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Inquiring minds want to know how the Republican Party can move away from its base.

With out the base there is no Republican party.

These stories about movement this way or that is no better than those anyone would find about Republicans in The New York Times, The Nation, The New Republic or the LAT.

In fact, many of these stories are nothing more than planted falsehoods by the kook fringe, with an agenda of trying to discourage Conservatives.

I claim to be conservative in thought and I claim to be a Republican for now.

The only way the Republican Party is going to move anywhere is if I stand idly by and let the current smucks calling themselves leaders make all the decisions with out my thunderous contribution.

The quandary with the Republican Party is that we in the base got complacent about who we let run the party.

Sorry Democrats but the Republican Party belongs to the base unlike the Democrats who belong to the Far Left Fringe.

Just the lowly opinion of a red state wannabe.

In fact, many of these stories are nothing more than planted falsehoods by the kook fringe, with an agenda of trying to discourage Conservatives.

Don't give the liberals too much credit. They, with a few exceptions, are not that smart. Most of the stories are wishful thinking stretched to fit their perception of an America yearning for a return of the glory days of Democratic leadership. We saw the same self-deluding hopefulness here last fall when people grasped every small encouraging sign as a denial of what was really happening.

What you see is the rough-and-tumble process of the party reforming itself. It is choosing what is important and what can be put on the shelf for another day. The process is messy, even brutal, but in the end it will come out with a vision of America as it should be for the next eight years. Some will be disappointed and we will lose some people but in the end we will have a general consensus of the issues the base thinks important.

Look at the issues in Presidential campaigns over the last fifty years and you will see some that flare and die out, some that are modified and some that are basic throughout. In 1968 the war was overriding but Ladybird's campaign to rid the Interstates of billboards hit bitter resistance from conservatives. Now I doubt that you could find more that a few who want billboards returned. A dozen years ago you would have been tossed overboard because, judging from your writing, you support food assistance for the needy. Welfare reform was a hot topic and zealots were rampant.

Last year at this time the common wisdom was that the Democrats had to make a good showing or they were Gone With the Whigs. This year the contentiousness and rancor are unusually sharp but I think that it is a good sign. Conservatives are none too happy with the record of this administration but they have flexed their newly found internet muscle thrice and been successful. The Swiftboat Vets, the Miers nomination and immigration reform all show the power of the grassroots. There is a disconnect on policy and practice but that is being ironed out now.

Interesting times.