Tough call...

Palazzo sounds like a solid GOP candidate: conservative, Marine, Catholic, married with kids, small business owner.

I'm still convinced that the only thing that has kept Gene on the Democratic roster is the large percentage of Democrats registered in his district. Too many blacks in MS are registered Democrat when they shouldn't be... they are (rather like me) as conservative as the day is long, but cling to images and memories of Kennedy and LBJ as champions of the "Democratic Party". Neither Kennedy nor LBJ would recognize anything Pelosi/Reid have accomplished in the last four years as something they would have supported (both were Senators, lest we forget).

Gene's done a lot of good things for the Coast... and I say he's been a good Congressman. If you are facing the prospect of Gene getting beat in November, though... you could do a lot worse than having Palazzo beat him out.

I was coming home last night and listening to Liberal Left on the satellite radio. The disconnect between the liberal pundits and anything I would consider rational reality is staggering. I realize that there is no guaranty that the average Democratic voter in America feels anything they (the pundits) say is anymore reasonable then I do... but the attitudes towards conservative values and goals must be similar, since they are supporting the same agenda from politicians. They see terms and phrases like "lower taxes" as equating to nothing more than more money for the rich... when it is undeniably true that EVERYONE had a tax cut during the Bush era... everyone that paid taxes, that is. They see "less government" as less provided to them that they didn't earn, make or produce themselves (which, ironically, is how I see it too).

I may not agree with everything Beck or Hannity say, but their understanding of what is happening in America is far more in touch with what I see around me every day than ANYTHING coming from the left. I can agree to disagree with Glenn Beck on the benefits or costs involved in FDR taking us off the gold currency standard... but where is the proof of liberal statements that say that only the first $108,000 of income was EVER taxed under G W Bush? Do they actually expect me to believe that people making $216,000 didn't pay taxes on the upper 50% of their income in 2003?

ANY conservative politician, regardless of affiliation, needs to recognize that association with these kinds of thoughts and views are going to cost them dearly in the next two election cycles. If you can't PLAINLY show that you are a proponent of solid, measurable conservative values and principles, then you are going to have very tough, costly campaigns ahead of you. I'm not suggesting that Taylor is "associating" with the pundits on Liberal Left... but he has a big "D" behind his name, and the pundits in question are blindly calling for support to that quarter in November. That is just as true for GOP politicians who can't embrace the more conservative tones in their constituencies. The GOP can't afford to have a whole lot more of the Murkowski or Castle defeats without being seen by many as a "failing" party, which might lead to a divided vote in key states.

On a humorous note...

The same liberal pundits mentioned above were SCREAMING at the "biased" media for calling undue attention to the opinion polls now out showing such growing discontent with the Democratic Party over the last four years. Seems they feel that the "biased media" is creating a self-fullfilling prophecy by stating that "voters" in general are unhappy with Democrats, and this is causing many Democratic voters to stay home during key primary elections.

Oh, the irony...