Over the course of the next few days conservatives will gather in Washington for CPAC -- the Conservative Political Action Conference. Expect more attendees than last year’s record turnout – The Washington Times reports that registration is up 20 percent – and prepare for more passion from them. This demo is particularly fed up with the incompetence of government, and more jubilation as they see this as an opportunity to take back control of congress.

But a conference, summit, or large gathering in Washington or elsewhere does not a majority make. While speeches, doctrine and official statements might be helpful if they encourage Republican office-holders to stay within the guard rails of responsible conduct, words are nothing without real action.

While you will hear the right speak of a dysfunctional Washington amid calls for a more effective and responsible government, don’t be fooled. Big, powerful government is intoxicating -- even to Republicans. Many modern day GOP-ers believe that they can manage the gigantic welfare state in a "smarter" way using private sector techniques. This is wrong, and strays far from true conservatism.

To really embrace conservatism, over the next three days, weeks, months and years, the right must address and implement a plan to influence the culture. Waging battles over health care, climate change and taxes are acceptable, but they will be short lived. The real fight must be to win the all encompassing, larger war with the left over the cultural the permeates our nation. If we cede this ground, there is nothing left to fight for.

Modern day culture has become so coarse because it is largely driven by the left. They rule the trifecta of cultural influence: the media, academia and entertainment. Americans are lonely. They are seeking some kind of meaning outside of themselves, and the culture does not provide it. It provides materialism, superficiality, and general diversions from life but not significant meaning. That is why a Republican agenda based on materialism (“Give me my damn tax cut,” will prove fruitless and unsustainable). It is also why there is currently a general disgust for both political parties.

This is a profound difference from 50 years ago when churches, local communities, and other healthy, thriving private institutions provided significant meaning to peoples' lives. That was a time when those institutions were healthier, and played more significant roles in the lives of citizens. It was where Americans found meaning and identity. It was also a time when it would have been far less likely that people would have permitted government encroachment in the private realm. As these local institutions have atrophied, government has grown.

If the right wants to protect a "private realm," that is, a part of our society that remains private, where WE make decisions and where the government is not welcome, then that private realm must be filled with more meaning and cultural significance than it is now. Currently, there is no urgency to protect us from a government that reaches deeper and deeper into our private lives. Why? Because our nation’s private realm is populated with greedy and rapacious money grubbers, elites who are profoundly warped, trashy icons, and other human low-lives.

Historically, during the early Middle Ages, when the Catholic Church was a profoundly spiritual institution, governments in Europe would never have considered encroaching on their realm. The assault on the Church that occurred during the Reformation only happened after the Church had made significant errors and sent the clear message that they were primarily driven by power and property, not by a spiritual mission. In short, the private realm must be worth protecting from government encroachment, or it will happen again.

As I have said many times before, conservatives need to show that they honor those on the right who jump into the cultural realm. Instead of honoring some Senator from the South at their annual galas, they should honor the author, the filmmaker, the head of the foundation, the professor -- those who are pushing back on the dominant liberal culture in a non-political way.

More than showing that they value these things, the right needs to act. Conservatives need to start think tanks that think about more than short-term legislation, create their own film studios, start publishing houses that publish conservative novels not just political books, take over museum boards or start their own museums, etc. Conservative politicians and policymakers need to support all this by going after liberal cultural institutions like universities. They need to hold hearings on how they waste money and how bizarre the curriculum is. But, the politicians should be in the supporting roles, not the main actors in a cultural revival. It is We the People who make up the movement that must invoke real change.

Liberalism is the default mode of our cultural society. If conservatism doesn’t seek ways to influence the direction of our society and connect in emotional and meaningful ways culturally, it will rightfully wither away. An agenda based on materialism (in other words: “show me the money”) - is insufficient. Conservatism can -- and must -- reach higher.

