'We are on a winning wave'

That quote is from recently elected Texas Republican Party Chairman Cathie Adams, who announced today that numerous county-level officials in their state will be switching this week from Democrat to Republican.

A veteran grassroots conservative activist, Adams described what appears to a strong shift toward the GOP in Texas. "Being an Obama Democrat is not such a popular label anymore," Adams said during a conference call with bloggers.

Texas GOP communications director Bryan Preston said polls indicate that 80 percent of Texas voters disapprove of the Obama administration's policies. Preston noted that many conservatives from Texas have served as volunteers in key campaigns elsewhere this fall, including the Virginia gubernatorial contest.

The new party chairman credited the Tea Party movement with helping raise awareness and involvement among conservative voters.

"These are people who are thinking for themselves," Adams said, describing her encounters with Texans at Tea Party events. She said the Obama administration's policies have awakened many conservative voters to the importance of being more active in the political process.

"People got complacent" in recent years, but now are "chomping at the bit" to become involved.

UPDATE: Press release from Texas GOP:

Texas Democrats Set to Switch to Republican All Over the State
The Republican Party of Texas is pleased to welcome several Democratic officeholders who have decided to switch parties and become Republicans. At noon today in Palo Pinto County, Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace Bobby Hart switched his party affiliation and became a Republican. Three others Palo Pinto County officials indicated an interest in switching parties. Hart joins the ranks of the party that enjoys majorities in both houses of the Texas Legislature and holds all statewide elected offices.
"Democrats like Judge Hart are joining a winning wave across this state and across this country,” said Republican Party of Texas Chairman Cathie Adams. “Americans are fed up with the Washington Democrats’ failing leftwing policies and government power grabs. We welcome these newly minted Republicans and anyone else who will stand with us for more freedom, lower taxes and smaller government.”
In addition to the Palo Pinto County switch, the Republican Party of Texas has learned that two Democratic officeholders in McCulloch County will soon become Republicans, and several more in other counties all over the Lone Star State are also poised to make the switch, some as soon as this week. They tend to cite disaffection with the national Democrats' economic policies, and agreement with the Republican Party's stances on smaller government and individual freedom as the reasons for switching.
All tolled, dozens of Democrats across Texas are known to be considering switching or are already in the process of doing so. There is no similar movement of Texas Republican officeholders leaving the party.

That's the way a wave rolls.

NY23: SCOZZAFAVA QUITS! UPDATE: New poll shows Hoffman in dead heat with Democrat Owens

Just confirmed that Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava has quit the race. Speaking to supporters, Scozzafava broke down in tears.

UPDATE: Scozzafava, the hand-picked choice of the New York state GOP in the key 23rd District special election, reportedly will throw her support to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.

Scozzafava's withdrawal came shortly after a new Siena College poll was released this morning, showing her in third place, with Hoffman neck-and-neck with Democrat Bill Owens.

UPDATE II: Steven Foley of 73Wire Campaign Trail is also on the story. Foley's crew is over at Starbucks, while I'm poaching the lobby computer at a hotel here in Lake Placid. I am the Poacher King.

My source called this morning to confirm the story while Foley was on the phone with his source. Ali Akbar has text of Dede Scozzafava's farewell.

UPDATE III: Linked at Hot Air where Ed Morrissey comments:

Scozzafava has seen her negatives explode, while her two opponents have only become more accepted as they became more well known. She has no chance of winning this race, and her withdrawal leaves Hoffman with the Republican vote whether she endorses him or not.

My buddy Jude Seymour at the Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times also has the story:

Ms. Scozzafava told the Watertown Daily Times that Siena Research Institute poll numbers show her too far behind to catch up - and she lacks enough money to spend on advertising in the last three days to make a difference.

UPDATE IV: Also linked at Right Klik, which is aggregating the news of Scozzafava from all sources. No word yet from Tucker Carlson.

