He was well-known as one of the biggest RINOs in the U.S. House, and now he's gone.

Christopher Shays (R-CT) lost his seat this November:

[I]n an election defined more by his district’s angst and sense of dread than his own, Mr. Shays, the Republicans’ leading escape artist, ran out of rope. So after 10 terms in Congress, and after holding on as the last Republican representative from New England, Mr. Shays, 63, was back in Washington on Wednesday. He had 15 days to move out of his office, and plenty of time to ponder the wreckage of the Republican brand, particularly in the Northeast.

Although it's unfortunate that Shays' former district is likely to be represented by an even more liberal Democrat, Shays was definitely no great shakes.  The numbers show he was more of a loyal liberal vote than many Democrats on the key grassroots issues.  Although Shays was good (74%) on borders and immigration and borderline passable (58%) on taxes and spending, Shays' record on the right to keep and bear arms (7%) and on the right to life (13%) were positively abysmal.

Posted at Human Events:

Like any entity that abandons basic quality control, political parties rot from within. It happened to the Democrats long ago, and now has become the case with the Republican Party, which has strayed from its conservative underpinnings.

There are really only four things I have a strong aversion to: unloaded guns, dull knives, banjos, and Republicans in Name Only (RINOs).

The Nugent family simply doesn't allow any of those things in our lives.

Via The Guardian:

He's been a body-builder, a movie star and leader of the most populous state in the US. But could Arnold Schwarzenegger, now nearing the end of his days as California's governor, be offered a place at Barack Obama's side in Washington?

 

Speculation is swirling that Schwarzenegger will be offered the role of energy czar in the incoming Obama administration. There has been Beltway chatter about the prospect ever since he was named as a contender for the job by the authoritative politico.com website.

Via HotAir:

South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint is pushing his party’s leadership to expel Sen. Ted Stevens from the Senate during this month’s “lame duck” session, according to people familiar with his plans.

 

DeMint, one of the most conservative members of the Senate, is said to be angry with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for tolerating a convicted felon in the GOP caucus.

 

McConnell called on Stevens to resign last week after the Alaska senator was convicted on seven federal felony counts. McConnell said there was “zero chance” Stevens wouldn’t be expelled from the Senate if he didn’t resign – but he also made it clear that Stevens would have a chance to appeal his conviction first.

 

Stevens, who has rebuffed calls to quit, claims he has “not been convicted yet” because he still has the right to appeal.

RINOHunters' profile on Jim Demint is here.

As anti-Stevens as I am, it seems to me that voting for Ted Stevens probably remains the right thing for Alaska conservatives to do. If Stevens is re-elected, he'll have to step down, and will be replaced by someone appointed by Gov. Palin. She can be expected to appoint an ally, which will serve to strengthen Palin's position within the party power structure. As a Palinista myself, this is something I'm all on board for.

If, on the other hand, Stevens' Democrat opponent is elected, that's just one more seat for the Democrat Party, putting them one step closer to a filibuster-proof majority. That's not small potatoes, folks.

Thus, despite my disdain for the corrupt (and embarassing) Ted Stevens and the embarassing (and corrupt) Don Young, and despite my deep respect for the very smart guys at RedState, I have to disagree with their call for Alaska's conservatives to stand down and let the Democrats take over by default.

No, the Republicans don't deserve to retain power, but we don't deserve to be ruled by leftist Democrats.

Am I wrong on this one? Let's hear it.

Via Michelle:

The GOP King of Pork has been found guilty on seven felony counts for making false statements in relation to his corruption probe.

 

Goodbye and good riddance.

Amen to that.

As both of our regular readers know, we've been warning about Ted "Bridge to Nowhere" Stevens from early on.

