I'm just ticked and frustrated because two of the most ethical, conservative politicians in the country - PA Sen. Rick Santorum and House Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick -- lost on Tuesday.
Not because they were "RHINO's" like you said.
In fact, let me ask you why these good conservatives lost.
Fitzpatrick, who liked to call himself "independant" over GWB, is staunchly pro-life, a strick constructionist judicially, a married father of six, devoutly Catholic, strongly for low taxes, etc.
And this district has a Republican voter registration edge, 186,000 (R) to about 158,000 (D) !!!
I further believe this election puts the lie to the old Tip O'Neill cliche that "all politics are local", because they aren't.
The Dems NATIONALIZED this election by creating the perception of an endless Iraq war, corruption and big spending, and lack of GOP leadership.
And you know what. There's some truth to all those accusations, I'm afraid to say.
And I am a conservative through and through, to the point I go into depressions whenever a conservative Republican loses an election.
I've barely eaten since Tuesday, and I have a hard time sleeping.
The conservatives who lost did so largely because the PRESSident cherry picked what the conservatives said and did so that very little good came through to the public.
Where the liberals get a free pass to the PRESSidential podium to say most anything they wish (which the PRESSident will then edit out the booboos), conservatives get cut and pasted at their worse.
Also, most of the time, conservatives get some PRESSidental media babe or dude paraphrasing what they said or did, particularly if it was something good. Which means the good things don't get a conservative face, they get a PRESSidential face. When liberals do something good, their own words and speech are put out, which gives them a face and PRESSidential media recognition.
Solutions? The PRESSidential media is a tough nut to crack. It doesn't help things that so many conservative politicians are virtual computer and web illiterates when it comes understanding how to to utilize these growing alternative resources to get their words and actions out. Clearly, Mr Dean and the Dems have something going here, at least as far as keeping in contact with and motivating their far left base...
The Freepers (and their cousins) are fine and dandy resources. However, they (or something like it) isn't utilized by the party or conservative politicians to any significant degree as a means to access and motivate their base.