1 "Mostly scandal-free?" That could be a problem. Not a Mark Foley type problem, but a problem nonetheless.

2

RINOs need not apply.

3 "if your life has been mostly scandal-free"  *Sigh*  That keeps me out.

4 "think of all the military types (and doctors, and farmers, teachers, businessmen"

Actually, if this race is any indication, we should be looking at aerobics instructors and the PTA.

I'm not entirely kidding.

5 I'm not sure why.

I think it's because we're busy being doctors, teachers, military, farmers, and businessmen, etc.

6 Even plumbers could run.

7

Scandal free?  Hell, I live in Mass.  I could eat a baby on the Boston Common and get the nod if I was a Dem.

Unfortunately, I'd be running as a Republican and that is a scandal in Mass that is insurmountable.

8 Seriously people - if you halfway decent public speaking skills - you can do this.  Barney Frank is a congress-critter.  If that isn't an indication that brain power is not required I dunno what is. (Although obviously our side needs higher wattage candidates, since the MSM won't cover it up if you say something really stupid.)

9 "And seriously -- if your life has been mostly scandal-free, and if you've achieved some distinction in your field..."

Among the types of conservatives you've described here, I don't think it's a case of "I could never do that" as opposed to a case of "I would never do that!"

Whereas it's pretty normal for folks on the left to flock to work in government positions, that usually isn't the case for conservatives who tend to see government as a necessary evil at best.

10

I kinda wrote that, with about 3 days after sarah was selected, but hey.

Fuck it.

11 FoxNews article: Obama's Affinity to Marxists Dates Back to College Days

http://preview.tinyurl.com/6bwne7

12

"..-- if your life has been mostly scandal-free, "

Well, it was fun while it lasted.  Anyway, not being a citizen might be a problem too.

13 Let's not forget city councils, boards of supervisors, selectmen, water/utility boards, etc.  That's where the Dems' really get out ahead of us - they get a bench going with people on all these little unassuming boards, who then start the move up the ladder and end up as legislators.  I'm not saying we shouldn't put good people up at every level; we can and should.  I'm just saying let's go for all levels and create that back bench from which we can start to pull people up the ladder.

Of course, to go along with this will be the need to develop a donor base.  Even running for City Council of a city of a couple of hundred thousand people runs in the several tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.  We cannot have all our candidates forced to be self-financed.  Frankly, finding the money for such an effort is far bigger challenge than finding the candidates. 

Thank you, John McCain and your sympathetic incumbent buddies all over the country for making campaign financing, even for local bodies, so bloody hard for newcomers.

14 Sounds good to me, ace. Also, someone must have listened to you because for the last few days, I've received a few emails from McCain camp asking to help with phone banks. I guess they didn't know that I have been doing just that. If you can't spare 20 minutes a day ... that's it ... 20 minutes a day.

15 Man, I have so much trouble posting links here!

http://tinyurl.com/6bwne7

16 I was asked to run for the state legislature right after college.  I may do so again in a couple of years.  Maine is reaching a tipping point on taxes - when people finally get angry enough (I'm thinking about 2010-2012), it's going to be a bad time to be a liberal Democrat in the state house.

17 This is a serious question, coz I really want to know - what encompasses a scandal if someone wants to enter political life as a Republican?

18 Unfortunately hack lawyers, (John Edwards,  John Kerry,  Hillary Clinton, etc,) have lots of free time and money to pursue such endeavors.

Conservatives are usually too busy doing important things like earning a living to get into politics.

It's the same reason there aren't more people at various anti-war marches. Those
who would counter protest are usually working.

19 Jazz - to be sort of fair, 60% of college graduates were sort of marxists at some point in school - the difference is that most grew out of it, unlike Obama.

20

Ace, why don't you run for office?  You already provide a valuable public service by reducing the hobo population.  Plus you're the Conservative Blogger of the Year.

You're a lock!

21 Nov. 5 post?

22 Ace,

I've already planned on losing my alias in a couple years and running.

You will hear from me; mark my words.

D.A.

23 Ace: Especially military men.

I'd say military veterans. Plenty of damn good women out there, too.

24 Why would anybody subject their family to this abuse? Which makes Sarah's courage all the more remarkable.

25 When I forwarded the Obama Fundraising Fraud stuff to my good friend, he shared some insight into the general frustration that we are all feeling.  His sister worked for the Romney Campaign in the primaries and now works for the McCain Campaign.  She reports that the differences couldn't be starker. 
I followed that discussion up with another talk to a campaign worker in Colorado.
The overarching problem here is that McCain's National Campaign is in disarray.  There is no top down functioning and the reporting from the satellites to the top is slow and awkward.  I read here and elsewhere, 'why doesn't McCain do this?'
McCain's campaign cannot respond, does not respond to information from the field.  There is a laxity and lack of a defined organization that is making it impossible for him to stay fresh and cohesive.

So, YES WE NEED A RIGHTROOTS and McCain won't give it to us. I am of the opinion that in my little interaction with the NRCC, they won't do it either.  There is a lack of seriousness in our party, a serious that demands structure and organization.  So LET'S DO IT.  Are we not the party (unpaid) anyway?

26

Heh, JackStraw. You beat me to it.

Ted Kennedy drowns a woman. One of Barney Frank's boyfriends runs a brothel in their Georgetown basement and another helps run Fannie Mae into the ground. No problem say the good people of the Commonwealth of Idiots.

Put an "R" next to your name, though, and it'd be off to Salem for the barbeque.

27 Aren’t we all disqualified by our association with a certain moronic right wing blog.

28 Past drug use....check.
Disgruntled ex-girlfriends...check.
Arrested for fighting...check.
Sued for it...check.
Declared bankruptcy...check.
Idiotic leftard radicalism in my twenties...oh, that's a big check.

I can haz nomination?

No?

How come?

(because there are better men and women out there who didn't spend half their lives doing everything possible to fuck it up, that's why.)

29

How about we run all the Fox news babes.  We know they can speak with a teleprompter and they are all smoking hot.  Megyn could slip on those glasses and ..... ahem.  Yea, well she'd win in a walk in any district and you know it.

We can always get more Fox news babes from the hot babe farm where they are grown.

30

WTF?  Biden lowers the tax cut ceiling to 150K? 

Disappearing faster than Obama's lead..

31

This is a serious question, coz I really want to know - what encompasses a scandal if someone wants to enter political life as a Republican?

Buying a tanning bed.

32 We have to take over the Media to have a prayer at 'real change'.  Imagine if the truth actually got out

33

There might be state legislators that serve because they believe that they can make a difference.  And these same people might run for Congress to do the same.    But who wants to put up with all the BS?  Unless they are just power-hungry?

34 We need an army of Sarah Palins in 2010.

Yeah she's really helped out.  The fact is you guys are all bullshit and no substance and have been since Reagan.  The last intelligent person you ran was Nixon and maybe he was too smart.

W!  Ooops! Macaca man!  No wait! Fred!  Fuck! Mittens!  Urgh! Sarracuda!  Goddammit! 

What conservatives need is less Lord of the Flies you fat dummy.

