August 14, 2006 [LINK]
Michael Barone expands upon Austin Bay's suggestion of a McCain-Lieberman "dream ticket" for 2008. Both McCain and Lieberman might alienate many conservatives, but Lieberman is no longer beholden to the Democrat Party, so he can now vote his conscience and establish a less-liberal voting record in the Senate. Furthermore, both candidates are probably too old to want to run for reelection in 2012, enabling them to govern in the name of national unity without suspicions of seeking political advantage. Here's another advantage that Barone didn't explicitly mention: Such a bipartisan ticket would demonstrate to the American people that the Party of Lincoln is serious about building a long-term governing majority consisting of conservatives and moderaters. That might be anathema to the true-believing inheritors of the Barry Goldwater tradition, but given the current political dynamics, it is probably the only way the Republicans can hold on to power. The longer they stray from conservative principles and rely on crass pork-barrel spending measures and dumbed-down fear-mongering -- flag burning! gays! -- in their campaigns, the less most Americans will respect them.
Steve Kijak was holding down the fort for the local Republicans at the Augusta County Fair last week, and has a boatland of photos and text about all the visitors there. Among them was Rhonda Winfield, mother of local fallen hero Marine Lance Corporal Jason Redifer (see Aug. 27. 2005), and Army Reserve Sgt. Herb Harman, who is most of the way through a one-year deployment to Iraq (see Oct. 17, 2005).