Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal:

Two central facts give shape to the historic 2010 election. The first is not understood by Republicans, and the second not admitted by Democrats.

The first: the tea party is not a “threat” to the Republican Party, the tea party saved the Republican Party. In a broad sense, the tea party rescued it from being the fat, unhappy, querulous creature it had become, a party that didn’t remember anymore why it existed, or what its historical purpose was. The tea party, with its energy and earnestness, restored the GOP to itself.

In a practical sense, the tea party saved the Republican Party in this cycle by not going third-party. It could have. The broadly based, locally autonomous movement seems to have made a rolling decision, group by group, to take part in Republican primaries and back Republican hopefuls.

(more…)

In 1994, GOP Leaders managed to release a “Contract with America” just days before voters swept them into office. Establishment types sitting in DC continue to believe that the “Contract” was somehow relevant to their victory. One of us was in the field during that election and can confirm that, at least where we were working, not a single voter had heard of the “Contract.” It was a DC thing.

37958976-GOP-Pledge-to-America –

Within hours, the DC GOP Establishment, desperate to show that they “get it,” will unveil their new “Contract.” They document is out now and is included here.

(more…)

Talking heads, pundits and bloggers have been buzzing for months now at the prospect of Republicans in Congress releasing a new version of the Contract with America, the set of legislative proposals Newt Gingrich and other Republican leaders cobbled together in the lead up to the 1994 election. While that election saw Republicans sweep into control of the House for the first time in 40 years, and take the Senate, 2010 is not 1994. Nationalizing that election made sense, nationalizing this one reeks of opportunism and a desperation for the Washington establishment to claim relevance.

In 1994, everyone knew Republicans were going to do well, but they didn’t know how well. The battle with President Clinton and liberals over Hillarycare, Congressional corruption and other issues soured a large portion of the nation on Democrats. It was a harmonic convergence of events that set the ball on a tee for Republicans. No one can say whether or not the Contract was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but it is given so much credit that logic dictates that at least some of it is undeserved.

While the ideas in the original Contract were put on paper by people from inside Washington, they had been outsiders their whole careers. None in the House had ever served in a Republican majority. Those drafting the new “Contract” have, and lost it by becoming what they ran opposing. It hasn’t been released yet, but the rumors are circulating about its content and release date, possibly as soon as this Thursday. Regardless of what it says, the message it will send, and the trouble for campaigns, campaigns doing quite well without it, is that it this election is about Washington. It could be the unforced fumble as the clock is running out of the 2010 campaign.

(more…)

The last few days have me once again at the center of a lot of talk. This time, it’s not what I asked candidate Obama or what he said back to me. But it is because I again said exactly what was on mind and some people have now rather gleefully seen my words as a stumble on the national stage. Maybe so–or maybe it’s another step toward honesty that only looks like a stumble to those who think every word must be scrubbed for effect and the political advantage of those “behind the curtain”.

For those who missed it, I questioned whether Sarah Palin should have supported John McCain in his Arizona Senate race. I said it because I can’t help but think that this honest-to- goodness, true blue American hero has been changed by Washington, D.C. and not for the better. I said that instead of him “making me,” as a reporter asserted, he “ruined my life.” Truthfully I wish I hadn’t said that last part or at least had the chance to fully explain it because it’s not at all the “rest of the story.”

So let me set the record straight: I broke Ronald Reagan’s “11th commandment” not to criticize fellow conservatives in public and the liberal mainstream media has had a field day with it. I regret that. I wish I had said it to his face and privately. I do honestly believe that John McCain’s service to our country as a courageous naval aviator and POW rightfully earned him nothing but respect. He has represented the epitome of honor, duty and unimaginable sacrifice. And for the record, he didn’t ruin my life. He and Barrack Obama sent me down a far different path than the one I was happily on–a new path that made me famous, notorious, sought after and vilified. I have learned that all those good and bad things happen when you are thrust into the public eye. Like almost anyone else, I have loved the good and hated the bad.

(more…)