Maybe it's time America should return to her Roots

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With the first bi-partisan action by Congress since the Stone Age it seems, in passing a spending bill, maybe America is ready to turn down the heat and turn up the hope for the future.  Here is an appearance on The Voice by Craig Wayne Boyd singing the spiritual classic "The Old Rugged Cross."

(Double click on the image to go full screen)

How about the radical conservatives and radical liberals take the next few weeks off and let us try and remember how to celebrate Christmas season.

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What have we learned from the Ferguson tragedy?

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After non-stop media bombardment in the countdown and release of the Grand Jury decision regarding the killing of Michael Brown, what is our 21st century lesson from what happened?

This may take a little time.

Our first lesson, we know bias and racism remain as underlining currents in America although anyone not knowing this lives in a bubble.

The bias exists between races, cultures, and even within races.  There is economic bias, class bias, opportunity bias, wealth bias, education bias, language bias, and a host of other biases that have nothing to do with race or color.

Then again, what can you expect in a nation that serves as a melting pot for all people of the world.  No other country in the world welcomes anyone and everyone like we do and when you get here, if you try to preserve your national culture, you are most likely biased.

Bias is such a monumental issue in America our founders made special provision in the Constitution and Bill of Rights to guarantee equal opportunity to everyone regardless of the prevailing biases.  They also made special provision in the Constitution and Bill of Rights to protect every American from any abuse resulting from such biases.  Finally, they established a system of justice to protect Americans abused because of bias.

On June 21, 1788, the Constitution was ratified.  We now have over 226 years of experience in enforcing the Constitution and we still have incidents of bias like the Ferguson, Missouri tragedy.

No doubt, we have come a long ways.  Way back when, only White landowners were citizens.  Minorities were not citizens, nor women regardless of color, nor all the immigrants we welcomed from around the world.  Not even the Original Americans were citizens.

Thanks to the Dutch, English and French, slaves came to America and they were not citizens.  When the Chinese came here to build the railroads, they were not citizens.  Nor were the Mexicans brought to harvest the American crops.

Even when we opened our doors to those fleeing desperate conditions, like the Irish potato famine, wars, unrest in Europe or Asia, the so-called Soviet crop failures, and the flight to escape Nazism, they received sanctuary yet had to earn American citizenship.         

I think bias may be a permanent human condition dictated by our programming throughout life and the culture in which we live.  If only we could learn to respect the biases of others perhaps, they could learn to respect ours and we could all live in harmony and peace.

Our second lesson, the media in America has lost its prestige that gave it special mention in the Bill of Rights.  Never was bias more apparent than in the media coverage of the Ferguson affair and few times in our history has the media led such an assault on our judicial system as the media reaction to the Grand Jury decision saying there was no probable cause for indicting the police officer, Darren Wilson, who shot Michael Brown.

For example, there is a ratings race between MSNBC and CNN and both cable networks have decided they have no chance to break the Fox News stranglehold on conservative and moderate America.  For well over a decade, FOX has dominated cable news with ratings two to ten times more than their competition.

That leaves the other two, MSNBC and CNN, in a dogfight to prove which is most liberal to the left wing extreme, so they have to out liberal each other.  What a shame since the liberals have not won a national election since, oh probably forever.

Lyndon Johnson and Franklin Roosevelt were about the most liberal presidents of the 20th century and they got us into the most devastating wars of our history, World War II and Viet Nam.  Indeed, they gave us the "New Deal" and "Great Society," but we also had the worst riots and urban warfare ever seen.

What is it about liberal movements that results in so much hate, disruption, and polarization?  Now that we have cable and national television networks fighting it out for the liberal spoils of ratings, we are right back in the midst of the discomfort zone.

Make no mistake; there are great liberal programs, services, and philosophies that benefit all people.  Yet just like with the conservatives, the good liberal programs were often hijacked by the lunatic fringe of the movement or were overshadowed by partisan polarization.

