Young, fun and... Republican?

If you think young Tories in this country get a bit of stick for the old YC memories, spare a moment's thought for the young Republicans who are battling the fact that Obama has brainwashed their entire generation... Well almost all of them:

"A lot of people my age don't have a grasp on what's going on in the world," said a 22 year-old seating attendant who wished to remain nameless (attendants were not supposed to talk politics to guests). "It might be appealing to have the government try and bail out poor people, but that's not the way the government works. It might be appealing to get out of Iraq, but that's not the way war works. It might be appealing to have the government fix schools, but that's not the way education works. McCain is talking in practical terms, and it's time young people got more practical."

Baring in mind this came from the ever irritating

Huffington Post

, it isn’t likely to be the most balanced of views on the young Republican movement, but the rest of the article is well worth a read.

Word from TB’s friends who recently spent a lot of time in the company of Young Republicans painted a different picture. It seems that the press across the pond are as unfair as certain attacks CF has to put up with…

Classic line at the end of this video:

Seems they have some hotties...

Oh dear...

Maybe TB won't make it Washington after all : (

If you have half an hour....

TB strongly recommends you listen to this

amazing interview

with Shaun Bailey that was on Radio4 this morning.

Inspirational stuff...

Cheers

Thank you very much to everyone who, after just three months, voted Tory Bear to the giddy heights of 35th in

Iain Dale's 2008 Top 100 Right of Centre Blogs

.

TB is looking forward to meeting lots of you in Birmingham.

If you go down to the Brum today...

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wtf?

Why the hell is The Times spending money on GoogleAds spreading unsubstantiated, tainted and poorly sourced gossip?

Are things really that desperate for the dead tree lot?

Pre-Conference Ratings

It's that time again already... Please click the link below and take a moment to fill out the ten questions here. Just did it and it takes less than a minute!

TB will re run this survey the week after Birmingham and see how the results change.

Cheers

Enjoying this election a little too much...

Despite having no vote in the USA and having a go at people last week who act like they do, TB can't help sitting back and watching this fascinating election unfold. For a political junkie like TB each twist and turn and new development is new crack.

Americans take their elections to a whole new level. This years DNC was smashed all viewing records and had more people watching Obama than the Oscars. Our conference season is going to be tiny in the face of the grand conventions- party conference struggles to get decent coverage from the rolling news channels, let alone the "prime-time."

Bare with TB if he gets more than a little excited from time to time over the next eight weeks. The combination of a fascinating primary season and the fact the race is still wide open and likely to get bloody could make this the most exciting election in a very long time... or McCain or Palin will do something fucking stupid and BO will storm it... but only time will tell!

At this rate TB is very, very tempted to fly out in November... Who's coming?

In the meantime here's a little tune for y'all.



Give it a minute to get going...

True Love Waits...

This from CNN:

"Sarah Palin, who announced on Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, indicated during her run for Alaska governor that she was a firm supporter of abstinence-only education in schools.

In a 2006 Eagle Forum questionnaire, Palin indicated that she supported funding abstinence-until-marriage education programs instead of teaching sex-education programs.

"Explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," Palin wrote in the conservative group’s questionnaire."

Hmmmm whoopsy daisy... seems the message didn't quite resonate at home.

This won't do her any damage, if anything it will dog-whistle the middle-America Republican base. Palin doesn't just talk the talk about being pro-life she walks the walk too and will do everything to help her daughter. This would have broken at some point and the sooner the better really. Especially as this can be used to help kill the

the speculation

that her youngest son was actually her daughters has been blown out of all proportion. The photos of the supposed "bump" under Bristol's jumper do not warrant the attention this story got and the lovely Sarah looks pretty damn pregnant

here

.

These developments prove two things about this election:

1. The Democrats are running very scared about Palin.

Obama may be feigning his disgust but the left have woken up. After the battering that Kerry got, going from war-hero to fraud in 2 months has not been forgotten and the left have learnt how to fight dirty.

2. This really is the year of the blogger.

The fake pregnancy attack on the Daily Kos

went from being an obnoxious smear by some bearded little lefty to hitting the networks and international newspapers in just 24 hours. Just four years ago the MSM treated the blogsphere with slight disdain and now every single network and every single newspaper in both the USA and UK has a full staff of bloggers and strong internet presence. The bloggers break the "news", true or not and the old guard follow. The prominence of the blogs in USA2008 bodes extremely well for the UK whenever our miserable, cynical and negative government finally comes to a grind halt and we get out turn on the stump...

But with power comes responsibility... The left truly are the nasty ones these days the DK lies aren't something to be celebrated but demonstrate how powerful the blogs have become.

More on Scotland

Further to his rant and musings about the state of the Scottish Conservative Party and subsequently Scottish Conservative Future, TB had a wee chat with ABB. It was interesting to hear what a former Scottish CF player thought, having experienced both the inner workings of the two organisations.

Why isn't CFS given anywhere near the amount of attention CF receives?