35 Ace: Remember when you were going nuts about the McCain's ads and everyone was getting pissed off at you and you them? All it took was for you to specifically tell people what they needed to do. It's not like anyone is stupid, but delegation works well and it is faster. It also requires people understanding the goal and being committed to it. Too many times we have seen too much dissension that was not only non-productive but counter productive.

36

I have battled the RNC since 1992 to set up a GOTV effort and fund it to party build an organization to beat the democrats. And each election been turned away. The RNC keeps thinking that all you have to do is the old style politics and that was enough.

GOP campaigns blow too much money on traditional media and not enough to organize itself. I still keep getting emails from the GOP that places the entire burden of the GOP effort on me and other supporters and none on party itself.

The GOP can only succeed if it changes the way it does campaigns.

37 Posted by: Holdfast at October 28, 2008 02:09 PM (Gzb30)

My undergrad degree is in mathematics.  We didn't exactly have rousing political discussions built into our curriculum, so I don't really know whether your assertion is true or not.  I can only say that I didn't run into it, and I didn't see a bunch of Marxist propaganda on any of the campuses of any of the I attended (which numbered five - I took a LONG time to finish college).

38 McLovin's got a point. It's difficult for someone to have a job where they can afford to be gone for what amounts to five or six months out of the year, and it's hard for an employer to have an employee -- especially a trusted and valuable one -- gone for that long as well. A lot of the reason that politicians become lobbyists or appointees is simply that going into politics tends to cut your ties to any sort of "normal" private-sector entities.

The way to handle this, in my opinion, is to change how legislators are paid. Right now, in most cases, they get a salary and (ridiculously-good and expensive) health and retirement benefits. Instead of doing that, states and the Federal government should pay legislators their equivalent salary had they stayed on the job and reimburse the employer the full cost of the legislator's salary and benefits (so that the employer can afford to hire someone temporarily to take their spot and so that the legislator can stay on the employer's health insurance and retirement plan).

Self-employed? No problem. You are paid the requisite fraction of whatever your stated income was for the last year.

Unemployed? Here's your flat salary amount and bare-bones benefit package.

This does two things in my opinion: it encourages good, productive people to go into politics for the right reason, and it encourages employers to allow their employees to do it.

39 And look what the press did to Joe the Plumber?  And since he has tax liens, that would be a major "scandal".

40

I'm currently debating staying in higher education, or moving back down the ladder to teach in high school. If I do so, I'll probably try to return home to Western MD and teach there. I've also considered that if I do so, Congressman Bartlett is getting up in years, and a replacement could be needed sooner rather than later (I think he'll win again this year). It would be something I'd be interested in, should I follow that path.

41 That little prick Luntz showed his true colors by stating that the obamabots dominated the internet and he preferred it.

42

Yeah, I could never run. Too many skeletons in the closet.

Damn, if someone had told me that all those things I did as a teenager and in my early 20's would come back to bite me in the ass...maybe I would've made a better decision.

Oh well, such is life. But I can support people!

Speaking of, down here in South Georgia, we have a long serving Democratic Congressman who runs unopposed every stinking time.

Any Ace of Spades readers in the area want to run against this guy?

43 I don't want to run for office, but I would love to write speeches, press releases, position papers and such like? How do I get into that?

44 I can't run for office, but you know, several of the offices in my area had nobody at all running for them against the incumbent. The mayor, for example. Several county seats. The city commission, etc.

45 I guess I could work for Sean if he follows through.

46 who didn't spend half their lives doing everything possible to fuck it up

I hear ya.  I'm pretty sure there are photos of me from my youth in the photo albums of people I don't even know any more which would disqualify me from ever running for any office higher than ticket agent at a Grateful Dead show.

47 In some states you need to get through vetting by the local GOP. They need to know if you'll play ball. Around NJ that means to agree not to rock the boat because pigs can't eat from the trough if someone's rocking the boat.

48 oh god yes! and we need to suggest legislature to protect american values...

49 If I could somehow erase the 3 year gap between marriages (and thus the disgruntled ex-gfs the MSM is sure to interview), I'd love to run for office.

Except that I'm terrified of loud noises and large crowds of people.

50 Thinking about this, the "Joe the Plumber" template has some potential. What if we had "Joe the Plumber" "Sean the Teacher" or "Jack the Farmer " running against "________ the Lawyer" and "________ the Community Organizer" and "_________ the Party Hack Bureaucrat."  That might resonate with voters.

51 Good idea, but one major disagreement and one major issue to overcome.

Disagreement:  We have to replace or destroy the current GOP power structure.  It gave us massive porkers and a Democrat Lite party.  We thought we could socialize by half and win.  If our party simply looks like the Democrats with a slightly different face, then what's the point?

Major issue:  We have to separate the public from the indoctrination and propaganda of our existing institutions. 

Start with the media.  It is dying by itself, but it's too slow and it will create a vacuum.  I like the idea of a national conservative paper a la USA Today.  I think it needs local news as well, and local advertising.  Since it's all computers and printers, that shouldn't be so hard to accomplish.  But someone needs to report on the crazies in city hall, the local schools, and so on.

Something has to replace liberal nightly news, and Fox won't do it.  Fox is not news, it's commentary, and a lot of people can only take so much of O'Reilly.  We need more Britt Humes, but he apparently is being replaced by Glenn Beck, if the rumors are correct.  Sure, I like Glenn, but it's more of the same.  If Beck replaces Hume, there will be no real news on Fox.  And no, I don't think Shep really cuts it.  Nightly news has to have national news, local news, local sports, and so on.

The schools have to be destroyed.  Radical, I know (cue "We don't need no education...") but we ain't getting education now.  We are getting indoctrination by liberals out of liberal colleges, and the latest propaganda from the teachers union.  That has to change.  We need to demand the 3 Rs, and nothing else.  Okay, ramp up PE and recess and run the little buggers, but that's it. 

Someone needs to start monitoring state universities.  We need to expose the insanity in the most of the "soft" disciplines, like the Humanities.    We need to ask our state legislatures why our tax money has to go for anti-American indoctrination, pro-sodomy courses, atheistic indoctrination, and the rest of it.  And if they can't clean it up, get rid of the politicians.

It's a tall order, but what else are we doing except wasting our time leaving posts like this one?

52 I wanna be the creepy Rasputin-like figure behind the curtains.  So, if any of you have a clean record and want to run for office while being secretly manipulated by a spooky advisor with a checkered past, you know where to find me.  We'll be unbeatable!

53 I'm not actually being a smart ass when I ask this, but why on earth would anyone who is a decent human being run for office?  Why would you do that to yourself or your family?  Remember, it doesn't matter whether or not there's an actual scandal, the nutroots have no qualms at all about alleging that you're husband raped your daughter and then you faked a pregnancy to cover that up.  Seriously, things have degenerated to a point where decent people are naturally recoiling from the concept of putting themselves through that wringer.

Which means we're left with the narcissistic halfwits who wants power so much they don't care about that. 