The Democratic Party is appearing increasingly unglued, its members at war with one another. And last night's State of the Union address is unlikely to restore President Obama to his previous rock star status. While the left experiences the political equivalent of a nervous breakdown, the badly bruised Republican Party is rising. As many begin to look to the right and its candidates for answers, the GOP must use caution as it seeks to regain power. Trying to orchestrate a major reinvention would be a big mistake.

Despite the resurgence, there's no question that the right suffers from a leadership vacuum. Still, this gaping hole should not be a cause for concern. Contrary to the beliefs of insiders and political enthusiasts, the right does not need a Sherpa, a Ronald Reagan resurrected from the dead, a new savior - yet.

By anointing a figurehead and potential front-runner in 2012, the result is a person thrust into a spotlight and subjected to immeasurable scrutiny. It also gives the opposition a target that would put this rising star on three years of defensive publicity. Then, factor in the Tantaros Rule: Any person who has tried and failed to run for the office of the President or has been floated as a contender should immediately be disqualified. You know who they are.

Though the next great hope for the right has not been revealed, there is no rush. With many beginning to whisper about South Dakota Sen. John Thune and others, the best thing the right can do for their future is not mention their names.

When it comes to policy, Republicans don't need a dusted off, refigured version of the Contract With America or a nationalized party platform that has Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's seal of approval.

Why roll out a counteragenda when there is no one to implement it? Democrats have total control. Further, why would the right want to nationalize an election? It clearly has been nationalized by the discontent for the other party.

The agenda of the other side is so terrible that Republicans don't need a counterpoint or some savior to lead the party out of the dark. The GOP has taken off the blindfold. Democrats have proven legally blind. Big difference.

Read more here:

As we celebrate Christmas and approach the end of 2009, current polling shows that an overwhelmingly frustrated majority of Americans believe that the nation is on the wrong track. But this holiday season, notwithstanding the misdirection and dysfunction in Washington and beyond, we're still blessed to live in the greatest country in the world. There are many reasons to give thanks.

Read more here:

Another week, another resuscitated debate on who is the better Republican. A moot, unproductive exercise in GOP digression, compliments of the mainstream media.  The party is starting to look like Statler and Waldorf, the two old muppets who bicker in the balcony.

 

It all started on May 10^th when CBS’ Bob Schieffer brought a popular topic: the Republican Party's future by asking Dick Cheney:

 

"Rush Limbaugh said the other day that the party would probably be better off if Colin Powell left and just became a Democrat. Colin Powell said Republicans would be better off if they didn't have Rush Limbaugh out speaking for them. Where do you come down [on this]?"

 

"Well, if I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I'd go with Rush Limbaugh, I think," Cheney replied. "I think my take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn't know he was still a Republican."

This comment prompted the progressives to go wild.  Robert Gibbs was all smiles that day at the White House press briefing when he was asked to comment on the opposing side's squabble. And I, like many Republicans, popped three Tums.

This past Sunday, Schieffer was at it again, this time with Powell.

 

“Rush will not get his wish, and Mr. Cheney was misinformed. I am still a Republican,” Powell insisted prompting headlines across the country fueling round two of the Cheney – Powell mano a mano.

 

After Democrats suffered their worst week to date last week with Pelosi lying to Congress, insulting the CIA and Obama getting rudely rebuffed on funding by members of his own party for not having a plan to close Gitmo, the media had to do something to change the topic.  What better strategy than to re-start the Republican food fight on party loyalty between Cheney, Powell (and hopefully Rove, Rush, Newt, and whoever else is foolish enough to bite)?

 

But these guys are hardly fools. They are extremely smart men. And they should know better to deflect and ignore such trickery.  When have you ever heard a show host ask Harry Reid who’s the better Democrat: Pelosi or Hillary Clinton? Nothing delights the left more than to be able to run headlines like: “Cheney and Powell Go to War,” “Powell Fires Back and Limbaugh and Cheney” and “Cheney Powell Feud Continues." It's also in their benefit to take someone as popular as Powell, and pit him against someone as unpopular as Cheney, especially when the former VP has recently been so vocal.

