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This piece originally appeared in National Review. I'm amazed a liberal website saw fit to print it. Its a good overview of the Republican Party and where conservatism is headed in this decade. Will it change America? More here:

The New Republican

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus

Not bad, but it's too wordy, watered down. I was surprised to see that the author is a PR specialist. I was ready to switch my ADD attention to something else a few times.

I am agnostic on his idea of adapting a label of New Republicans. The label of "New" might indeed attract some. [*shrug*]. Win some lose some...

I liked better the affirmation of that if Dems knew to attract voters by using conservative ideas (that's what gave them their victories) - than conservatives should do the same: use conservative ideas. Sounds like a duh! moment.

Huffington is an ex-republican who would qualify as a new republican.

I suspect that Castellanos(who appears frequently on CNN as a spinner) purposely got it wrong when he says "then along came Bill Clinton"

The movement began during Reagan with the formation of the Democratic Leadership Council by Al From under the premise that running dems like Mondale and McGovern against republicans like Reagan was suicide.

Joe Lieberman was the first chairman of the DLC.

Clinton, as prez, did a lot to identify the DLC with the New Democrat label and the "third way" which led to Tony Blair, also a third wayer, being called New Labor.

Any way, the left wing blamed Clinton on NAFTA and welfare reform and gradually became opposed to the DLC, calling it the Republican Wing of the democrat party.

The final straw for the left was when the DLC co-signed the NeoCon PNAC letter to Bush urging the invasion of Iraq. This led to the attempt to unseat Joe Lieberman in the senate.

Now the DLC is trying to re-assert itself. Harold Ford, Jr, who became chairman of the DLC in 2007, has plans in New York

There is a lot of good info at the DLC website and their think tank call the Progressive Policy Institute.

For someone quoting Hayek, the author seems to have forgotten Hayek’s admonition about ‘the worst’ using the old words but changing their meaning so as to subvert the language. Why engage in newspeak? The “New Republican” described here seems to resemble “Clinton Democrat” in everything but name. “New Republican” = “neocon” = “progressive”.

Trotting out Dick Armey as the model “New” Republican? Regardless of how anyone may feel about Armey, he’s about as new as corn starch.

But the self delusion of most of the commenters on HuffPo is priceless.