In another thigh slapping move the Gourley campaign blog states that Jess Beeson was the Davidson teams first choice and not Sarah Floerke, but they had to go with their second string option. Now someone here is lying, either Team Davidson or the CRVets Sources ::cough cough HoplinCo cough cough::.

That being said I am not sure either is really what the CRNC needs to shake things up. Stories are circulating out of Texas that a civil war may be brewing and that Floerke will be at the center of it. Still unconfirmed reports though various reliable sources state that it is likely that Floerke denied the state delegates the right to vote, which would be ironic to say the least. Apparently the state constitution was amended after the election to allow for future direct election, but not before as opponents claim Floerke’s supported ticket would have lost had a vote been allowed. Floerke’s side charges that this is simply sour grapes by losers who are willing to put the best interest of the movement behind the interests of their own power.

Objectively I suspect this is one of those unfortunate circumstances with good people on both sides who are well intentioned but disagree. Floerke’s term seems to have mixed results, but that is the case with most CR state chairs. She was the CR Chair of the year in 2004 as picked by the CRNC (run by HoplinCo), but she appears from my vantage point too establishment based to be the kind of real advocate we need in Washington fighting for true reform of the CRNC and a return of the Krank to its members in the states.
More on Floerke:

But Sarah Floerke, the current Texas College Republicans chairwoman, said McCaig was in a dispute with the organization’s leadership when he stepped down and might be biased. She had not heard about the questions surrounding the group’s fund raising, other than in Hoplin’s memo, she added.

“I’m sure I’m going to find out a lot more at the meeting,” she said. “I think the College Republican National Committee did an excellent job fund raising, and they were able to send out College Republicans across the nation.”

Keep in mind this is prior to the bad stuff hitting the fan for the most part, but I think it is relavent to this national debate. She was likely ill-informed up to this point, so I am not sure the relavence but since I figure the quote is going to come out sooner or later its best to get it out in its whole context.

All in all I say the pick was obviously no surprise to anyone and is a decent pick but not the type of homerun I was hoping for.

Want to know the truth about why the Democrats are blocking judges, check this out:

An Associated Press profile of Janice Rogers Brown, one of the “objectionable” appointees, tries to clarify the matter. “An outspoken Christian conservative from the segregated South, she supports limits on abortion rights and corporate liability, routinely upholds the death penalty, and opposes affirmative action.”

Thanks, AP. Finally, not only did we learn the issues on which the Democrats object to her appointment, but we learned that the South is segregated. Wow. The federal courts should really address that situation. Maybe Brown is precisely the person to remedy this. If she succeeds, maybe we could all call it the Brown decision.

While I was in the airport I read (without buying, naturally) the Newsweek article explaining their reporting of unsubstantiated allegations that the Qur’an was flushed down a toilet and the fallout. It was pretty disgusting how they brushed aside the murder of almost 20 innocents by attributing it to unwanted American presence and a poor Afghan economy.

It was sad how little responsibility they took, but it was even sadder (more sad?) that they failed to blame the most guilty cause of this violence: militant Islam. For a good analysis, see here, here and here.

Well, I haven’t posted for about a week because I couldn’t log in from back home in Western Wisconsin. Perhaps my coal powered modem wasn’t fast enough. So, without further adieu…

On my flight home last Thursday, there were four senators on my flight: Sen. Coleman (R-MN), Sen. Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Thune (R-SD), and Sen. Johnson(D-SD Indian Reservations). Coolest of all was that Thune and Johnson both sat in coach. Thune was across the aisle from me skimming through a stack of memos, newspapers and magazines. Just to top Mark’s inside info on Santorum reading First Things, I would like to let everyone know that I saw John Thune reading The Economist and Runners among others.

(p.s. Miss Lippy’s favorite color is red.)

Apparently the recent article in the NYTimes Sunday edition will reveal that Rick Santorum…gasp… is a reader of “First Things.” For those of you who don’t know what First Things is, well it is probably the premier magazine of traditionalist conservative though with a religious basis. It does hearten me somewhat to know atleast someone on the hill reads First Things.

I would suggest every Save The GOP reader get a subscribtion, its cheap and worth it.

You want China analysis? This is nothing short of brilliant. I have long admired these guys, Curzon and Younghusband who offer some great foreign policy commentary at Coming Anarchy. Read them early, read them often.

Here is an interesting article courtesy of the Financial Times on Olin Wethington, the new “Currency Envoy” to China. For analysis click more. Hat-tip: The Fourth Rail
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Here is some brief China analysis. John and Andrew feel free to jump in with comments or follow-up posts.
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