54 I'm in, except I've got 4 more years to get to 20 (gotta lock in the retirement UNLESS The One takes away military retirements).  My record should be pretty clean, well except for one time in the Phillippines.  Just kidding.  Really.  I think.

55
If your looking for anyone with a sketchy, coke addled past littered with failures and commitment problems, I'm available.

56 Hm.  This might be worth doing.

I've never been arrested or even gotten a speeding ticket.  Embarrassing pictures of me have never shown up on the web.  About the only bad thing would be my hellaciously awful SAT scores and college grades.

If I do this, I'm looking to you morons for the dough.

57

I am going into business academia, studying entrepreneurship and hoping to inspire as many students as possible to go work for themselves. Them as seem amenable, I'll take to the pistol or rifle range and talk with about Austrian economics outside class time.

III

58

Waste of time.  Most normal Conservatives are too right wing for the GOP.

I belive in the Second Amendment= Gun nut

Close the border= Racist, will alienate hispanics

Stop welfare to illegals=Racist, will alienate hispanics

Prosecute criminale=Racist

English for Gov business=Racist

Thats just the GOP, Dems will be far more unkind.

 

59

Maybe you can advertise this in the New York Times? They need all of the advertising money they can find, now that they are officially at junk status.

60 Hmmm...27 years combined active and reserve military time...I spend half my working time in speaking engagements...I've only lived in this district for 13 years so there won't be many constituents with knowledge of past misdeeds...Washington's only an hour from my house so I wouldn't have to actually live in that fetid town...

What's the starting pay again?

61

My skeletons are minimal. I do have enemies in academia (go figure) who would probably work to discount me. Only police booking was a noise violation (party) in college. No angry ex's. NRA member. Some small connections in the GOP infrastructure (mostly former students).

I do have a loose tounge sometimes. Not quite Joe Biden, but I have my moments. So a good speech writer (socky?) could help.

I gotta think about the big picture before dreaming like this.

62
It's times like these I really regret raising my hand during a burro act in Nogales.

63 This is a serious question, coz I really want to know - what encompasses a scandal if someone wants to enter political life as a Republican?

If a Republican has an email for "hawt teenie pr0nz" caught in his spam folder, the opposition would call him a pedophile.

64 If McCain/Palin win next week, I think we will see a more concerted effort at the grass root levels..I mean, if Palin could make it from the PTA to the Governor to the White House, why not the hard working construction worker who now is a small business owner or the music teacher who now co-owns a music academy?

65

" if your life has been mostly scandal-free"

 

Looks like I'm out.

66 i don't know, i can't deal with weak cordon blue!

67

The GOP is a worthless sack of suckups and assorted quisling assholes.

F them.

68 Embarrassing pictures of me have never shown up on the web. I wouldn't be so sure of that.

69 Scandal Free? - Pretty much.  How deep do they plan on digging?

Success in some field? - Damn.  Only a stay-at-home dad with a minimally positive cash flow from real estate brokerage.

I think I would prefer more of a "man behind the curtain" role.

70 Up here in Idaho there is a guy running for Craig's seat who changed his name to "Pro Life."  Seriously.  During the debate the moderator would ask a question about public land use and say, "Your response, Mr. Pro Life."  The guy actually has good things to say, but come on.  I think it could be fun to run for Congress and spend time criss crossing the state and meeting people.  My attitude would be "These are my positions, if you don't like them, don't vote for me and I'll go back and live a normal life with my family."  What we need are governors with the balls to start suing the Fed to back the fuck up.

71 I'm not sure why. I think it's because so many people assume, "Gee, I could never do that.

I think it's probably more of "gee, why would I want to do that - life is so much more important to live than to politic."

Or "gee, look at how Republicans are treated by the press compared with the frauds, cheats, philanderers, racists, criminals, drug dealers, terrorists, best-selling authors and coke-snorters of the Democrat Party- why would I want to subject my family and myself to that kind of blatantly unfair destruction of my life and reputation while my opponents get off Scot-free?"

72 I wouldn't be so sure of that.

Hey now...who wouldn't want to be in a picture with Dave in Texas?

73

If I do this, I'm looking to you morons for the dough.

Screw that.  I saved all your blasphemous photoshops of The One.  You'll be paying me if you hope to stay out of the reeducation camp.

74 i say we call it "the counter-revolution"

at 1:40: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_N8VpnsYPc

75 Embarrassing pictures of me have never shown up on the web.

Yet.

76

If you can't run (say, like me, you may have some peccadillo in your past that would be actively covered up by the press if you were a Dem, but will be front page news if you're a Rep.) You can do something very important to ensure that good conservative candidates make it onto the ballot.

Give `em money, and do it early. The earlier you give, the bigger impact that it will have.

The early money that a candidate receives lends legitimacy to their campaigns, and is a base for the next rounds of fundraising. A presidential candidate can spend 50% of  their time during primary season on the phone, fundraising. Imagine the campaign that could be run if the candidate was freed to spend 100% of the time getting the message out, meeting the voters, eating regional ethnic foods. (A dream, but a worthy goal.)

One of the biggest advantages of a "RightRoots" would be the ability to have thousands of citizen-scouts in the farm leagues of city counsels, county commissions, and state houses, allowing the nurturing of up-and-comers.

I read a opinion piece the other day (Damn! I can't recall the link!) where someone pointed out that a breakdown of party discipline has cause us to nominate "superstar" candidates untethered from party discipline. So we get a "Maverick" or a "Clinton" who succeds by undermining the party. The RightRoots could be a good corrective.

77 Hey now...who wouldn't want to be in a picture with Dave in Texas? Posted by: Slublog at October 28, 2008 02:36 PM (R8+nJ) You were sitting in his lap.

78

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

I got an email overnight from Barak the Vote department@countrified.net. advertising for a new DVD "Barack Your World"

Seriously ... There's no feking way he should have my email address.

79 Dude, I've got my 2012 presidential dream ticket,...

Joe/Tito 2012!

80 I would worry more about a network that could counter the smear machines.

81 You were sitting in his lap.

THAT'S A DAMNABLE LIE!

.


.


(It was spongeworthy's lap.)

82 Hey Slubbo, go for it.  I suspect your opponent would use your affiliation with Hobo Hunting Heaven to smear you, though...

83 I've seriously considered running for a state rep spot, but I don't think it would ever work.  I don't like people, and have almost zero bullshit tolerance and/or ability.  Having no patience with potential donors or supporters that are trying to chitchat with me is probably not a plus for a politician at any level.

84 I was just telling my father that I should run for Congress the next go around then then letting him loose in the halls of Congress if I get in.

No drugs (Not that it matters to Democrats)
No arrests.
No photos.
Not much of anything, but that doesn't mean that the enemy won't create something to whine about.

Then again, I guess my blog hits will skyrocket as moonbats scour every page for words to use against me. That might be reason enough to run.That is if my real identity is linked to my alias. It is sure to come out so might as well just announce through a blog post.....

85 screw building a "rightroots"... I'm moving to IRAQ where I can be FREE!!!

86 Posted by: Slublog at October 28, 2008 02:30 PM (R8+nJ)

You, ace, and Zo from machosauce are all guaranteed campaign donations from me if you are willing to risk your necks on our behalf.

87 Look, let the knuckleheaded left wingers keep their grassroots. The conservative movement needs to focus on what is important: DISTRIBUTED POWER. Our country is founded on the distribution of power not just on the federal level, but through the states, county and local government. A professor of mine in college had the joke that in France, you have to ask Paris for permission to fix a pot-hole in Marseille. It's funny when it's a pothole, but it's not funny at all when it is something like H.R. 808. The size of our current government is bad, true, but the Centralization of power is DANGEROUS. We have to map our "grassroots" efforts to party principle. We should be the party of EFFECTIVE LOCAL LEADERSHIP. This will have the marvelous side effect of creating candidates for higher office (who in turn, advocate pushing power down).  Local Government needs to be seen as "On the Job Training". If we don't restore the prestige of local government, they WILL BE REPLACED by COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS.

88 A lot of what people are complaining about has to do with what Hawkins' post actually discusses:  the abominable lack of understanding at GOP central of the new media environment and of the Greatest Conservative Focus Group Ever Invented.

The very first thing and sine qua non has to be getting somebody at RNC who's conservative, ok in the Beltway but not of their clubby mindset, and who gets the outside-the-beltway vitality of the blogosphere.

Fortunately, Insty has linked the obvious and simple solution:

Fred.

89
The GOP/RNC can FOAD!

They'll never get another cent of my money.  The money that I donated to the McCain campaign was the last.

90 And I should add, Community Organizers APPOINTED BY THE CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT.

91 OT- Don't know if any of you read the mccainblogette (sorry, I don't know how to link but I am addicted to her blog) but she has a lovely epistle out today on her dad. I loved her line "don't give up on my dad because he will never give up on you".

Anyway, who ever is serious about running for office will get campaign donations from me.

92 Hey, it doesn't matter if you have a clean life or not.  Scandals are made out of whole cloth now, with a volume the defies responding to them all.  Kinda the acorn approach to election fraud.  Why on earth would anyone volunteer for that crap?

93

I'm happy to financially support candidates--and I've done so before--but I wouldn't consider running. I'd rather pay someone who's lived a life with a less "imaginative" interpretation of what's scandalous than I have. Heck, Uncle Sugar has adjudicated me pretty thoroughly, and I'm still nervous about what the dreck-merchants would unearth. 

Also, the pay sucks. And I don't like to have more than one boss at a time--try, like, tens of thousands, if not more. And I wouldn't ask my wife to put up with the BS dirt-digging some lowlife journo is going to do.

If I did run, though, I'd change my name to Not Sure and run as the...you got it...candidate of compromise.

 

94

Umm, GOP online liaison guy?  Wasn't Patrick Ruffini doing that?  How'd that go? 

 

 

95

Ah! Here's the article by Daniel Henninger about Sarah Palin:

http://tinyurl.com/56c9tg

The `graphs that I was thinking of:

"The established political pros let the selection process come to this. Presidential candidates such as John McCain and Barack Obama have become untethered from the discipline of party institutions, largely because the parties have lost coherence. So we get celebrity candidates made famous, fundable and electable by dint of their access to the Beltway media. For voters, this election is a national Hail Mary.

For nearly two years, all the major candidates have rotated through our lives as solitary personalities attended by careerist campaign professionals. Barack, Hillary, Rudy, Mitt, Mike, McCain. When the moment arrived to pick a running mate, input from the parties was minimal. That famous party boss, Caroline Kennedy, advised Barack Obama. They picked a three-decade denizen of the Senate. John McCain's obligation was himself and his endless slog to this big chance. "

96 I'm not so sure that formal political parties are not right behind the newspapers on the fast track to a quaint irrelevance.  Hasn't there been a growing trend of people registering as "decline to state" or "independent" for years now? 

Maybe I'm dreaming, but I sense that we are looking at some very profound shifts in How Things Are Done in this country, vis-a-vis the parties and the msm.  I think the internet (and the gods of the internet, like the totally most awesome Ace of Spades) is opening a door to a whole new ballgame.

Just my humble opinion.

97 Well, finally. Maybe if Ace says it people will begin paying attention. I been saying this since the 2004 elections when everyone was mocking Kos for backing 32 losers: at least he was backing someone and sending them money, the GOP had no such network.

This was also my point in decrying Eeyorism. Don't just whine, do something.

Good for Ace that he's finally come on board. Now maybe someone will listen.

The next step is setting up the framework.

Sidenote: I don't think people are aware: Kos and MyDD aren't making huge bank over the fact that they have blogads and millions of hits: they are making bank "administering" ActBlue and other online contributing networks. If Obama is elected I don't foresee any investigations into exactly how these funds are raised and administered, but any rightroots admin better look deeply into election finance rules before setting one up.

98 I would worry more about a network that could counter the smear machines.

I think that needs to be built as well; a manner of countering the absolute and bald faced, shameless lies and distortion the left traffics in as a matter of doing business. The unbelievable lies that Biden and Obama are engaging in are just stunning to me, how they are not even questioned or countered. Nobody says "huh?" publicly, it never is questioned in the debates.

99

We have a chance to get rid or Kerry and Frank this year.  Is the GOP doing anything to help them?  Mass gets written off election after election.  The electorate is pretty much apathedtic about it.  If the GOP took more of an interest in us, we might take more of an interect in them.  We are not as liberal as everyone thinks. 

Go Jeffrey K. Beatty Richard A Baker, and Earl Sholley (I had to look them up to make sure I spelled the names right)

John Tierneys the guy in my district.  I never really hear much of him on the national scale.  He seems to stay with the safe issues.

2008 Massachusetts elections

SENATOR IN CONGRESS
STATEWIDE
JOHN F. KERRY, 19 Louisburg Sq., Boston, Democratic, Candidate for Re-election
JEFFREY K. BEATTY, 23 John Joseph Rd., Harwich, Republican
ROBERT J. UNDERWOOD, 83 Cherrelyn St., Springfield, Libertarian

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FIRST DISTRICT
JOHN W. OLVER, 1333 West St., Amherst, Democratic, Candidate for Re-election
NATHAN A. BECH, 84 Summit St., West Springfield, Republican

FOURTH DISTRICT
BARNEY FRANK, 274 Grove St., Newton, Democratic, Candidate for Re-election
EARL HENRY SHOLLEY, 8 Lakeshore Dr., Norfolk, Republican
SUSAN ALLEN, 122 Westbourne Ter., Brookline, I

SIXTH DISTRICT
JOHN F. TIERNEY, 21 Settlers Way, Salem, Democratic, Candidate for Re-election
RICHARD A. BAKER, 288 Middle St., West Newbury, Republican

SEVENTH DISTRICT
EDWARD J. MARKEY, 7 Townsend St., Malden, Democratic, Candidate for Re-election
JOHN CUNNINGHAM, 11 Overlook Ridge Dr., Revere, Republican

EIGHTH DISTRICT
THOMAS T. MERRIGAN, 23 Plum Tree Ln., Greenfield, Democratic, Candidate for Re-election
MICHAEL FRANCO, 45 Cedar Hill Rd., East Longmeadow, Republican

100 Russell Ziskey at October 28, 2008 02:32 PM (LlaBi)

Now that is really the problem, isn't it?