Social Security and Medicare have saved our older generation, whether conservatives or liberals.  Head Start is one of the few bright lights in the dismal performance of our education system.  Such liberal programs have distinguished America from other nations.

           

Liberal activists like Elizabeth Warren, when it comes to fighting Wall Street, are the only hope for ever curbing the abuses of wealth and power.  Yet, in order to secure the backing of the liberal media and liberal politicians, she and any other liberal must sell out many of the centrist principles of the real America to be part of the national debate.

Perhaps the greatest abuse of bias is obvious from the failure of the liberal media, when attempting to fan the ratings flames of the Ferguson tragedy, to acknowledge the existence of the toxicology report on Michael Brown on that fateful day.

A host of people and so-called experts are paraded before the cameras to tell us how flawed the grand jury system may be, or to discredit the testimony of the policeman regarding the condition of the victim Michael Brown.  When people have predetermined the outcome of a legal action, facts and truth have no role in the debate.

Well the fact is according to the toxicology report Michael Brown was stoned to a level equal to being drunk and incapable of driving.  So stoned on marijuana he walked into a store just before the incident, grabbed some boxes of cigars, and stormed out without paying.

Then walked down the middle of the street in broad daylight as if driving a car and not knowing which lane he occupied.  People do crazy things when they are stoned.  Charles Manson killed people.  Many others killed themselves.

The fact Michael Brown had a bag of pot in his possession indicated this was no first time use of drugs.  Why does the media refuse to expose the fact he may have been just another victim of drug abuse and when someone weighing 280 pounds is stoned, robbing stores, and walking down the middle of streets, perhaps they really are possessed by demons.

America needs to hear the rest of the story now hidden by the biased media.  We deserve the truth.  Then, we may be able to address the tragic conditions in our society that allow young men like Michael Brown to fall under the evil influence of drugs just like so many have fallen under the evil influence of another addiction, alcohol.

The full toxicology report story as contained in the Grand Jury documents is in the next CPT story about the Ferguson tragedy.

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Politics in America - the Clash of the Titans - Axelrod & Plouffe versus Palin & Limbaugh

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The Shadow Campaign moves to the Forefront as the Chicago Gang goes for the Conservative Kill

Politics in America is about to hit a new high or low depending on your point of view.  This past week brought to the forefront the underlying organizations who will most likely decide the future of America.

The four Shadow combatants now squaring off might as well be the ticket for the Democrat and Republican party because they have the potential to make the real candidates nothing more than wallpaper.

As a matter of fact, none of the four has any particular loyalty to a political party although they have taken the spoils of office as income sources in the case of the Democrats.

What is clear is there are no more powerful opinion makers, policy makers and spokespeople for the liberal and conservative causes that fight for control of the American political system every couple of years.

Make no mistake, nothing is done by the president without first checking with his surrogates David Axelrod and David Plouffe, and most times what the president does is what they told him to do.

Between the two they control access to the president and activities of the president.  They decide who gets what in terms of government aid and loans and if they don't sign off on policy it probably won't happen.

On the conservative side you have media titan Rush Limbaugh and media star Sarah Palin, the only one of the four to have run for major office or to have served in office as governor.

As non-candidates they hold sway over massive resources and can influence the entire campaigns from Super PACs and candidates to public opinion and political activism.

It is very rare that those operating in the shadows of a campaign come to the forefront but this time it happened and the result will be one of the most interesting, entertaining and brutal campaign perhaps in our history.

These four Titans can influence billions of dollars in campaign spending and they hold the keys to success of either President Obama or Mitt Romney, the most likely Republican candidate.

This week is a prime example of the Puppet Masters at their best as the liberal Titans made an early move to neutralize the conservatives.  It was broad based, well coordinated and did result in a few darts hitting their targets but it was far from a fatal blow.  Here is what took place.

The destruction of the twin pillars of the right, Rush Limbaugh & Sarah Palin

Make no mistake, the most important thing to the Chicago gang running the Obama campaign is the total destruction of the spokespeople of the conservative movement, Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin.

