Are Conservative Insurgents Winning The Battle Of Ideas Within The GOP? Senator David Vitter Running For Governor In Louisiana. Ezra Klein Leaving The Washington Post.

The NYC/DC snowstorm seems to have killed all the news this morning so here's what's leftover.

1. Dynamic Candidates Can Lead To Dynamic Policy Ideas

The "tea party" vs. "establishment" fight is moving from simply politics to policy.

Sen. Rubio ran against then-Republican Governor, now Democrat-candidate, Charlie Crist. Crist was supported by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Rubio was supported by then-Sen. Jim DeMint. Sen. Lee defeated then-Republican Senator, now DC-Lobbyist, Bob Bennett. Once again, Sen. Lee didn’t have Washington support, but instead the support of grassroots conservatives like the Club for Growth.

So, in short, the folks talking about inspiring ideas are also the ones who ran inspiring campaigns and won despite having the deck stacked against them. The folks who avoided inspiring ideas in order to “not be the issue” ran dull campaigns and lost despite a reasonably favorable electoral landscape. There may be a fact pattern here.

...

[NY Times Columnist Ross] Douthat wants to ask the question of how the Republican Party breaks free from its allegedly rejectionist base. He’s asking the wrong question. The question is whether the Republican Party can break its cozy relationship with Washington’s Ruling Class of lobbyists, consultants and defenders of the status quo enough to embrace these bold policies, differentiate itself from the Democrat Party of Big Government, and appeal to the vast majority of Americans who have thrown up their hands in disgust.

Keep the pressure on, don't buy into the "focus on the Democrats only" nonsense.

2. Senator David Vitter Running For Governor Of Louisiana.

Bobby Jindal is term limited so Vitter is going to take a shot at the race next year.

3. Ezra Klein Is Leaving The Washington Post To Start Up His Own Venture.

I'm sure a lot of surprises about starting and running a business under the big government he loves so much will be fun for him.

Reportedly he wanted a $10 million/year budget for 36 staffers staffers to stay at the Post.

As I asked on Twitter, Wherever shall the Washington Post find a new leftwing blogger with no real world experience and a faux veneer of non-partisan expertise?

4. Is the Department of Defense finally waking up to the fact the LCS program is a disaster and it's time for a real frigate in the fleet?

Seems so. And CDRSalamander is going all Richard Sherman to the Navy's Erin Andrews in celebration.

Lotta time and money wasted on something that was pretty obvious to most observers a long, long time ago.

Better late than never I guess.

Now, about the F-35.

posted by DrewM. at 11:32 AM

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