Proud of yourself for taking one for the team? If you bought into the “brilliant Limbaugh strategy’’ of voting for Hillary just to bloody up the Dems you’d better come out of the ether real quick because I got news for you. You have been played like a fool and no one but you and the so-called experts are to blame for what’s coming down the pipeline.

You see liberals have no shame, especially ultra-ambitious and corrupt ones like the Clintons. If you haven’t heard yet, you will soon enough. Our conservative experts have led you like sheep to the slaughter in propagating the brilliant idea that if we keep Hillary in the race they will bloody up each other enough to disenfranchise each other’s supporters so our hero can ride into town victoriously without even firing a shot.

Great strategy if it wasn’t for the fact that the Dems have out flanked our illustrious leaders. Hillary has made overtures before, but she is making it very clear now that she will put Obama on the ticket once she wraps up the nomination. (see: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/ ) Now Obama is no fool, he is young and has nothing to lose even if by some miracle McCain can beat them in November he’ll be ready for another run in four years and if the dream team does get in, your brilliant strategy will have given us 16 years of liberal bliss.

Instead of voting for the best remaining conservative in the race, Mike Huckabee, you have now enabled the Dems to put forth their dream ticket. Oh, but you were so principled that you could never vote for him so you had no choice but to vote for Hillary. Well even if you didn’t like him he was your last shot to support the candidate of your choice at a brokered convention. Oops, instead you played right into the hands of the Dems with all your hopes resting on a worn out soldier with a hearing problem. Making a deal with the Devil will always burn you in the end.

It is time to clear your eyes before this happens again and analyze what went wrong. It is very simple 5-step plan but no one is addressing it.

• First, we have to realize that the strategy for electing more Republicans is not to elect fake ones in the first-place.
• Second, no matter who in the party thinks that the only way to win a national election is to put forth a moderate candidate who can appeal to independents, tell them to take a hike.
• Third, put pressure on the National GOP to return to the previous schedule of primary dates so liberal leaning states can’t pre-select or favor liberal-moderate candidates over conservative ones. If this wasn’t allowed this year we wouldn’t be settling for a candidate that has been equally comfortable on both sides of the aisle. He would have fizzled long time ago.
• Fourth, stop buying into the superior wisdom of morally and ethically challenged experts and myopic pundits.
• Fifth, stop alienating social conservatives and instead elect candidates that take seriously our Party’s platform.

Lastly, never make a deal with the Devil!

Conservative political pundits have to get away from their tendency to be influenced by group-think. I am amazed how most cannot see the forest for the trees. John McCain is the front runner by default simply because conservatives everywhere superficially looked at the backgrounds of the candidates seeing Reagan attributes where none existed. So goes the short list of "conservative messiahs"

First, Fred Thompson, who almost believed the press clippings about himself, was heralded as the only real Reagan conservative before fulfilling his real mission of diluting the conservative vote for both Romney and Huckabee. This helped his friend John McCain sustain his bid by winning South Carolina and divided the conservative vote everywhere else. Apparently his Geritol didn't kick in until S.C. He then gave a "conservative high five" to McCain by endorsing him, thereby losing his credibility. (Remember he campaigned for McCain in 2000).

Then no matter what the pundits and Republican establishment said about Mitt Romney, the social conservative faction of the Party wasn't buying it. Seeing through his re-invented image as a reborn conservative simply because he was an extremely successful businessman and had a "polished presidential" persona, they revolted. So what of the "Washington is broken..." mantra...  now that he endorsed the return of the 27 year Washington veteran? Could this possibly be another flip-flop? Oh but wait, I forgot it is for “the good of the Party” and this is another of his principled stands. Could it be he is vying for the vice-presidency? No not Mitt he is above that, he's not ambitious he's a Reagan conservative.

Seems the subtle and sometimes not so subtle bias against Mike Huckabee's "overly" professed Evangelical Christianity became the obstacle that prevented Party insiders and pundits alike to consider him as the best principled candidate in the race. Regardless of the fact the he is only one who could galvanize the social conservative base that put President Bush in office for two terms and the only one with 10 and a half years experience fighting the Clinton smear machine and corrupt Democratic establishment in Arkansas. The liberal media happily aided the "conservative" media in circumventing the candidacy of the candidate the Democrats feared the most.

Say what you will about Huckabee, no one is perfect, but he is the only candidate principled enough to hold McCain’s feet to the fire even if he doesn’t win. Unfortunately we may now lose the best debater in the bunch unless conservatives get their heads out of the sand and vote for the only candidate that can force a brokered convention.

