Hello?

Is anyone there?

Childers wins in MS, in a district that voted 65% for the GOP in 2004. McCain ran away with the nomination in a race where he faced no fewer than 3 rock-solid "conservative" candidates (Huckabee, Romney and Paul). Now, the GOP faces the prospect of being only 9 seats away from a Senate "super-minority" and 29 seats away from the same in the House... and this news coming after 3 consecutive losses in special elections in LA, IL and MS. Only 22 of the 50 States still have GOP Governors, and of those 22... how many are "conservative"? Arnold in CA? Lingle in HI? Daniels in IN? I'd bet you'd be hard-pressed to find 16 solid conservatives on that list.

I am rapidly becoming convinced that if the GOP doesn't do something very soon to stem the tide of frustration that is sweeping traditional GOP supporters, the people that will win in '08 and '10 will be "Blue Dogs" and not Conservatives. I don't have a huge problem with that, seeing as how there are quite a few Blue Dogs I could support with a very clear conscience... but I see it giving Ryan fits for years to come.

Now, I'm sure that Ryan is dismissing my opinion here as quickly as he is reading it... but let's look at the facts:

Three Senate seats are up for open elections... meaning no incumbent advantage. The seats are in NM, NE (Hagel is quitting), and IA.

Norm Coleman (R-MN) is up again, and he is NOT very popular right now in a state that is rapidly becoming the DFL hot-bed that it once was (visions of Paul Wellstone swimming before Ryan's eyes).

Sununu (R-NH) is facing a tough and very focused effort to unseat him in '08, and his approval ratings are down because he tends to support an unpopular President.

G. Smith (R-OR) ... a Mormon... is up for re-election, but has changed his stance on many "conservative" issues recently. Is he taking a more moderate line to shore-up his chances in '08?

That's 6 of 9 needed seats that could easily fall to the Dems. What is the GOP doing?