[massadvj]

I don't see any viable candidate running as a 3rd party candidate. Maybe Ron Paul. But certainly not Hunter or Thompson or anyone else with mainstream credibility. Rudy's Veep will be plenty conservative, as will his stable of supporters.

You cannot change the culture by changing politics. You can only change politics by changing the culture. The culture is not conservative anymore. Period. We can lament it until we are dinosaurs, but it is a fact. All of the data out there, including and especially the 2006 election results, say so.

I am a businessman. As such, I assume the macro environment is something I cannot change. I must operate within the parameters as I find them. Most professional politicians approach their occupation this way, which is why people like Specter and Schwarzenegger have longevity whereas Santorum and Allen did not.

In my heart, I wish it were not so. But it is. The sooner we all figure out how to come to grips with it, the better. If a conservative emerges who can demonstrably beat the Dims in the general, I will rethink it. But I am convinced that will not happen.

And I will support my party's nominee whoever it is, whether I think he can win or not.

[Rick_Michael]

"The culture is not conservative anymore. Period. We can lament it until we are dinosaurs, but it is a fact. All of the data out there, including and especially the 2006 election results, say so."

Come-on, chief. The philosophy of conservatism hasn't dominated the political movement of this country for a long-time. To say we lost 2006 due to conservatism...haha. We lost primarily due to perceived corruption, Iraq, and scores of bad PR.

I could tell you right now had we not went in Iraq, kept our mouths shut a bit more, and threw-out a few bad apples before they turned moldy....ohh, and actually acted conservative *whatever that is!?*....we'd dominate the country! I have no doubt of that. Conservatism isn't the problem, it's the constant comprimising of ideals to 'praticality'. There has to be a boundary.

Ideally it's an even view among the two, but I tend to view our demise as a continual comprimise.
___________________________________________________________________
Best quote on my thoughts:
I don't know who went to this place--William Howard Taft, William Jennings Bryan, William Tell--whoever. Their spirit is dead; if they ever had one, it's gone. You're building a rat ship here. A vessel for sea-going snitches. And if you think your preparing these "minnows" for manhood, you better think again. Because I say you are killing the very spirit this institution proclaims it instills! What a sham! What kind of show are you guys puttin' on here today? I mean, the only class in this act is sittin' next to me. And I'm here to tell you, this boy's soul is in tact. It is non-negotiable. You know how I know? Because someone here--I'm not gonna say who--offered to buy it. Only Charlie here wasn't selling.....

I'm not finished! As I came in here, I heard those words...cradle of leadership. Well, when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And it has fallen here, it has fallen! Makers of men, creators of leaders, be careful what kind of leaders you're producing here. I don't know if it's the Charlie's silence here today is right or wrong; I'm no judge or jury. But I can tell you this; we won't sell anybody out to buy his future! And that, my friends, is called integrity. That's called courage. Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of. (pause) Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew. But I never took it. You know why? Because it's too damn hard. Now here's Charlie; he's come to the crossroads. And he's chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path made of principle, that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey. You hold this boy's future in your hands, committee! It's a valuable future. Believe me! Don't destroy it...protect it...embrace it. It's going to make you proud some day...I promise you.--- Scent of a Woman


Embrace conservatism!

[ellery]

I don't see any viable candidate running as a 3rd party candidate.

I didn't say it would be a viable third party candidate. I said it would be a third party candidate that would siphon off enough votes to throw the election to the donks. Given how close elections are these days, and how energized the dems are (i.e., less likely to vote third-party in '08 than we are), it wouldn't take a whole lot. And there are a LOT of social conservatives who will not vote for a pro-abortion candidate, and a LOT of libertarian conservatives who will not vote for an anti-Constitution authoritarian.

You cannot change the culture by changing politics. You can only change politics by changing the culture. The culture is not conservative anymore. Period. We can lament it until we are dinosaurs, but it is a fact. All of the data out there, including and especially the 2006 election results, say so.

First, I think most culture changes should happen via persuasion, not through government force. That said, I think your assessment is incorrect. Transient polls aside, we know from at least the past 15 years that our culture is very evenly divided. Elections may swing one way or another based on issues of the day (and I agree that many pubbies shot themselves and us in the feet over the past handful of years), but actual cultural change does not occur over the span of two or four years. It happens over generations. If 50% of American voters were culturally conservative enough to vote for W. in 2000; that has not fundamentally changed in six and a half years. People are certainly angry at republicans for their behavior (I know I am), but they're angry because Republicans departed from various conservative ideals, not because they fulfilled those ideals.