UPDATE V: Also now linked at Paco Enterprises, Underground Conservative, Jammie Wearing Fool, and million-hitter William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection. We're grateful for the link by Michelle Malkin and by Richard McEnroe at Three Beers Later who says:

NEVER believe you don't have power. NEVER let them tell you that. . . .
Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, the rest of the thieving, corrupt, smug, lying Democrat Party . . . NEVER believe we aren't coming for you

Note the New York Daily News summary of the Sienna Poll:

Hoffman's voters are the most committed, with 93 percent of them saying that are either absolutely or fairly certain they won't be changing their minds on Election Day, while 84 percent of Owens' voters say the same thing about him and 73 percent of Scozzafava supporters are loyal to her.

There is something about the kind of grassroots underdog campaign that Hoffman is running that creates a resolute determination on the part of the candidate's supporters.

Speaking of resolute determination, now would be a good time to thank Nathan Cossey and all the dozens of other readers whose contributions to the Shoe Leather Fund have made possible this road trip. Please continue to hit the tip jar. Ali Akbar needs a ride to the Buffalo airport on Wednesday.

UPDATE VI: Thanks to Kim Priestap of Wizbang for noting that Eric Odom of 73Wire first reported the news of Dede's withdrawal via Twitter. The generosity of Odom, Foley and Akbar during this trip has been greatly appreciated, and certainly I don't want to glory-hog, given how often they've scooped me -- and will no doubt scoop me again. We're a news-busting posse, and it's a friendly competition.

We're a headline at Big Government and, via Memeorandum, we learn of our linkage from Doug Brady at Conservatives for Palin. Hey, does Sarah deserve credit for answering the call, or what? She's a big-game hunter, and the same skills that bag a moose can obviously be applied to RINOs. While we're handing out kudos, how about The Man Upstairs? Two weeks ago, I wrote at The American Spectator:

Hoffman's pro-life supporters have reportedly launched an e-mail campaign -- including prayer requests -- to secure the endorsement of Palin . . .

Well, those prayers were answered, weren't they? When you pray for angels, keep an eye out for those "angels unawares."

UPDATE VII: Big shout-out to Erick Erickson of Red State, who came out strong and early for Hoffman and pushed hard. The role of CPAC director Lisa De Pasquale -- who got about a dozen conservative bloggers on an Oct. 14 conference call -- must also be acknowledged. (Note to self: Make list of names for Wednesday a.m. discussion panel about NY23.)

Well, time to hit Starbucks, meet up with the crew and go get ready for the trip to Plattsburgh.

Our complete coverage of the NY23 special election

'I Ain't Got Time to Bleed'

Action-movie fans will remember that line spoken by Jesse Ventura's character in Predator, and it characterizes my attitude right now regarding the political situation in general and Doug Hoffman's NY-23 special election campaign specifically.

My friend Eric Dondero of Libertarian Republican has pointed out that, in 2006, my friend Erick Erickson of Red State (like many other conservatives) refused to support Libertarian candidate Bob Smither in Texas.

Like the NY-23 race, that 2006 Texas congressional election was a unique situation -- long story, no time to explain now -- and many people misunderstood it. My good buddy Stephen Gordon was on the Libertarian Party national HQ staff at the time, and he was in that Houston suburban district up to his eyeballs.

Gordo made it clear to me that the GOP's idea of running a hand-picked write-in candidate (lonnngg story) was a guaranteed loser, a harebrained scheme that would surely fail. If conservatives wanted to stop a Democrat from winning that seat, their only viable option was to support the LP candidate, Smither, who was a solid citizen, not any kind of radical wacko, and much preferable to the Democrat Nick Lampson.

However, unless you knew the specific on-the-ground details (which Gordo spent hours explaining to me in phone calls from Texas), any conservative Republican might reasonably think that Tom DeLay and the local GOP bosses knew what they were doing.

But they didn't, and Lampson stomped the crap out of DeLay's handpicked successor (who had a hard-to-spell hyphenated last name, a big reason why the idea of her as a write-in candidate was so ROTFLMAO ridiculous). The Democratic pick-up could have been avoided, if any influential conservative at the national level would have listened to Gordo. Three years ago, I was even less inlfuential than I am now, and no other conservatives of greater influence were listening to Gordo and so . . "For want of a nail," as they say.

Erick Erickson was not alone in making the mistake he made. So I have no problem with Erickson for not having backed Smither. A mistake is not necessarily a sin, and Erickson's willingness now to back the Conservative Party candidate Hoffman in NY-23 might indicate that he's learned from the mistake he and others made three years ago.

Whether there might be future occasions when similar calculations of principled pragmatism lead Erickson to back an LP candidate, who knows? We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Whatever happens in the future, or whatever happened in the past, it is absolutely vital in this time of crisis that all friends of liberty focus laser-like on doing now the things that must be done now. I can't fix what went wrong in 2006 and, if there is still any bad blood between my friends Dondero and Erickson, I don't have time to negotiate an armistice.

Right now there is a battle being waged in upstate New York that may, to some important extent, determine the future of this nation. Meanwhile, in Washington, a tooth-and-nail struggle rages over the ObamaCare abomination. There is too much important work to be done now for anyone who is a genuine friend of liberty to be engaged in intramural score-settling.

There are now 17 days until Nov. 3. Let us lay aside everything incidental and focus all our efforts on doing what must be done now, or our common cause is surely doomed.

Like that squad of commandos in the jungle, faced with a deadly and relentless foe, we are in a fight for survival. And I ain't got time to bleed.

UPDATE: Rhymes With Right, a Texas GOP activist, puts a more detailed account of the 2006 Sekula-Gibbs fiasco in the comments. He makes mention of a meeting where the GOP "leadership" declared that it would be "out of order" to make a floor motion in favor of LP candidate Bob Smither who was already on the ballot. My man Gordo was on the phone telling me all about this, live from the scene, when that dirty little deal went down.

This is how the "Establishment Insider" crowd operates, see? Just like the House GOP "leadership" forced Jeb Hensarling to walk the plank for Scozzafava, the GOP "leadership" in Texas forced the local parties to walk-the-plank for Sekula-Gibbs. And this is just what Cornyn and the NRSC want to do by shoving Crist down the throats of Florida Republicans.

This kind of crass manipulation of the GOP mechanism by the insiders is absolutely deadly, in terms of destroying grassroots enthusiasm, and that's what Not One Red Cent is about: Fighting back against this kind of corrupt, crooked, backroom "kingmaker" crap.

As for the inside-libertarian-baseball criticisms from my friends Mr. Knapp and Mr. Dondero, it is beyond the scope of my influence to convince Erick Erickson or anyone else of what course of action they should take. Nobody in the GOP has ever solicited my advice, and on those rare occasion I've played armchair strategist by volunteering my advice, they always ignore me and do the opposite.

So none of this is my fault. If you're looking for a scapegoat, Blame Erik Telford. (I always do.)

Conservative Hoffman vs. RINO Scozzafava: 'We have her on the run!'

Doug Hoffman says his campaign in upstate New York's 23rd District is "squeezing" liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava in a three-way special election.

"There's only 20 days left . . . but we have her on the run," Hoffman told reporters, bloggers and conservative activists in a conference call Wednesday afternoon.

Running on the Conservative Party line, Hoffman's candidacy has hammered Scozzafava's extremely liberal voting record during her 11 years in the state assembly. And, as the Politico reported today, the GOP establishment's hand-picked candidate is rumored to be short on campaign cash, creating a legitimate opportunity for Hoffman to win the Nov. 3 special election.

"As a third-party candidate, I can win this race," Hoffman said, emphasizing that, with less than three weeks left until the election to succeed Rep. John McHugh in the 11-county district, fund-raising is essential. "We need to raise money to get the message out."

On his campaign Web site, Hoffman announced a fund-raising target of $125,000 this week. Noting that his opponent has previously been supported by ACORN and is currently a favorite of the liberal Daily Kos blog, Hoffman said his campaign has been "adopted" by the grassroots conservative Tea Party movement.

Hoffman has been endorsed by the "9/12" organization -- the political arm of the Tea Party movement, which staged major rallies on Sept. 12, including the 9/12 March On DC -- and says the grassroots activists are the foot soldiers of his campaign.

He recently held "six regional meeting with the Tea Party people," Hoffman said, and many visitors to his Web site have made online contributions of $9.12. The conservative Red State blog recently a $250,000 fund-raising goal for Hoffman's campaign.

