John Ziegler recently made news for his interview and subsequent stalking of David Keene of the American Conservative Union.

If you watch the actual interview it really is disturbing how unprofessional Ziegler is to someone who is the head of the ACU. Do the questions he is asking need to be asked? Of course. The ACU has been accused of some serious ‘pay for play’ issues and that is something that needs to be cleared up. It is also true that others in the conservative camp weren’t asking these questions. But Ziegler goes out of his way to be offensive, rude, and unprofessional for seemingly no reason.

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Update: Link to LA report on levees added per Aaron Gardner’s request.

Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA) is making national headlines for giving the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Nation tonight. And Republicans across the country are fawning over this new Republican “rockstar.” In essence, giving him the Obama treatment.

Does Jindal present conservative principles effectively, concisely, and in a way that appeals to the common American without compromising the conservative message? Sure.

But conservatives are supposed to be the pragmatic side of the spectrum. We’re supposed to look beyond rhetoric and ideology to see what people do to back up their principles. Not living up to principles, and not holding those accountable who failed to do so is a large reason why Republicans suffered electoral losses in 2006 and 2008.

Not examining a man’s record that qualifies him for a job is the criticism Republicans leveled against Democrats for electing Barack Obama. And yet that is exactly what Republicans are doing with Jindal.

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There have been some questions lately of Barack Obama being off message.

With Nancy Pelosi visiting Pope Benedict this week, it’s interesting to see how the Catholic Church’s message as gotten derailed and how it might recover. John Allen remarks on the Vatican’s giving Pelosi the cold shoulder. If this is the beginning of a new trend in the Vatican’s message, it’s a good start.

But it may be too little too late.

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Call the three Republicans that are reportedly going to vote in favor of the “stimulus” and cloture and who are thinking about selling themselves out for a few meaningless tax cuts.

Let them know that this package will not stimulate the American economy, will not create jobs, and will only put us further in debt than ever before.

As one of my friends put it - make their lives a living hell because it’s what their votes for the stimulus will be doing to our pocketbooks, our children and grandchildren, and our country.

Call Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania)

(202) 224-4254

Call Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine)

(202) 224-2523

Call Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

(202) 224-5344
Toll Free: (800) 432-1599

Let them know that this is not what America needs.

Ed Morrissey examines a quote from Michael Yon about the Israel/Gaza conflict:

It is simply astounding that many foreign governments do not see this for what it is. Good Muslims are murdered by Muslim extremists in probably dozens of countries, yet certain European governments insist that there is some sort of moral equivalence between Hamas and the democracy called Israel.

Both Yon and Morrissey make the clear connection between the European sympathy for Hamas and the appeasement policy Europe adopted towards Hitler in the years before WWII.

But I’d like to draw another connection, or at least draw attention to what I think is part of the root of the problem, what George Weigel calls a “crisis in civilizational morale.”

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Mike Bayham has a post  that should be read in full about tomorrow’s contest for the LA-02 seat:

Pardon me as I promulgate some political absolutes that will doubtlessly rankle a few folks.
If you vote for Bill Jefferson on Saturday you are one of the following:
1) Racist.
2) Stupid.
3) Crooked.
4) A relative of the embattled congressman
5) All of the above.
If you are a resident in the Second Congressional District and decide to not
participate in the general election you are at least one of the following:
1) Lazy.
2) Apathetic to Louisiana’s recovery from the 2005 storm season.
3) Stupid.
4) One of the candidates that thought Jefferson was terrible enough to challenge in an election but are too self-serving to speak out in the general election and are thus not an individual to be trusted as a sincere agent of reform.

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Jeff Sadow has a must read post about the national media’s focus on Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

He makes a compelling case that the media is beginning to monitor Jindal’s every move to have instant criticism and arguments against him ready for a potential 2012 run at the White House:

Ever since Jindal succumbed to the electoral politics bug, liberals have recognized the danger he presents to their agenda. Jindal does not apologize for his conservatism but neither does he come off as much of an ideologue; he articulates it well both at a philosophical level but also in terms that demonstrate its superiority to the typical citizen; and, worst of all from the liberal perspective, his life to date explodes the myths of racism and upper-class warfare that liberals desperately want to con Americans into thinking, particularly when it comes to conservatives and Republicans.

