Redstate

Chris Lilik would be fantastic as would his brother Greg.

Barbara Cubin is a lousy GOP candidate on a number of different levels that nobody else here probably cares about. :) However, we need better representation in WY so our elections aren't nailbiters like they were last time. I wrote and sent letters to the WY GOP party headquarters and Cubin's office directly asking for a better candidate in 2008. We'll see what happens. We have a lot of good state reps and senators that I'm sure would love to take the leap into national politics.

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Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. -The Fray, "All At Once"

I really disagree about the Simmons seat. That is a real "swing" district - and has been for years. Gedjenson hung on through two really hair-raising elections in the Clinton years (winning one by 21 votes and the other by less than 1%). Simmons lost by less than 100 votes. If he ran again, he might win.

Add Congressional term limits. A seat in congress should not be a career. I often wonder how many good people never had a chance to serve in congress because entrenched incumbents made any attempt to challenge an excercise in futility, until they died or were investigated/indicted.

Paul Bettencourt needs to be heavily recruited to run for the TX22 seat. We need him in Congress. He would be one of everyone's favorite congressmen in very short order.

Joe Negron needs to run again for FL16. Once his name is on the ballot and he has time to wage a full campaign, I have no doubt that he'll win it back and be a great congressman.

Chris Chocola was an awesome congressman who should not have been defeated. We need to get him back in congress next term, for sure.

In a presidential election year, I think that Van Taylor - an excellent candidate - stands a much better shot at knocking off Chet Edwards. If it doesn't happen in 2008, though, the GOP is going to have to wait for (a) redistricting or (b) Chet Edwards' retirement.

Alberto Gonzales would be a perfect choice for this majority Hispanic district that is represented by white Austin uber-liberal Lloyd Doggett. AGAG has the name ID, intellect, moderate image, and Hispanic heritage to knock him off.

and I am willing to put my money where my mouth is to it come to pass. We can be a force if keep stepping up our organiztion efforts.

"It ain't over till it's over"
Yoggi Berra

Jim Oberstar has served about 39 terms in House. If he doesn't retire this time, it will be soon. MN-08 covers the north - western quadrent of the state, and is mostly rural (I belive Alexandira, Fergus Falls, and Detroit Lakes, all at about 25k, are the only big cities). I grew up there, and while I am no expert on the whole of MN-08, I think that if there is an open seat, there is a good chance of a pickup if we run real conservative, Bachmann type. God, guns, and gays are still big issues there.

Evil prevails only when good men do nothing.

Tony Garza is the only Republican to ever win a county-wide election in Cameron County in TX27 (Brownsville), is the former Secretary of State under Gov. George W. Bush, was the first Hispanic Republican to hold statewide elective office in Texas when he was elected to be a member of the Texas Railroad Commission (which oversees state oil revenues and has nothing to do with railroads.)

Additionally, since he is married to the richest woman in Mexico, he can run a self-funded campaign to knock off the aging Solomon Ortiz.

Any GOPer beaten by less than 5 points and under age 60 should run again in 2008. Most were from red districts and in a presidential year will be able to tie opponents to Hillary or whoever.

It will also help if we actually put a legitimate name on th ballot in the districts that are supposed to be safe GOP districts. (ie: Foley's district and Delay's district)

Whos'e bright idea was it to give Tom Foley a Blackberry anyway?

"Life is too short, can't we all just eat pork and kill some terrorists?"

For the New Hampshire seats, we need to recruit libertarians to run under the Republican Party's label to win both of those seats back.

I like Chocola a lot, and he represented me while in college. But I've spoken via e-mail with the South Bend Tribune columnist/reporter who covered the race, and he said that Chocola said he will not run again for Congress. I'm afraid that Donnelly may be there for a while. Remember, it was held by Roehmer before Chocola.

Take a scarlet red district, say KS-2.

Who are the Republican state Senators and state Representatives and what percentage of the district do they represent? Who are the mayors, the city council people, the county officials, the civic leaders, the departed celebrities? (Think Heath Shuler.) With help from folks in the district, make an exhaustive list of 20 or 30 names.

Then start narrowing it down. Who will stay true to these first principles? AND who can win (including analysis of vote-getting and fundraising ability at the state level)? If we are EVER stuck with a choice between an electable RINO and an unelectable conservative, never, ever, ever let it be for lack of effort in trying to get an electable conservative into the race.

The finalists we profile on RedState or other similar venues as the bright rising stars of the conservative movement. If Rightroots duplicates what ActBlue intends to do with draft funds, start raising money so they will have an in-built infrastructure when they get into the race.

A number of folks have expressed grave disappointment in our party committees. Fine. Then go BE the party committee. Go do the recruiting (it starts with Google). And if you want to see how good recruiting is done, check out Michele Bachmann (MN-6). Figure out your ideal Congressperson for KS-2 before the primary field even shapes up. None of this is new. The NRCC does this kind of spadework all the time. The difference is they're not looking out for who will eliminate earmarks and stay true to conservative principles -- only who can hold the seat. If we're gonna do this, we have to do it right, and that means being an extra eyes and ears and doing our own recruiting. We're not going to get perfect candidates every time -- occassionally, we'll have to make the choice of a Rob Simmons over a Chris Shays in a bluish-purple district if an exhaustive search finds no true conservative who is a good fit for the seat. But at least when we have a candidate, we will be fully vested in the process.

The good news is that this will be a Presidential year, and the red/blue divide will return with a vengeange. Casual conservative voters who sat out a midterm will be voting for the first time for Congress in these bright red districts. And Nancy Boyda will not be able to hide from Hillapelosi.

The time is now. Let's get to work.

First why I agree with some of those seats, especially Kansas 2, I think the Penn. seats will be harder to win back. When was the last time that state went Republican? I think the only one you have a shot at is the seat lost by the mistress beater, sorry I had to say that :).

Kentucky 3rd was made for Democrats and it took a moderate Republican to hold it for that long. I don't see that as a real shot.

I think Arizona 5 you might have a point if Hayworth comes back for a rematch. Other than that I don't see it changing.

Finally, Colorado 7 and NH 2 are gone. The incumbant advantage made that seat basically safe. He won by a large enough margin so a rematch isn't even thinkable.

John McCain would be the best candidate for many of these districts. BTW, I hope Republicans in Tom DeLay's can find someone better than Sheila Sekula-Gibbs to run against Nick Lampson.

Any candidate who lost by 5,000 or less should give it a try again. Simmons, Johnson, Negron should all give it a try. Especially Negron.

I think the most importnat issue will be who is at the top of the presidential ticket. Many of these normally conservative districts will have a hard time if Hillary runs up top.

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"As nations can not be rewarded or punished in the next world they must be in this."
- George Mason