In addition to Tea Party activists and major conservative blogs, Hoffmans third-party candidacy has also been endorsed by a broad range of free-market and social-conservative organizations, including the Club For Growth, the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, and the Political Action Committee of the American Conservative Union, which hosted Wednesday's conference call. The ACU's David Keene called the New York special election "an incredibly important race."

Political insiders now view Scozzafava as a certain loser. Her liberal GOP candidacy has not attracted either voter support or campaign contributions and she is being outspent 12-to-1 in TV ads by Democrat Bill Owens. Hoffman suggested favoritism as the most likely explanation why the New York state GOP picked Scozzafava out of nine candidates seeking the Republican nomination in the Nov. 3 special election.

"It was an anointment . . . The party bosses, the lords of the backroom, made this selection," Hoffman said.

Does no one in Tennessee knowhow to use a pistol anymore?

There was a time when a lowdown polecat like state Sen. Paul Stanley (R-Scumbag) would have found himself occupying an office six feet deep:

Sen. Paul Stanley tries desperately to hang on to his current marriage amid reports of a TBI confirmed admission of an extramarital affair with an intern and subsequent blackmailing by her boyfriend . . .
Before Stanley’s political career got going as a Senior Field Representative for Senator Bill First in 1995, he was married to another woman, his first wife, Judy Martin. . . .
According to documents obtained by Post Politics, in 1994, Judy Martin swore out a restraining order against her husband, Paul R. Stanley. From the order:
"Paul has verbally abused me as well as my children using very vulgar language. Also, this incident that occurred Feb 6th, 1994 is the third he has physically hit me. . . ."

Read the whole thing. Like Zell Miller said, it makes you nostalgic for the days when you could challenge somebody to a duel . . .

Honestly: I worked in D.C. for years. Every summer, the town fills up with interns. To "hit on" interns is a thing simply not done. They're there in a learning capacity, and the boss therefore occupies the position of a teacher. It is one thing for a young person in a low-level staff position to date an intern, but it is entirely another thing for the boss to do it.

Whatever happened to the Good Old Days, when Republicans who wanted to have affairs had the common decency to fly off to Argentina?

UPDATE: It should be noted that I worked with both Clever S. Logan and HotMES when they were interns. HotMES has never forgiven me because she was my second-favorite intern in summer 2004, yet it was she who introduced me to Jason "Big Sexy" Mattera, whom I subsequently introduced to Clever S. and . . . Well, that certainly worked out wonderfully, didn't it?

At any rate, Thou shalt not hit on thine intern is a widely recognized rule, and woe unto he who violates it.

IG-Gate: Whispers of hints of shadows

Ever been in one of those situations where you don't know exactly what's going on, but somebody's hinting that something's going on?

Read every word of this.

The subject was raised in an indirect sort of way. I just jotted down some notes and didn't think too much about it. But my drive home from D.C. is more than an hour long, and as I mentally rehearsed what I'd seen and heard . . . Well, what was that about?

Maybe it was nothing. But maybe it was something. I'm trying to stay calm. Don't try to predict the future.

Shoe leather is an amazing journalistic resource. This is the kind of reporting that gets the blood pumping. Because of unexpected complications in my itinerary, I didn't park my car at Union Station until 4:09 p.m., but after I got through on the Hill, I was whistling a happy tune while I walked back down First Avenue, re-entering the marble lobby of the station at 6:37 p.m., as my meticulous notes show.

From the start: Tourists were still standing in line for a chance to get into the Sotomayor hearings, and I'd left my cell phone in the car. "Deep Cleavage" hadn't returned my calls, and nobody was expecting my arrival on the Hill. It was pleasantly sunny but not hot, and the biggest hassle I had was having to empty my pockets and remove my belt -- the buckle sets off the metal detectors -- to enter the different congressional office buildings.

"The Other McCain," said the receptionist, becoming accustomed to my unannounced arrivals. X is on vacation. Hmmm. What about X's Deputy, Y? Not in. Well, how about Z?

