DCRepublican.com

From CNN.com:

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain will win Texas and become the Republican presidential nominee, CNN projects.

His Tuesday wins in Texas, Ohio and Vermont are enough to give him the 1,191 delegates needed to clinch the GOP nomination.

McCain will travel to the White House to be endorsed by President Bush as early as Wednesday, sources tell CNN.

This is one of those things that everyone knew would happen, but due to some technicalities we just had to wait a bit for it to be finalized.

However, now that the Republican Party has a nominee, we have to start asking ourselves what has to be done next to propel the campaign to where they need to be, so that they can be in a position to successfully defeat whoever the Democrats nominate.

First and foremost, John McCain has to start fundraising as soon as possible. This is going to be an extremely expensive race, far more expensive than anything we have seen in previous elections. If McCain is going to win, the first victory he has to capture (now that the nomination is imminent) is taking the lead in fundraising.

Now that he will be receiving the endorsement of George Bush, he should put him out to do fundraising right away. Due to the perception of the Bush administration amongst many, it wouldn’t make much sense for McCain to wait until September to use President Bush’s fundraising talents. Instead, I think that between now and August, McCain should work with the President to get as many fundraising events scheduled as possible. After that, let the President raise money for the RNC and other candidates, so that it isn’t a direct McCain activity.

Second, if McCain is going to be successful in this race, he is going to have to find a way to reach out further to the young voters, who up until this point, have been experiencing one long “obamagasm”. If McCain can dig into even a small percentage of the base of young voters that Obama has amassed, those young people will be the foot soldiers the Republican Party desperately needs.

I think that one way McCain can attract youth voters, is by putting his daughter, Meghan, on the campaign trail. Not only is she extremely attractive (just like her mother), but she is also extremely energetic and understands what it is that young people are looking for in a Presidential candidate. She is also a huge campaign resource in that she has used her blog to give everyone the opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at her father when he isn’t at a podium. If she can use her blog to generate even more McCain buzz in the blogosphere, I think that even more people will start to lean towards McCain over whoever the Democrat is. More importantly, Meghan McCain hasn’t come off as a polarizing, partisan figure, but instead has just spoke about her father as she knows him . . . which is exactly what needs to be done.

Third, in line with my previous point, Senator McCain also has to reach out more to the online community. In my opinion, aside from online advertising, the campaign hasn’t done the best job of reaching out to those of us in the blogosphere. I would like to see the McCain campaign expand their resources for bloggers, and have more frequent blogger conference calls so that we have some ownership in making news and buzz for the campaign. This is something that is extremely simple and effective.

However, I think that as politics continues to progress into the digital age, these online efforts are elements of the campaign that can be generated and controlled by non-campaign forces. I’m looking forward to see what the great minds of many of McCain’s supporters will come up with in terms of independent online strategies.

As Huckabee exits, all I can say is: “let the games begin”

As this election has become more and more cutthroat, as has the development of strategies by many on the right to ensure that the Republican Party has a candidate on the other side that they can beat.

Even before Obama surged to popularity, it was no secret that the Republican Party has had their eyes on going head to head with the Clinton’s once again.

Now, as the Democratic Primary still remains a mystery, with both candidates having a viable chance if they can pick up a few “must win” states, the role that Republicans can play in who the Democrat that will face John McCain will be.

Taking note of this, Rush Limbaugh has been urging his listeners in Texas and other radio hosts in Ohio have followed, to cast their votes for Hillary Clinton, to give her the boost she needs to beat Barack Obama.

From CNN.com:

(CNN) – As Hillary Clinton battles to keep her presidential bid alive, she may be getting help from an unlikely source: conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Limbaugh has been actively urging his Texas listeners to cross over and vote for Clinton in that state’s open primary Tuesday, arguing it helps the Republicans if the Democratic race remains unsettled for weeks to come.

“I want Hillary to stay in this…this is too good a soap opera,” Limbaugh told fellow conservative talk-show host Laura Ingraham on Fox News Friday. He reiterated the comments on his Monday show and replayed the exchange with Ingram.

Will this be effective?

I think that in Texas, with a race so close, that it could have a huge effect if even 5% of the Republican base came out and cast their vote for Hillary Clinton. If this ploy is successful, this will definitely be the “hottest” story of the political season thus far.

However, I can’t say that I’m the biggest fan of other parties playing a role in politics of the opposing sides. But, this is a problem that could easily be resolved by each state, by implementing closed primaries. Texas doesn’t seem like a state that has a large independent base, so I don’t see how this would warrant disenfranchisement by any means.

I somehow have a feeling that if this is successful, there will be a quick lobby to change the voting laws for future primaries

It’s a sad day for the conservative movement, one of the great ones has passed.

