Scott Turner, You Can't Run For President

At the opening lunch for the Texas Public Policy Foundation's annual Policy Orientation, the speech by State Representative Scott Turner (@ScottTurnerTX on Twitter) knocked it out of the park.

Google Hangout with @JohnCornyn today 12 pm CT

Later today, Texas Senator John Cornyn is hosting a Google Hangout, and I've been invited to participate.

Should be fun. The festivities kick off at 12 pm CT, and if you want to watch, click here to RSVP.

Hooray for BOTH of my Senators!

So, the shutdown's over...at least this particular fight is over. We'll probably be right back here in a few months because they only managed a short agreement, but whatever. This image sums up what I, and I think many Americans, are thinking:

Hat tip: Twitchy

Anyway, in the various conservative corners of the internet, a lot of the most impassioned discussion has focused on the roles of certain Republican members of Congress and whether they were "sellouts," "unrealistic," "radical," "RINOs" or a million other unflattering descriptions. Far too much of this chatter was not only petty, it was unproductive or even destructive.

My friend Kathleen McKinley has written a very thoughtful piece for the Houston Chronicle today, focusing on the two Senators from the great state of Texas:

Opposition to Syria intervention inspires FreedomWorks to change long-standing policy

Forward? Or For War? Is this the new "red line"?

As POLITICO reported yesterday, conservative organization FreedomWorks had taken the unusual step of publicly opposing the congressional resolution authorizing the use of military force in Syria, and would consider it a "key vote" in its next round of congressional scorecards.

I say "unusual" step because before now, FreedomWorks has maintained a strict policy of staying out of foreign policy issues. It's a risk for political organizations to venture into new philosophical territory, because they build relationships with supporters, stakeholders, and donors based on their areas of expertise and influence, and they may endanger those relationships if the organization takes on new issues and their supporters don't agree with them. 

Rubio on #IRSscandal - "These are the Tactics of the Third World" [VIDEO]

Florida Senator Marco Rubio had harsh words for the Obama administration in a floor speech he delivered today [video of full speech and text of selected excerpts after the break]:

I Smite Thee, in the Name of Andrew!

We miss you, happy warrior.

We lost Andrew Breitbart just over a year ago. 

Since then, there have been endless discussions about how best to honor his memory, pondering over whether anyone could possibly fill his shoes.

As I look back over the past year, I'm sad to admit that I think we as a conservative movement are doing a very poor job of carrying on Andrew's legacy.

Quit being Eeyores. If there's hope in MA, there's hope everywhere.

Since last November's losses at the ballot box, it's become somewhat of a contest on the right to see who can issue the most depressing predictions about the death of the Republican party. Changing demographics! The messaging is awful! Our technology is outdated! 

Everybody panic! DOOM! DOOOOOOOOOM!!!

It's frustrating to watch. People who I know are positive in most other areas of their lives, become so negative when talking about the state of conservatism that they make Eeyore look like an optimist.  

Well, here's a little glimmer of hope: Republicans are finding ways to win in Massachusetts.

Speaker Weatherford's Opening Day remarks reaffirm his opposition to Medicaid expansion

Speaker of the Florida House Will Weatherford delivered his opening day remarks earlier this morning as the 2013 Legislative Session began, and they're worth reading.

Weatherford outlines the ambitious agenda he has set for the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon's discovery of Florida, including reform of the state's campaign finance and election laws, pension system, and schools. 

Notably, Weatherford also continues his strong opposition to Medicaid expansion:

Weatherford raises national profile as distance grows between Gov. Scott and conservative grassroots

After a number of articles late last year describing Florida Speaker of the House Will Weatherford as a "rising star" who was following in Marco Rubio's footsteps, he officially took the reins as one of Florida's youngest Speakers with the beginning of the 2013 legislative session and has embarked on an ambitious agenda, including campaign finance and education reform.

This week included two important moments for Weatherford as he continues to raise his national profile.

