It is official, Sen. Bernie Sanders, self avowed socialist, will be challenged by John MacGovern for the chance to represent the state of Vermont in the U.S. Senate.

A few weekends ago, after our state committee meeting, I had to opportunity to sit down with John. We discussed his record in government, his views on the issues, and his run to unseat Sen. Sanders and bring balance to Vermont’s federal representation.

John MacGovern is a pro-growth fiscal conservative who believes that our debt is creating a condition of economic slavery, and our policies are hindering economic mobility. John is in favor of flattening taxes and creating an environment where producers are not punished for their success.

In addition to being a fiscal conservative, John MacGovern conservative on National Defense. John is supportive of common sense cuts to defense spending that do not endanger our missions or the safety of our Armed Forces. MacGovern believes we must trust our commanders on the ground and stop making policy decisions based on political calculations.

John is also pro-life. He understands that Obamacare will lead to government being in more private family decisions, such as the hotly debated HHS mandate. John sees that the HHS mandate is a violation of conscience rights protected by our Constitution for some 200 years. John MacGovern supports the full repeal of Obamacare so we can work towards true reform of our healthcare system.

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Prepare yourselves, I am going to write something semi positive about policies that the Romney campaign happens to espouse today, at this hour*.

Today the Romney Campaign is rolling out their new tax plan. Tonight could be a great night for Romney in the debate. While Santorum may get lost in the weeds and off message with the social issues, Romney will be making a push to talk about his new tax plan. If Mitt can change the focus to the economy and lay out the details of his new tax plan, he can leave Santorum stumbling just before AZ and MI vote.

What Gov. Romney is saying in Chandler, AZ today sounds like it has potential. It isn’t a fundamental reform, but I think the whole package will probably look good and be pro growth for sure.

To that point, I consulted the Mouth of Sauron** on Willard’s tax plan, and it sounds pretty solid so far.

• Make Permanent, Across-The-Board 20 Percent Cut In Marginal Rates, with Reagan’s 28% top rate.
• Pro Growth cuts – 25% Corporate rate.
• 15% Capital Gains for those making over $200,000
• Base broadeners: See Bowles-Simpson
• Change to a Territorial Tax system

Nothing extremely bold, but some solid reforms.

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I see quite a few have taken exception with the word “redemption”. I don’t know if these complaints are lodged just to be outraged about the religiosity of the word, despite the appropriateness of its use, or if you truly think I was being literal in only the spiritual sense.

If it is the latter, I can assure you that I am using the word redemption specifically because it has more than one meaning. Most common, especially from a Christian like myself, redemption is all about the spiritual, and I don’t mind if you don’t buy that part. Redemption also means to reclaim something of value.

Most of us are looking for that second kind of redemption politically, in our economics, in our personal finances, and some are also looking for it after having had divorces.

I won’t go through and defend the things Newt has done, and I probably won’t defend the things he does in the future, but I don’t begrudge any man who becomes the champion of his own fate and chooses to go on a journey of redemption. It’s what America is made of.

Fundamentally.

Whether you are talking about the pilgrims who journeyed across the Atlantic, the patriots who took up arms to secure the ideals of the Enlightenment for their posterity, the freed slave, or the immigrant who saw, and continues to see, America as the last best hope; all of them were/are taking part in a journey to reclaim something of value – Freedom. Their pursuit of freedom and the opportunities that come with it, are – at their core – journeys of redemption, and something that most Americans instinctively understand and respect.

Aaron B. Gardner

With Speaker Gingrich having won South Carolina, and now polling ahead of Gov. Romney in Florida and nationally, there is one question that keeps popping up. What is it about Newt Gingrich that conservatives voters find appealing? Rush Limbaugh has at least part of the answer:

To those of you in the Republican base, this isn’t complicated. Newt is winning. He is on a momentum roll here because he can articulate conservatism, that and he’s willing to take it to Obama. I have said for the longest time that whoever does that, whoever articulates conservatism with passion, with love, cause that’s love of country, with good cheer. Conservatism is inclusive. Somebody who can articulate it happily, proudly, with good cheer cannot be beat.

Rush is right, Newt articulates conservatism. He does it very well and he rarely misses an opportunity to do so in grandiose fashion. This in and of itself isn’t that big of a deal. In all honesty, articulating conservatism isn’t all that hard, especially when our focus is leaning more and more towards conservative populism.

What makes this interesting is that Newt has managed to win by articulating conservatism while having a considerable record of apostasies. Newt isn’t an empty vessel as Rush suggests. No, he is a vessel filled to the brim with ex-wives and mistresses. Newt is a man who sat on a couch with Nancy Pelosi, who favored an individual mandate, who, for all intents and purposes, lobbied for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

So what is it about Newt that allows the conservative voter to so easily look beyond these betrayals?

I attempted to answer this question in a series of tweets last night.

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The circumstances under which I write this are beyond horrible, I get it. It sucks that Gov. Perry is in this position. It sucks that the people of IA, NH, and now SC, have ignored the record of an outstanding governor and true blue conservative. It sucks that people have relied on shallow criteria for selecting a nominee.

It sucks, but the reality is, this is what has happened. The Governor’s campaign is nearly broke and he is on the verge of going into personal debt. The news on the wire is that he has conceded this reality and will be dropping out of the race. He will be holding a press conference today at 11 am ET.

With that in mind, I suggest we all do a few things.

Donate what you can to ensure that Gov. Perry isn’t left in debt when this is all over.