From the New York Times:

William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn.

Mr Buckley, 82, suffered from diabetes and emphysema, his son Christopher said, although the exact cause of death was not immediately known. He was found at his desk in the study of his home, his son said. “He might have been working on a column,” Mr. Buckley said.

Mr. Buckley’s winningly capricious personality, replete with ten-dollar words and a darting tongue writers loved to compare with an anteater’s, hosted one of television’s longest-running programs, “Firing Line,” and founded and shepherded the influential conservative magazine, “National Review.”

He also found time to write 45 books, ranging from sailing odysseys to spy novels to celebrations of his own dashing daily life, and edit five more. Two more books, one a political novel, and the other a history of the magazine called “Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription” are scheduled to be published in 2007.

The more than 4.5 million words of his 5,600 biweekly newspaper columns, “On the Right,” would fill 45 more medium-sized books.

Mr. Buckley’s greatest achievement was making conservatism — not just electoral Republicanism, but conservatism as a system of ideas — respectable in liberal post-World War II America. He mobilized the young enthusiasts who helped nominate Barry Goldwater in 1964, and saw his dreams fulfilled when Reagan and the Bushes captured the Oval Office.

I know I’ve tagged this with a lot of categories, but its almost impossible to limit someone so dynamic to just one tag. I hope to post more on this later.

In the meantime, here are a few respected blogs that are covering this:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb-staff/2008/02/27/william-f-buckley-jr-passes-away

http://hoosieraccess.com/blog/2008/02/27/bulletin-columnist-william-f-buckley-jr-has-died/

http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/02/william_f_buckley_jr.html

http://authentic-connecticut-republican.blogspot.com/2008/02/william-f-buckley-1925-2008.html

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8720.html

http://www.observer.com/2008/william-f-buckley-jr-dead-82

http://www.poliblogger.com/?p=13321

http://www.primezero.com/blog/2008/02/27/william-f-buckley-dies-at-82-a-critical-thinker-from-a-more-civilized-age/

http://wigdersonlibrarypub.blogspot.com/2008/02/rip-william-f-buckley-jr.html

Update: It looks like the left waited no time to lash out on WFB

This morning the New York Times released what could be an extremely significant blow to the McCain campaign, regarding a relationship with a lobbyist and some potential ethical questions raised by these accusations.

The report goes into great detail regarding McCain’s relationship with Vicki Iseman, the 40 year old lobbyist in question.

The article states:

A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client’s corporate jet. Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself — instructing staff members to block the woman’s access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity.

While this seems like a smoking gun, and there are a lot more details mentioned in the article, the one thing that the New York Times fails to mentions is who their unnamed sources are.

The one thing that I’ve learned living in Washington is that there are a lot of people, who once they leave a certain organization hate their former employer and sometimes will go to extreme lengths to “get back” at whoever has wronged them. Ask anyone who has worked on the Hill, sometimes these things can get extremely ugly.

What’s even more questionable about this article is the timing. This isn’t a story that they just came up with, this is something that they have been sitting on for some time now. So why release the story now? Why wait until he has pretty much locked up the nomination?

More importantly, another question that needs to be asked is why the New York Times went ahead and endorsed McCain, who didn’t have a significant lead at the time, but still seemed to have knowledge of this story? Is this another New York Times left-wing favor?

The reality is that if the American people read this story before McCain responds to it (9am press conference is scheduled), this could have an effect amongst those who are already critical of him, especially amongst many evangelicals.

Obviously, this isn’t going to propel Huckabee as the nominee, so yes, he will still be a non-factor in all of this.

However, the timing, logic and underlying motivation of the New York Times really needs to be called into question as to why they chose the course of action they did for delivering this article.

Senator McCain’s campaign obviously is far from over, but I think this article goes to show just how dirty this race is going to become.

If the New York Times held onto this story until now, for whatever the reason may be, just imagine what dirt the DNC or the Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama campaign is holding onto regarding Senator McCain’s ethics in the Senate. Lets not forget, this is a race amongst Senators, so they all have access to each others “inner circles.”

I know that there are articles regarding this matter in the Washington Post, and a few other newspapers as well, all scooping the New York Times. These all need to be examined carefully and the gaps created MUST be filled before any confidence can be given to these articles.

All I can say is that this isn’t surprising, and I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg for the dirt that is going to come out on Senator McCain.

However, keep in mind that the happenings of the Senate can be extremely ugly. I don’t know of any members of Congress who are 100% clean, so that means that for every piece of dirt that they have on McCain, there is probably something on the Democrats. The problem for McCain, however, is that Clinton and Obama are fresh to the Senate, whereas McCain has a long record with many enemies.

Don’t be surprised if you see accusations arise from things that happened 10 years or more ago.

Again, its going to get ugly.

There are a few things that I’ve always found fascinating about Wisconsin campaign politics. First, pretty much anyone can vote. Wisconsin is a state where you don’t need a photo ID, and something as simple as a piece of mail or a friend verifying that you live somewhere will usually get you a ballot. But second, in Wisconsin you can vote in any Primary that you want. What does this mean? There are a lot of Republicans who might be trying to rain on Barack Obama’s parade today:

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Blog:

Huckabee supporter crosses over

By Crocker Stephenson

Tuesday, Feb 19 2008, 11:02 AM

Mike Burlingame, a 48-year-old corrections officer, is a Mike Huckabee supporter who voted for Hillary Clinton at Lincoln Elementary School in Cudahy.

Here’s his reasoning: He really doesn’t want Barack Obama. He thinks his vote would be wasted on Huckabee, so he’s crossing over and voting for Clinton though he plans to vote for McCain in November.

Bottom line: “I want to knock Obama out.”

Burlingame said the last Republican he voted for in a presidential race was Ronald Reagan.

Now to the surprise of many, this isn’t something that is going to be isolated to a few people. There have been many Republicans in Wisconsin, primarily those who aren’t comfortable with John McCain yet, and I guess a Huckabee supporter or two, who see this as an opportunity to make their vote count and make it one hell of a race for the GOP at the same time.

Many Wisconsin Republicans, as well as many others across the country see that Barack Obama would be a serious threat for John McCain, simply because he can reach out to the young voters, actually get the them to turn out, as well as take a good stake of the independent vote away from McCain.

How do Wisconsin Republicans chose to handle this one… vote for Hillary. I can’t say its what I would do, but you cant hate them for shaking it up a bit.

Cheers to Wisconsin Republicans for making this race even more exciting!

…Though I do find it odd that a Huckabee supporter is crossing over… its not like Huckabee is leading in Wisconsin polls…

I love the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, they always have a creative way of not taking the opportunity to state or analyze the obvious:

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Blog:

Huckabee pressing for Tuesday upset

By Dave Umhoefer

Monday, Feb 18 2008, 05:28 PM

Mike Huckabee’s last stand on his nine-city Wisconsin winter wonderland tour came this afternoon in Appleton, where the Republican told reporters the state could “shock the world” in Tuesday’s voting.

“If Wisconsin comes forward in good numbers for me, it changes the dynamics of the race,” Huckabee said at a local bar and ballroom before addressing about 250 supporters.

He’s heading back to Little Rock, Ark., to watch the Wisconsin primary election results on Tuesday.

Umm… if he’s really pressing for a Tuesday upset, wouldn’t he at least take the time to stay in Wisconsin to watch the results roll in? Just get out of the race already!

I’m sure by now all of you have heard about Mike Huckabee’s “work trip” to the Cayman Islands, for what he is calling a “paid speaking gig.”

While I’ve seen a lot of people in the blogosphere covering this story, I haven’t seen too many people asking questions about the legitimacy and/or legality of this trip. What will he be speaking about? In what capacity? Though this seems irrelevant, depending on how this trip was set up, there should be a few red flags raised.

If he is speaking as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States and getting paid, regardless of its location, that should be considered a campaign event. If it turns out to be a speaking event that is centered around his candidacy, those funds that are generated should be reported and should go directly into his campaign. Should this not happen, this means that any candidate could use their “in the race” status to travel the globe, speaking for any amount of money, from any source and use those proceeds to line their pockets, without any detailed disclosure.
What’s even more concerning to me is the fact that he’s going to the Cayman Islands, a place that is known by many to be a tax haven for American executives who want to stash their money away so the government can’t see it. I’d hate to think that now the Cayman Islands is becoming a pocket-stuffing treasure chest for candidates who are all about themselves and see an easy opportunity.

Looking at a Cayman Island’s newspaper that is part of the event, the information about Mike Huckabee reads as follows:

Mr. Mike Huckabee will be the keynote speaker for the Young Caymanian Leadership Awards on 16 February at The Ritz–Carlton, Grand Cayman.

The United States presidential candidate has been featured recently on all the major television networks and is quickly gaining popularity as a potential president of the United States.

Should Mike Huckabee be able to use these funds to pay his mortgage, buy himself a car, etc, he would be in violation of FEC rules had the event happened on US soil. This should be something that should be investigated the Federal Elections Commission so precedent can be set for future election cycles.

While this might be an honest event, I cant help but wonder if this is an advanced version of his infamous “second wedding Target registry” that happened following his tenure as Governor of the state of Arkansas.

Usually, what happens in Cayman stays in Cayman, but I’m hoping that there is someone there investigating this to make sure that this event, and the proceeds generated are completely legit, from non-US citizens, without any strings attached.

If these are discrepencies however, I think its quite clear why he really is staying in the race.

In the past few 24 hours, I’ve been thinking a lot about what is going to happen to this Mitt Romney blogosphere that has been growing for awhile now.

I’ve come to the conclusion, that despite the fact that Romney isn’t in the race anymore, that our input in this election is just as valuable as any. I’m hoping that many of you will continue to blog about this election, and if you are, I’m hoping that we can work together to make our blogs more popular, thus getting our message out further.

With that, step one of this process is going to be ensuring that everyone who is going to continue blogging throughout this election is on as many blogrolls as possible. For anyone who is interested in joining my blogroll, please email me at blog@dcrepublican.com. All I ask is that you return the favor and add me to yours.

I’m also hopeful that the owners of PlanetRomney and BlogsforMitt keep those sites up. We had a great candidate, we have great insights and ideas, so its extremely important that we do what we can to let others see those. John McCain knows that if he going to capture the conservative base, he is going to have to accept some of the issues that we value. Let’s use this network we’ve built to spark this discussion.

I’ve cleared my blogroll so that only those who plan on continuing will be part of it. So, if you’re interested, email me at blog@dcrepublican.com .

Remember that while we don’t have our candidate, we definitely have our ideas. At the end of the day, its the ideas that wont shift with the political landscape.

If you’re not a Romney blogger, but are going to be covering the 2008 election on your blog, don’t hesitate to email me either, the more we can help each other out, the better we’ll be.

Below are some of the latest comments from the Mitt Romney Facebook page from members on his suspension of the race:

“I am so disappointed you dropped out of the race, but i was truly touched by your unwavering dedication to this country. I support you and will continue to support your ideas and i hope you have the chance to contribute more to this country. Romney 2012!”

“If you are VP I will vote for McCain–only because you are on the ticket!, 2012″

“Honorable speech Mitt. And I’m glad I can say I was in the front row for it at CPAC. Don’t go away. You’re the best man for the job. If McCain offers it, I hope to see you as our VP. With some hesitation I’ll rally to McCain’s camp and vote for a Republican, instead of voting against a Democrat.”

“Your a good man. It’s nice to see a politician who thinks of the nation before himself and prove it, instead of claiming they do.”

“I think it is possible Mitt comes back. If Huckabee drops, and if people continue to boo mccain and give him no respect, assuming it is not too late, Mitt can come BACK! Afterall, his candidacy is only SUSPENDED, not dropped. This is simply what was necessary for mitt to do in order to fake people out –and get huck to drop too– so that he can come back in when the conservatives call out for him loud finally!”

“You will never understand how many people’s lives you changed. Please don’t give up the good fight. Don’t get tarnished by politics and keep the high road. Your volunteers are ready to start planning for 2012 when you give us the heads up!”

“As much as I hate Mccain, I think your endorsement of him would go a long ways, even towards securing a VP spot. Mccain has all the national security strengths, which we would all agree is the plus side to mccain, with that being his strongpoint. Where he is lost, is our economy. With you onboard as a VP, you would be able to sure up our economy, while at the same time gaining some invaluable knowledge from mccain in national security issues. That ticket would be one the republican party could all rally around, and you would set yourself up with a sure shot at the presidency in 2012. Despite your disagreements, endorsing mccain seems like the best option for this country, but also for your future in politics. You’ve still got all our support, and you are still heading to the White House sooner or later. MITT ‘12!!”

“I completely support Mitt’s decision, and in 2012 he will come out even stronger and more on top of his game. In the mean time we must all stand behind him and show our support. Go Team Romney GO :)!”

While people are obviously disappointed with his decision, there are two themes that seem to be constant. One, he will be John McCain’s VP nominee. Two, he will run again for President in 2012.

Both seem entirely possible to me, though I think that the 2012 pitch might be more realistic at this time.

Update: Keeping my fingers crossed for a McCain/Romney ticket! There is still a lot of time to join forces with all the former candidates and push forward to make this happen. This can be done in the blogosphere! Anyone interested, please read: http://dcrepublican.com/2008/02/08/attention-mitt-romney-bloggers/ 

You are invited to join Presidential Candidate

Governor Mike Huckabee

Saturday, February 9th, 2008 at 12:00 Noon

in the

Stamp Student Union Building

(Located at the Intersection of Campus Drive and Union Lane)

on the campus of the

University of Maryland, College Park

RSVP to

Robert.Kuykendall@explorehuckabee.com

or

(515) 473-8298