Whither conservatives now?

'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
—Alfred Lord Tennyson

Doing our part. Stepping up to the plate. Stepping up for service. Stepping up to do the right thing. —Fred Thompson

Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote the perfect obituary for Fred Thompson's presidential campaign yesterday, a tribute to the man, his integrity, and his campaign.

Fred Heads can continue to honor the conservative cause by printing, reading, and replaying Thompson's pre-Iowa caucuses speech; by fondly remembering the phrase "no hand shows" as a rebuke to the mainstream media circus; and by keeping the faith in the battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party.

Thompson: the $1 million man

Congratulations to the Fred Thompson presidential campaign on raising $1 million in the ten days since January 4. This will enable Thompson to get out his true conservative message in a big way this week in South Carolina.

Rasumssen reports that Thompson is now in a statistical three-way tie for second in the January 19 South Carolina primary election.

The battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party

FRED THOMPSON, JANUARY 10, 2008 REPUBLICAN DEBATE, MYRTLE BEACH, SC: "This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and its future.

"On the one hand, you have the Reagan revolution. You have the Reagan coalition of limited government and strong national security. On the other hand, you have the direction that Governor Huckabee would take us in. He would be a Christian leader, but he would also bring about liberal economic policies, liberal foreign policies. He believes we have an arrogant foreign policy and the tradition of 'blame America first.' He believes that Guantanamo should be closed down and those enemy combatants brought here to the United States to find their way into the court system eventually. He believes in taxpayer-funded programs for illegals, as he did in Arkansas.

"He has the endorsement of the National Education Association, and the NEA says it was because of his opposition to vouchers. He said that he would sign a bill to ban smoking nationwide.

"So much for federalism. So much for states' rights. So much for individual rights. That’s not the model of the Reagan coalition, that’s the model of the Democratic Party."

Presidential politics: American Idol or The Apprentice?

Conservative commentators from Rush Limbaugh to Jason Lewis have been bemoaning the fact that the presidential campaign has centered on superficialities and presentation, quips, sound bites, and celebrity. Yet they already seem to have written off the only true conservative in the race, a month before Super Tuesday, rather than lead the way by supporting him on this crucial "job interview."

That got me to thinking: will the electorate this year pick the next leader of the free world as if they were watching American Idol, or The Apprentice?

American Idol is a competition that rewards performance. The contestant who can charm the audience, deliver a technically superior performance, stir the emotions, wins.

The Apprentice is a competition that rewards results through leadership. The contestant who can lead their team to sell the most, create the best marketing campaign, stage the best charity fundraiser event, wins.

In this age of talk radio, instant messaging, online social networks, online on-demand video, and blogs, we the people will have more influence over what kinds of campaigns are waged because more than ever, we will be the campaign.

This is good news for conservatives. Rather than a media-driven campaign of emotions and visuals, we can wage a campaign of ideas and principles. Rather than complain about campaigns and debates that are more Entertainment Tonight than The McLaughlin Group, we can change the debate, one voter at a time.

Whom would you rather have choose the next president, Simon Cowell or Donald Trump? What qualities will our country truly need in our next president?

To get started, go to www.fred08.com and read how Fred Thompson would lead this country to security, unity, and prosperity with a steadfast return to the conservative principles that made this country great. Then help this country say to Thompson, "You're hired."

What's more important than being a good candidate?

"Ultimately, when we make up our minds we should think about the qualities the candidate would bring to the Oval Office--and not just whether or not they would make a good candidate." —The Wall Street Journal, "What we want in a president," January 2, 2008

"What do we do now?" —Robert Redford as candidate Bill McKay in The Candidate (1972), after winning the election

How many times have conservatives been convinced to trade their ideological convictions for "electability?" Be pragmatic, would you rather support a true conservative and lose, or a moderate Republican and win?

Well, after getting Governor Green Jeans, JOBZ, North Star Commuter Rail, smoking bans, and public subsidies for billionaire baseball team owners and an industry that is burning our food for fuel while billions of barrels of oil sit untapped under our feet, I would rather support a true conservative and WIN! That's why I will be supporting Fred Thompson at my precinct caucus on Tuesday, February 5, 2008.

Conservatives will never again be a factor in U.S. politics until we take back the Republican Party. That won't happen until we show up to the caucuses and conventions, and get conservative candidates endorsed and elected. Only then will real conservative change be possible.

Read more at the True North precinct caucus page for further info on getting involved. Those of us with jobs and kids can't go to all of the rallies and meetings, but the change we want won't occur by leaving it all to someone else (hello, Democrats outnumbered Republicans at this year's Iowa caucuses by nearly two-to-one). I hope to see you there on February 5.