 

The party would be well served to take a cue from Cheney's daughter Lynne, who has also been outspoken. She refuses to answer any loaded question, and goes a step further by calling out the interviewer on their bias (she called Anderson Cooper's questions "highly irresponsible"), citing that their premise is misguided or calling them out for "conflating things that aren't conflated." It's a masterful display of shrewdness and staying on message despite the efforts of the left wing press.

 

With national security on the front burner, a screaming match over whose red stripes shine brighter is an unnecessary diversion.  Both Cheney and Powell care about the future of the party, and though Powell temporarily lost his mind and endorsed Obama, we should embrace his advice to help get the right back on track and away from an insular, exclusive and bullish posture.

 

Having a war hero and former Vice President hash it out in the press will not move the party forward. It’s a distraction from the real issues of the day and prompts an internal and external rift that invokes GOPers to shoot into the tent instead of outwards. What unites us is greater than what divides us. It’s time to stop taking the bait.

 

A few Republican familiar faces embarked on a listening tour over the weekend. Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor held a town-hall style meeting at a restaurant in Virginia — kicking off the first meeting of the GOP group National Council for a New America which was created to rebrand the party’s image.

While this sounds nice, a listening tour is by definition a leadership vacuum. The GOP didn’t lose in wide margins this past election because we didn’t listen. We lost because we failed to lead. We acted like Democrats: borrowing and spending, and ultimately abandoning our core principles—fiscal discipline being first and foremost. And we heard the disgust of the voters on November 3.

The good news is Democrats were declared wounded and in critical condition after the 2004 election cycle and came back only four years later (arguably the shift began with the 2006 midterms). The GOP has rebounded before. The Reagan revolution revitalized Republicans almost a decade after Nixon.

The bad news is that the right is lost and lifeless because we failed to communicate a vision and plan to make it happen; this challenge still lingers. The party suffered from message constipation, used an outdated playbook and the regurgitated talking points of the last 8 years. Democrats, though misguided, at least appeared to have noble goals:  Everyone deserves a home — even if they can’t afford it! We’ll make decisions for you and your family! Free health care for everyone!

“Gimmie my damn tax cut” while inspiring and intellectually honest, isn’t the foundation upon which we should build our comeback. Tax cuts are a tactic, not an overarching theme. The benefits of a smaller government are an inspiring narrative but were tough to articulate in 2008 because of our behavior.

Now the Obama administration is making it their mission to desperately butt into the lives of individuals while simultaneously causing damage to the long-term economic health of our nation. The Republican Party should be able to coalesce around a cogent rebuttal but we haven’t a leader to line up behind. The Bush brand is what handed the government over to the opposition. Translation: Jeb Bush is not our messenger. No Bush is, or any old hand from his payroll.

Ten years ago, Barack Obama wasn’t a national figure. The next leader of the party has yet to emerge. Until then the tired faces of the party’s past will not do. We need a fresh figure that embraces our core conservative principles but also maintains a big tent mentality. One who focuses on the next generation – my generation – and like Reagan can motivate by reason and persuade through emotion. One who recognizes that what unites us is much greater than what divides us.

The party will re-emerge stronger, more viable and pronounced as a force. It’s just a matter of time. But we must be willing to give the party the purging it so desperately deserves. We hear the concerns of the country loud and clear. It’s time to lead, not listen.

Looks like a life devoid of romance has taken a toll on Meghan McCain. Last week she was complaining she couldn't get a date. This week, in a new blog post for the Daily Beast, McCain calls President Obama “the hippest politician around” and blasts conservative author Ann Coulter for helping to “perpetuate negative stereotypes” about Republican women. “I straight up don’t understand this woman or her popularity,” says McCain. “I find her offensive, radical, insulting, and confusing all at the same time.”