Our prior coverage of the Alaska Senate Race includes:

http://rinohunters.org/2137/  http://rinohunters.org/2070/  http://rinohunters.org/2053/  http://rinohunters.org/2047/  http://rinohunters.org/2045/  http://rinohunters.org/2012/  http://rinohunters.org/2008/  http://rinohunters.org/2007/  http://rinohunters.org/2006/  http://rinohunters.org/2005/  http://rinohunters.org/2001/  http://rinohunters.org/1995/  http://rinohunters.org/1994/

The 6th District of Minnesota was one of the few bright spots for the GOP in 2006.  While incumbent Republicans across the country were losing seats, rookie Michele Bachmann won the seat in a three-way race with 50.1% of the vote in a thoroughly purple state.

Over the last two years in office, Michele Bachmann has racked up a solid conservative voting record.  Here are a few recent interest group ratings for Rep. Bachmann:

By way of comparison, the same ratings for NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (OK-4) look like this: 

As you might expect, Bachmann's voting record has made her a HUGE TARGET for the leftists.  In two years, she has become of the left's worst nightmares, and they have decided to pull out all the stops to take Bachmann out.

Fortunately, polling shows that Bachmann is ahead in the race, but the left-wingers are pouring millions of dollars into the race, and the race is tightening.  A win is by no means a "sure thing."

With the chips down, this would seem to be a prime opportunity for the Republican Party to stand behind a solid conservative.

Sadly, the National Republican Congressional Committee has instead decided to de-fund Bachmann's race.  This, while it has continued to back the awful RINO Don Young (R-AK).

Decisions like this were the reason I decided to personally "de-fund" the NRCC and NRSC years ago, and it's something you might want to keep in mind the next time you get a letter or call from the NRCC asking for a donation.

Just a thought.

A friend of mine recently commented that the conservative movement suffers from a "failure of vision."  Though my friend is briliant, I have to respectfully disagree.  We on the right don't suffer from a failure of vision.  We have plenty of big, dangerous, radical ideas.  Just ask any lefty.  Radical ideas like true federalism, school choice, Social Security privatization and concealed carry scare the bejeezus out of bedwetting left-wing hippies.

We don't suffer from a failure of conviction, passion or vision.

What we suffer from is a failure of LEADERSHIP.

For the most part, most of us stand around and wait for somebody else to take the banner of conservatism and run with it.  I've come to the sad conclusion that this is the nature of humans.  A disembodied philosophy does not become a movement without a vessel.  John McCain is definitely not the vessel to embody conservatism.  Thus, the conservative movement finds itself in something of a "holding pattern," waiting for a leader.

A year ago, we were placing our faith in Fred Thompson--and we did so passionately.  Unfortunately, that didn't work out so well.  Vision and philosophical underpinnings form one part of the equation, but energy and passion are necessary ingredients, as well.

Right now, we're all watching Sarah Palin.  She certainly seems to have the right instincts, and she has the passion and energy.  She's a fighter and she inspires us.  Does she have what it takes to lead a philosophical/political movement, similar to the way Reagan and Thatcher did?  That remains to be seen.  While I'm not convinced yet, I'm liking what I'm seeing.

Back-up plan: If Sarah Palin is not up to the task, who else do we have?

I hear the names Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney bandied about, but I think we all know that neither man is really the leader we need.  I've even heard the name "Huckabee."  Please...

I like Mike Pence, but to be honest, he doesn't seem to want the job, either.  That said, I could be wrong.  I was encouraged by his leadership against the bailout.

Who else is out there?  Bobby Jindal?  Michael Steele?  Michael Williams?  Not that we need to have a "brown" or female leader necessarily, but the aforementioned individuals seem (along with Huckabee) to be among the few GOP leaders with a pulse these days.

Whaddaya think?

Get over to Ace of Spades HQ and read about the controversy surrounding the Outer Continental Shelf Drilling bill.

Perfect. A "drilling" bill which does not actually permit drilling -- thus ending all possibility of expanded drilling in the future. The Democrats will say, correctly, "Well, we voted for a 'drilling bill' last time and supplies did not rise and prices did not fall. So isn't our precious ecosystem more important than expanded drilling, which has been proven not to work?"