This past week Palin was scheduled for termination from the political scene with the release of the HBO movie about her based on the research of the Game Change book by MSNBC contributors John Heilemann and Mark Halperin.

The movie was directed by Jay Roach of Austin Powers and The Little Fockers fame which makes him more than qualified to do a film on the 2008 political race.  His political leaning is obvious as this was his second venture to destroy the career of a conservative Republican.

He tried it first with Recount, a film attempting to show that George Bush stole the 2000 presidential election in Florida.  In spite multiple appearances by the writers defending the "fair and balanced" portrayal of Sarah Palin, early reviews, even by liberal leaning critics, find that hard to believe as the film was clearly another effort to trash Palin's career.

Yet to be determined is the role anyone from the Obama campaign played in making sure Palin was out of the political scene during this campaign with the release of the film, curiously just before Republicans will select the opponent to the president.

Since HBO is owned by liberal Time Warner and MSNBC is owned by GE, yes the same company that made $9 billion in one quarter and paid no federal taxes, it seems as if the Hollywood liberals have found a cause to unite them, the final destruction of Sarah Palin.

Ironically, the Obama campaign came out with a Hollywood puff piece. a  17 minute major motion picture on how Obama saved America since being elected, and released it at the same time the Sarah Palin film was being released.

Do you find it a little ironic that the same week Obama officially launches his presidential campaign, his people orchestrate a nationwide assault on Rush Limbaugh to destroy his credibility, the Obama campaign releases a major minor motion picture on the hero Obama who has solved all our problems, and his cohorts at MSNBC, HBO and Time Warner release a major motion picture doing a trash job on Palin?

The problem with Chicago politicians all the way back to the days of Al Capone is that they just don't know when to quit when it comes to defeating their opponents.  Look how the Chicago gang  botched up the Valentine's Day massacre by killing everyone, leaving no one to tell their story to the press.  What good is a great hit if no one knows it was your hit?

Chicago provided the winning margin for John Kennedy's election back in the Richard Daly days getting 100,000 votes for the soon to be president out of Chicago graveyards.

When Barak Obama first ran for US Senate he was behind in the Democrat primary and his opponent mysteriously withdrew from the race though he was leading in the polls and went to work for Goldman Sachs.

Again in the general election his Republican opponent, also leading at the time, also withdrew from the campaign and went to work for Goldman Sachs.  I guess it was no coincidence that Obama's first chief of staff and now mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, also worked for Goldman Sachs.

So it is not surprising that this week saw a major flurry of activity against Limbaugh and Palin that left Obama smiling and emboldened and must have the Axelrod gang giggling like, well Chicago politicians.  After all, Limbaugh with his millions of conservative followers was also a force standing in the way of Obama getting reelected.

At the same time Palin, a force with the Tea Party, conservatives and many women's groups, was the only Republican politician who really got under Obama's skin in 2008 and since and brought out his true colors.

Never had a presidential candidate like Obama spent his time attacking the vice presidential candidate, Palin, like he did.  She singlehandedly stood between him and an anti-Bush landslide which he felt was his birthright having attended Harvard, and she denied him the glory of an electoral landslide to push his agenda of change.

Woe are those who cross a Chicago political boss and isn't his campaign located in the Windy City and not the east coast?  Must be because Oprah lives there.

So how did their political assassination and character destruction campaigns against Limbaugh and Palin work out?

Well, after all the liberal media filled the airways with how Limbaugh had lost his credibility, had lost a staggering 50 advertising sponsors since he shot his mouth off about a college woman before apologizing twice, and it looked like he would have his show cancelled.

Once again the Obama boys just might have exaggerated a little and overplayed their hand a lot.  Maybe Limbaugh lost 50 advertisers, but they forgot to mention on all those fair and balanced news shows that he is broadcast on over 600 stations and has over 1,800 advertisers with a whole lot waiting in line because his show is sold out.