Remind me again what Meghan McCain has done besides be born to her finger in the wind, fair weather Republican father? Insulting and confusing are words typically used to describe John McCain’s most recent pander to the right for the Presidency, not Coulter's conservative composition.

Sure Coulter is controversial, outspoken and sometimes abrasive. She gets people thinking and talking. And often times she’s on point. It’s what she does best.  If she were a man -- and a liberal -- she’d be revered. In fact, she’d be Rahm Emanuel, minus the fish FedEx incident and ballerina stint. (Ann’s too tall to be a dancer, anyway, and likely towers over the slight frame of the White House Chief of Staff. I personally would rather see her delivering punches than pirouettes any day.)

“Maybe her popularity stems from the fact that watching her is sometimes like watching a train wreck,” McCain says.

When most Republicans think about her father voting against the Bush tax cuts, pushing amnesty for illegal immigrants, enacting McCain Feingold, getting behind cap and trade, visions of train wrecks dance in our heads. In fact, the last two years of her father’s Presidential campaign was one massive train wreck that enabled our country to elect the “hippest politician around.”

Hip. Right. Just ask the markets how hip he is.

She concedes that Coulter seems to be followed by a “cult that cannot be denied,” and was a popular headliner at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, but adds that “when your competition is a teenager who has a dream about the Republican Party and Stephen Baldwin, it’s not really saying that much.”

Don’t get me started on her father’s competition for the Republican nomination. Those living in glass Straight Talk Express buses...

Though McCain argues she is only trying to help get more young people involved in the Republican Party and pundits like Coulter stifle their participation, it makes me wonder why she isn't going after the GOP establishment instead of entertainers? Coulter, like Rush Limbaugh, is not the head of the Republican Party or responsible for mobilizing the youth vote. Contentious or not, Limbaugh and Coulter have been consistent in their views which is more than I can say for the Republican Party.  The only thing the GOP has been consistent about in recent memory is consistently forgetting our principles and how to communicate them to the country. That is a turn off to any age group, young or old.

If Meghan McCain were serious about inspiring an influx of gen X and Yers, why not rage against the out of touch elected officials in Washington who've ran the GOP into the ground and still struggle with a cogent message? They've dropped the ball when it comes to communication with youth, Hispanics and women to name a few.  This makes me think McCain's rant is not only misguided and poorly thought out, but also highly personal.  Frankly as a young Republican myself, a party and politician standing on principle -- not pop culture -- is more attractive than any vapid cult of personality candidate who gets shout outs at the MTV awards. Until we figure out what we stand for, some new ideas, and a fresh way of articulating those themes we won't be attracting any new voters, Coulter or not.

Chances are Ann likely loves the attention as she’s trying to sell her new book, and Meghan apparently is trying to win favor with Daily Beast founder Tina Brown and her in-crowd. That’s the problem with the McCain family: they are more concerned with being popular than they are about being right. Pun intended.

Next week the Republican National Committee's 138 members have a very easy choice on their hands: pick the same, status quo snooze of a candidate for Chairman or pick someone who gets it and who is cognizant of the fact that this party needs to turn the page. We need a leader who understands our many mistakes and has the courage to fix, not repeat them.  Michael Steele is that guy.
 
He's part of what I like to call the new guard. A generation of Republicans who understand that being close-minded, pushy and mean isn't the way to our party's expansion and future victories. He's the softer side of the Republican Party. That doesn't mean he's squishy on the issues. Though he's not as conservative as I would like, Steele doesn't believe we need to crucify or ostracize those who might disagree with us from time to time on some topics, but he knows when to get tough. 
 
Besides being extremely endearing, Steele is also very no-nonsense. You won't find him resuscitating old talking points or suffering from the Bush era's communication constipation. He's extremely telegenic and thoroughly grasps the fact that the GOP is on the verge of extinction and will be swallowed in a tidal wave of democratic rule for decades if we continue to resist change and refuse to modernize our message.
 
