Rush Limbaugh:

You think I ought to be happy that there's conservatism out there. I'm not happy my own party wants to get rid of it. I'm mad that my own party wants to cast conservatism aside. I know there's plenty of conservatism out there. That's the source of the frustration. But conservatism by itself cannot move things. It needs a political party. In our political structure, it is parties that get things done. The Republican Party was the home of conservatism, and it still is. But the people that run the Republican Party right now are trying to get rid of it. And it's a death wish. It is an absolute death wish.

Rush is not being prophetic, he is just stating the facts on the ground. The current Republican leadership is pushing the panic button because they keep losing fights they shouldn't. Why? Probably because the GOP (at least at the top) no longer stands for conservative values on a whole host of issues, including spending, amnesty for illegal immigrants, punishing American industry for global warming. And today we have corporate welfare for rich farmers.

Rank and file conservatives are fed up, because they know that McCain is at best condescending to them, and at worst, actively conspiring to render them irrelevant to the political process. See this from Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler.

First off, I understand "compromise", I also understand "give and take" and I know full well that sometimes you have to compromise to get some of what you want. But voting for McCain isn't "compromise", its proper name is "abject surrender."

What's in it for me? The answer is "nothing."

At some point, you have to say "stop! No further!" The thing is, we should've done that a long time ago, but instead we kept reinforcing bad behavior by rewarding it. I don't know what kind of magical, wishful thinking it is that makes people think that rewarding scum for drifting to the left is going to one day, miraculously, make them turn around and drift the other way. I don't know what the proper name for it is, but I'm certain that the word "pathological" is part of it.

So what is to be done? I'm not sure, but I've been thinking and one conclusion I know is that conservatives cannot surrender their agenda to McCain. Leadership for conservatives should form from and within the conservative GOP delegation, and they need to do an end run around the GOP leadership.

What they need to do, and do without delay is to form an opposition party to John McCain and declare that they will oppose John McCain where he differs from them on spending, on global warming, on amnesty, on drilling in ANWR, etc. They should also, of course, say that they will work with McCain on judges, on fighting terrorists, etc. But the primary need is to serve as a rallying point to roust and energize the dormant and fleeing conservative base.

McCain won't like it, but phooey on him. Let him triangulate to the center as he so loves to do. The GOP has some congressional delegates to save. I realize that this is drastic and unheard of, to actively campaign against your own presidential nominee, but the GOP is up against a wall. Time for them to act like they understand that. Otherwise they can go back to the minority status they enjoyed so much in the seventies.

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As Barack Obama visits Michigan, and gets the endorsement of John Edwards, a local GOP county Party (Kent) in Grand Rapids, MI released a video ad framing Obama. The slow moving 2-minute spot is titled "Obama Show Us Your Flag."

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Editor's note: Tommy Christopher was found early this morning, lying naked and shivering, in a cooling molten crater on the Southbound side of the Garden State Parkway. Paramedics took him to an undisclosed hospital, where he is reportedly in an "unresponsive state."

Tom Fitsimmons, a spokesman for Mr. Christopher, has confirmed that the incident is related to his recent experiments with inter-dimensional travel.

Reporter: So, can we assume that you can't transport clothing or other objects to paralell universes?

Fitzsimmons: No, you can. You're thinking of the "Terminator" movies, that's time travel. We don't know what happened to his clothing.

President Kerry: Sorry for the delay, I was in the rest room...

Jeff Gannon:Wait, so you were in the bathroom before you were out of it? Which is it, Mr. President?

President Kerry: Well, you se, Jeff, events which occur sequentially rather than concurrently can often lead to this kind of...

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"Today, we are proud to put our organization's grassroots and political support behind the pro-choice candidate whom we believe will secure the Democratic nomination and advance to the general election. That candidate is Senator Obama."

"The reason I'm here tonight is because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I. There is one man who knows and understands that this is a time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create the chance, the lasting change, that you have to build from the ground up. There is one man who knows in his heart there is time to create one America, not two... and that man is Barack Obama."