The first thing we need to do is start a platform forum,
(Conservative convention?) and decide what we think a Conservative really is.
One thing has been painfully clear this time around, Republicans love to eat our own. We kill our own Candidate if we disagree on one issue. We have  to be able to define ourselves as a group and reach some sort of consensus.
If we allow the current leadership to set the planks, we will have nothing but the same bull shit we've had for 8 years.
List every issue, and decide (in as large a group as possible) where we stand on that issue.
Then stand by that Platform and find Candidates that believe in it. You are right Ace, there are a ton of people that would run for office if they felt they would be even half assed safe (from thier own Party) when they did it.

101

The Ace of Spades Head Quarters Morons for Congress Action Commitee

AosHQ MCAC

One of you morons could probably come up with something better.

102

Right on Ace. 

The missing link its a platform like Kos for right leaning folks.

Using their web layout would work....one column for the people who run the site and guests, and another column for user articles.

103 57 alexthechick said:  I'm not actually being a smart ass when I ask this, but why on earth would anyone who is a decent human being run for office?  Why would you do that to yourself or your family?  Remember, it doesn't matter whether or not there's an actual scandal, the nutroots have no qualms at all about alleging that you're husband raped your daughter and then you faked a pregnancy to cover that up.  Seriously, things have degenerated to a point where decent people are naturally recoiling from the concept of putting themselves through that wringer.

Which means we're left with the narcissistic halfwits who wants power so much they don't care about that.

This just about nails it.

I have no skeletons, but there is NO WAY I could handle the Left going after my husband and kids the way they went after Palin's.  She has oodles of grace, I just have oodles of guns and the urge to use them.

 

104 Hmmm. Scandal free? Well, if you count being lazy as a freshman and losing my scholarship as a scandal, then no, I'm not. On the other hand, I managed to do well enough to earn a fellowship to grad school in nuclear engineering. Want to guess which one the press would spotlight if given the chance?

Actually, I've considered running for office before, especially when politicians preen and prattle about bullshit energy ideas. My wife would be supportive because, well, she's a great lady, notwithstanding her choice of me for a husband. However, I'm not certain that I want my 2 (soon to be 3) small children being hounded by the press, if for no other reason than I would kick the ever living shit out of anyone who messed with my family.

Oh yeah, I'm a complete square, drug wise. I haven't even tried pot. According to some tool of a columnist (but I repeat myself), this would mean that I don't have anything in common with the average voter. So, you know, YMMV with me.

105 Is monkey porn a disqualification?

106 I'm good, as long as we don't talk about that man in Reno

107

geoff said: The missing link its a platform like Kos for right leaning folks.

Using their web layout would work....one column for the people who run the site and guests, and another column for user articles.

There is a rapidly growing website called RegularFolksUnited that is set up along those lines.  No point in re-inventing the wheel if it's already out there.

108

I've never been arrested

 

oh.  is that like, a big deal or something?

109 Seriously though, I've worked a few local campaigns and while it doesn't take a ton of money, it does take a certain kind of person to win.  You have to be extroverted enough to press the flesh daily, glib enough to be relaxed while you do it, and absolutely relentless in pushing to win.  You'll only get a few days off once you start to campaign so your family will have to be very supportive.

State House and local elections often are won by a candidate getting 10-15k votes.  You can literally shake hands with 80% of the voters in your district if you make the effort.

110

I am active in UNDERSTANDING politics, but I am indifferent, when it comes to actual politicians.

Heinlein had it right in Starship Troopers.

Longbows.

111

Ace,

     This is something I made up my mind to do earlier this year.  There are just not enough "true" conservatives in the government (both state and federal) and I figured "hey, why not me?".  Here's where I encouter my stumbling blocks.

     My life, to this point, has been rather ordinary.  I'm only 27, and all I've really accomplished has been graduating from a pretty tough engineering university.  I'm currently working my third job since college (left the first one, got let-go the second one, love the current one).  Sure, I'm young and I've got time, but while I'm "waiting", what kind of things do I need to be doing to improve my credentials?

     I'm movnig out to the strongly conservative suburbs of Chicago, a very strong conservative area oddly enough, and I figure I might as well get started now.  My main questions is, how?  How do I go about getting exposure to the Republican party here?  How do I start making a name for myself in politics?  What kind of things do I need to be doing in order to set myself up for a serious political career down the road?

If anyone has any insight, advice, etc., I'm all ears...er...eyes

112 How come my thumbs always smell like ass? Oh. Right.

113 physicsgeek:  and as alexthechick pointed out, what scandal they can't find - THEY WILL MAKE UP.  This is what's so crushing to regular, decent people - immersing their loved ones in the filth that is politics.  I just cannot imagine the horror.  No scratch that, I CAN imagine the horror, and so can plenty of other honorable, decent Americans who love their country and want to serve, but not at the expense of the total destruction of their innocent family!

114 I just have oodles of guns and the urge to use them.

Redhead Infidel, that right there is hawt.

115 Yeah, I seriously considered doing this about fifteen years ago. My State House district usually (always) went D, but it was that nice kind of old person holdover D. The kind who pretty much has the same values as us, but haven't gotten the memo about what that D stands for now. I researched voting records and found that the last general election winner ran unopposed from the R side. And, he's won the D primary with less than 1,500 votes. That's right. He won the State House spot on 1,500 votes. Anyway, I knew that I could get at least 1,500 people to vote for me in a contested primary (yes, as a gun-loving, god-fearing D variety), and in fact would have to get less than that as turnout would be similar to the last time. However, after talking to a couple of State House fellows about the life and job, and after considering that I would be a D (shudder), I decided that I wasn't going to do that to my family. So, no run. Now I live somewhere else, and our state Rep is a very good R. Very good. I wouldn't want to replace him with myself. My congressional rep is a giant piece of shit freshman D. However, I don't think I want to play ball at that level, seeing what happens to your family. We're close, and trashing that for a couple of years in the big house isn't worth it.

116 "State House and local elections often are won by a candidate getting 10-15k votes.  You can literally shake hands with 80% of the voters in your district if you make the effort."

Yeah, retail is key at these levels.  Honestly, one thing helping GOTV with door-knocking this cycle might do for some of you guys is get rid of your fear of soliciting strangers for votes.

117 How do I go about getting exposure to the Republican party here?  How do I start making a name for myself in politics?

If you are serious, you should be volunteering massively right now.  Become a fixture at the party campaign headquarters to the point that everyone knows your name.  Do whatever needs to be done eagerly.  Use that youthful energy now.  It will pay off later.

118 Some thoughts:

Anyone who has to support his or her family with a real job is out, for obvious reasons.  You can't spend all day going door to door when you have mouths to feed.

The legend of Rick Santorum going door-to-door for support is true, but there's more to it.  He was an insider of the PA state legislature prior to getting his House seat in 1990, and once you're "in" you're in. 