The fact that he represents diversity is a huge plus. But let me clear: I'm not supporting Steele because he's a black guy who happens to be smart. I'm supporting him because he's a smart guy who just so happens to be black. I'd support Steele if he were white, Indian, Chinese, a woman (you get the drift.) I just like the guy. And you should, too.

Win or lose on Election Day, one truth is absolute: The Republican Party needs a rebirth. I'm not talking about a few deep breaths, a reboot, or even a makeover; I'm proposing one giant housecleaning.  
 
Our identity is lost. When it comes to fresh ideas, we're bankrupt. Our strategies are stale, our talking points robotic and regurgitated, and our direction unclear. We've forgotten how to communicate with the American people. Our message is adrift and our messenger-in-chief, George W. Bush, is bloody and badly bruised. Scratch that: We don't even have a messenger (thank God for Rush Limbaugh, our wise political sherpa).
 
The future of the Republican Party depends on an Obama victory.  There, I've said it. I waited this entire cycle to express my concern and I'm glad I did because now, more than ever, I believe my hypothesis to be true. Call it tough love, call it treason; I call it the truth.
 
The campaign of John McCain has only solidified my argument. From day one it has struggled to find a clear and rationally persuasive theme.  It has operated using an outdated playbook that focuses on personal associations (bafflingly, even in the throes of an economic meltdown).  These moves worked in 2004, but to take one's eyes of the ball—the economy—for one moment in this election was his gravest error. 
 
Sadly, the campaign has operated with gimmicky stunts and spoken with a snarky tone and the most stomach-churning of sarcasm. What did we expect? McCain's advisors are Bush's old guards. They're tired, divorced from reality, and devoid of creativity.  They failed to capitalize on McCain's strengths and grossly mismanaged Palin.
 
I find it all too perfect that it took a plumber to unclog the McCain machine's message constipation. Joe may have helped in the short term, but the need for major renovations remains.  And here's how we'll do it:
 
As my Greek father always says: "The fish stinks from the head." If the Republican party is the stinky fish, then George Bush is its head.  The nation doesn't have faith in how our party governs, thanks to its management – or perceived mismanagement – of Katrina and the war in Iraq. Somehow, we got the black eye from a housing crisis that was caused by the Democrats' belief that every man, woman, child, dog, cat and goldfish has a right to a home, whether they can afford one or not.  How did we get this black eye? Because we are the party in power – and the head stinks … at communicating. Failing to correct the record would have been bad enough.  But our inability to correct the record was a failure of monumental proportions.  
 
The hybrid, hapless Bush/McCain operation isn't the only case for reform. Congressional Republicans are equally as guilty for our demise. To turn the ship around, Congress should be our starting point.  All bridges to nowhere, support for bloated spending bills, entitlement expansion and unethical practices must be replaced with fiscal responsibility, a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and a one-strike-and-you're-out mantra. Yes, Senators Stevens, Craig and Vitter: I'm talking to you.
 
With McCain as President or back in the Senate, The Grand Old Party needs a new attitude, a new guard, and a mobilization of the next generation. We must repackage our core values and ideals of limited government, fiscal discipline and personal responsibility.  Into this platform, we must incorporate new planks on alternative energy and rising college tuition costs.  And we must grow the cajones to take on retirement security. 
 
Our agenda should involve reviving seductive issues like medical malpractice and American exceptionalism in education.  We must churn out the best, most educated workforce in the world, but not through greater federal involvement and tired singsong saw of mo' money, mo' money.  It is also critical that we expand our outreach and invest in talent recruitment to harvest a new crop of diverse candidates to seek office. The party of the old, white male needs to finally be over – so over.
 
Republicans, if we lose this election we cannot run off and skulk. We must fight (much harder than we are fighting today) for what we believe, and be vigilant and focused on holding the Democrats accountable.
 