The only missing ingredient that could make Jindal a virulent political force against liberalism, now with its most complete control over policy-making at the federal level in history, is a sustained record of success in governance. A candidate with this quality not only would win a decision in 2012 over president-elect Barack Obama, given that Obama appears at this point not be to wavering from his stated agenda, but would score a Reaganesque knockout of Democrats and liberals.

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In one of the most conservative districts in the country, one that has been held by Republicans since 1977, Democrat Jim Harlan seemingly thought he had a shot and went overboard in November’s election.

Before getting to what actually happened, let’s look at this district’s most recent (30 years) history. In the past 30 years, the district seat has been held by 4 of the most conservative Republicans in the state and according to various conservative ranking organizations, the country:

1. Bob Livingston served from 1977-1999. Some of you may remember him as the man who was selected to succeed Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House before he suddenly decided to retire.

2. David Vitter took his spot, and despite the recent discovery that he cheated on his wife with one of the “DC Madam’s” girls, had an astoundingly conservative voting record in the House, which he has now transferred to the Senate.

3. Bobby Jindal. Enough said (I think everyone is familiar enough with him by now).

4. Steve Scalise was elected in a special election this past May after Jindal left his seat in January to become Governor of Louisiana and has a perfect rating from the American Conservative Union.

In light of this, with Scalise winning a dominating majority in the election in May and in one of the most conservative districts in the country, we see this from Jim Harlan in the November general election:

Wealthy Democrat Jim Harlan was convinced he could beat Republican Rep. Steve Scalise in Louisiana’s 1st district, even though the district is the state’s most educated, most affluent and most Republican. George W. Bush drew a stunning 71 percent in the district in 2004, an even stronger showing than he had in Wyoming. Harlan put more than $1.2 million from his own pocket into the race, and his campaign directed some of the most ridiculous attacks of the cycle against his opponent. For example, the Harlan campaign criticized Scalise for misleading voters by claiming he had a 100 percent voting record, even though he did have a perfect attendance record. “Scalise actually missed 1,453 votes in the 110th Congress before taking the seat in May,” charged a bizarre Harlan press release.

In the end, while Harlan’s campaign bragged about being added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program and touted a late September Kitchens Group poll showing Scalise with an 11-point lead, the Democratic challenger drew an embarrassing 34 percent of the vote, losing by 32 points. He never had a chance, but his campaign acted as if a win was likely.

Ridiculous is the right word for it. Harlan claimed that Scalise missed votes that occurred *before *Scalise was even elected. Yet another reminder of the lengths Democrats will go even in a seat that is completely out of reach. And, I think a lesson to act realistically in how to appropriate resources in a campaign.

While advocates of a Jindal presidential run are looking at his Iowa visit this weekend as hopeful signs of beginning to build connections nationwide, his opponents are looking at it differently with a spokesperson from the Louisiana Democratic Party questioning his focus on his job.

And that focus will be tested in the next few months as Jindal plans to tackle a beast of a problem in the form of Louisiana’s Health Care system:

For too long our state has languished at the bottom of health care rankings – 49th in overall health care in 2007, 48th in prevention of obesity, 48th in cancer deaths, and 49th in premature deaths. Nearly one out of every four Louisianians is uninsured, too often receiving their care in emergency rooms. Excuses have been used for too long, and now is the time to take action and ensure that the health of our people, not the whims of bureaucrats, is the most important thing. Medicaid spending has grown 28 percent since 2006, which is completely unacceptable considering how poor our state’s health care outcomes remain.

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National Republicans are getting giddy over the possibility of a presidential run by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

And given Jindal’s record, who can blame them: Ivy Leage credentials like Obama, head of the University of Louisana System, LA Secretary of Health and Hospitals, Assistant Secretary of Bush’s Department of Health and Human Services, Congressman for LA’s 1st District for 3 years and has hit things out of the ballpark in his first 10 months in office.

And though Louisianians are enjoying the new found spotlight from the national attention given to Jindal, they are beginning to get uneasy about the idea that Jindal is perhaps not focusing enough on their state or that he may leave it with deep problems for a presidential run.

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