"She is a woman who, in my judgment, is a made of steel, and she's a leader in this country not because of her husband but because of what she has done."

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The RNC has a new ad out comparing Senator Obama to President Carter based on his proposal for a windfall profits tax on oil, though I daresay there have been other reasons to think of Carter and Obama together recently.

The script is simple, and the ad is short and to the point. Save for a volume problem on the Carter clip, it's an effective ad. Comparing to Carter is a no-brainer in this instance. The windfall profit tax is a punishment on "Big Oil" for alleged profiteering, a campaign promise that appeals to bitterness and resentment rather than hope and change. Unfortunately for the consumer, the reality is the policy proved to be a complete failure. The ad points out that dependence on foreign oil increased as a result of Carter's policy. So in summary: good for the Hamas's of the world, not so much the Hummers.

It's a good time for the RNC to make the Carter connection. His failed Hamas visit caps a career of failures, and has him fresh on people's minds. Plus, there are a lot of similarities to touch on. Their careers took similar paths. Carter was attacked on his inexperience and praised for intangibles. His was a campaign of change and hope: change from Republican leadership, hope for a more trustworthy government.

The Jimmy Carter comparison is almost certainly going to be part of the General Election campaigning. I would expect this to be only the first ad along those lines.

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"There are some who have wanted to cut this race short. They say, "give up, it's too hard, the mountain is too high," but here in West Virginia, you know a thing or two about rough roads to the top of the mountain. We know from the Bible that faith can move mountains and, my friends, the faith of the Mountain State has moved me. I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard."

"I am in this race because I believe I am the strongest candidate - the strongest candidate to lead our party in November of 2008 and the strongest president to lead our nation starting in January of 2009. I can win this nomination if you decide I should, and I can lead this party to victory in the general election if you lead me to victory now.

The choice falls to all of you, and I don't envy you. I deeply admire Senator Obama, but I believe our case, a case West Virginia has helped to make, our case is stronger. Together, we have won millions and millions of votes - by the time tonight is over, probably 17 million, close to it. We've won them in states that we must be prepared and ready to win in November - Pennsylvania and Ohio, Arkansas and New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Michigan, Florida, and now West Virginia. It is a fact that no Democrat has won the White House since 1916 without winning West Virginia.

The bottom line is this - the White House is one in the swing states and I am winning the swing states.

I'm in it because of the people that I have worked for my entire life and the people I meet along the campaign trail, people who need someone who fights for them because they're fighting so hard every single day, the people who drive for miles to show their support, who come with the home-made sign, who raise money by skipping those dinners out, who have stood fast and stood strong. I'm in this race for the millions of Americans who know that we can do better in our country, for the nurse on her second shift, for the worker on the line, for the waitress on her feet, for the small business owner, the farmer, the teacher, the coal miner, the trucker, the soldier, the veteran, the college student.

All of the hardworking men and women who defy the odds to build a better life for themselves and their children. You will never be counted out, and I won't either. You will never quit, and I won't, either.

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[A] reason to stay is the situation with the rules-breaking Florida and Michigan. Clinton's advocacy (albeit selfish) for these two "disenfranchised" states keeps the heat on to find an equitable solution to seating their delegates in August. Without her continued pressure on Obama and the DNC, voters in these two states may be put off enough to stay home in November or go to McCain.

Last night in West Virginia, Hillary Clinton came away with an impressive 41-point win over Barack Obama. She shaved his popular vote lead by roughly 140,000 votes, and used her surrogates to continue hammer away on the point that Obama can't win with poor, undereducated white voters. The spin from Camp Clinton is that all of this matters in her race race for the nomination with Obama. But the math -- Oh, the dreaded math! -- speaks otherwise.

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"...the political environment is such that voters remain pessimistic about the direction of the country and the Republican Party in general. Therefore, Republicans must undertake bold efforts to define a forward looking agenda that offers the kind of positive change voters are looking for."

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It seems that when his totally hot, totally rich, second wife Cindy said yes to his 'big question', she also let him know that his job wasn't finished until the paperwork was done. This tough bride, whose financials are none of your damn business thank you very much, made Big John sign a prenuptial agreement. How's that again? A possible POTUS with a pre-nup?

