Redstate

Posted at 8:44pm on May 21, 2008 RE: If Anyone Wants To Know Why Good People Don't Go Into Public Service . . .

By Martin A. Knight

This is with regard to Pej's timely RedHot about Hans von Spakovsky's recent experience since he was nominated to the Federal Election Commission by President Bush. He withdrew his nomination after two years of waiting last week.

The reason why good people of Conservative bent do not go into public service is because of elected Republican cowardice and stupidity. They know when the time comes when they would have to face the character assassination campaigns the Democrats and their friends in the media would mount against them, Republicans would do absolutely nothing to help/defend them.

Posted in Archived | borking | Democrat smear campaigns | GOP | masochists | spakovsky — Comments (35) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 9:52pm on May 10, 2008 The McCain Campaign & Media Bias: A Hopeful Sign.

By Martin A. Knight

Mark Salter's double barrel response to Senator Obama's oh-so-subtle shot at John McCain's age (very nicely brought to our attention by Soren here) is interesting for another thing - it brought up the behavior of Barack Obama's most important supporting demographic.

Senator Obama is hopeful that the media will continue to form a protective barrier around him, declaring serious limits to the questions, discussion and debate in this race.

Senator Obama has good reason to think this plan will succeed, as serious journalists have written of the need for 'de-tox' to cure 'swooning' over Senator Obama, and others have admitted to losing their objectivity while with him on the campaign trail ...

Maybe I'm reading too much into this and this would be the last time and therefore insignificant - but if I'm not mistaken, I believe this is the first time any Republican Presidential candidate in recent history has even just made mention of the Press clearly favoring one (the Democrat) candidate and slanting the coverage just so to get him over the finish line.

The media's infatuation with Obama is remarkably blatant - in many cases, e.g. Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, it's practically R-rated - and it's just about noticeable by the mushy middle both teams need to win.

If Salter's press release can be taken as indicative of a future course of action, the McCain campaign may just have found a way to solidify his standing with the conservative base and also make it more likely that he will get elected this fall.

If McCain, until recently liberal journalism's favorite Republican, decides to, and then successfully makes the conduct of the media an issue in this election, the potential fallout of it could be very ... interesting. In a good way.

Posted in Archived | McCain | Media Bias | Obama | swooning press — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:20am on May 8, 2008 How McCain Can Win

Win The Argument

By Martin A. Knight

Victor David Hanson makes a good point here about the upcoming Presidential election; John McCain cannot beat Barack Obama by trying to blur the differences between himself and the likely Democratic nominee in a bid to win over the mushy middle.

... conservatives should reach out with conservative principles better framed and presented, rather than change the message for the perceived advantage of the hour.

What the Republicans need is not an abandonment of conservative principles, but a smarter, more articulate defense of even more conservativism, not less.

My shorter interpretation of what VDH is saying we need is this; BETTER MARKETING.

The fact is Conservative turnout in 2006 was virtually unchanged from 2004 in 2006 so blaming our booting from majority status on the 1-2% of the base that sat on their hands ON 11/7/2006 is being willfully blind. We lost because we lost swing voters (the "center") in massive numbers (70D-30R, if I recall correctly) from an essentially even 50D-50R split in the two years from 2004 to 2006. And from all indications, we still have a long way to go before we can claw our way back to narrowing it to 60D-40R later this fall.

The first step to doing that, over the long and short term, is recognizing the fact that swing voters are primarily won through the marketing, rhetoric, stagecraft, image management, Press coverage, etc. The presentation and the public persona of the candidate (including the baggage of the popular perception of the candidate's party) matters a lot more with the average "middle" voter than his/her policy positions.

It's not exactly the most flattering picture of the part of the electorate that generally gets to decide who ends up giving the concession (or in the case of Democrats - filing suit in the nearest friendly Court) or victory speech on Election Day, but there it is.

The thing to remember though, is that this is no sign of stupidity, it's a sign of disinterest.

Amongst these people are numbered some of America's smartest men and women in every field of endeavor. They are registered as Republicans, Democrats as well as Independents - what they generally have in common is that they just do not actively think of or pay anything beyond passive attention to politics until maybe a week or two before Election Day. Then everything they've absorbed over the whole cycle combines with what they're hearing at the moment - from their own subjective gut reactions to poll reports telling them who their neighbors are voting for to the disbelieving arch of the reporter's eyebrow to October Surprises - and then they go out and vote.

Posted in 2008 | 2008 | how to win | McCain | Obama — Comments (84)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 10:25am on May 7, 2008 Sobering Article @ the Politico

By Martin A. Knight

The silver lining around this cloud is that our people in Congress have been made aware of the seriousness of our situation now - six months out - instead of a few weeks before Election Day as it happened in 2006.

Thankfully, this time the Turn Out! Turn Out!! Turn Out!!!™ delusion that masked the approaching disaster then is dead and buried.

... in a closed-door session at the Capitol, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told members that the NRCC doesn’t have enough cash to "save them" in November if they don’t raise enough money or run strong campaigns themselves.

Posted at 7:51am on May 7, 2008 On Party Unity

By Martin A. Knight

This started out as comment in reply to a comment by BigGator5 (unfortunately operating under the misimpression that the diary I posted yesterday was about John McCain) in response to me. It just got too long. Anyway, BigGator5 asks;
"Why are you arguing against party unity?"

My response to that is that I actually am asking for party unity.

Unity that does not end when Election Day is over and done with. We want some more of that Unity on the floors of Congress, in the State Legislatures and in the Governor's Mansions when its time to vote 'aye' or 'nay.' We want some more of that Unity when it comes to policy, when it comes to the tough votes on Capitol Hill, in Lansing, Harrisburg, Richmond, Olympia, Austin, Bismarck, Trenton, etc.

Posted in Bill Weld | moderates | Reagan | Republicans | Rockefeller | Rudy Giuliani — Comments (11) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 3:59pm on May 6, 2008 McCain: Hitting It Out Of The Park.

By Martin A. Knight

This is the McCain I like;

I will look for people in the cast of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and my friend the late William Rehnquist – jurists of the highest caliber who know their own minds, and know the law, and know the difference.

Posted at 12:42pm on May 6, 2008 RE: Conservatives vs Moderates [now closed]

By Martin A. Knight

So, you've all had your fun. You've gotten to vent about moderates. I hope you feel better. Now we have to work together to, you know, try to build a coalition to win. Unless you are happy being in the minority. If so, go on about your business. But as for me and RedState, we aim to win. And that takes more than a merry few. So be happy soldiers in the fight, but just remember the fight is with the left.