Who is going to fire Rush when he owns his own show?  He has a $400 million broadcasting contract that is only half complete and he made over $64 million last year alone.  Most important, he has over 20 million loyal fans who could care less what he might have said bad about some liberal.  They have watched too many liberals try to destroy Rush and Sarah.

Then there is Sarah Palin.

After four years of the meanest attacks, most vicious lies and dirty underhanded tricks to discredit her they have failed to silence the Alaskan Grizzly.  What the liberal media did to her will haunt them forever in the history books when the truth can be told.

They are fools to think anyone in the public will buy into the lie that Game Change was anything but a Palin trash job by Obama surrogates who were trying to keep the president's hands from getting too much dirt on them.

Palin still has her broadcasting job where she can still tell the truth about Obama.  She still lives in Alaska where the Chicago boys won't go though they have often sent their own surrogates to dig up dirt on Palin.  She still has her organization with millions of gun toting fans and grizzly mothers along with her PACs and other fund raising groups.

Just like Rush, she is laughing all the way to the bank as every Palin book outsells the books by Obama and his legions of book writing liberals calling for the takeover of America and the redistribution of America's wealth.

The Shadow Campaign Titan Team Players

This secret Shadow Campaign, in which the two teams are now fully exposed, pits Axelrod, a New York kid who grew up in the lower east side of Manhattan before moving to Chicago for college, and Plouffe, a Delaware native with a long history in liberal political campaigns, as the liberal Titans.

Representing the conservative cause are Limbaugh, who grew up in Missouri, attended college in Missouri and went on to fulfill his lifelong dream to be a radio personality and Sarah Palin, perhaps the most dissected political personality in existence who is still alive. Sarah is a hard nosed, basketball playing, gun toting, hunter, fisherman, bush pilot and politician from Alaska.

This is going to be a most interesting and entertaining campaign.

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America's Most Powerful Conservatives in the Eyes of the Brits - The View from Across the Pond

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The Telegraph - UK

The most influential US conservatives

The final instalment of Telegraph.co.uk's list of the conservatives who most influence American politics.

By Toby Harnden, US Editor

1. Dick Cheney (6 in the 2007 list )

Former Vice President of the United States

A low key and intensely loyal vice-president, Dick Cheney has emerged as the principal tormentor of Barack Obama in the past year, shaping the national debate on national security and forcing the White House to scramble to respond. Cheney signalled his intent way back in February when he stated that protecting America was “a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business” in which “evil people” would not be stopped “by turning the other cheek”. Having campaigned against the “politics of fear” and ridiculing the notion of a war on terror, Obama is finding out that the Islamist threat was not something dreamed up by Cheney and Bush. The President has been repeatedly rattled by Cheney, as illustrated by his decision last May to time a speech so that it would coincide with the former vice-president’s address at the American Enterprise Institute. It was Cheney who framed Obama’s delay on deciding his Afghanistan surge strategy as “dithering” – and the characterisation stuck.

Some Republicans are deeply uncomfortable about Cheney being the voice of national security for the party – and in many respects the main voice on any issue. They fret that he is old and white and grumpy and has low approval rating – making him, in essence, everything that Obama is not (though the gap between their approval ratings is narrowing). We judge that this is missing the point. Cheney’s role at this stage – before a new Republican leader emerges – is to energise the party base (and he will also be a prodigious fundraiser for 2010 and 2012), keep Obama on the back foot and engage in the “tough, mean, dirty, nasty business” of politics that some with their names on future ballots would prefer to sit out.

2. Rush Limbaugh (5)

Talk radio host

The king of conservative talk radio – in fact, any talk radio – continues to go from strength to strength. Much slimmer, due to get married for a fourth time on the Fourth of July and having just survived a heart attack scare in Honolulu, Limbaugh’s influence continues to expand far beyond his show. When Michael Steele, chair of the Republican National Committee, described Limbaugh’s rhetoric as “incendiary" and "ugly", he soon corrected himself and apologised: “My intent was not to go after Rush - I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh." Limbaugh, who turned 59 this week, has clearly got inside Obama’s head and the White House unwisely decided to brand him as the de facto leader of the Republican party as a way of marginalising the GOP. This only served to elevate Limbaugh – the vast majority of whose critics clearly never listen to his show.