It's better to have no bill at all than a phony one which dishonesty "proves" there's simply no point to drilling more American oil.

 

At least with no bill, we can keep fighting on this vital issue into the future, with some hope of success.

Here is a list of rino targets if you feel inclined to take action.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (GA) -- 202-224-3521 -- 770-763-9090

Sen. Johnny Isakson (GA) -- 202-224-3643 -- 770-661-0999

Sen. Bob Corker (TN) -- 202-224-3344 -- 423-756-2757

Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC) -- 202-224-5972 -- 864-250-1417

Sen. John Thune (SD) -- 202-224-2321 -- 605-334-9596

I believe the bill in question is HR6899.

Via Bloomberg:

Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- At a Tuesday reception for moderate Republicans, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter hushed the cocktail chatter when he began ticking off a long list of like- minded [liberal] lawmakers who no longer hold office.

 

``Today, we're in a phone booth,'' Specter said.

 

To conservatives at the Republican National Convention this week, John McCain's choice of running mate Sarah Palin represented recognition of their clout. For remnants of the party's once-powerful Eastern Establishment, the Minnesota meeting signified a lost opportunity to prod their party toward the political center...

 

``There was shock'' over Palin's selection, said Jennifer Stockman, co-chairwoman of Republican Majority for Choice. ``We were looking for someone who would be transformative and take control of the party away from the social conservatives.''

 

Addressing the pro-choice group, Specter slammed anti-tax crusaders who tried to unseat him four years ago, and criticized a Republican platform that would ban abortions in all circumstances, including rape, incest, or pregnancies that threaten a mother's life...

 

Specter, a 28-year Senate veteran, is the product of a once-dominant faction of East Coast moderates that produced such presidential candidates as Thomas E. Dewey and Dwight Eisenhower. That old party establishment has been in retreat since the rise of Sun Belt conservatives like Richard Nixon [?-ed.], Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush [??-ed.].

As Michelle Malkin put it : "You lose."

"There's always a CATCH!!"

Sweet:

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is skipping the Republican National Convention this week in Minnesota to manage an ongoing budget dispute in Sacramento. Republican officials say Fred Thompson will take his place in the prime-time lineup Monday night and onetime presidential candidate will have nearly three times longer to speak than he was originally given for his speech on Tuesday.

I know some former Fred-lovers soured on Fred during the primaries, but whatever you may think of him, there's no question that Fred Thompson is one of the very best spokesmen for Reaganite conservatism. Fred's presence in prime time is a boon for the party's conservative wing.

h/t : HotAir

Via FreePress.org:

Manassas, Virginia -- By endorsing Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska) for reelection over his principled conservative challenger, Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) has put “pork ahead of principle,” Richard A. Viguerie said.

Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, said the endorsement is “completely inconsistent with everything Congressman Paul has said that he stands for. But, unfortunately, it is consistent with his record of pork-barrel spending for the folks back home in his district.”

Viguerie noted that, according to a recent article in the Houston Chronicle, Paul “is trying to nab public money for 65 projects, such as marketing wild shrimp and renovating the old movie theater in Edna that closed in 1977 — neither of which is envisioned in the Constitution as an essential government function.” 

And Michelle Malkin is not amused...:

Let’s recap, for a moment, what the GOP has been up to while the DNC circus has been carrying on in Denver.

 

You’ve got the RNC running ads targeting open-borders Hispanic voters by touting John McCain as a stronger shamnesty supporter than Barack Obama.

 

You’ve got McCain foolishly promoting an endorsement from open-borders reggaeton star Daddy Yankee.

 

You’ve got GOP platform conferees refusing to combat pro-illegal immigration euphemisms.

 

And now, you’ve got those platform writers throwing in the towel on drilling in ANWR in order to save face for John McCain, who’s on the same side as Barack Obama and the Democrat Party on this issue: