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I think Schmidt will win, but it won't be by as much as some expect. That would probably be the best result. If Schmidt produces a poor showing it opens the way for a conservative to defeat her in the 2006 primary.

It's disgraceful that the most conservative district in the state can't do better than force us to choose between two tax-hikers. I expect the Democrats to nominate that kind of candidate, but I have higher hopes for Republicans.

I hope it goes down like you say it will. We CANNOT let Hackett win, because it will spur an avalanche of Dems posing as moderates getting into office on the back of a President they actually despire.

It's disgraceful that the most conservative district in the state can't do better than force us to choose between two tax-hikers

Excuse me while I put my flak jacket on first.... But I think that there actually do need to be some tax hikes put in place. The federal budget has gone from an $80 billion surplus in 2000 to a $567 billion dollar deficit in 2004. 2005 is still looking to turn in a $500 billion deficit. That's an improvement, but not much of one. If you eliminated all nondefense, non homeland security discretionary spending, you'd still have a $150 billion deficit for 2004. You'd have to cut medicare spending in half or eliminate medicaid to balance the budget. Bush's plan never gets us closer than a $474 billion deficit, according to CBO's latest projections. That's PATHETIC.

Spending needs to be cut back and controlled more carefully, but it won't be enough - with the economy strong, we should be able to pull in enough taxes to cover ourselves and stop borrowing from China. What happened to fiscal conservatives who cared about this?