If marriage is sanctioned by God and valid until death does part you cute kids, why go into it with a financial escape clause; a 'golden parachute' of love? Well, the reasons for doing so are obvious and can be fully expressed in two points. Point A: 'This thing may not last and I'll be damned if I'm going to be broken hearted and broke' and Point B: 'I don't really trust this son of a bitch'. In other words, it is all about trust. In other, other words; Cindy McCain doesn't.

Protecting Marriage

As president, John McCain would nominate judges who understand that the role of the Court is not to subvert the rights of the people by legislating from the bench. Critical to Constitutional balance is ensuring that, where state and local governments do act to preserve the traditional family, the Courts must not overstep their authority and thwart the Constitutional right of the people to decide this question.

The family represents the foundation of Western Civilization and civil society and John McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It is only this definition that sufficiently recognizes the vital and unique role played by mothers and fathers in the raising of children, and the role of the family in shaping, stabilizing, and strengthening communities and our nation.

As with most issues vital to the preservation and health of civil society, the basic responsibility for preserving and strengthening the family should reside at the level of government closest to the people. In their wisdom, the Founding Fathers reserved for the States the authority and responsibility to protect and strengthen the vital institutions of our civil society. They did so to ensure that the voices of America's families could not be ignored by an indifferent national government or suffocated through filibusters and clever legislative maneuvering in Congress.

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"We consider the Holy Land a very special place, and we consider the Israeli people our close friends

Our two nations both faced great challenges when they were founded. And our two nations have both relied on the same principles to help us succeed. We built strong democracies to protect the freedoms given to us by an almighty God. [...] and we built an enduring alliance to confront terrorists and tyrants."

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Here's one for our Ron Paul readers. I see you all are back and a welcome sight it is - really. No snark. We missed you.

The Web site Miss Ron Paul is doing it's latest contest for Miss Ron Paul. Apparently I'm late to this - they've been doing it for awhile. Congratulations to the past winners! So vote early and vote often. This round ends May 31. Contestant number 3 looks to be the presumptive winner. I wonder why.

I understand from my reading my colleague David Knowles' post that Congressman Paul might have a little surprise for the convention in September. I'm expecting to be there, so I'll try and meet up with Paul supporters. You will definitely be better company that the McCain supporters, I'm sure.

Oh, and I promised this great group of kids that I met after the Philly Democratic debate in April that I'd post their picture the next time I did a post on Ron Paul.

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I just listened to Hillary's victory speech. As of right now she's leading 64-29%. Ouch! With numbers like that, this is the last time that West Virginia sees Barack Obama for, like, ever.

Hillary's speech was fairly unspectacular as usual, but in the first few paragraphs, I think she managed to squeeze in just about every West Virginia cliche about mountain people, going to the mountain, etc. Cringe worthy.

And then she started in with a rousing defense of why she's still in the race (remember, when you're explaining, you're losing) But she does have some valid points. She is the "strongest candidate" based on her ability to win swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. That it has been since 1916 or so since a Democrat won without West Virginia. That's true, too, but it probably has more to do with West Virginia being a marginally leaning state, and Al Gore came within 300 votes of busting that record.

Anyway, it didn't sound to me like she was quitting, or even thinking about quitting. In her quest to stay in the race, she also received some unexpected support from Obama who stated that the race wasn't over yet. Hillary should send him a thank you card.

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Today's farm economy is very strong and that is something to celebrate. It is also an appropriate time to better target subsidies and put forth real reform. Farm income is expected to exceed the 10-year average by fifty percent this year, yet Congress' bill asks American taxpayers to subsidize the incomes of married farmers who earn $1.5 million per year. I believe doing so at a time of record farm income is irresponsible and jeopardizes America's support for necessary farm programs.

