I have long argued that conservatives need to be strategic in their thinking when it comes to elections. While I will fully admit that balancing “the most electable” with “the most conservative” is rarely easy it is still a critical decision to make. “Throw all the bums out” is not a wise strategy for regaining the majority or implementing conservative policy.

This has recently been driven home to me as various groups, personalities, and candidates seek to use the Tea Parties, and other populist sentiments, to push their own agenda; an agenda that I think hurts both the GOP and efforts at conservative governance.

One example in particular stands out: Bay Buchanan, Tom Ganley and the attacks on Rob Portman. Portman and Ganley are competing for the Republican nomination for the Ohio US Senate seat open with the retirement of George Voinovich.

Portman is a former Congressman, US Trade Representative, and OMB Director. Ganley is highly successful auto dealer in the Cleveland area. To put it bluntly, the only reason Ganley is a part of this equation is the assertion, or threat depending on your perspective, that he is willing to spend $7 million dollars; most of it his own money.

Now there are problems with this scenario (more on that below), but recently Bay Buchanan has entered the fray in an attempt to make this an ideological battle. We would do well to ignore her advice and be suspicious about her motives.

Rather long rant argument follows below.

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“Too bad we don’t have the personnel available to spend the money.”

Revealing:

. . . Paul C. Light, a New York University professor who tracks the transition, said Mr. Obama had announced 56 of nearly 500 officials who need Senate confirmation, nearly twice as many as Presidents Bill Clinton or George W. Bush had by this point. But just 36 have been formally nominated and 26 confirmed, closer to the historical average.

“They were really fast in the first 100 meters,” Mr. Light said, “but this is a 10,000-meter process, and they’ve slowed down quite dramatically. I would have bet you the farm they’d break the recent record, but now they’re on pace to become the slowest.”

Remember: This was supposed to be a disciplined, organized process that would exude competence. It is certainly exuding, but the thing being exuded no longer resembles competence in any way.

Canadian unions are urging retaliation against a Buy America provision:

Two of Canada’s largest unions are urging the federal government to adopt a Buy Canadian policy similar to the proposal that has been criticized in the United States.

The Europeans and the Chinese haven’t kicked in yet. President Obama and the Democrats in Congress are standing at the edge of a precipice, trying to decide whether to jump and further damage our economy.

H/T Greg Mankiw.