Robert Stacy McCain has a scathing post that seeks to permanently douse the concept of a left-libertarian coalition ever being a real possibility, which includes this little bit: As a political impulse, the sort of libertarianism that scoffs at creationism and traditional marriage wields limited influence, because it appeals chiefly to a dissenting sect of [...]

Alex Massie, right again: Now it’s true that immigration reform is a tough subject for conservatives. True too, that when it comes to immigration there are some many on the restrictionist wing who consider Bush to be either a) a sentimentalist or b) corporate America’s pawn or c) both of the above. Equally, the orthodox [...]

I’ve been pretty harsh on philosophical neo-conservatism over the last year or so. In fact, it’s safe to say that of all the various (actual) political philosophies that form a significant portion of our governing political coalitions, I have consistently held neo-conservatism in by far the most contempt. And without a doubt, the basic tenets [...]

Me, elsewhere: Over the last few months, there has been much finger-pointing as to which particular sect of the old GOP coalition is to blame for the policy failures of the last 8 years and the electoral failures of the last 2 years…..I think these accusations are deeply misplaced – the problems have not been [...]

Kristen Soltis pens a great post over at The Next Right that’s definitely worth a read. Because by talking about refocusing what religion means to the Republican party, she’s helping drive the conversation for a new generation of conservatives…and that’s long overdue… The notion that every human life is sacred is an important one, and [...]

At his new Culture11 digs, John Schwenkler points to a Washington Post article about the impending February 10 National Bankruptcy Day, about which I have written prolifically in recent days. One of the few saving graces with respect to this legislation, which will devastate small, medium and domestic businesses in numerous industries, has been a [...]

He says that they can’t be the “old white guy party,” he acknowledges that people are sick of partisanship and he even has some praise for Obama’s first moves as President elect. From NewsMax… Regardless of whether or not you agree with him, we definitely got the lesser Bush son as president. This guy would [...]

“Let me tell you something, if Democrats take the White House and pass a big-government healthcare plan, that’s it. Game over. Government will dominate the economy like it does in Europe. Conservatives will spend the rest of their lives trying to turn things around and they will fail.” – GOP strategist talking about Tom Daschle’s [...]

P. J. O’Rourke takes a rhetorical tire iron to the conservative movement of which he’s been on the libertarian side of since the 1970s. If you know O’Rourke, you know he has about as much love for modern liberals as dogs have for cats. Seems he now finds modern conservatives just as hideous. You don’t [...]

That’s the claim from Republican congressman Mike Pence. From Raw Story… When asked by Chris Wallace what “conservative solutions” the GOP would bring to their current minority-party status, Pence said social issues like “the sanctity of marriage” will remain the backbone of the Republican platform. “You build those conservative solutions, Chris, on the same time-honored [...]

With him we get a president with the political intelligence of a Bill Clinton harnessed to the steely self-discipline of a Vladimir Putin. (I say this admiringly.) With these qualities, Obama will now bestride the political stage as largely as did Reagan. – Charles Krauthammer in his column today about the President Elect. It’s genuinely [...]

Some frank talk about the future of the party from the man who some say ran McCain’s campaign into the ground. From The Daily Beast: Looking forward, Schmidt sees the need for a wholesale reinvention of the party: “The party in the Northeast is all but extinct; the party on the West Coast is all [...]

Here’s what hardcore partisans on both sides often fail to understand: winning an election doesn’t mean most of the country agrees with their ideology. In fact, both the hardcore right and the hardcore left are minority positions whose influence is inflated not by numbers but by passion. They might be the “bases” of our two [...]

He was at the National Review for over 40 years and was a speechwriter for Nixon and Reagan. Now he’s backing Barack. From The Daily Beast… Republican President George W. Bush has not been a conservative at all, either in domestic policy or in foreign policy. He invaded Iraq on the basis of abstract theory, [...]

We’re three days from the election, but there is already a lot of talk from Republicans about how they can reform their party. Here’s the Wall Street Journal on the matter: The worst GOP instinct would be to mimic Britain’s Tories after their 1997 shellacking by Tony Blair, becoming a “no” party that spends so [...]

Even if John McCain pulls out a win, Republicans will almost certainly be crippled in Congress. But Soren Dayton cautions his fellow Republicans not to deflect the blame: Maybe the problem is us. The lesson of this election for Republicans cannot be about John McCain, although he has his faults. It has to be about [...]

The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting article looking at the effect of Colin Powell’s endorsement versus Joe the Plumber’s symbolic resonance. Do people care more about the decision of a statesman or about the concerns of an aspiring small businessman? The CSM article gives both sides of the story. But, as far as I’m [...]

Will he be “at war” with his base or “at war” with the nation? If he wants to be a two termer, he’ll be at war with his base. What do you think?

Ben Smith recently got an email from Republican consultant who was focus grouping an attack spot on Obama with mod Repubs and Indys. Obviously I’m for Obama, but the following ignorance makes me incredibly queasy… 54 year-old white male, voted Kerry ’04, Bush ’00, Dole ’96, hunter, NASCAR fan…hard for Obama said: “I’m gonna hate [...]

With the $700 billion market bailout inflating the power of government and a big-spending, big-regulating lDemocrat or a big-spending, big-regulating Republican poised to take the White House, a lot of experts and politicians are giving last rites to small government. Just today, I’m reading the era of small government is over. And Reagan capitalism is [...]