My hope is that Lugar will decide to retire after his current term (up in 2012), at which time Daniels could have a pretty easy ride into the Senate.

I sent the following letter to Chairman Mike Duncan of the Republican Party. Since I don’t expect it to get more than a robo-response, if that, I thought I’d publish it here, with added links: Dear Chairman Duncan, I’ve been……

illinidiva
I live in north chi-believe you me…I know.
Btw-There are “The ONE” banners on many of the lamposts in the Loop.
Welcome to the New Peoples Soviet Republic.

annoyinglittletwerp on November 8, 2008 at 8:55 AM

Creepy.. I have not been down to the Loop since the election, so thanks for letting me know.

BTW, do you live in the city? I live just north in Evanston, so I know all about the Obama cultists/ koolaid drinkers. It’s difficult to live in a place where everyone basically disagrees with you, but the boutiques and restaurants make it worthwhile.

Some commentators (Not many here, we scared them away long ago :-p) would mention Huckabee, but I would mention Jeb Bush also, but not at the moment.

zooming back up to the top of the post and reading the list of possibles, i realized that they’re just going to start branding and prepping them without a second’s pause to consider what’s gone so deeply wrong beneath a superficial level. and it’s clear to me that these comments sections are a decently representative slice of the right, and you’d all be unanimous in calling for my “liberal”, “rino” head for even suggesting that there’s something wrong about picking a 2012 presidential candidate three days after the electoral ass-kicking of our lives without even a moment’s pause to consider why people aren’t listening when we speak any more.

enjoy your koolade, retards.

“that will show that we’re not at all racist and, given our anti-affirmative action plank, not in the leastwise cynical.”

…and while he may might not have excited the base had he been nominated…

Hypothetical subjunctive.

Maybe some of the Louisiana parish presidents will have an inside scoop on Governor Jindal and can testify to his leadership style and accomplishments. What do you think?

Christien on November 7, 2008 at 3:06 PM

I’m a supporter of Bobby and I love him as our governor. Even some registered Dems here love him.

He told Entergy, the big utility company here, to quit making excuses and fix the damn power after Gustav hit. He was in New Orleans during evacuation prior to the storm. He didn’t stammer like a fool when in front of the press during recovery.

He’s cleaning house on budgets too. I can’t say why I know this now but the state is looking on cutting out wasteful contracts and spending very soon.

He’s working on bringing more businesses in the state, meaning better jobs. This state should be swimming in money with our resources in energy and transportation but thanks to corrupt politicians like Edwards, it never happened.

Saiga:
JC endorsed “The ONE” so he’ll never be on any ‘republican” lists again.
In ill-ANNOYZ-downstate-there is a twenty-somthing by the name of Aaron Schock. I THINK he’s a state rep-solidly conservative-who beat the incumbent democrat at TWENTY TWO.
Remember the name.

annoyinglittletwerp on November 7, 2008 at 6:47 PM

Aaron Schnock was just elected to the House in the open seat in that district at the age of 27. I must say that he’s quite easy on the eyes… However, IL is not a very conservative state, and I cannot see him advancing his political career any further (either to the Senate or as Governor).

What exactly are you looking for? The perfect canidate? Well there is not one. Let Jindal do some more governing then we can judge him when the time comes.

goldeagle11 on November 7, 2008 at 6:33 PM

Nope, I’m just very down on the Republican Party and their lack of a solid back bench right now. Jindal might turn out to be awesome, but it is kinda disconcerting that he and Sarah Palin are basically the entire Republican backbench.

Why would we want to put up a candidate who emulates Obama in any way? The guy’s a thug.

Y-not on November 7, 2008 at 8:50 PM

A guy named Smith who had less than seven months experience as the Governor of LA would not be touted as a legitimate VP or Presidential candidate. The reason why Jindal is being hyped (and has been for awhile) is the desire of the Republican Party to become more diverse. While I commend this as a worthy goal, I don’t think that the Republicans should nominate Jindal without doing their homework.

Excuse me. Didn’t the country just elect a college professor?

Y-not on November 7, 2008 at 8:48 PM

Yes, but you must admit that the guy can give one heck of a speech. I’ve never seen Jindal give a speech, but he does come off to abstract and wonky in some of his interviews. I think that Jindal focuses too much on stats and micro-details instead of the big picture.

But I just wanted to point out that the guy is has not proven himself as a combination of Reagan and Obama.
Illinidiva on November 7, 2008 at 5:48 PM

Why would we want to put up a candidate who emulates Obama in any way? The guy’s a thug.

I don’t see Bobby Jindal (Rhodes Scholar policy wonk) having the same effect. I’ve seen a few interviews with him, and he comes off more as a college professor than a plausible President. That’s really not going to fly against Hope! and Change!

Illinidiva on November 7, 2008 at 3:26 PM

Excuse me. Didn’t the country just elect a college professor?

Glad I’m not the lone voice in the woods when it comes to Romney on here. Romney gave great speeches, just the media would find something to nitpick on them, and only report about that. Like not including atheism when giving an address on religious faith. Rather than report on his great speech, it was all about that. I didn’t know atheism was supposed to be a religious faith.

He may not have known what he was getting himself into, but I’d say that combined with his ties to lobbying make him a big “no” for national tickets. I do hear he has done good work as a governor, though.

agree to a point. The kid is very very sharp and can make things happen. As he gets more confident on the big stage, he might improve his ability to project a convincing charisma.

saiga on November 7, 2008 at 3:38 PM
I’m willing to concede that four years is quite a time and that Jindal can get rid of the assistant professor vibe that he seems to have now. But I just wanted to point out that the guy is has not proven himself as a combination of Reagan and Obama. It seems like there is a bit of a Jindal feeding frenzy right now among some parts of the Republican Party, which seems quite premature.

Illinidiva on November 7, 2008 at 5:48 PM

Romney really does not come off well
Illinidiva on November 7, 2008 at 5:43 PM

What exactly are you looking for? The perfect canidate? Well there is not one. Let Jindal do some more governing then we can judge him when the time comes.

I don’t know what Steele can do to get back into office. He was light years better than Ben Cardin in the senate race two years ao but still lost due to MD’s deep blue streak. The current governor is busy running the state into the ground with his (surprise surprise) jacked up spending and increased taxes. MD has a sizeable black population and I think some prominent blacks supported Steele in his senate run. Perhaps he can run for and win the governorship and make some real inroads among the black community. Keep hope alive!

1. Coherent message matters; make sure your own staff and grass roots efforts are all on the same page
2. Charisma matters
3. If you have #1 and 2, this can be more important to winning elections than your actual experience, character issues, and all other aspects of decision making that would normally seem logical when selecting a president — although experience and character should be vital as well.
4. Don’t take any voting base for granted, or rule it out – anywhere in the country
5. If your opponent criticizes you, make sure you can respond coherently and effectively; if you criticize your opponent, make sure you know what you are talking about
6. Use the media to your advantage – internet, radio, tv — get the air time even if they are biased against you — and be well prepared for your media appearances
7. Don’t alienate your base support, but do reach out to more liberal/swing voters — such as RINOs and DINOs.
8. Make sure you understand the primary issues on voters’ minds, and make a compelling case for why you are the best choice to solve them.
9. Remember that times change and strategies must also change. What worked great in past elections is good advice, but may not work the same way next time around.

If we can remember these points, we’ll do well in the next election cycles.