Category: Awards

"My first choice for President in 2008 is Mitt Romney and my second choice is Barack Obama. And that would not be an anti-McCain vote. Like Romney, Obama is a man of vision and character and electing the first black president would ultimately do more to pry away black and other minority voters from a decadent American liberalism, than would anything else.

Certainly it would do more in that regard than anything any Conservative could hope to say – media darling, or not. One could no longer make the argument that America is racist, or unfair. Not when a black man has risen to the highest office in the land. And he will have done it without the need for some futuristic utopia which the Left insists we need. He would be a self-made man and his own worst enemy when arguing for a socialist-like, or welfare state. Also, multiculturalism cannot ultimately exist within a nation in which all races are seen as one. Has that not always been a conservative value and vision? I would assert it has.

My long-term goal is and will always be the furtherance of solid conservative principles that no more require modernization, than the Constitution itself. And I vote for people and to win. Right now, there are two people worthy of my support in this race. Both decisions would represent my belief in conservative principles and a forwarding of the Movement’s agenda, long-term," – Dan Riehl.

"America is blessed – very blessed. We have had an amazing leader who believes in the wisdom of ‘we the people’. Through 7 years of attack from within and without. from across the aisle and from those too obsessed with purity in his party, President Bush has been a stalwart gentleman who has maintained dignity and honor for his office as those around him have collapsed into angry rants. The nation is going to miss George W Bush.

His SOTU speech tonight was probably his best. And it rested upon 7 years of accomplishments only his enemies, in hopes of diminishing him, will never recognize," – AJSTrata, at Strata Sphere.

"The Arizona maverick is the candidate of the MSM, pure and simple. The MSM is powerful, but powerful enough to overcome three-quarters of the GOP electorate and force a second Bob Dole campaign on the party?" – Hugh Hewitt, in full Romney jacket.

"Huck’s very bright, and he could be a quick study if he applied himself to an in-depth study of policy and political theory. But that’s not who he is.

He’s spent his entire adult life as a message shaper — translating ideas into marketable slogans, memorable catch-phrases, and heart-felt passion. He’s very good at what he does, but beyond the surface glitter of his rhetoric, there’s no there there. This is not a man who can (or would want to) discuss the finer details of Kirkean conservatism; even though he is a seminary-trained preacher, he has little patience for, nor interest in, the complexities of theology that underlie Christian social thought. He’s a pragmatist and a technician, not an ideologue or philosopher…

I love the man, but he’s almost as superficial as his enemies paint him to be. His destiny is to be, as Ross says, a motivational speaker or talk-show host. It would be wonderful if he broke out of this mold he’s created for himself, but don’t count on it. That’s just not who he is," – a former Huckabee staffer, disabusing Rod Dreher.

"I should register here that I basically agree with this, in the sense that Huck’s populism has seemed more like a rhetorical pose than anything of substance. I should note, though, that I read something earlier this week on The Hotline — and I can’t find the link this morning, so you’ll just have to trust me — saying that as Arkansas governor, Huckabee showed a penchant for distrusting centralized power. If true, that’s something. But no, I don’t think Huckabee is a populist in any sense that Larison and Caleb (Stegall) would recognize. His rhetoric to that extent is largely therapeutic, giving people the satisfaction of populist feeling (and believe me, I’ve enjoyed it) without the real thing," – Rod Dreher, Crunchy Con.

"Not only does Farrakhan have no ties to Obama, but Obama isn’t putting Wright out on the campaign trail as Hillary did with Johnson. This seems intended to paint Obama as anti-Semitic as a way to push back against the repeated Hillary fumbles on her civil-rights rhetoric and attacks on Obama. If so, this is very, very thin gruel," – Ed Morrissey, Captain’s Quarter’s.

"It’s important to have long memories, because the language about “small government” and “states rights” is with us today, and there’s no reason to think the basic meaning has changed significantly from the days when it was about stopping black people from voting. “States rights” dresses itself up as anti-tyrannical language, but it’s actually pro-tyranny. It’s about crafting a nation that makes it the easiest to use government power to override individual rights. Remember this picture every time you hear someone waxing on about the inherent nobility of “leaving it to the states”, because odds are they’re beating the same drum they have since the South lost their war to preserve slavery," – Amanda Marcotte.