So as I see it, you have no shot unless you're (a) "anointed" by your state government or are (b) independently wealthy.  Neither strikes me as a class of people who are generally "squeaky fucking clean".

119 A. Weasel #104, Bill Quick was working to establish an American Conservative Party earlier this year.

120 conservativeinthecity:  You can start laying your groundwork by joining local civic-type groups -- see who's active in your area, whether it be local Republican groups, Chamber of Commerce, neighborhood associations, local police advisory groups, etc.  The people in those groups will have connections to other groups and local politicians, so let them know you are interested in exploring some political options for yourself.  Hey, Sarah Palin started in the PTA.  It's just a matter of networking and continuing to expand your circle.

121 CB -- While your observation of independent registrations is probably accurate, it doesn't help candidates. The parties are there as fundraising machines with institutional knowledge. That's why you almost never see Independent candidates win. Even if the party candidate sucks rocks, they have a built-in funding and publicity machine.

122 make even the "poor" pay taxes, and you can spread the word on tax relief most rick and tick.

123

@toby928

As Kozaburo points out right below you, I would LOVE to, but the time-factor is just too daunting.  I've got a full-time job that I often find myself putting in extra hours. Not to mention the student loans and future mortgage to pay. What kinds of things are open to me considering my time restrictions?  It just seems that anything I need to do to begin this trek requires the time commitment that I just don't have.

124 Yikes! I'm listening to Medved he played the CBS report about Obama buying the election and using dirty money.

125 Why not http://fredpac.com/

My understanding is that FredPAC is there to help get conservative people involved and elected at all levels of government. I'd bet they'd love to hear from some morons about running for local offices. I'll say the same thing I've told the Libertarians for years. If you want to put government back in the hands of the people, start by retaking municipal and county educational offices where the demorats have consolidated power and can really affect you and your children.

-- CR

126 conservativeinthecity:  If you are moving to a small town, consider running for City Council.  It might take a couple of tries to get in, but just for encouragment, please note that here in Los Angeles, City Council members are routinely elected with far fewer than 10,000 votes.  That is not their margin of victory, that is their vote count.  In the second largest city in the US, with a population around 4,000,000.

127 those of us with too many skeletons can run as Moby Democrats and then pull a Jeffords

128

Conservativeinthecity:

You can volunteer all weekend long. Just show up tonight at the HQ, say you want to GOTV all weekend.  Check in thursday night for an hour, go by Friday night for a few hours, work your ass off all weekend long 12 hour days.   Show up at 2-3pm on tuesday if possible and work the phones for them to push voters out, drive voters to the polls.

Then, you have credibility for the next two years.

Any other strategy is just blowing smoke and talking shit. 

129 The GOP is too busy pulling campaign support out from under conservatives runners for congress.  Maybe if you contacted them after the election when they are not so busy.

130

CB,

     It's definitely not a small town.  It's a very large suburban area just outside of Chicago.  Think just north of O'Hare airport, if that means anything to you.

     I really should sit down and talk with my cousin about this.  He has run twice now for the state senate spot for the district I am moving to.  The only problem is, he's a Democrat.  I know how he worked his way up though.  He's a fireman who has worked himself up the ranks and got a spot on the union board.  Thankfully though, he keeps losing to the Republican incumbant

     Not sure if talking to him would be a real benefit, but it's that "what's my first step?" part that's the hardest/trickiest one.  Perhaps there's nothing for me to really do until I complete my move and I'm able to start volunteering/working with the various conservative groups there.

131 Another plus for military guys is that we are used to making hard decisions in harsh environments.  We also live within our budgets and are held accountable for when we don't i.e. you get fired.  We are used to tackling hard problems and getting results.  We are used to working long hours and time away from home to succeed in our  mission, something Congress needs to start doing.  We don't kick the can down the road for the next batch of soldiers/sailors/airmen to clean up.  And as a whole we are honorable and trustworthy, something you need to have when in combat and your life depends on the guy/gal next to you in the foxhole or flying on your wing.

132 "..-- if your life has been mostly scandal-free, "

A. Mine has been, aside from a few speeding tickets my entire life has been consistently safe and there are no skeletons in my closet (unless someone gets word about that obsession I have with Kathy Ireland, but that aside)...  Married my highschool sweetheart, never even tried marijuana , but;
B. I don't want the press asking my kids' friends (via their Myspace pages) if I've ever done something like, say, patted them on the back if they've done something good or, say, pick them up & hold them if they've fallen & hurt themselves.  You know, "Republican touched a 9 year old".   I know what they'll do to me, no matter how 'good' I've been.  I know they'll go back five years & demand a a receipt (that I've probably lost) for that $X charitable deduction.  I know they'll find some fake friend to swear they heard me say "ni$$er".  After what happened to Joe the plumber, I don't need the hassle;  Heck, Jack Ryan took his wife to a legal club - his own freaking wife - and the party of Clinton forced him from opposing the Messiah because of the 'scandal'.  They.checked.Clarence.Thomas's.movie.rentals.
C. I don't have the need to have roughly 50% of people hate my guts simply because I declare myself a conservative Republican;
D. The next-to-last thing I want to do is hang out with a bunch of country-club Republicans at dinner parties, giving boring speeches and dropping to one knee & begging for campaign money;
E. Beating out the previous item, the absolute last thing I want to do is go to work at a chamber where I spend my day with elected Democrats (who are going to try to use "B" from above in order to smear me, my family, my colleagues, etc.), and, even worse, talk to the fucking political press.  Chances are I'd be arrested for assault after the first interview.

Oh, yeah, I forgot, I couldn't take the pay cut, anyway.  Hey, I'm a Republican, thus I earn.

Jokes aside, after the last 2 weeks, I can't imagine why anyone would want to entre the fray against the Newsweek/MSNBC/NYT assault on your very humanity.

133 CR, brilliant!  I forgot all about FredPac, it's so new, but looks like it could really turn into a force for the good.  Personally, I'm still a little stung at Fred bailing out after I worked my ass off for him for months -- still love him, though.  And Jeri is doing huge things right now with Team Sarah.

134 "Jokes aside, after the last 2 weeks, I can't imagine why anyone would want to entre the fray against the Newsweek/MSNBC/NYT assault on your very humanity."

Because otherwise, they win.

135 I agree. And I'm doing my part. I'm only 23, but I'm running against a 10 year incumbent for a city council spot. I know it's nothing major, but hey, it's a start. As far as being scandal free: I have this dream that one day I'll run for President, and I'll get to say, "Before you dig this up, let me just tell everyone all the bad things I've done in my life. I got pulled over... twice. Once, for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign. The second time I was going 60 in a 55." And... that's the extent of my life of dark side of my life.

136

Speaking of, down here in South Georgia, we have a long serving Democratic Congressman who runs unopposed every stinking time.

Any Ace of Spades readers in the area want to run against this guy?

The problem is he's in a gerrymandered district.