After SC, win, lose, or draw, thank the Governor for changing the tenor and tone of this race by giving a donation to retire whatever debt he may have. These things will allow the Governor to fight on from the outside, if that is what he chooses, or go home to TX with minimal personal damage to him and Anita.

I say all of this as one of Governor Perry’s biggest supporters on RedState. I have given what I could, I have written what I could, I have influenced who I can. I have run the race with honor and will end it with my principles intact.

Each one of us has a choice in how we proceed, we can succumb to the grief we are all feeling, looking for someone to blame. Or, we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and continue to fight for the ideas and principles that the Governor brought to the race. This is truly the extent of what you can do to try and change the reality as it exists right now.

Donning the sack cloth and smearing ashes on ourselves will not change the heart of a single voter, nor will it advance the cause of freedom, which Gov, Perry has been fighting for.

Our cause is greater than one man, even though our man is a great one. If the Governor leaves the race, it will be up to us to carry the banner and push those who remain more towards the ideas and principles Gov. Perry championed.

Aaron B. Gardner

In 2009 we began a conservative resurgence. We had just witnessed a stunning economic intervention from the Bush administration, and were now facing an expansion of government. President Obama, with a complicit Congress, had charted a course that included giveaways to every left wing pipe dream couched as stimulus. Conservatives and libertarians formed a loose coalition and took to the streets to seek redress.

As the movement gained strength and popularity, the Obama administration decided to flex its muscles and force even greater socialist schemes on the people of this nation. The passage of Obamacare, while an absolute defeat for smaller government, served as a rallying cry that strengthened our resolve.

In 2010 we put down the protest signs and picked up campaign signs. We made errors, but more importantly, we took back the House. Unfortunately, we didn’t change our leadership. Betrayals and half measures served to squash the optimism that had been prevalent.

As we began pondering the 2012 GOP candidates, there was a palpable pessimism. The field was unworthy of the conservative resurgence that had returned the House to our control. We were all awaiting a champion.

Pence declined, Palin declined, Daniels, Christie, Jindal, Ryan, none would step forward.

Then, something happened. Governor Perry heard the call and threw his hat into the ring. For a moment, we were optimistic about our primary.

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Illegal immigration, and the debate that comes with it, isn’t going anywhere. This became clear in previous debates when Governor Perry came under fire and was reinforced last night when Speaker Gingrich spoke these words:

I don’t see how the — the party that says it’s the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century. And I’m prepared to take the heat for saying, let’s be humane in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship but by finding a way to create legality so that they are not separated from their families.

This was followed by Governor Perry:

the real issue is securing that border. And this conversation is not ever going to end until we get the border secure. But I do think that there is a way. That after we secure that border that you can have a process in place for individual who are law- abiding citizens who have done only one thing, as Newt says, 25 years ago or whatever that period of time was, that you can put something in place that basically continues to keep those families together.

Somehow Governor Romney, who here and here was voicing approval of some form of amnesty, has some convinced that he represents the hardline on immigration. Not wanting to chase this rabbit, I will note that this is purely a political move by Gov. Romney rather than a principled objection. After all he’s “running for office, for Pete’s sake…”

With this in mind I think it would behoove us to have an honest discussion about what we believe as conservatives and how this should shape our policies.

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Governor Perry’s campaign has released a new ad in Iowa today that smacks the condescending arrogance of President Obama. The ad begins with the President’s recent remarks while campaigning/vacationing/playing golf with a friend who frequents the ladies of the night, in which he blamed the country’s current malaise on the American people being lazy.

“We’ve been a little bit lazy over the last couple of decades. We’ve kind of taken for granted — ‘Well, people would want to come here’ — and we aren’t out there hungry, selling America and trying to attract new businesses into America,”

Governor Perry’s retort? “That’s Pathetic.”

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Gov. Rick Perry has released his second positive ad this week. First, there was the t.v. ad he started running Wednesday in Iowa simply called “Creating Jobs“. You might have missed that one since people were instead focused on attempts to make an issue out of debates, or the President’s birth certificate.

Today he releases an ad titled “Cut, Balance and Grow“. This one highlights his Cut, Balance and Grow plan and is gushing with an optimistic vision for America.

Hopefully this ad can break through the media narrative of the Governor being an angry conservative who lacks vision. His plan, as evident in the video, has inspired people like Steve Forbes, Steven Hayes, Rep. Paul Ryan, Rush Limbaugh, and the Wall Street Journal.

The only question is whether the voters are willing to give this optimistic vision a chance and listen to the message rather than focus on the media narrative that is being pushed about Gov. Perry.

Aaron B. Gardner

In 2008 Conservatism, and our nation, took a thorough beating. The reigns of power were passed on to a revolutionary cause inspired by Marx. Some may chastise me for such inflammatory rhetoric, but I don’t really feel like mincing words in this post. The current administration is filled with Marxists, this is simple fact. Proof of this was seen mere moments after President Obama finished reciting the oath of office, and more proof has flowed forth ever since.

Our cause sprang back to life in 2010, and, despite still being a tad punch drunk from 2008, we managed to wrest back control of the House of Representatives. Now, with President Obama stuck polling in the low 40′s, we have set before us an opportunity to retain our edge in the House, take the Senate, and replace the Marxist who currently occupies the White House as his useful idiots occupy various streets in our beloved land.

My fear is that this opportunity will be wasted. My worry is that our movement still doesn’t quite have it’s legs beneath it or its weight properly centered. We have not only the opportunity to have a 1980 style rebirth of Conservatism, but also a chance at putting up the wrong candidate and replaying 1976 instead.

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