From Matt Lewis, a Fond Farewell to Politics Daily
Today is my last day at Politics Daily. According to our blog editor, I have written 471,239 words in 768 posts since I started publishing 2 years and 78 days ago. Not bad. As Michael Wilbon recently wrote upon his departure from The Washington Post, "It's not Shirley Povich's 75 years, but I hung around long enough to think it might last forever." Nothing lasts forever (even cold November rain), so I won't bore you with another long goodbye post -- especially since I've already written my official farewell post. Please do keep in touch. You can follow me on Twitter, contact me via my ...
Newt Gingrich for President? Don't Underestimate Him
With reports that former Speaker Newt Gingrich is set to soon announce an exploratory committee for a presidential run, a lot of folks are already dismissing his chances -- some even saying that Obama should be so lucky as to have Gingrich win the nomination (though they don't expect he could even win a primary). But underestimating Gingrich's chances -- especially in light of a likely weak GOP primary field -- would be a mistake for several reasons. First, Gingrich has ideas -- and at the end of the day, politics is still about ideas. What is more, unlike some leaders, Newt can also ...
'Citizen Newt' Could Boost Gingrich's Image In 2012
A new book about former House Speaker Newt Gingrich could provide a last-minute boost to his chances heading into the primaries if he seeks the GOP nomination for president. The book, "Citizen Newt," is being authored by the respected Reagan biographer Craig Shirley (who has been interviewing Gingrich one day a week) and is set to land on bookshelves just one month before the Iowa caucuses next January. "Citizen Newt" will focus on Gingrich's professional life from 1973-1994, ending with the Republican revolution. It will portray Gingrich as an energetic leader who hit the ground running and ...
Tea Party Candidate Jamie Radtke Hopes to Beat George Allen in Virginia
Former Sen. George Allen is hoping to win back his Senate seat in Virginia next year, and with Democratic Sen. Jim Webb deciding not to seek re-election, Republicans have a good chance of reclaiming it. But Allen's biggest obstacle might be getting past Jamie Radtke -- a conservative mom who holds a master's degree in public policy, has worked on Capitol Hill, and has become a popular tea party leader in Virginia. Radtke (who tells me she once worked for Allen as a receptionist), has already raised more than $100,000 and clearly hopes to frame the election as a choice between an ...
Chris Christie, Scott Walker: Bold Now, They Were Once the 'Moderate' Choice
Two Republican governors -- New Jersey's Chris Christie and Wisconsin's Scott Walker -- have made news by taking on tough issues in their states, including confronting labor unions and employee pensions that have contributed to crippling their state's economies. But while both have become heroes to national conservatives, it is interesting to note that both were arguably the more "moderate" candidate in their respective GOP primaries. Christie's opponent, former Bogata Mayor Steve Lonegan, was clearly positioned to the right of Christie in the 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial primary, and ...
John Thune Won't Run for President
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), whom many observers thought would seek the GOP nomination for the president in 2012, announced Tuesday that he will not run. Citing "this period of fiscal crisis and economic uncertainty," Thune wrote on his website that "at this time, I feel that I am best positioned to fight for America's future here in the trenches of the United States Senate." Thune's decision did not come easily. He noted that he, wife Kimberley and their two daughters "have given a great deal of thought to how we might best serve South Dakota and our nation. That process has involved lots of ...
A Tale of Two Libertarianisms
I was surprised and delighted by the terrific response (both positive and negative) my recent Politics Daily column on social conservatism versus libertarianism aroused. One friend -- whom I respect greatly -- even direct messaged me on Twitter, saying: "Best thing you've ever written." My primary goal was to make the case that there are long-held and respected intellectual arguments for a social conservative philosophy. (It had occurred to me that this is not widely understood -- or fully appreciated.) In this regard, I think I succeeded. But while my primary argument about social ...
Al Cardenas, New CPAC Head, Impresses
When it was announced that former Florida Republican Party Chairman Al Cardenas would head the American Conservative Union -- the group which organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) -- I was skeptical. After all, Cardenas is a lobbyist who endorsed Charlie Crist over Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate in Florida. And he was elected to head a conservative organization? But just as Speaker John Boehner has, thus far, exceeded my expectations, Cardenas has, thus far, also impressed me with his calm leadership style. As you may know, CPAC has been plagued recently by a ...
Mitt Romney's New Hampshire Problem
In his book "Hardball," Chris Matthews recounts how an obscure lame-duck Southern governor built a national organization that took him all the way to the White House in 1976. "His strategy was simple," writes Matthews. "Every Democrat who lost a primary election [in 1974] received a personal letter from the obscure Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia." Carter reasoned that political losers would be especially grateful to someone who reached out to them during a difficult time. What is more, he realized that even those who lost a campaign would have built an impressive political network in their ...
Club for Growth Flexes Its Muscles in Support of Jeff Flake
Within 24 hours of Rep. Jeff Flake announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the Club for Growth had raised more than $100,000 for his nascent campaign. Very few groups (if any) come close to matching The Club's ability to swiftly reward friends of liberty and punish enemies of the free market. (I've been saying that for a long time now.) But Flake's ascendancy as the clear front-runner to replace Kyl also reinforces some other theories of mine, too. I've taken some heat for arguing that social-conservative groups lack the kind of organizational ...
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