I'm sitting on the sofa and, on the lobby TV, Lindsay Graham is applying a flamethrower to Sotomayor, trying to produce that "meltdown" he'd previously suggested was so unlikely. Get 'em, Goober! I'm almost willing to take back some of those homophobic slurs . . .

Good news! The receptionist says that Z will be there momentarily. Z is "Deep Cleavage." We had never previously met but are already becoming . . . eh, bosom buddies. Z arrives and, as we make our way down the elevator to the basement cafeteria, this unexpected subject arises.

It must have been important, otherwise I wouldn't have a full page of notes about it. But it wasn't what I came to ask about. Deep Cleavage raises the subject and discusses it at some length before I even get a chance to start asking questions.

At the time, however, it didn't register. We were both in somewhat of a hurry. I had other people to see, and Deep Cleavage had a 5 o'clock conference call. It seemed like we talked for 45 minutes but since I didn't even go through the metal detectors until 4:25 p.m. -- meticulous notes, you see -- it couldn't have been that long.

Au revoir, Deep Cleavage, and off I go. Another office, another TV screen with Sotomayor hearings. The person I came to see is not in, but the deputy is available. OK. Actually, much better than OK. Introduction to a staffer who is eager (!) to help. All the charm I can muster is employed in a quick chat in the hallway and I take my leave with a courtly bow. This could become a very important source.

Quickly cutting across the Capitol grounds toward Independence Avenue. The woman walking across from the other side of the avenue is talking on a cell phone, but looks up. "Excuse me, ma'am, but which one is [name of office building]?" She points to the building.

When I get there, neither the communication director nor the press secretary is in the office. The receptionist -- actually, "staff assistant" is her title -- isn't exactly eager to help. It's past 5:30 now, she's running out the clock, and she doesn't know me from Adam's housecat.

Ah, but there is more than one way to skin Adam's housecat and, with the help of directions from an older gentleman, I'm on my way through an underground tunnel to another office building.

In the tunnel, I encounter a cluster of young aides. Obviously, Republicans. The girls are too pretty to be Democrats. Turns out they're Georgians and blonde Shannon, who just finished her junior year at UGA, went to Lassiter High. Ah, once dated a girl from Lassiter, and another one at Sprayberry, but that redhead from North Cobb -- her backyard was the 10th tee at the country club and . . .

The Georgians think I'm joking (I'm not) and they razz me when I start humming the University of Alabama fight song. This is fine amusement as we're walking through the tunnel.

Reaching my destination, I connect with my source of last resort. We're talking in the office vestibule when the Congressman, his wife and children pass through. My source doesn't want to trouble the boss, but I know the magic.

"Congressman!" And immediately I'm shaking hands and schmoozing it up, making sure to praise the excellent services peformed by the congressman's staffer, my source.

The congressman and family exit and, as soon as the door closes behind them, I high-five my source. That, my friend, is how it's done: Impose yourself. They're public servants, right? Well, I'm the freaking public.

Explain to the source who it is that I need to get direct contact with. We briefly discuss -- of all people -- Conor Friedersdorf, whose satire of my methods was both funny and accurate. If only I'd remembered to bring my pink camera . . .

Assured that I'll be contacted by the person I need to talk to, I'm ready for the return trip. I ride down the elevator with a recently-elected Democratic member of Congress. I cut back across the Capitol grounds and a few minutes later, as I cross the intersection of First and C, I'm jazz-whistling "Georgia On My Mind." The policeman on the corner says, "That's something you don't see anymore -- people whistling while they walk."

No, you sure don't, I answer. What I don't say is that you also don't see reporters take their leave with a courtly bow. A sense of history -- an evocative name -- now occupies my mind, and I find myself switching the tune to "Shenandoah" as I cross past the Columbus monument toward Union Station. In a few days, there will be a major deadline, but this is far from my thoughts.

I'm going to beat you today -- and didn't I?

A 150-mile round-trip drive, 2 hours and 28 minutes on the Hill, and I've got notes for my next article, as well as a quick blog post at AmSpec, plus promises of connections to more sources in coming days. No sir, you can't beat shoe leather, and it's good for the soul.

