Steven F. Hayward has written a very smart piece in today's Washington Post, titled, "Is Conservatism Brain Dead?"

I also wanted to point out this graph:

... it is perfectly possible to conduct talk radio at a high level of seriousness, and several talkers do well at matching the quality of their shows to their intellectual pedigree. Consider Hugh Hewitt (Michigan Law School), Michael Medved (Yale Law School), William Bennett (Harvard Law and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Texas) -- all three of these brainiacs have popular shows on the Salem Radio Network.

Read the whole thing.

Andrew Griffin of the blog Oklahoma Watchdog has a good post up detailing ACORN's uncovered "Power Plan" to take over Oklahoma.

Eyeing 2012, Tim Pawlenty imitates McCain’s blog strategy (08:11)
Weighing T-Paw’s chances (03:39)
Conservatives turn against GOP candidate in NY special election (03:59)
Is this race worth an intra-party schism? (08:16)
Newsmax.com calls for American military coup—should we care? (06:26)
Dave to liberals: Quit wasting time being outraged by the right (05:34)

In response to a caller on his radio show today, Rush Limbaugh said, "I'm too famous to be on Twitter."

Later, though, he conceded that he frequently instant messages with friends during events such as Obama speeches -- and that the humorous content might be good for Twitter.

He ended by saying that Twitter may need him because it is currently a "vast wasteland."  Ultimately, he said he would "ponder" tweeting...

To honor the life and work of Jack Kemp, the Kemp family is planning to launch a living legacy to Jack's memory -- (a "do" tank not another "think" tank.) 

As such, The Jack Kemp Foundation is set to host their kick-off event on October 21.  For info about the October 21 event, click here. 

Also, become a Facebook fan of The Jack Kemp Foundation here.

I was on MSNBC today discussing a statement made on the House floor by Rep. Michelle Bachmann.  What made the segment of note was that my opponent, Adam Green, referred to Bachmann as "crazy" three times during the short segment ...

The upcoming special election in NY-23 is a three-way Congressional race between a Democrat, a liberal Republican, and a candidate on New York's Conservative Party ticket. 

The Club for Growth has decided to back the Conservative candidate.  Here's the ad, which essentially argues there is no difference between the Republican and the Democrat ...



Here's the press release ...

Club PAC Launches TV, Radio Ads in NY-23

Washington – Club for Growth PAC began a $250,000 television and radio ad campaign today in the special election for New York's 23rd Congressional District. The campaign follows Club PAC's recent endorsement of Doug Hoffman, a Republican running on the Conservative ticket, over liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava and Democrat Bill Owens.

“At a time when 100% of House Republicans did the right thing in opposing President Obama’s big spending 'stimulus' plan that has failed to boost our economy, and a time when House and Senate Republicans have the unity and the votes needed to defeat big labor’s odious Card Check bill, it is outrageous to think that the New York Republican Party would offer up a nominee who supports the Obama/Pelosi stimulus and Card Check,” said Club President Chris Chocola. “There's hardly a distinction between the Republican and Democratic candidates in this race.”

Club PAC's television ad (seen below) will run in all three of the principle TV markets in NY-23 and asks the question, “Who's more liberal: Dede Scozzafava or Bill Owens?” In the State Assembly, Scozzafava supported Governor Paterson's massive tax-and-spend budget, while Scozzafava and Owens both support the union-backed Card Check bill and President Obama's budget-busting "stimulus" plan.

A Club PAC radio ad (available below) will also run throughout the district and focuses on Scozzafava's liberal voting record and her support of the Democratic agenda.

“Doug Hoffman offers voters an alternative to a big tax and spend Democrat and a big tax and spend Republican,” added Chocola. “On the question of which candidate in this race would consistently and strongly support policies that grow our economy, Hoffman is the only choice.”

Showing early signs of a likely presidential run, Tim Pawlenty today filed forms with the FEC to create the Freedom First political action committee.

According to a release, "The new federal PAC will offer financial support to candidates committed to putting freedom before government, and provide organizational support for Pawlenty to promote his innovative, conservative message. The new PAC will have an unprecedented approach to citizen engagement, and features a website at www.TimPawlenty.com, where supporters can add their voice to Pawlenty’s message."

Pawlenty's PAC is already supported by an impressive and distinguished list of leaders.  It will be co-chaired by William H. Strong, the Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley, and Vin Weber, former Minnesota congressman.

 Freedom First PAC Minnesota Co-Chairs include:

Al & Cathy Annexstad, Shorewood, Minnesota
Bill Cooper, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, TCF Financial Corporation, and former Chairman of Republican Party of Minnesota.
Mark Davis, Chairman, Cambria 
Megan Doyle, Founder, Hope for the City
Jeff Larson, Former CEO, 2008 MSP Host Committee and Partner, FLS Connect.
Susan Marvin, President, Marvin Windows
Tim Owens, CEO, Voyager Bank
Tom Stauber, President & owner, Edwards Sales
Bob Ulrich, Former CEO, Target

Senior advisers will include campaign veterans like Phil Musser, President of New Frontier Strategy and former executive director of the Republican Governors Association; Terry Nelson, Partner, Mercury Public Affairs and former RNC and Bush-Cheney 2004 political director; and Sara Taylor, President of BlueFront Strategies and former White House political director. Former FEC Chairman Michael Toner of Bryan Cave, LLP will serve as the PAC’s counsel.

The PAC’s communication director will be Alex Conant who most recently served as the RNC's national press secretary and senior advisor.

Pawlenty has also landed a top-notch crew of online experts. 

Online strategy and outreach will be led by former Townhall blogger Patrick Ruffini and Mindy Finn -- both of the firm Engage.

Liz Mair and Patrick Hynes of Hynes Communications will handle online communications outreach. As you may recall, Hynes served as blog outreach consultant for McCain’s 2008 Presidential campaign, and Mair served as the RNC’s online communications director during 2008.

Trisha Hamm, who was previously the political director for Pawlenty’s gubernatorial campaign, will serve as the Minnesota Finance Director and Annie Kelly, who formerly served as the deputy campaign manager for Pawlenty’s campaign in 2006, will be responsible for PAC operations, and Don Stiles will serve as Treasurer.

Make no mistake, this is the kind of move one makes if they are planning on running for president.  The impressive list of names included in this roll-out implies, to me, at least, Pawlenty is planning on running an aggressive and serious campaign.  Moreover, the amount of online talent implies Pawlenty will be extremely formidable online.