New Americans for Prosperity Congressional Scorecard released today

Just got an email from Americans for Prosperity announcing that they have launched their own Congressional scorecard, to evaluate "how focused your legislators are on promoting economic freedom."

OK, @BuzzFeed. Fair's fair. This made me laugh.

I pick on BuzzFeed a bit (and it's well-earned...see here and here, for example), but even I'll admit that the site has its entertainment value, and sometimes they just nail it.

Just because it's called "Violence Against Women Act" doesn't mean it helps fight violence against women

Today, the Senate voted on the misleadingly-named "Violence Against Women Act," and a number of conservative Republican Senators voted against it. Predictably, the Left is in a self-righteous fury over this, and are falling all over themselves to see who can be the one to call these Republicans women-hating jerks in the loudest voice.

This is a must read: "Conservative Outreach to Hispanics: A Primer"

A prominent topic of the conservative movement's endless election postmortem discussions has been the issue of the Hispanic vote. Not surprisingly, a lot of people have a lot of opinions on the subject, and it can be difficult to tell at first glance which ideas are worth pursuing.

Below, I've embedded a paper titled, "Conservative Outreach to Hispanics: A Primer," which was written by Samuel A. Rosado and Brittney Morrett, with contributions from Michelle Lancaster and Ben Domenech.

Still Proud.

Sigh...anyone who has spent five minutes reading this blog knows that many of tonight's results are not what I wanted, and some of them are not just disappointing, but shocking.

Keep Calm and Stay In Line

Election day is finally (finally!) here, and the next few hours will determine our nation's future, at least for the next few years. 

It's going to be an intense day, and it's easy to lose focus in the middle of all the chaos and excitement. Here are some things to keep in mind...

Make sure you're at your correct precinct. States have different types of provisional ballot rules, and certain restrictions have been lifted for areas affected by Hurricane Sandy, but it is much easier to be at the right place and not have to fill out the extra forms and come back to validate your ballot later.

Romney campaign link to look up your polling place (links for all states available).

LIBRE Initiative launches new Spanish TV ad in Orlando

The LIBRE Initiative, a conservative organization focused on Hispanic outreach, launched a television ad for Spanish television stations in the Orlando market during this last week before the election, with a simple yet powerful message:

Just who do you think you are?

John Hawkins at Right Wing News occasionally sends out email polls to a group of conservative bloggers, and his latest one was a simple two questions about the presidential race. We were asked (1) who do we thought would win the election, and (2) for whom we were voting. 

I didn't think much of it when I sent in my response (Romney for both questions, duh), but when John emailed out the results last night, I saw red.

Connie Mack: "Defund the UN" [VIDEO]

Florida Senate candidate, Rep. Connie Mack,
addressing the crowd at FreePAC Florida

Florida Senate candidate Connie Mack delivered a rousing speech at the FreePAC Florida event last Friday to a crowd of thousands of grassroots conservative activists, saying that he wanted to go to the United States Senate to make sure that "freedom was at the top of the agenda."

One of the loudest responses Mack received was to several comments stating that the United States should withdraw funding support to the United Nations:

FreePAC Arizona today, next week Florida!

Your humble correspondent

I'm in Phoenix, Arizona today for FreePAC, sponsored by FreedomWorks. We have a great day ahead of us, including grassroots training, a preview of Atlas Shrugged II, and presentations by Matt Kibbe, Kristina Ribali, Deneen Borelli, Dana Loesch, Glenn Beck, and many more.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @rumpfshaker and the hashtag #FreePAC for all the latest news throughout the day, as well as the official FreedomWorks twitter accounts, @FreedomWorks and @FWforAmerica.

Sarah Palin robocall urges voters to support "conservative reformer" Sandy Adams

Sarah Palin, who endorsed Sandy Adams in the Republican primary for Florida's Seventh Congressional District, recorded a robocall in support of her campaign: