of no return with regard to political correctness and pandering politicians who place themselves above the welfare of our Republic.
2. He needs to understand that they have a deep and abiding belief in God. A belief that is under a daily, escalating and obscene assault from those on the left who only use the word “Christian” as an insult, a punch line, or as an identifier to be added to a blacklist to deny employment at most schools, colleges, newspapers, and television networks. He needs to understand that this is a belief that must be acknowledged, respected, and defended. He needs to understand that all life is sacred and that it begins at conception.
3. He needs to understand that true conservatives believe we live in a sovereign nation with clearly defined borders that must be protected. Period. He must understand that the invasion of illegal aliens is not only a threat to that sovereignty, but widens the pathway for terrorists to infiltrate our nation. A scenario that the House Committee on Homeland Security has already documented as becoming a reality. He needs to accept that there are those in our country who would turn the United States of America into part of a “North American Union.” A suicidal strategy that was recently pushed and admitted to by former Mexican President Vicente Fox.
4. He needs to understand that we are engaged in a world-wide war against Jihadists and extremists who mean to wipe our nation off the face of the Earth. For that reason and more, it is imperative that we retain a national defense that is second to none. He needs to understand that true conservatives believe that the young men and women who serve in our military represent the very best of our nation and must be given every consideration. That without their heroic service, we will be vanquished.
5. He needs to understand that true conservatives do believe that large segments of the entertainment industry are purposefully and systematically exposing our children to the vilest forms of smut. That they do so first, to make money, and second, to indoctrinate as they continue their quest to subvert the morals, ethics, and character of our nation.
6. He needs to understand that true conservatives actually do believe in lower taxes and fiscal responsibility. That if you proclaim yourself to be a “Conservative” and turn your back on these tenets, then you are worse than those on the left who believe in neither. He needs to understand that true conservatives understand the value of limited government and expect their leaders to be just as enlightened.
7. He needs to understand that true conservatives believe in strict enforcement of the rule of law. That aside from the terrorists from without, our nation is at war with hundreds of thousands of violent gang members from within. That in many cases, these gangs are aligning themselves with drug cartels, terrorist groups and foreign nations. That if we don’t acknowledge this war and win it, then many of our cities and much of our border, will spiral into lawlessness and unchecked murder as these gangs prevail.
8. He needs to understand that the appointment of judges is an overriding issue for true conservatives. That they believe in having a strict-constructionist Supreme Court. That there can be no compromise in this area.
9. He needs to understand that if he panders to them now to win the nomination and then stabs them in the back to try and win the general election, he has lost them forever.
10. And finally, he has to understand that true conservatives will never vote for the “lesser of two evils” come November of 2008. That to do so, would be to betray all that they hold sacred. Faith, family values, and conviction can never be compromised.

vadkins
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About the Bobby Jindal-R Win in Louisiana

Bobby Jindal is a second generation Indian-American, and he won the election in Louisiana to become governor of that state. The MSM/media has constructed a narrative that the Republican party has pursued a "Southern strategy" to change the once Democrat south to the now Republican south. Plus, Governor-Elect Jindal is not only a Republican, he is a movement conservative:

Bobby Jindal, a second generation Indian-American, is going to be the new Republican Governor of Louisiana.  Although governors who are black have been elected in Virginia and Massachusetts, this election marks the first time the support of white Southern voters has propelled a non-white governor into office.  Jindal's election is evidence that the much-reviled Republican "Southern Strategy" has actually produced one of the greatest advances for civil rights in the history of the United States.

Here's is Michael Barone's analysis of the Jindal win.

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Fred Thompson's Campaign Starting to Impress

Conservative Republican churchgoers are backing Fred Thompson for the GOP presidential nomination. Fred now ties John McCain with this group of voters. Some conservatives think that Fred was the winner of last Sunday's Republican candidate debate on Fox News.

And Thompson is sending the kind of signals I like on illegal immigration and national sovereignty-at least as far as the Law of the Sea Treaty is concerned.

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Polling Indicates the Republican Presidential Race Still Up for Grabs

While Hillary has a lock on the Democrat nomination, Rasmussen's poll indicates that Rudy and Fred are both, within the margin of error, in the lead for the GOP nomination. Hillary is leading in head-to-head polls against all of the top tier Republican candidates. Patrick Ruffini is theorizing that the nature of the center right political blogosphere could be better structured to positively impact GOP 2008 chances, a very interesting read. He has a great example here of the superior Democrat fundraising operation.

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