Never thought I would hear myself say anything like that…….

If the reader is a regular then they will know that I am not a fan of Haley Barbour he is my governor and I have not had a whole lot of good to say about him and his way of governing….I have criticized him unmercifully at every turn …….I do not think Barbour is stupid only that I did not agree with his governing style in my state…..if nothing else can be said about Barbour it can be said that he is a helluva politician and a knowledgeable politico…..

But now for something completely different (thanx Monty Python)………

The recent purity purges occurring within the GOP is an indication of a dying party trying desperately to find a life giving issue or for that matter, a leader, something that is sadly missing with the party now.

It is the far right versus the middle or the moderates……the purge right now is of the moderates….the far right is saying that there is a litmus test and if they, the moderates, do not pass then they are out…..and to the extent that the Party will work against a moderate in any election they enter into.

And look how so-called moderates of the past are behaving…Pawlenty of Minnesota is on board with the litmus test for a “proper” candidate and then there is the popular governor of Florida Charlie Crist…..he has started back peddling and caving to the far right of the party.  He, Crist, is running for the senate and he is trying hard top appease the far right so that he can win his election without the Party trying to de-rail his effort.  For instance, his stand on the stim plan from Washington he has said:

Crist told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he “didn’t endorse” the stimulus bill and he wouldn’t have voted for it. The Associated Press, however, pointed out that Crist had once told AP that he had “endorsed” it.  Crist was the only major Republican to campaign for the stimulus bill by appearing onstage with Obama in February. He even asked congressional Republicans to vote for it.

He is crawfishing or waffling or whatever you choose to call it….he is NOT a man of principle he is just trying to win an elect at any cost, even to losing his ideals.

And then there is my favorite governor Haley Barbour, for years I have disagreed with damn near everything the man has said or done, but for once I can say that I am proud of his stand on the purges.

Barbour told the Iowa Independent:

Party building is about addition and multiplication, not subtraction and division, Barbour said at a party fundraiser in Des Moines. The GOP must be inclusive, he argued, and that idea extends to even the most divisive political issues. To make his point, Barbour pointed out that he helped pass several anti-abortion bills as governor, eventually garnering his state the reputation as “the safest place in the nation for an unborn child.”  But he said there are good Republicans who don’t agree with him on the issue.

“There are tens of millions of pro-choice Republicans that are just as good Republicans as I am, and we need to support them,” he said, adding: “That’s what party building is about, and don’t think that is giving up your principles.”

All of which prompts conservatives to cry, Haley’s comet is streaking! He’s a strong voice in a leaderless party, and as leading 2012 contenders self-destruct, flirt with fringe theories, and attack one another, there sits Mr. Fix-It, now a successful elected executive, conveniently term-limited in 2011. Even opponents are impressed, or at least they say they are. “He’s an unusual combination of someone who’s really good on policy, really good on politics, and really good on TV,” says Democratic lobbyist Anthony Podesta. “And everybody likes him.”

Once again I am proud of this conservative for his stance…I never said he was stupid.  Also said, during the last election when McCain won the nomination of the GOP that Barbour should be on the short list for vice president.  Why would I say that if I disliked him so?  Slate.com has said it better than I could have:

Barbour is the GOP’s Mr. Fix-It. Sixteen years ago, when the party was in a similar position—booted out of the White House, out of money, and ideologically incoherent—he was elected to run the Republican National Committee, promising strong executive leadership to rebuild the party. In his first two years, he bailed out the nearly bankrupt National Republican Campaign Committee while cajoling, strategizing, fundraising, and bullying fractious Republicans back into the majority. Newt Gingrich was the bullhorn of the 1994 Republican revolution, but Barbour was the guy who paid for the bullhorn.

His experience then as now gives him the inside track to another leadership roll in the GOP…a party that should be all inclusive….I cannot believe I am saying this…the GOP could do worse than nominating Haley Barbour….and they probably WILL!