Quick shout-out to Obi's Sister, Dan Collins, The Rhetorican and WWU-AM/Camp of the Saints, and this from Jimmie Bise:

So, keep the faith, folks. We may well get that accountability and transparency Barack Obama promised us yet, no matter how hard he fights to break that promise.

Ah, Jimmie, my boy! When will you be back in DC? Check your schedule for Friday. What tales I have to tell, and what new friends you must meet. Y'all be sure and hit the tip jar -- another courtly bow, and good-night!

Palin's speech: Home run? Base hit?

The text of Sarah Palin's speech to the RNC is online. Here's the video:



I'll update with reactions. What did you think?

UPDATE: Instapundit:

I see a problem for McCain -- whatever he says tonight is likely to come across as an anticlimax, unless he gives a better speech than he's ever given before.

Ed Morrissey:

Her nickname, "Sarah Barracuda", seems a lot more fitting after tonight.
Not only did she defend her small-town upbringing, she attacked Barack Obama on
almost every possible front, and for good measure went after Joe Biden and the
mainstream media as well.

UPDATE II: Michael Crowley:

Several moderate-Democrat friends of mine have been emailing -- few if any would ever vote for McCain -- but all agree that Palin was very strong. The more liberal among them are a little panicked.
I completely misjudged how negative she would be. Her lines about Obama were brutally cutting and possibly over the top in places. But she's a far better messenger than an angry white man.

Heh heh heh heh. Oh, the news of liberal panic always warms my heart. They had five days of slamming her when she was in no position to fire back, and now she's made her big debut and . . . "a little panicked"? Imagine how they'll react if the Republicans get a convention bounce and go 5 points ahead in the tracking poll by next Wednesday.

Myself, personally, I wasn't all that impressed. I like Palin, but I felt she delivered the speech too slowly, and that the delegates -- a bit too eager to show their approval -- interrupted her too often with applause.

UPDATE III: Dr. Melissa Clouthier predicts a new barrage of liberal attacks:

Sarah Palin must be destroyed because her mere existence kills so many leftist sacred cows. As much as I adore this woman already, I shudder for her family for what’s to come in the next couple of months. Uppity women get put in their place by angry liberals. And it’s ugly business.

This is what Rush Limbaugh said yesterday:

It's the same approach that they took to destroy Clarence Thomas, the same approach that they took to destroy Robert Bork . . . . They destroy people who are threats. They destroy people who are threats to their template, to their narrative, to their power. They take no prisoners.

To be in the same league of enemies as Clarence Thomas -- high praise indeed.

UPDATE IV: Team Obama responded by saying that Palin's speech "was written by George Bush's speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the last eight years." To which Jimmie at Sundries Shack says:

That's it? His entire response is, "Yeah, well, someone wrote her speech for her, so nyah"?
How freaking lame! He just unfurled the political equivalent of "Oh yeah? Well your Mommy dresses you funny!" That was a tired taunt when we used it in elementary school.

All modern presidents rely on speechwriters, even the greatest of them, like Ronald Reagan. Otherwise, they'd have to spend all their time drafting new speeches, because they have to give so many of them, and they can't give the same speech over and over again.

UPDATE V: One of Obama's big fundraisers attempted to storm the stage during last night's speech. Founding Bloggers says, "Keep it classy, Democrats."

UPDATE VI: Ezra Klein (!) says, "an auspicious debut."

GOP veepstakes; UPDATED: PALIN!

11:10 a.m. ET: Just spoke to my wife who tells me that my Ohio in-laws, Erica and Donovan Powers, are at the McCain rally in Dayton with their genius baby, Keegan.

10:52 a.m. ET: The Great One likes Palin.

10:45 a.m. ET: Hillary supporter Big Tent Democrat:

First and foremost, it would stop Obama's Media train in its tracks today. . . .
Second, it revives the Hillary melodramas. And at this point, Obama does not need that.

Got to hand it to Team Maverick on this one: (a) Palin gives the Clinton supporters just the excuse they need to bolt on Obama, and (b) she gives McCain an excuse to say, "Screw the caribou -- drill ANWR!"