137

I believe in the Second Amendment= Gun nut

Close the border= Racist, will alienate hispanics

Stop welfare to illegals=Racist, will alienate hispanics

Prosecute criminale=Racist

English for Gov business=Racist

Thats just the GOP, Dems will be far more unkind.

 Sad but true. the whole Wall Street Journal / eastern establishment apparatus has effectively shut many true patriots out.

138 If I do this, I'm looking to you morons for the dough.

Posted by: Slublog at October 28, 2008 02:30 PM (R8+nJ)

If I read right that you're in Maine, I would donate. Turning Maine red would seriously piss off that douchebag Stephen King.

139

"One thing has been painfully clear this time around, Republicans love to eat our own. We kill our own Candidate if we disagree on one issue. "

Oh really? Plenty of us have issues with McCain but still back him. Or haven't you heard? 

"If we allow the current leadership to set the planks, we will have nothing but the same bull shit we've had for 8 years."

The planks are chosen by committees already, and any of them can be challenged.

"List every issue, and decide (in as large a group as possible) where we stand on that issue."

Sounds like what the party does now.  

"Then stand by that Platform and find Candidates that believe in it. ."

LOL, simple as that.   there is a mechanism in place to do that now and it's called the GOP.   Issues-obsessed noobs have been huffing and puffing and coming and going and issuing ultimatums over principles for decades, and guess who's left when they stomp out the door?  The sorry old stalwarts who know how to raise the money and make phone calls and invite strangers to fundraisers in their living rooms  and show up at meeting after bloody meeting...(so, how's that Reform Party thing working out?)

No one really wants to do the work.  Not for very long anyway.   Yeag I'm a GOPer and I have a grudging respect for those old farts who manage the local central committees and state parties year in and year out.  Good luck setting up another one.   The only ones who stick with it are the very motivated religious or anti-religious nuts that you despise. 

Oh and you candidates better have a nice family for brochure pics & some local accomplishments and affiliations.  They can spot the drifters a mile away.

 

 

 

140 You guys are so sad and depressed. It's almost as if you expect to lose this election you claim to be expecting to win. Here's some friendly advice. How about not purposefully alienating the entire moderate wing of your already minority party? Just a thought.

141 Calling Dr. Rove?

142 I should have put up a poll on when the first leftist troll would come in mouthing the usual "moderate" crap. ("Moderate" means "leftist but just can't admit it"). Seattle Slough wins the prize.

143 145: kat: Actually, Dr. Rove set up much of the disappointment we have. Medicare entitlements? Bridges to nowhere? Hispandering for non-existent votes?

144

Sorry Carrol, even his post and your response confirms the theory that we eat our own. I suggest a name change for the party. Republicannibals.

Every past effort to organize us into some sort of "right-roots" group has fallen to petty infighting and eventual complacency and boredom. My personal belief is that what we lack is a Soros-like figure on this side, who will finance the effort long enough to get past the startup fights and then bridge the funding gap as people fall away for various reasons. With this we could reach a critical mass that would be self sustaining.

145 re 13: my dad did the city council run twice which cost him around 8k each out of his own pocket before donations. On the second run he recuited a couple of local conservatives to run as well. Granted, its in a small, liberal college town but they won and finally have the majority. He's gets great satisfaction fun knocking down the liberal junk and says the money and time spent was worth it. Unfortunately he doesn't have interest in running for a higher office as it gets too personally brutal because it becomes a free for all against the person running. Dow closes up almost 900!

146 Go right ahead and ignore me. Good. Run Palin/Jindal in 2012. Lose by 18%. I wouldn't mind a bit.

147 Seattle - what's your definition of a moderate conservative?

148 I believe this is all going to be more or less pointless. The reason is that the far left (not just liberal, but far, far left) has taken over all of the educational institutions in this country, including all the funding. It wasn't by accident that the tens of millions of dollars of Annenberg Foundation money earmarked for education reform wound up being distributed by those commie assholes Ayers and Obama.

So we can elect whoever we want, and even start new political parties, but as long the left controls how education is down, as long as the schools keep cranking out hordes of ill-educated, semi-ignorant marxist drones, we're just pissing into the wind.

149

OregonMuse,

I will be homeschooling my children. In fact there are so many homeschoolers in my church (we have about 1,000 in attendance over two services so we aren't a huge church), they've formed two separate co-ops. I never thought I'd do that, but I'll be damned if I'm going to give my kids to the government for six or seven hours a day. My children are zoned for what is supposed to be an excellent private school, but it doesn't matter to me. I want to raise independent thinkers. Homeschooling has exploded of late. I know everyone can't do it, but it offers a little bit of hope.

150 The problem is he's in a gerrymandered district.

Yeah, it's gerrymandered, but....well, let's just say that he's always gotten the Jamie Foxx type of Obama vote.

151

Well said ace. The time for standing in the background, waiting for our voices to be validated by the current leadership is coming to an end. I think the online community as a whole dramatically underestimates the effect it has on the overall political discourse of this nation. And while it is cathartic to rail against the massive media bias in the US today, it is high time the thousands of lawyers, businessmen, cab drivers, and yes, even plumbers get together and start doing something about it.

If a website devoted to worshiping Paul Anka and the strangling/cooking of hobos can take a fence-sitter like me into a willing participant in this brave new world, then think of what the other 99,999 unique visitors to this site every month can do if pointed towards the singular goal of making our voice heard in the political process so many of us dedicate so much of our time to.

Look at the how many normal, everyday joes readily offered support in any way possible when the request for volunteers/donations was made in the "vetting the media" thread. I think that shows that people are ready, willing, and able to help in any way they possibly can to see that our collective voices are heard.

So ace, more of this talk please; I thnk I speak for a number of readers here when I say its about fucking time we put our efforts into something that will ensure our voice is heard, and that we take the steps necessary to change the landscape of the GOP to one we can all be proud of.

-V

152 I think this is probably the first time I have actually looked at what party a city council member is or even judges. Not this time, they are hard to find they don't like to tell you their party affiliation. It is very important to find out! Vote R all the way.

153 Niclun,

all my kids are homeschooled, too, and they're in college now. So yes, I agree that is an excellent solution. But everyone is not going to want to or is able to do this, and we've got to do something to keep kids from being bombarded with leftist ideology every time they step into the classroom.

154

We really need somebody who can artfully explain, using small words and short sentences, just exactly what conservatism is, how it works, how the whole world benefits from it, shit like that. Other topics include how capitalism works, why it's not good to pay half or more of your income in taxes, why vegetables are good for you, and the proper way to stalk hobos for fun and profit (and it's really good exercise, too).

Count me in for the Director of Internet Information Outreach.

155 Iraq vet Keirian Lalor is running against Joh Hall in NY, so you guys in the Hudson Valley already have a good (hopefully) guy to vote for.

156 I would consider running, however I live in a city where there is no chance any Republican could get elected. Moses, Allah, or Jesus Christ could run as a Republican here, and they couldn't get elected dog catcher. I would consider running for Senate, a state wide position, but have virtually zero govt experience-even though I understand more about Economics than anyone in the Senate today. It's also very tough to be a businessman, and leave your business behind to run. You get an anal exam by the media, your family goes through hell, and in the end, 50% of the people hate you.