The Republican establishment doesn't get it and the pundits won't admit it, because they are the real reason for leading good conservatives astray. If we don't act now, we'll end up with not one but two Democrats in the general election, one liberal and one moderate.

God help us!

Do not read this if you're comfortable with McCain: 

Now that each manufactured heir of the Reagan legacy, anointed by the "conservative" pundits and the Republican establishment, lay slain at the wayside, former detractors are rationalizing ways to support a previously reviled McCain candidacy. Is this principled conservatism? 
 
The seeds were planted for this face-saving maneuver by Ann Coulter by announcing her intention to support Hillary Clinton over John McCain in the general election. Rush Limbaugh has taken it a little further by promoting the idea that it would be easier to rally the troops against a Hillary than an Obama candidacy, while exonerating himself and fellow pundits of any culpability of ignoring the grass roots rebellion of pro-life, pro-family values conservative Christians.

To that end we can expect to see evolving a strategy that will encourage the party faithful to vote for Hillary in the Primaries or to accept the "inevitable" fact of a McCain candidacy at the expense of Mike Huckabee and the pro-life, social conservative wing of the Republican Party.

This will accomplish a dual purpose, on the surface it ensures that the Republican Party will have the more beatable Democratic candidate to run against in November. Secondly, it conveniently provides political cover to the pundits and party establishment for effectively putting John McCain on the ballot. Their stubborn dismissal of the candidate the left fears most and who is the only candidate that will galvanize the part of the party that propelled George Bush into office is the real reason we'll end up with McCain.

It is obvious that the "conservative" media and party establishment is increasingly uncomfortable with an "overly" Christian candidate and completely blind to the fact, as is evidenced by their complete surprise when their plans and predictions go awry. The liberal media is very to happy to oblige the misguided "conservative" media and establishment in propagating references to Huckabee's "limited" viability as an "Evangelical" candidate or that he is liberal.

The erasure from memory, that the Nation's Founding Fathers were men of Faith, will continue to challenge faithful pro-life conservatives, who will not compromise on the underlining most conservative principle of our day, which is the protection of the sanctity of life. Conservatives are being short-changed, particularly when there is a principled candidate who is 100% pro-life, will secure our borders and understands the threat of Islamic extremism.

Dr. Dobson, thank you for stepping up to the plate, let's pray it is not too late!

     It is apparent that the conservative base is drifting towards separate camps, hence the fracturing of the Republican Party. The entire "conservative" media and party power structure has totally missed the mark with their assertions that Mike Huckabee and his "Evangelical" supporters are to blame, when in reality they are the culprits.

    By looking past Gov. Romney's defects and anointing him as their true conservative champion, they must face up to the fact that they jumped on the wrong horse. If McCain ends up winning the nomination it is because of their stubborn pride and transparent prejudice against Mike Huckabee's "Evangelical" roots.

    This prejudice is very clear in the media, conservative or liberal. Go to any story or broadcast and sooner or later "Evangelical" vote will surface in their political analysis but you don't hear little or anything about the "Mormon" vote as it plays out in the West.

     They are transfixed on Gov Huckabee's "Evangelical" roots, but for some reason Gov. Romney's Mormonism is irrelevant, while John McCain apparently doesn't have a visible enough faith to be an issue.

     No one refers to Romney as a former “Mormon Bishop" but you'll hear countless references to former "preacher, Baptist Minister" and on and on when referring to Mike Huckabee. This anti-Christian virus has spread beyond the media and party structure to the entire conservative base itself as is evidenced by the increasingly hostile anti-Christian commentary in the blogasphere.

     The polarization between the social and religious conservatives and the secular conservatives has already been played out in a larger scale in the Democratic Party, where Ann Coulter points out Godlessness has become the church of Liberalism.

     This polarization is now in full swing in the Republican Party, its heart and soul is at stake but the outcome is yet to be determined. Christians have been maligned, and persecuted throughout history so this isn't something new, but people of faith need to remain steadfast and stay engaged in the fight. We need to refrain from defeatism as well as false righteousness.

     Is there a candidate that is 100% in line with the past Reagan coalition of social, defense and fiscal conservatives? Maybe not, but all issues are not equal and there-in lies the challenge. We as Christians need to determine who represents our principles the best and for that matter the principles of our Founding Fathers.

     The main criticisms of Mike Huckabee is that he is too Christian, not fiscally conservative enough and has no foreign policy experience, but if you delve into Ronald Reagan's record you'll find that he was criticized for the same reasons in 1976.

     So who comes closest to fitting the mold of Ronald Reagan? To me the choice is clear, it is Mike Huckabee, and to that end I will support him until he wins. Hopefully the "conservative media" and party faithful will wake up before it's too late!