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Mistakes, distortions and outright lies appeared so frequently in media coverage of the elections of 2009 that they made accurate analysis all but impossible. The most serious of these errors built upon gross misrepresentations of the presidential election of 2008 falsehoods repeated endlessly and shamelessly enough to become enshrined in the conventional wisdom. Before this years whoppers achieve similar acceptance, its worth re-examining some of the most familiar confusions regarding the last two election cycles. LIE NUMBER ONE: By winning New York’s 23rd Congressional District, Democrats captured a seat Republicans had held without interruption since the 1850s. Nancy Pelosi herself...

There seems to be some misconception by some, especially those on the left, that the big winners in Tuesday's elections in Virginia were moderate Republicans. Let's disabuse them of that notion. The charge is usually stated as a premise in a comment along the lines of "the right wing should not celebrate too much over these results, because had the Virginia guys been conservatives, they never would have won." Then, for the chaser, they throw out the Hoffman loss in NY-23 as the example of what happens to a conservative when he dares to run for office.

Ever since the left wing captured the universities and media, putative conservatives desiring media favor and intellectual respectability have been apologizing for conservatism's most popular and effective figures. These days, they want to distance themselves from the "anger" and "extremism" of such personalities as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. What they ought to be doing instead is taking lessons from Beck as he lectures in front of a blackboard, a fitting symbol for what has gone wrong. Conservatism is rising, and we have the intellectual and historical high ground.

RUSH: I'd like to share with you what I think, my friends, are -- and it was tough to limit this to ten -- the Top Ten Republican Moderate Moments. Number ten: Newt Gingrich does a PSA on global warming with Nancy Pelosi in 2008. Number nine moderate moment in GOP history: Bush-Quayle '92. The number eight moderate moment GOP history: Dole-Kemp '96. The number seven most moderate moment in Republican history: Ford-Dole '76. Do you see a pattern here? Top ten moderate moments in Republican history number six: Jumpin' Jim Jeffords jumps from the Republican Party. Top ten moderate...

HERE'S the dirty little secret about political candidates and officeholders labeled by the mainstream media as "moderate Republicans": There's usually nothing moderate about them. Consider the case of "moderate Republican" Dede Scozzafava, the GOP nominee in an upstate congressional district's special election. Handpicked by local party pooh-bahs and supported by Beltway GOP leaders, Scozzafava is vying to replace Rep. John McHugh (R-Watertown), who resigned after accepting President Obama's nomination as Army Secretary. There's certainly no urgency to tack left. The district is as safe a Republican district as they come. The GOP has triumphed in every election there since 1871....

In the movie “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington,” the Montana Governor has a difficult time trying to pick a US Senate to appoint. He tries flipping a coin to decide. The coin lands upon its side. Picking a Senate nominee may seem like that for Republicans. The last two election cycles have not been kind to the GOP. Not only did the party lose its clear majority, but it seems in danger of losing its ability to filibuster legislation. And the 2010 cycle may not be kind to the GOP, either, given the electoral map and the need to defend...

UPDATED: Hatch says there's only one moderate Dem @ 10:20 am by Eric Zimmermann There's only one moderate left in the Democratic caucus, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said today. Appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Hatch said that since the days he entered the Senate, the parties have become more polarized and less willing to work together. "You [used to have] at least 12 conservatives that you could call conservatives on the Democratic side," Hatch said. "We probably had about 12 liberals on our side, and it was much more balanced." "Today, there's only one moderate, as I see it, real...

From one doctor to another, Melissa Clouthier to Charles Krauthammer, "People Telling Sarah Palin To Shut Up Should Shut Up": "Sarah Palin is the only politician reflecting, in plain language, the will of the American people. Charles Krauthammer believes she should 'leave the room'. He is referring, specifically, to the concept of death panels and then goes into the provision in the House Bill about end of life counseling. He then comes out against, I think, the very counseling that Sarah Palin also rejects.""Clouthier is a chiropractor who is also a conservative blogger. Krauthammer, a psychiatrist, columnist and commentator is a...

Cap And Trade Vote Shows Promise, Peril For Both Parties There Are No Permanent Majorities In America New Jersey: Can Christie Beat Corzine? New Jersey Governor's Race Preview

Senate GOP leaders worry that some of their colleagues are misplaying their hand on health care reform by suggesting that they want to kill the plan in order to hurt the president. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said last week that, if Republicans are able to stop Barack Obama on health care, “it will be his Waterloo, it will break him.”

President Obama and fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats in the House reached what one of the Democrats, Rep. Mike Ross, called a "small breakthrough" on one of 10 contentious issues that threatens to torpedo a major health care reform bill. The Blue Dogs hold a large number of seats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which canceled a vote Tuesday on health care reform legislation. Obama and seven members of the coalition agreed in principle to create what he called an independent Medicare Advisory Council, Ross said. The Arkansas Democrat thinks the council could help defray health costs and...

Moderation has acquired a bad name in certain prominent conservative precincts, which is unfortunate since it is an essential political virtue and a quintessentially conservative virtue. In a May interview, talk show host Scott Hennen asked Dick Cheney whether Arlen Specter's defection to the Democrats proved that Colin Powell was correct, that "the Republican party needs to moderate." Cheney opined that "it would be a mistake for us to moderate," tantamount to betraying fundamental conservative commitment to "the Constitution and constitutional principles" and a craven embrace of Democratic positions and ideas. Pressed to clarify his remarks a few days later...

Peter Berkowitz, who reviewed my book Liberty and Tyranny for the Weekly Standard, and did a pretty poor job of it, sees the most aggressive assault on representative and constitutional government in modern history and preaches moderation and, ultimately, inevitability. In the first sentence of his review he asserts "Moderation ... is an essential political virtue and a quintessentially conservative virtue." This is the way forward for conservatism, he insists. At no time does he define "moderation" or any governing principles, other than to misapply moderation as prudence, when prudence is, in fact, about judgment. Edmund Burke, who Berkowitz misunderstands...

Centrist House lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are working together privately on healthcare reform. The talks have been so secretive and politically sensitive that some members interviewed by The Hill refused to name other legislators involved in the bipartisan effort. Members of the centrist GOP “Tuesday Group,” the New Democrat Coalition and the 52-member Blue Dog Coalition have been discussing both the policies and politics of moving their middle-of-the-road ideas in a body of Congress usually dominated by liberal or conservative ideology. Those centrist factions are wary of the proposals their respective leaders will introduce this month. Blue...

Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004. The 21% calling themselves liberal is in line with findings throughout this decade, but is up from the 1990s. Read Full Article...

"Because I speak in civil tones, some want to try to label me a moderate," she said. "My voting record is one of the most conservative in the U.S. Senate. ... We can't expect to remain the majority party in Texas if we drive out voters that support Republican principles but might not agree on every single issue."

We're being told by an obviously biased mainstream media that the GOP is in danger of disappearing from the political scene if it doesn't "move to the center" and adopt the policies of the Democrats. Retired General Colin Powell is held up as role model for the GOP, mostly by the Democrats his views resemble. Powell and a handful of other GOP moderates claim they want a "bigger tent" and a "broader based party," but their first move is to advocate purging the present Republican ranks of social conservatives and talk show hosts. Republicans should reject their advice. The GOP...

This past Thursday, Mark Levin talked about the speeches of Obama and Cheney and then took a call from a lib, Cindy in Westchester. That call has backbencher Rod Dreher in a tither. First, here is Mark unedited, in full context: Rod's friend Connor was miffed so Rod, being the world's foremost authority on Mark Levin, penned a post entitled 'The disgusting Mark Levin' within which he wrote, "Good grief. Having spent about 15 unpleasant minutes [emphasis added mine] listening to this creep, I cannot imagine why anybody pays attention to him." Then Rod's other buddy, another bastion of the...

Despite Colin Powell's assertion that the GOP needs to become 'more moderate' to win, perhaps the General should take a cold, hard look at that's happened to the GOP over the last few years. 'Moderation' has led to abject failure.

Just Like McCain

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Republicans seeking a path out of the political wilderness are eyeing Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Mormon who's nudged the conservative stronghold in a more moderate direction on the environment and gay rights and drawn praise from President Barack Obama's campaign manager. The popular, 49-year-old Huntsman has spoken publicly of the need to open the Republican Party to a wider range of viewpoints if it is to attract younger voters. He's won praise from party elders, including 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain, who called the governor a potentially promising contender in 2012. Huntsman has...