Our nation will suffer under the trio of doom: Pelosi, Reid and Obama. Their incompetence will be showcased very quickly to the electorate and because of it Republicans will re-emerge stronger than ever in four years. I've never been one to believe we must lose an election in order to win, but only if we recalibrate and regenerate will we have a chance to rise again and lead this great nation.
 
To be clear this is not an endorsement of Barack Obama. This is recognizing an opportunity for our party. I believe Senator Obama is troublingly unqualified.  His punitive wealth-transfer dogma will lead our country into further economic ruin and his ingenuous, popularity-contest approach to foreign policy will jeopardize our global gravitas.
 
John McCain is tested and ready, and though I suspect he'd have a challenging time governing as President while simultaneously leading the Republican Party further into the wilderness, he is a much more comforting and sensible option.
 
The GOP has suffered from adversity, but lucky for us, adversity never leaves people where it finds them. It's up to us to control our fate.  Now is the time to conduct an honest self-evaluation on the state of our union and stand ready to perform significant alterations, win or lose the White House.
 
The right's been getting it wrong. An Obama Presidency presents us with a chance to change, not our values, but our behavior and the way we govern. It's up to us to have the courage to do it.
 
Get ready. A renaissance is in order. 
 

The Democrats had an historic moment last night. But today Republicans dunked the ball right over their heads, stealing their thunder and effectively ripping the change mantra right out of the Obama - Biden ticket's clutches with the selection of Sarah Palin as the running mate for Senator John McCain.

The pick is brilliant. Palin is smart, successful, youthful and irreverent; the complete opposite of Obama's choice for VP, Joe Biden, a Washington insider. Democrats will try and say she is unexperienced. I say, let them try. Their top of the ticket is anything but seasoned. Palin presents another challenge for Democrats: it's very tough to go negative on a competent, popular woman. Plus the media has been accused of using sexism to sink Clinton's bid making the press very sensitive to any criticism. Any hints of sexism this time around will be seized on and aggressively shot down.

Her resume is impressive: she's run against corruption in her state and she embodies the American woman: a mother, a professional, a leader, trying to balance work and family with the pressures of every day. She can talk about the challenges of raising five kids with the girls and talk fishing with the boys. With a handicapped son she's had to be stronger than most mothers. I know this because my mother raised my brother, an autistic child. I believe these truly special children are given to truly special people.

She represents the future of the Republican party. A pioneer and a role model who can make conservatism cool again. She's solidly pro-life and pro-growth, without the staid, stuffy image the GOP has long carried. Palin will help solidify conservative support behind McCain while at the same time reinforce his Maverick, un-cola, un-Bush reputation. Talk about firing on all cylinders.

With millions of disaffected female voters, thanks to the failed Presidential bid of Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin presents a tremendous opportunity for Republicans. Obama is only leading McCain with women voters by a few points, when he should be far ahead with the colossal constituency that is a majority in our country.

While Democrats try to readjust their dropped jaws they should also cover their heads. The glass ceiling has just been shattered.

John McCain has a new ad. Time magazine's site has the write up:

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/07/mccains_summer_of_love_strateg.html

It highlights his service and his courage, which are not up for debate, no matter how many stars you have. And if you want to debate it you probably aren't going to vote for him anyway. But why does it open with scenes from the 60's? Nobody wants to go back to the Vietnam era. Plus ex-hippies are paying the same amount for gas at the pump as everyone else, and they are paying taxes at the same rates. This is evidence Republicans don't know what to run on this cycle. They keep talking about the past when the public, with its high energy costs and and declining home values, will in all likelihood focus on the present. Past records, past accomplishments, and "Bio-tours." will not be enough.

Senator McCain needs to cut the scripted message schedule and bio-rollout, and tell us what his top initiatives will be as President. Stick to this message and do not veer from it until Election Day.

McCain is the best candidate for President, he just needs to tell everyone why.