157 '06...The Donks put up a fucking nobody veteran against disgraced, multi, multi millionaire  Don Sherwood in NEPa. Did you ever hear of Chris Carney, from Dimock, Pa before '06? No. ...And Dimock sounds as shitty as it is. I don't think there is even a post office there...THEY did, what ACE is talking about. Sherwood (R incumbent) has tons of name recognition and settled with his alleged battered,  D. C. girl freind, for 4 million. Yeah...Fucking Great...Guys incumbent..lots of cash...name recognition....It meant shit. Grassroots Veteran Carney kicked his ass. I should know, my mom held a huge fundraiser. No I was not invited.. 

158 When the Democrats lost 9 out of 10 elections in a row, and only won the presidency by splitting the GOP vote in 1992, was that because they were too extreme and not moderate enough?

159 Interesting idea.  ...So if I was running against someone, say, like Obama, and I called him a "cocksucking Marxist," and told him to "fuck off" during a debate, would I still get the nod, --would I still get your vote?   Pretty please?

160

If the Other Side has an internet model that works, I say we steal their model.

 

161 "I'm not actually being a smart ass when I ask this, but why on earth would anyone who is a decent human being run for office?" Because they are concerned with how things are heading and think that they can contribute to bringing us back from the abyss? Why would anyone join the military, you might get killed?

162 "So as I see it, you have no shot unless you're (a) "anointed" by your state government or are (b) independently wealthy. Neither strikes me as a class of people who are generally "squeaky fucking clean"." What? Wealthy people can't be squeaky clean? Behind every great fortune is a great crime, eh? You sound like you belong in Obama's camp.

163 Why limit yourself to running as a Republican?
If you live in a conservative area that routinely votes D, run as a D.

164

angry libertarian in connecticut here.

i haven't been arrested in years.....i have a job and pay most of my taxes....and i didn't get a VIP deal on my mortgage.

send me money.

165 Too poor to even think about an independently financed run. I have a long string of angry ex-girlfriends, jilted strippers, old bar tabs, minor violations of regulations scattered across three or four continents, vengeful former commanders, plus the last thing I need is a bunch of Islamics seeing me on TV and going "Oh, fuck, there he is!!!!" Throw in my wife's medical issues, and deal me out.

On the other hand, I would sew up the strip club and porn demographic. Totally.

166 Keep in mind that the current power structure in the GOP will fight tooth and nail to keep this from happening. They'd lose their cushy spots at the top of the heap when the people who actually have a life get a look at what these losers are doing. It won't quite take peasants with pitchforks, but something close to it for anything to happen. Palin is a good template to work from, however.

167

Here's some friendly advice. How about not purposefully alienating the entire moderate wing of your already minority party?

Says the moron voting enthusiastically for the most extreme, hardest left candidate ever to run for high office in the United States.

Here's some friendly advice: You're not very bright, your lack of self awareness is embarrassing, and no one here gives a shit what you think.

168

Run Palin/Jindal in 2012. Lose by 18%. I wouldn't mind a bit.

Fuckin' funny.  That would be a Republican-favoring massacre of Reagan-Mondale proportions, no matter which unaccomplished, effete, effeminate blubbering pussy you clowns chose to run against them.   But at least you've got a stable full to choose from.

You seem to forget that your pretend "majority" party has a little decades-long problem winning the White House.  And, even if Obama frauds his skinny fascist ass into the Oval, it's going to be by the skin of his teeth (and, you know, massive organized fraud).

But like I said, you're not very bright.

169

Ace - Could you forward my email address to “Dave in Texas”? I’d like to chat with him about his views on my Texas Congressional District.

 

I meet the criteria, Ace (except the military hero part). My father did that for me, fighting hand-to-hand in knee-deep mud up the "Island Chain" to the Japan Homeland in 1944-45.

 

After listening to me vent, he asked me last night (he’s 83 and weak from the second round of chemo) what happened to the ideals for which he and his men fought (and nearly all died). I decided right then that, at 53, it’s time to gird-up.

 

I’m tired of being angry. I’m tired of listening to our sacred Constitution twisted by twits (I’m a top ten law school grad and know damn well what it really says). And, I’m tired of a Republican Party that refuses to fight.

 

Dad answered the call when it came; it’s time I did as well. This fight is no less important….

 

170 Among the types of conservatives you've described here, I don't think it's a case of "I could never do that" as opposed to a case of "I would never do that!" I think I recall when Limbaugh was asked if he would ever run for office (read: President), he said he wouldn't take the pay cut.

171 Embarrassing pictures of me have never shown up on the web. "Do you have any embarrasing pictures of your wife?" "No" "You wanna buy some?"

172 Seattle - what's your definition of a moderate conservative? One who walks, talks, spends, and agrees with a liberal.

173 "If the Other Side has an internet model that works, I say we steal their model."

Mouth-foaming rage?  Uh, no.

174 Moderate? Or possibly someone who only agrees with you on about 90% of the issues and does no harm on the other 10%? We have not moved left. At all. Obama is (despite what you hear from Joe the Plumber et al) a moderate. He was slightly to the right of Hillary and was substantially to the right of Edwards, Kucinich, and Dodd. We (Democrats) are where we are (which I hope is on the cusp of the Presidency and massive, possibly veto proof, majorities in both houses) precisely because we have broadened our caucus. At the same time, your insistence on 100 ideological purity is leaving you with what you have. A party of mouth breathers who literally think Obama will don a turban (don't get me started on how stupid that is) on day one and destroy America. The Palin wing of the party is apparently the party now. A party that not only allows someone as stupid as Palin to be its de facto leader, but one which demands it. A party that seriously thinks a talking point spouting plumber should consider running for congress. It is sad and it is bad for America. I don't trust any party with as much power as you are seemingly handing to the Democrats. (you guys sure fucked things up with that much power when you had it). But what is left of your party is so hateful and crazy and stupid that people really have no other choice.

175 Forget the GOP. We'd have to start the Teddy Roosevelt Bullwinkle Moose party to challenge the status quo on both sides of the aisle. We and the PUMA's share values, and could find much more in common if we were not divided by the same corrupt hacks from the same corrupt system.

176

I'd consider it if I didn't have massive mortgage and student loan with two young'uns, but I also live in GA-11, not GA-2. That could be a problem.

But, it's something I've thought about starting to do really, really locally - but I'm not too crazy about putting my family through living hell, either.

177

The GOP is all about top-down control. They don't WANT bloggers getting more involved. They'd be happy if bloggers raised money, but THEY want to decide who to spend it on, which means for the most part spending it on Democrats-Lite.

If bloggers get more involved in political activism then it has to be in acting as a counter-weight to the useless Chamber of Commerce Republicans who currently are running the party into the ground. Simply sending more money to the same incompetent liberals is insane - it will get us more Bush's, McCain's, Stevens, etc.

This will be even more difficult than it sounds, as many "right wing bloggers" are in fact pro-war-liberals.

 

 

 

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