So I posted a few days back, while watching the Democratic debate, that I wonder if the Dems will have some lingering hard feelings after all of these vicious attacks. Well, apparently some Dems are worried about the same thing:

A few prominent Democrats, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.) and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), have spoken to the former president about the force of his Obama critiques. There is some fear within the party that if Obama becomes the nominee, he could emerge personally battered and politically compromised. And there is concern that a Clinton victory could come at a cost — particularly a loss of black voters, who could blame her for Obama’s defeat and stay home in November.

The Washington Post article talks to some other prominent Democrats that are getting a little nervous about the potential repercussions of the thrown-down fight between Clinton and Obama.

“This is harmful to the party, it’s harmful to the state. And I understand they want to win, but this is about — should be about — a competition of ideas, not who can pull the hammer harder,” he said.

Read the whole article here.

A few comments I made to the Politico made their way into a story on IN Voter ID laws.

Anyone who watched the campaign for National Chairman last year knows that an important voice throughout was the most famous (or infamous depending on your take) of CR blogs, Truth Caucus. While I’m not sure it was a compliment, he threw up one of my favorite photos of the National Officers.  And he’s right, the times are changing: being youthful, positive, and inspired is good for us and good for the party.  

We’ve heard quite a bit out of the MSM this year (and last) about the Republican Party being “fractured”, but I’m watching the Democratic debate on CNN right now and the immediate thought that comes to mind is, “They all hate each other.”

Sens. Clinton, Obama, and Edwards are all seriously tearing into each other on policy as well as personal terms. Constantly, they are cutting each other off with things like “Barack, that’s just not true…” and “John, why are you still here?” (Ok, that last one was made up, but the point remains that they are really going for the throat with each other here)

One has to wonder if this continues, will their supporters be able to rally around the eventual winner? Iraq is increasingly becoming less of an issue because of the tremendous work of our troops in securing the country. Without this issue as the banner under which all the Democrats can call for defeat, what will they rally around?

UPDATED: Post-debate I found some of the real quotes demonstrating the vicious attack they were all lobbing at each other. Some valid points made by them all, haha. Enjoy -

Hillary on Obama:

“It’s hard to have a straight up debate with you because you never take responsibility for any vote,” Clinton said at one point.

Obama on Hillary:

While he was serving as a community organizer in Chicago, said Obama, Clinton was serving as a “corporate lawyer on the board of Wal-Mart.”

More Clinton on Barack:

Clinton matched Obama’s howitzer with one of her own, noting that while she was fighting Reagan’s policies Obama was “practicing law and representing your contributor Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago “– a reference to indicted real estate developer Antoin Rezko.

UPDATED 2: Mark Halperin has some quotes and links to stories covering the quite tenacious Democratic debate.

Marc Ambinder has a very interesting post about the lines being drawn by local and national union leaders in the Democratic primary.  Considering the waxing and waning influence of the unions in the last 15 years, the importance of this election to them is massive.  This is a very interesting development.  

Many people would consider it to be good news abortions in our country have fallen to the lowest levels in decades.

However, then I realize that the level to which they have fallen is the still the unacceptably high number of 1.2 MILLION abortions per year.

It’s hard to call this a glass half full…

It is encouraging that, for whatever reason, abortions are falling in America. I would like to think it’s because the movement to protect innocent life is making headway through the education of men and women that human life is at stake.

Includes a little blurb from me, unfortunately not the comment I had about Barack, but we live to fight another day.   S.C. GOP youth predict strong turnout

CRNC Team walking the streets of Memphis during the 20007 National Board Meeting…

Karl Rove (ahem: CRNC alumnus) has laid it all out there for The Hill on how we can beat the presidential Dems next fall. Some tidbits:

On Obama:

“He got elected three years ago, and he [has] spent almost the entire time running for president,” Rove said.

Rove added that Obama has only passed one piece of legislation during his time in the U.S. Senate, and during his time in Illinois state Senate, Obama had “an unusual habit” of voting “present” instead of yes or no.

Rove also said that nonpartisan ratings show that Obama is more liberal than Clinton, which he said is “pretty hard to do.”

And Sen. Clinton:

Specifically, Rove hit Clinton for what could have been her worst campaign moment last year, when she had trouble answering a question about driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants at the Democratic debate in Philadelphia.

“You know, Sen. Clinton [has] got a problem with giving straight answers in this campaign,” Rove said. “I thought that was an incredible moment. In the course of 15 minutes, I counted her giving about four different answers.”

The Bush confidant also trotted out one of the lines of attack the RNC has already been working feverishly against Clinton, questioning why she and former President Bill Clinton will not release records from their time in the White House. This, according to Rove, “raises legitimate questions about what she’s hiding.”

And both together now:

Time and again, however, Rove returned to the trump card he used in his successfully executed 2002 and 2004 elections, saying that neither Obama nor Clinton is prepared to protect the country from terrorists.

Rove, as he had before, cautioned however that this race shouldn’t and can’t be only about shining a light on how liberal or untrustworthy the Dems are, but that we must offer a positive, forward-looking vision for America:

He said the candidates had to first “create a sustaining narrative about themselves.” Then he said the candidate should “immediately engage” on the “kitchen table issues,” like healthcare, education, jobs and the economy.

Whenever the Architect speaks, it is wise to listen. Sorta like Yoda…

CR Nation has a good post, mentioned below by Ethan, on recruitment on campus.

It’s worth the read, and I’d like to add a few little tips and reminders just to keep the conversation going and maybe add a little spark to your recruiting efforts on campus.

1) Spring recruitment is often something that is discounted in importance by many chapters because the fall recruiting wave was either so successful that we choose to ride the wave through until the next year, or so uh…bad…that we give up and assume things won’t be different in the spring. It’s vitally important that we don’t make this mistake for a few reasons. First, there are many new students that show up in the spring after transferring schools that would not otherwise know about your organization if you didn’t tell them. Two, as is the case right now, campuses come alive as we approach campaign season and now is an excellent chance to capture the people who catch the political fever first. Lastly, we’re going to need as many people as possible in the fall and we do not have the luxury of waiting all summer long to begin building our ranks in the fall - we need them plugged in now!

2) No matter the season, we have to show some energy and enthusiasm while recruiting. Sitting behind the table, or recruiting via hopeful gazes doesn’t do much to build our chapters. Get up, move around, have some music playing, throw some things (preferably not very hard), and get some attention! Go get people and bring them to the table, or have two people walking around together with a clip board while two others are at the table. Don’t be afraid to joke around and have a good time. Remember: college students want to have fun, even while practicing politics.

3) On the CR Nation list, they list some things to have at the table. Those are all good ideas, but I would like to emphasize the flier for your next meeting. Some new members might not get entered into your email list right away, or are simply forgetful, and this is a great way to leave them with a little reminder about the meeting coming up tomorrow. Make sure to have a funny slogan, all the details, and a reason to come (pizza is a good start).

4) Recruit at events! When people are streaming in to see your speaker, are sitting in the rows before the movie, or are leaving the BBQ you had setup - grab their info!

5) Recruit often! One table a semester doesn’t get everyone. Move the table around for the next time your recruit, and have one up at least once a month but try to get as close to once a week as possible.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for right now…

If you have suggestions about tips to include email them on over csmith AT crnc.org