Well firstly Scotland is a lot smaller. It is only one 10^th of the United Kingdom and relativity should always be noted in this, however that is not the bottom line. After staying in contact with numerous high ranking members of Conservative Future Scotland since departing for London last year, I am continuously told of the struggle to gain support from The Scottish Conservative Party itself. A part of me always feels that connection to Scottish politics, especially to Conservative Future Scotland and I am deeply concerned the problem is not CFS but rather The Scottish Conservative Party itself. Based on what I am continuously told by friends still up in Scotland, CFS receives no where near as much support from the central office as it should do.

CFS is arguably in a pretty poor state, what are the main problems?

The Scottish Conservative Party need to recognise who and where their next generation of voters and supporters are coming from, and start utilising that. It is my firm belief that if CFS was given more support from the central party up there, we would see more gains – much in the same way Conservative Future works down here in England. There are some incredible, ambitious and driven people in CFS who, like the rest of the Scottish Conservative Party, never want to give up fighting the constant lies of the SNP. They want to be out there campaigning, out there signing people up and out there fighting by elections. But when by-elections do come around, I am told by numerous people that they contact the Scottish Conservative Party and offer to help, but nobody ever gets back to them. The problem? Communication and teamwork. There is strength in numbers and I believe if the Scottish Conservatives were to take CFS more seriously, start listening to them rather than just relying on them to keep the university presence strong when freshers roll around each year, we might see some progress.

How do you feel the problems in CFS reflect the larger scale problems the Conservative party in Scotland faces?

One of the things I have always admired about the Scottish Conservative Party is how they never give up. In England we’re fighting the Lib Dems and Labour. In Scotland, they’re fighting Lib Dems, Labour and the SNP. I sometimes worry that perhaps complacency is looming on the horizon here in England because we know we can have it at the next general election – we’re so close to government we can already sense it. Of course, that’s a good thing, but complacency is never a threat in the Scottish Conservative Party. It just doesn’t exist – there is nothing to be complacent about. We’re fighting for everything up there – fighting Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP. That fighting spirit is what I have always admired about the party in Scotland but I am worried that perhaps we are gradually starting to loose that spirit which has kept us alive for so long. That would be the worst thing. Nobody is denying it’s a long hard fight, but we simply cannot give up. “Give Up” should not even be a phrase used in politics – we are all here because of what we believe and that is something you should never give up on. That’s why it is so important that the Scottish Conservative Party recognise the importance of CFS. They are the young, the fresh, the new and the enthusiastic – the Scottish Conservatives need them now more than ever before. CFS could very well be the force that saves the Scottish Conservatives and leads us on to making the changes we have been fighting for in Scotland.

Surely it should just be bought under central CFUK control?

As much as I believe this to be a unionist party, I appreciate that in order to engage the Scottish electorate at the highest possible level, it is necessary to have two separate party boards; one for Westminster and one for Hollyrood. However, I am aware of a growing desire by some CFS members who have worked hard for their party, to move away from the Scottish Party and wish for CFS to come under the banner of CF, simply because they feel disillusioned with the way the party treats them. I can understand where such view points come from but am concerned such a move would create further division and cause yet more problems which ultimately help nobody and hinder the Scottish Conservative Party’s presence in Scottish Politics further. For this reason and to avoid this, I urge the Scottish Conservative Party to take CFS more seriously. CFS is the next generation and right now they are being ignored. If utilised properly, CFS could attract a whole new generation of Scottish Conservative voters. If ignored, we risk alienating a whole generation and thus creating a generational gap in the Scottish Conservative Party. The result would ultimately be the end of the Scottish Tories, something I am not willing to stand back and watch.

Murdo4Leader?

I have a great deal of time and respect for Murdo Fraser.

People say Scotland is lost cause and we should just let them get on with it, even if that means independence, why should party members in England care about what is going on in Scotland?

Because this is a unionist party and in a general election Scotland votes too. Traditional Scottish values of prudence, respect, personal responsibility and morality are exactly those of the Conservative Party – why shouldn’t we care about Scotland? There are still large areas of Scottish politics which fall under the control of Westminster – not Hollyrood – and for as long as that is the case we need to be there for Scotland. If we stop caring about Scotland, they might just stop caring about us come the general election.

TB is escorting ABB to the Scottish Conservatives Lunch at conference... Should get some tongues wagging...

Idiot spotting...

Spotting this pillock certainly made 5 hours on the M4 slightly more amusing.

Thank you to the person who emailed

this site

over... very funny and very true.

Number 15 is TB's favourite.

Something for the weekend...

Poor Darling

Maybe TB is going soft in his old age but he can't help but feel sorry for Darling. It's a new low for the man banned from most pubs in the country when he can't even order a second bottle of wine in a restaurant without being public rebuked by a waiter. You have to feel sorry the guy, especially given the position he is in...

Darling's

interview

in the Guardian today shows a different side of the man trapped in his own loyalty: "For Brown to repay his friend's loyalty by sacking him would be brutal - even Shakespearean. But then, politics can be like that. Darling is one of the most experienced politicians in the country. And yet, more than once, I find myself wondering how much of a political animal he really is."