GOP recruiters tilt toward center in 2010 races Outreach to more moderate candidates angering many in conservative base Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a moderate Republican, has found support for his Senate race from key Republicans even though another well-established candidate has stronger conservative credentials. WASHINGTON - Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh contend the Republican Party needs less moderation and more conservative backbone to win back voters who have been abandoning it in droves. Leaders of the party's 2010 election efforts are showing they don't think ideological purity is the answer. In the latest example, key Republican senators jumped this week...

In August of last year I wrote an article, "The Biggest Missing Story in Politics," which reviewed the single most important datum in the last thirteen Battleground Polls over a period stretching from early 2002 to late 2008.  The critical fact, completely ignored by almost everyone, was that in answering Question D3, which asked the respondent what he considered his ideology to be, sixty percent of the American people described themselves as "conservative" or "very conservative."  In every single Battleground Poll, conservatives vastly outnumbered not only liberals, but moderates and undecided respondents combined.  The Battleground Poll itself is a bipartisan...

This week’s endorsement of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist by senior Senate Republicans is being cheered by GOP senators as a move toward the middle. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) endorsed Crist over former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, a protégé of former Gov. Jeb Bush and a more conservative candidate. The decision by McConnell and Cornyn was the first such choice since last month’s defection of Arlen Specter to the Senate’s Democratic conference. Moderate GOP senators like Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine used that opportunity to publicly warn the...

A PROMINENT supporter of Barack Obama told a Washington audience last week that "the Republican Party is in deep trouble" and "getting smaller and smaller" because its views are not in sync with those of mainstream Americans. Republicans would do better without the "nastiness" of Rush Limbaugh or the "very polarizing" Sarah Palin, the speaker said, and they should realize that their philosophy of lower taxes and limited government has put them out of step with their fellow citizens. "Americans do want to pay taxes for services," he told his audience. "Americans are looking for more government in their life,...

The Republican Party is not an endangered species but can do a better job of outreach, recruiting candidates and getting the message out, Sen. John McCain said Sunday. In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” McCain responded to a question referring to a story in Time magazine, describing the party as “in distress.” “I probably would not go that length,” McCain said. “We all work in cycles for many years. We have seen parties down and parties up. That’s a great thing about American politics. “But having said that, do we have to do a better job of getting our...

Former Vice-President Dick Cheney told a North Dakota radio audience this week that in his opinion it would be a mistake for the struggling Republican Party to change in any fundamental way, according to a report in Politico. “I think it would be a mistake for us to moderate,” Cheney said. “This is about fundamental beliefs and values and ideas … what the role of government should be in our society, and our commitment to the Constitution and constitutional principles. “You know, when you add all those things up, the idea that we ought to moderate basically means we ought...

If there were ever a senator a party would want to show the door, it's Arlen Specter. Personally disagreeable, philosophically unmoored and fundamentally self-interested, he represents the worst of the U.S. Senate. So the collective cry of good riddance on the right that greeted his departure from the GOP is understandable. Specter joined the Republican Party in the 1960s for opportunistic reasons, and he left it last week for opportunistic reasons – a primary challenge from the talented conservative Pat Toomey that he probably wouldn't have been able to overcome. A better politician wouldn't have so lost the affection and...

In good times or bad, there's always someone willing to tell the Republican Party that the road to success is to embrace the liberal agenda. In a speech in Washington Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell joined the chorus. We hope for the sake of the country that his party doesn't listen. Mr. Powell insisted that he doesn't want the Republicans to turn into Democrats or clones of the Democrats. But it's hard to see what other space he hopes the GOP will carve out for itself given his analysis. According to press accounts, Mr. Powell argued that America...

(CNN) — Former Vice President Dick Cheney is weighing into the heated internal debate over the future of the Republican Party, declaring it would be a mistake for the GOP to "moderate." "This is about fundamental beliefs and values and ideas … what the role of government should be in our society, and our commitment to the Constitution and constitutional principles," Cheney said in an interview with North Dakota radio host Scott Hennen Thursday, according to a transcript. "You know, when you add all those things up, the idea that we ought to moderate basically means we ought to fundamentally...

Social conservatives are blasting the National Council for a New America, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) nascent effort to rebrand the Republican Party, as a misguided and weak-kneed initiative that is out of touch with the GOP rank and file. The council, unveiled last week by Cantor and Sen. John McCain, is designed to be a “forward-looking, grass-roots caucus” that formulates policy prescriptions and communicates with voters in a way that could expand the Republican ranks. In announcing the formation of the group, McCain said he hoped the group would attract moderates and “like-minded Democrats” to a series of...

