[Carry_Okie]

My2Cents: "You can't fight trench warfare from an ivory tower."

You can't fight any kind of war by giving in, especially to a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The only reason you make the distinctions between an "ivory tower" conservative is that you don't understand how conservative principles can be successfully sold to swing constituencies.

Ignorance does not constitute a case.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Don't mean to hijack this thread but there is an interesting article here.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/963761/posts

[My2Cents]

Whatever. If you think you can package the pure conservative message in a way that will change hearts and minds, more power to you. I have yet to see a really good example of this, but no one can fault you for trying. I'm simply saying that there is a pragmatic need to keep the Democrats -- the embodiment of evil -- out of power. In some areas of the country, a "pure" conservative message isn't a winner; in some places it is. But look at the Calif. Governor's race. The two "pure" conservatives, Simon and McClintock, together, amount to 14% of the support. 14%!! It's still early, and one of them might break out and make a race of it, but the "pure" message of conservatism doesn't resonate here. If that means we have to get behind a guy we agree with 50% of the time in order to keep another guy out office we agree with 0% of the time, that's the reality and we need to accept it. Falling on our swords in a noble effort to keep ourselves "true" to the "pure faith" has no merit when the state is going down the tubes.

I repeat something I've said elsewhere: folks need to wake up and realize that "RINOs" are not the real enemy.