Of all the characters in this unfolding tragedy you have to wonder when Darling will reach breaking point - he has taken the fall for Gordan's mistakes in the past and he continues to take the fall now and still his boss has the audacity to brief against him. The loyal friend and ally is being stamped and trodden on and you have to wonder if he will be a

Stamper

to Gordon's Urquhart?

A Howe moment from Darling and it's curtains for Gordo...

Campaigning, Conference and Wales...

TB is off to Wales for the weekend, never been before... not quite sure what to expect. Sadly he will be missing the

Tooting Campaign Day

but do go along and help Mark - 10:30 Saturday morning at Tooting Broadway Station - as ever your hard work will be well

rewarded

.

Tickets to the must attend event of conference will go on sale early next week. Keep the Tuesday night in Birmingham free from nine until the wee hours. TB's bash will include a high profile guest speaker, live music and a hell of a lot of booze...

Real booze unlike the normal warm glass of conference wine!

While on the topic of conference, did anyone else resent having already forked out an obscene sum of money for the pass, having to pay the ridiculous £3 carbon offsetting? It's not the money that is the issue it's the blatent hollow gesture politics that has to change. TB demands pictorial evidence of the tree that will be planted with that three quid.

Might post again tonight but weekend will be very quiet.

Business as usual Monday.

The fight back begins...

www.vpilf.com

has been registered...

Shame she has a slightly irratating voice...

Excellent News + VPILF!

McCain could have pissed on Obama's parade last night and released his

fantastic

VP choice during "The Ones" ascendancy but instead he released this:



Legend.


UPDATE: 16.23 - Congratulations to Mr Peterkin for coining the phrase VPILF:

After checking out

Miss Wasilla 1984

TB is inclined to agree...

Lib Dem lies...

Found these in a Facebook group, they are by a chap called Tim Fell...

"Fed up with hearing the Fib Dems crow about how many areas in Britain have no Conservative councillors.....maybe this will dispel the myth. The yellow on the left marks the local authorities with no Lib Dem councillors, and the one on the right does the same for the Conservatives. Twice as many for them as for us, and if you consider that in the highly rural areas of the celtic fringe Conservatives have a tradition of standing as independents it makes it even better for us!

So....what were you saying again Mr Clegg???"

Quite...

UPDATE: It has come to TB's attention that he just shamelessly ripped this story of

ABB's blog

... great minds etc

Toga...Toga...Toga...

One for TB's buddy

Shane

.

News from the North

Former President of Conservative Future Scotland Maurice Golden has been selected to fight for the Tories in the completely unwinnable Glenrothes by-election.

Maurice stood for Central Fife in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election and gained 2000 odd votes to the SNP's 10,000.

He must beat the Lib Dems to take third - a hurdle of some 2000 votes.


Having cut his teeth editing the Dundee Student Times, or "'Life in Dundee according to Maurice Golden" as it became "affectionately" known under his tenior, he then took over Dundee University Students Association. An impressive feat for any Tory, especially in Scotland.

TB has spoken to a fair few Calidonian co-conspirators today and the general consensus is the Party didn't exactly choose the most inspiring of candidates. The word dull came up more than once. Maurice was CF President in Scotland for three years and to be fair by the end of his time in office had made some enemies. TB imagines he will be hard pushed to get some of the older members of CFS, who remember the

cliquishness

of his last year or so in office to hit the streets for him.

CFS is very different from CF in England. One thing that binds the members in England is the prospect that we will more than likely be in government soon, or at least that is an achievable goal.

In Scotland things are very different.

The Conservatives won't be forming a government in Holyrood and there seems little to fight for. It's hard to unite the youth behind a banner that has the prospect of coming fourth. Because of this, little things like supposed cliquishness or bitchiness is taken so much more seriously instead of members looking to the bigger and brighter prospects of a successful campaign. Grudges are held in the quagmire of endless defeat.

The situation CFS and the wider Party in Scotland is in at the moment needs a massive kick up the arse and has been playing on TB's mind for a while now... Any Party that doesn't notice a hundred grand going walkies in in a pretty shoddy state.

Livingstone to work for mudering, corrupt, racist, anti-semetic communist dictator...

Got home late to discover this on the BBC:

Former London mayor Ken Livingstone is to work as a consultant for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"Mr Livingstone, who has long been a supporter of Mr Chavez, will advise pro-government mayors in the capital Caracas on urban planning.

He said he was "proud and honoured" to be part of the city's transformation.

As mayor, Mr Livingstone struck a deal to swap cheap Venezuelan oil for city planning advice, but it was cancelled by his successor Boris Johnson.

After a meeting with Mr Chavez in Caracas on Wednesday, the former mayor said he was pleased that Venezuela would now get the "advice that we promised".

The BBC's James Ingham said the two men, who share left-wing political views, hugged each other like old friends."

TB is lost for printable words.