Limbaugh flexed his muscle during the 2008 democratic primary battle by encouraging his listeners to vote for Hillary Clinton against Obama in what he dubbed “Operation Chaos”. Democratic operatives concede that he had an effect. Since Obama was elected, Limbaugh has gone after him like a starving pit bull let loose on a lamb. He has described Obama’s political rise as “a five-minute career" of a man who was "immature, inexperienced, in over his head", charging: “I think he's got an out-of-this-world ego. He's very narcissistic. And he's able to focus all attention on him all the time.” This prompted David Axelrod, a top Obama adviser, to respond rather lamely: “I think it's a surreal day when you're getting lectures on humility from Rush Limbaugh. The fact is that he is an entertainer. The president has to run the country." But Limbaugh does not underestimate Obama. This week, he warned: “He is not a cool, calm customer. He's a cold, calculating one, and he has a vision of America that is not yours and not mine.”

3. Matt Drudge (3)

Internet pioneer, owner of The Drudge Report

Many have predicted Drudge’s demise but the internet pioneer who sprung to national attention when he broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal as the mainstream media hesitated endures. As with Limbaugh, the White House despises Drudge but cannot stop thinking about him. When Drudge posted a video of Obama Biographies Plus News talking about the end of private health insurance in 2007, the White House sent out Linda Douglass, White House Deputy Communications Director and a former ABC News reporter to brand them "outright falsehoods”. Drudge promptly posted the clip of Douglass, who came off second in the tussle. Establishment journalism types often decry Drudge but many of them are in email contact with him and crave a link that can immediately catapult one of their stories to the top of their newspaper website’s “most viewed” list.

Perhaps the most reclusive figures in modern journalism, Drudge’s air of mystery is such that some people wonder whether he still exists. He did, however, make an appearance at a Washington DC rally when Hillary Clinton pulled out of the Democratic primary contest in June 2008. Very occasionally, he will return an email at a strange time of day. Although based in Miami, he is rumoured to be constantly on the move and often abroad. An admirer of the British media (which he frequently links to) he is believed to have spent time in the UK recently. His website remains defiantly low tech. As the Telegraph’s own Shane Richmond described it: “It’s a simple idea, executed brilliantly. The Drudge Report is a page of search results, handpicked for an audience its author knows well.” His site is reputedly run by just him and one other person, based in Los Angeles. Such is the fascination with what motivates Drudge’s choices that the Washington Post’s Chris Cilizza coined the term “Drudge-ologist”, who dismissed “the inevitable argument that Drudge's influence is overblown” by saying: “Tomorrow morning, take a minute to look at the stories Drudge is highlighting. Then, later in the day, watch a few cable channels to see what stories they are talking about. It will open your eyes.”

4. Sarah Palin (Not in the 2007 list)

Former Alaska governor

Palin came from nowhere in terms of the public consciousness in 2008 to become an instant political and media star who is vilified and lauded in equal measure. Things have not been smooth for Palin. Clearly unprepared to be a national candidate, John McCain rolled the dice when he chose her as his vice-presidential running mate. Initially, it seemed to pay off. She delivered a masterful speech at the Republican convention in St Paul, Minnesota, electrified a Republican base that had been distinctly underwhelmed by McCain – and the GOP nominee briefly edged ahead in the polls. It soon became apparent, however, that the McCain campaign was divided over whether Palin was an asset or a liability. They shielded her from the press, wounded her confidence and then plonked her in front of network anchors who made her look foolish and tongue-tied.