BUMPED 10:34 a.m. ET: Carl Cameron on Fox: CONFIRMED! PALIN!

10:18 a.m. ET -- Jimmie at Sundries Shack:

She’s in favor of increased domestic drilling. She holds to at least the big conservative beliefs, which will help offset McCain’s left-leaning past on free speech, immigration, and taxes. She’s a solid pick and I think she’ll help from the first day she’s on the ticket.

DRILLING! Yes! Who better to cover a McCain shift on drilling ANWR than an Alaskan?
BUMPED 10:10 a.m. ET: Palin? A 44-year-old pro-life mother of four. Yeah. I think the base would be OK with that. And notice that the speculation about Lieberman and Ridge (both pro-choice) makes this a "thank goodness" relief for the Right, despite Palin's relative inexperience. If it's Palin, ABC News just got fooled by a huge head fake.
10 a.m. ET: Michelle Malkin also has a thread going. She got an early start, even if she missed last night's blogger bash, where VodkaPundit insisted on staying until closing time.
9:55 a.m. ET: Ed Morrissey and Allahpundit have a thread going at Hot Air, including a link to this tantalizing news.
9:50 a.m. ET: Now watching MSNBC, which says it's not Lieberman. Please God, let the Palin rumor be true. Otherwise, it's Ridge and ... hello, President Obama.
9:45 a.m. ET: Just realized that my times are still Eastern, even though I'm in Denver. That's because I don't reset the computer clock when I travel. Don't reset my watch, either. If I need to know local time, I either do the math or look at my cell phone. The reason: My editors and my family back home are still on Eastern time.
9:28 a.m. (ET): Woke up this morning, turned on the TV, and Fox News was saying that Romney and Pawlenty have been eliminated. Sarah Palin? Will update as I get some coffee and learn more.

'Big Oil' hurts Republican

Potential trouble for November?

Being linked to "big oil" turned into a big problem for Tennessee Republican freshman Rep. David Davis, who became the first congressman from that state to lose in a primary in more than four decades.
Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe beat Davis by a 500-vote margin Thursday in the solidly Republican 1st District in the northeastern corner of the state. . . .
The race became increasingly acrimonious as the primary election neared. Roe ran a TV ad accusing Davis of selling out to "Big Oil" by accepting money from industry PACs and backing legislation supporting offshore drilling.

If being linked to "Big Oil" can hurt a candidate in a Republican primary (?!) what would be the effect of linking a Republican to "Big Oil" in the general election? Of course, there are plenty of Democrats in Congress who've taken money from "Big Oil" -- including Exxon's sweetheart Barack Obama -- so Republicans could possibly fight fire with fire.

The bigger problem, in my eyes, is that there appears to be such widespread economic ignorance that demonizing "Big Oil" can gain political traction like this. Does being profitable makes a corporation evil? Does being associated with profitable companies make a politician evil? That such arguments could win in a Republican primary is disturbing.

No need to Name That Party

When a Republican is indicted, be sure that his party affliation will be in the first paragraph:

Missouri state Rep. Scott Muschany, R-Frontenac, was indicted today in connection with a reported sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl on May 17, the day after this year’s Legislative session ended.The alleged victim is the daughter of a state employee.
The girl’s mother and Muschany -– who is married and has two children --were romantically involved, the woman said. A Cole County grand jury returned an indictment today charging Muschany with the Class C felony of "deviate sexual assault." ...
Muschany, 42, was booked into the Cole County Jail today at 2:50 and he was released after posting a $5,000 bond.

The most dangerous man in the world is always "mom's boyfriend."

Oh, it's Tuesday, isn't it?

Having been out of the country for two weeks -- and nearly incommunicado for most of that time -- I lost track of U.S. politics, but it seems like y'all kept things interesting in my absence.

As I had predicted from the get-go, liberals would keep giving Crazy Cousin John the softball treatment right up until he had the GOP nomination locked, and then they'd unleash the dirt machine. Don't say you weren't warned.

On the Democratic side, it looks like Hillary's got it nailed, despite Obama's surging popularity. If she's managed to hang in this far, she's not going to blow it now.

But ask me if I care. I don't. I really don't.