"[The president] maintains his view that halting the filling of the reserve will not have a meaningful impact on oil prices or gas prices. The Senate made clear today that they want to attempt that measure. The president hopes that this vote on the [Strategic Petroleum Reserve] will not distract members of Congress from the things they could be doing that would actually make a difference for the future, like opening up new domestic supply in an environmentally sensitive way in ANWR [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] and the OCS [Outer Continental Shelf]."

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I don't think it's that big of a deal, but some lefty blogs are worried that this behavior is a little too Bushlike for them.

Other lefty bloggers say grow up and get a life. Heh.

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The Obama campaign doesn't talk about it much, but will admit when pressed that they started this process knowing that there was a small, but not insignificant, segment of the population that just will not vote for an African-American.

Running just below the surface in the campaign and in the media, is the undercurrent of racism still to be found in pockets around the country - rural, urban and suburban. While Senator Obama's message is inclusive and pan-racial, the workers on the ground have felt the sting that the campaign itself does not wish to highlight and the media has mostly ignored.

The Washington Post today has some harsh stories of field workers, phone bankers and surrogates having doors slammed in their faces, being called the most derogatory of racial terms and physically threatened.

Victoria Switzer, a retired social studies teacher, was on phone-bank duty one night during the Pennsylvania primary campaign. One night was all she could take: "It wasn't pretty." She made 60 calls to prospective voters in Susquehanna County, her home county, which is 98 percent white. The responses were dispiriting. One caller, Switzer remembers, said he couldn't possibly vote for Obama and concluded: "Hang that darky from a tree!"

Documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy, the daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, said she, too, came across "a lot of racism" when campaigning for Obama in Pennsylvania. One Pittsburgh union organizer told her he would not vote for Obama because he is black, and a white voter, she said, offered this frank reason for not backing Obama: "White people look out for white people, and black people look out for black people."

The Obama campaign responded to questions about racial issues by saying, "After campaigning for 15 months in nearly all 50 states, Barack Obama and our entire campaign have been nothing but impressed and encouraged by the core decency, kindness, and generosity of Americans from all walks of life. The last year has only reinforced Senator Obama's view that this country is not as divided as our politics suggest."

But that doesn't do too much for the spirit of some supporters not even old enough to vote yet themselves and not used to the epithets thown their way like their parents and grandparents experienced.

Campaign field work can be an exercise in confronting the fears, anxieties and prejudices of voters. Veterans of the civil rights movement know what this feels like, as do those who have been involved in battles over busing, immigration or abortion. But through the Obama campaign, some young people are having their first experience joining a cause and meeting cruel reaction.

On Election Day in Kokomo, a group of black high school students were holding up Obama signs along U.S. 31, a major thoroughfare. As drivers cruised by, a number of them rolled down their windows and yelled out a common racial slur for African Americans, according to Obama campaign staffers.

The media has been very quiet about the campaign headquarters that have been vandalized and defaced by racist grafitti. The campaign honchos would like to keep it that way. After a recent break-in at a campaign office in Vincennes, IN, volunteer Ray McCormick took some pictures of the damage. When he asked the campaign about distributing his pictures to the press, he was asked not to make a big deal of it. McCormick did as they asked, but told the WaPo, "The pictures represent what we are breaking through and overcoming".

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If Hillary Clinton doesn't win, I will vote for McCain in November.

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John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states.

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My prediction two weeks ago on Indiana and North Carolina proved to be total folly, today's foretelling will likely prove to be superfluous.

Today West Virginia Democrats cast their votes in a primary. They have 28 delegates.

Hillary Clinton will win West Virginia. And with a comfortable margin (8-10 points).

But it won't matter.

It's great that the voting continues and Mountain State Democrats have a chance to be heard, but the debate is essentially over. At this juncture, a rally of support and its demonstration for Clinton is an opportunity for Hillary to exit with some dignity. But that's about it.

Now quitters never win, and Clinton gets kudos for that. But now winning is not within her muster. Obama must fall big - in a way that causes Super Delegates to jump ship en masse - which is not a scenario anywhere rooted in reality.

So...today's win in West Virginia is great for the voted and Hillary Clinton but it's impact is nil.

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