Cheney to GOP: 'It would be a mistake for us to moderate' Dick Cheney did an interview today with Scott Hennen, a North Dakota radio host, whose staff sent over a transcript (after the jump), defending the Bush administration and advising the Republican Party to stay with its roots. “I think it would be a mistake for us to moderate," Cheney said. "This is about fundamental beliefs and values and ideas … what the role of government should be in our society, and our commitment to the Constitution and constitutional principles. You know, when you add all those things up,...

For those writing Republican centrism’s obituary after Arlen Specter’s party switch, holster your quills. In fact, if the next few weeks go well for the GOP, it might pave the way for a whole new chapter in the left flank of the right-leaning party. The month of May will be huge, recruiting-wise, for Senate Republicans, with decisions expected from several big-name candidates, including Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, Rep. Mark Kirk (Ill.) and possibly Rep. Mike Castle (Del.). All would instantly be formidable — with Crist and Castle favored at the outset — and all are...

Republican stalwarts are fond of recalling the 1992 Democrat National Convention, and the manner in which Bob Casey Sr., the Governor of Pennsylvania, was prevented from giving a speech on account of his strident pro-life views. Here was the incontrovertible proof that Democrats censor and oppress those who do not toe the party line. What is rarely recalled is that, four years later in the Republican National Convention, the official party policy was to avoid any mention whatsoever of the entire abortion issue. GOP candidate Bob Dole sought to sidestep controversy that party insiders feared might be overly "divisive," since...

Two recent events have served to highlight some of the problems facing the Republican Party as it gropes its way forward toward an uncertain future. The defection of Arlen Specter and the death of Jack Kemp both highlight in their own way the biggest question that will face the GOP for the foreseeable future: whether to build a majority party based on an ever-narrowing definition of who can join and receive support from the Republican Party or accept that there are different kinds of Republicans in different areas of the country who should have a say in party affairs. Arlen...

(CNN) — Meghan McCain, daughter of former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said the GOP is going to have to become more inclusive if it wants to rebuild. “I just wish that moderates like myself — more moderate Republicans and more socially liberal Republicans — weren’t looked at as, ‘Get rid of the dirty moderates. Get rid of them,’” the 24-year-old told CNN affiliate KTAR radio in a joint interview with her father. “We need to be an inclusive party. We need to be an umbrella party. We need to inspire 20-somethings, which is something the Obama campaign did very...

Moderates blame conservatives By: Lisa Lerer April 28, 2009 01:38 PM EST Two leading Republican moderates say Sen. Arlen Specter's decision to become a Democrat highlights the hostility moderates feel from an increasingly conservative GOP. “You haven't certainly heard warm encouraging words about how [the GOP] views moderates,” said Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, one of the few remaining moderate Republicans in the Senate. Snowe said the party's message has been, “Either you're with us or you’re against us.” Her frustration was shared by Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), who slammed right-wing interest groups for pushing moderates out of the party. Specter...

A quick tour through the week’s headlines suggests the Republican Party is beginning to come to terms with the last election and that consensus is emerging among GOP elites that the party needs to move away from discordant social issues. There was Sen. John McCain's daughter and his campaign manager who last week demanded that their fellow Republicans embrace same-sex marriage. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman – the most devoted modernizer among the party's 2012 hopefuls – won approving words from New York Times columnist Frank Rich for his call to downplay divisive values issues. The party’s top elected leaders in...

After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they rebelled against God and were made to wander aimlessly in the desert for 40 years on a needlessly roundabout journey to the Promised Land. God kept the coveted prize out of reach until that rebellious generation passed. Today we find an improvident Republican Party lost in the political wilderness. As the GOP seeks to find its own Promised Land – a return to majority leadership – it has, to its own detriment, rebelled against the core conservative principles solemnized within its own party platform. In a “big tent” effort to be...

The Burgers of Schilda   By David SolwayFrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, March 27, 2009 Those of us who consider ourselves moderates…are forced to confront the reality that Barack Obama is not who we thought he was.                 David Brooks, New York Times, March 2, 2009. There is an old German folktale about the burgers of Schilda who decide to build themselves a new Town Hall. It is to be an impressive structure, imposingly large, richly marmoreal and beautifully furnished. And so it turns out. But after they complete the project and gather to celebrate their handiwork, they discover that they have forgotten...

Limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, greater economic opportunity, and respect for this nation and its heritage. BY JERRY A. KANE At what point does complacency end and panic set in for the members and leaders of the Republican Party? When will they notice the empty hour glass and recognize wickedness for what it is? The hordes of satiated simpletons shouting in rhythmic cadence, “Oh we love, the O-One … Oh we love, the O-One” is not the Winkie chant of guards entering a castle in a scene from a classic fantasy film. The ill winds of the 2006 and...

...On Friday, the five Republican U.S. representatives from Virginia called on Frederick to resign, saying "it is the sentiment of the grass-roots membership of the party to move in another direction." In mounting his defense to the criticism that he mismanaged the party and is incompetent, Frederick used the same term. "I make no apologies for standing against these efforts to remove me or the changes I've made within our party to give greater authority and input to the grass roots," Frederick wrote in a letter to GOP activists this week. A year ago, Frederick did create a grass-roots uprising...

Meghan McCain responds to Laura Ingraham’s attack on her weight: Why is this topic still a socially accepted prejudice—and why in the world would a woman raise it? BY MEGHAN MCCAINRecently my not-size-0 body has come under fire again by the conservative pundit Laura Ingraham. On her radio show recently, she sarcastically commented that I was “too plus-sized to be a cast member on the television show The Real World” and needled me about my weight with a comment about Barbie's 50th anniversary. Instead of intellectually debating our ideological differences about the future of the Republican Party, Ingraham resorted to...

Meghan McCain, daughter of John, has written a column critical of Ann Coulter. Tonight she appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show to discuss the column and her efforts to push the Republican party in a more moderate direction. I don’t want to be too critical of Meghan. She’s 24, seems sincere and likable, and has the moxie to put herself out there. So let me offer a constructive suggestion: instead of telling us what you don’t like about Republicans, tell us what you do. Meghan did say that she loves the Republican party. But why? If Republicans are going to listen...

The capitulation of a cabal of Republican Senators concerning the stimulus bill is just another example of defeat by moderation. Political pundits will place blame or credit, depending on their bias, on a few Republican Senators. But they’re only the latest symptom of a long festering disease. The absence of values promotes the absence of disciple, which obviates the opportunity for concerted action in pursuit of a defined agenda. The net result is defeat for the party of moderation. The tumor need not encompass the entire body to bring trauma to the organism. For complex reasons, the media has defined...

Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said Obama, in a meeting with her on Wednesday, had persuaded her that the ultimate bill should be "in the neighborhood of $800 billion." "The president did convince me," she said, adding that she believed the two sides would reach a compromise on the Senate stimulus package on Thursday.

I think the time is right to start talking about where we, as Conservatives, go from here. I hear many of our brothers and sisters in the Conservative movement sounding pessimistic these days. While I am just as disgusted as you are over the love fest going on between the incoming administration and some of our so-called “conservative commentators”, I refuse to concede defeat simply because so many of our fellow citizens have been duped by a slick liberal marketing campaign that, far short of an ideological triumph, has been merely proof of the adage about fooling all of the...

Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) is in discussions with the Obama administration to take a Cabinet-level post — most likely secretary of the Department of Transportation, according to knowledgeable GOP sources. When reached on his cell phone, LaHood said only that Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), President-elect Obama’s incoming chief of staff, had contacted him last night. He would not discuss the details of the conversation. “It’s probably not a good idea to discuss this at this moment,” LaHood said. But one GOP source said that LaHood was engaged in talks with Emanuel about the Transportation secretary position, and the Obama transition...

To my Conservative Friends: In selecting his cabinet and staff, I have constantly hear the pundits say "President-elect Obama is going to the middle and will govern as a centrist or a moderate"... Yuck!!! I'd rather he be a unabashed liberal... This moderate stuff really ticks me off.... What is a "moderate" or an "independent"???? It sounds good right?? You can tell people that you are "open to all sides of the argument" and you "aren't tied to any ideology or person". You "look at the issue or candidate and decide on a case by case basis of what or...

RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, Chuck Hagel, who has made the decision to retire from the United States Senate, a Republican Senator from Nebraska, has taken on the leader of the conservative movement. HAGEL: Every country out there has their know-nothing party. And of course we're much educated by the great entertainers like Rush Limbaugh and others. I wish those people would run for office. They have so much to contribute and so much leadership, and they have an answer for everything, and they'd be elected overwhelmingly if Rush would run for anything or any of those people. They love just...