Matt Bai has a great article up today about the Republicans and the upcoming 2012 election. The temptation is to get a candidate that will fire up the base and wow the crowds. In doing so, Bai tells the GOP to remember what happened to the Democrats in 2004 with Howard Dean: Now flash forward to 2003, when another little-known governor from a small state, Howard Dean of Vermont, joined the messy field of candidates vying to take on President George W. Bush. Mr. Dean began that campaign as a proven...

Here in the North Star State, people on the center right tend to joke about the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minnesota’s largest newspaper. We call it the “Red Star” because it tends to be a liberal paper and tends to endorse liberal candidates. Well today, the “Red Star” has shocked everyone not just by not endorsing a Democrat for governor, but by endorsing a third-party candidate and a former Republican no-less. Today, the Star Tribune endorsed businessman and former...

Tom Friedman wrote another column Sunday talking about the rise of a centrist third party. Not surprisingly, a number of pundits have piled on Friedman. In some case, I can understand why pundits grow tired of other pundits saying that a major third party is just around the corner again and again and again. History has taught us that third parties are hard to grow in American soil, the center is not as unified as it might appear and so on and so on. But I think it is silly to dismiss these desires...

You’ve no doubt heard that the Montana GOP adopted a plank in their state platform outlawing homsexuality . Well, a GOP State Senator wants to get rid of a state law that bans homosexuality: Republican State Senator John Brueggeman of Polson is taking a stand on homosexuality, and is proposing a bill which would strike language from Montana law which prohibits homosexuality… Brueggeman, a Republican, says this isn’t a partisan issue, noting, “It’s about standing up for...

Ross Douthat notes that there has been a lot of talk from accross the political spectrum about Sarah Palin running for the GOP presidential nomination. Andrew Sullivan has long believed Palin would not only run but win the nomination. Now, we have folks like David Frum who are saying that she may 2012 frontrunner. Douthat argues against such speculation: It is extremely unlikely that the political landscape in the winter and spring of 2012 will resemble the political landscape in the autumn of...

I rarely agree with the New Republic’s Jonathan Chait, but he has made a point with his latest article. While he tends to make sweeping claims about the GOP his article has a heart of truth that after months of telling the Republican base that they must support “true conservatives,” no one should be shocked that the base in Delaware actually listened when it came to choosing between Congressman Mike Castle and gadfly Christine O’Donnell to run for an open US Senate seat....

It’s looks like the “lifestyle conservatives” might win yet again. According to Public Policy Polling, the Senate GOP Primary in Delaware is too close to call. The race pits moderate Republican Congressman Mike Castle again the Tea Party-backed Christine O’Donnell. It wasn’t that long ago that Castle was considered a lock for that Senate seat which is key to the GOP taking control of the Senate. Now, it’s not a given that Castle will win: It looks like there’s...

In light of E.D. Kain’s recent jump from conservatism, Conor Friedersdorf responds to my assertion that so few people seem interested in taking up the mantle of reforming conservatism: That isn’t quite accurate. In my estimation there are a lot of people who are committed to reforming conservatism, and who’ve pursued a different path. Reihan Salam and Ross Douthat co-wrote a book laying out a policy agenda a reformed right might embrace going forward. The Tea Party is earnest about...

Blogger E.D. Kain’s “Up from Conservatism” post had me thinking about something that I’ve seen over the years. You take a guy who was a conservative that starts to see some of the problems. They start to see them grow bigger and bigger and start to take on a crusade to reform conservatism. However, they continue to focus on the issues plaguing the movement, until the problems are all they see. At some point, they write a post renouncing their ties to conservatism and citing...

Reading former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman’s takedown of the last 40 years of GOP fiscal policy left me with two thoughts: the first one being that he is for the most part, correct in his analysis.  The second thought was if Stockman had a better idea. If you want to get lots of attention these days, all you have to do is be a disgruntled Republican and write a scathing op-ed or blog post about how your party has gone off the rails.  Stockman is the latest, but Andrew Sullivan...

If you listen to some in the media, Sarah Palin has become a kingmaker in the GOP. And she has become a kingmaker, in the GOP. Outside the GOP? Well, that’s another story. I tend to think that the true test of Palin’s power will come in November. If I were a betting man, I would say that we will see that Palin is not all that and a bag of chips in the real world. Greg Sargent sums it up in his post that says it all: Sarah Palin is Toxic. Commentators keep telling us how influential...

With all the talk about how Obama is not doing well and that the Democrats are expected to lose seats in November, it’s not surprising that there are a lot of Republicans thinking that everything is coming up roses for them. All the talk of a decades-long Democratic majority has dried up and the GOP seems energized by the growing Tea Party movement. The recent wins by Nikki Haley and Tim Scott also show a party that at least seems more acceptable to women and minorities. But while I believe...

For many years, I’ve been part of an effort to make the Republican Party more inclusive in various ways. I believe it is important to have a good and strong center-right party in order to counter the Democrats. That said, I am not as certain that the GOP can reform itself anymore. From the recent ouster of Utah Republican Senator Bob Bennett, to the ultra-crazy Maine GOP Platform, to John McCain whoring himself to the far right in order to win a Republican primary for the Senate, I am starting...

Tom Campbell, a former Republican congressman from California, decided late last year to drop his bid for Governor of the Golden State and instead join the race the GOP Senate primary in the bid to unseat Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. Early on, some feared that Campbell’s entry would split the socially moderate vote between Campbell and Carly Fiorina, the former head of Hewlett-Packard, leaving social conservative, State Senator Chuck Devore, as the winner. Instead, Devore is trailing...

A very liberal colleague of mine opined recently on Facebook if God was more concerned about budget issues which in his view only affected the rich, or in making sure that health care was expanded. I tend to think that most of my pastor friends, who tend to be liberal are thinking the same thing. They tend to believe that making sure that people have health care is not only the moral thing to do, but it is something God requires of all people and damn the cost. For them, this is an issue of justice,...

One thing that I’ve noticed in the blogsphere is how many people don’t like “deal-makers.” Deal-makers are a vanishing breed. Some were centrists, but there could also be people who firmly on one ideological perspective or another. The late Ted Kennedy was a fierce liberal, but he was willing more often than not to work with conservatives to get the job done. But in reading both in passing and more indepth, you get the sense that those politicians who make deals with the...

The whole notion of bipartisanship has taken a beating these days from folks on the left and the right. Indeed, in this age of hyper-partisanship, folks tend to punish those who dare cooperate with the other side. But there is still a desire among many in the Great American Middle for some form of bipartisanship, a way where the two sides can come together and make a deal that will benefit all of America. So, what does a politician do to fulfill that desire? You play pretend bipartisanship and...

The blogosphere has been abuzz with the recent poll by Daily Kos/Research 2000 that points a not so favorable view of the Republican Party. The way the poll looks it gives a picture a party filled with bigoted know-nothings. This poll has bothered me for a lot of reasons. As a gay Republican who is a moderate, it felt like yet another slam against the party that makes one wonder why one should stay. It has also bothered me because I know a lot of Republicans and none of them seem as crazy as this...

It’s not easy being a black, gay Republican and when news stories like this come out, it’s even harder.

It can be hard at times to be a Republican that supports health care reform, because you are immediately tagged with wanting some kind of massive state system ala Canada or the UK. There are shouts of wanting “liberty” and a “free market” in health care without really putting forward real plans. Shay over at Booker Rising, assumes that because I want a “government takeover of health care:” Opposing a government takeover of health care (which Mr. Sanders believes...