Rather than go back to Alaska, become a first-class governor, study policy issues and gently reintroduce herself to the “Lower 48” states in due course, Palin decided to do something entirely different. Stating that “only dead fish go with the flow”, she resigned the Alaska governorship, published a book that broke publishing records and, this week, signed on as a Fox News contributor. It remains unclear whether Palin intends to run for President – she may well genuinely not know herself – but she will certainly be one of conservatism’s most influential figures for the forseeable future. Rich Lowry of National Review described her as “an isotope designed to course throughout our politics and culture, lighting up press bias, self-congratulatory liberalism, Christianity-hating secularism, and intellectual condescension wherever they are found”. Whether she could be a saviour for Republicans or doom them to continued irrelevance is a question that will continue to divide conservatives across America.

5. Robert Gates (7)

Defence Secretary

The low-key Gates, a former CIA director whose original cover (soon blown) as a trainee spy was as a Pentagon official, was lured away from his beloved Texas A&M University by President George W. Bush to replace Donald Rumsfeld at the end of 2006. Over a 27-year Agency career, Gates became the only person ever to rise from entry level to CIA chief. Obama dismayed many liberals by asking Gates to stay on but even though it is clear he is fulfilling much more than a caretaker his detractors are now quiet. During the autumn debate over troops levels in Afghanistan, Gates played a pivotal role in persuading Obama to commit more forces to support General Stanley McChrystal’s plan. The “Option 2A" that Obama eventually went for was essentially Gates’s formula.

Having overseen the Iraq surge, Gates is now charged with making the Afghanistan surge work. Although weighed down by military losses, Gates is finding his job so rewarding that he and Obama recently agreed he would stay on for at least another year. Firmly in the “realist” school of foreign policy, Gates still considers himself a Republican and his approach and style could well provide the template for presidential candidates in the post-Bush era.

6. Glenn Beck (18)

Fox News presenter

The fastest-rising star of cable television, Beck delivers monologues that veer from doom-saying to tears, jokes and rapid fire analysis of Obamaland’s suspect connections, hidden beliefs and dark plots. His subjects include: the threat of fascism/communism, terrorism, Wall Street fat cats, Mexico’s collapse, the decline of religion and power of the liberal media. All this is united by the theme of impending doom and the fear that the ordinary American is being forgotten.

It is working spectacularly. Since switching from CNN’s Headline News to Fox News Beck has soared up the ratings chart with his 5pm show capturing an average two million viewers, an unprecedented number at that hour. His talk radio show rates third in the country. There have been five best-selling books.

A recovered alcoholic and drug addict he has also cried more than any presenter in memory, often welling up at the thought of what will happen to the United States. "I'm sorry. I just love my country. And I fear for it,” he once wept.

His opposition to “big government” and Obama has seen him adopted by many in the Tea Party movement as their figurehead. There has been talk of a presidential bid, which will do his ratings no harm. "I consider myself a libertarian. I'm a conservative, but every day that goes by I'm fighting for individual rights," explained Beck, who has described his show as a “fusion of enlightenment and entertainment”.

7.Roger Ailes (23)

President, Fox News Channel

When Roger Ailes, a veteran media consultant for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush Snr, heard that his boss Rupert Murdoch was preparing to back Obama for President in a New York Post editorial, he threatened to resign. Murdoch responded by giving him a pay rise (he is said to have earned $23 million last year – more than Murdoch) and endorsing John McCain. As the traditional broadcast networks see their profits and influence decline, Ailes has turned Fox News into a cash cow for News Corporation, trading on the President’s growing unpopularity to make Fox the go-to place for everything anti-Obama. Assessing Fox’s influence, Obama reckoned the “Fox effect” had cost him two or three points in the 2008 election – which means that next time it could well decide who becomes President. Democratic operative James Carville recently said that if Ailes were a Democrat “I think there would be 67 Democratic senators right now”. There are currently 60.

Along with the legendarily combative operative Lee Attwater, Ailes was responsible for Bush Snr’s win over Michael Dukakis in 1988 by helping to portray the then Massachusetts governor as a weak leader lacking in humanity. The presence of so many Fox personalities – including its new signing Sarah Palin - on this list once again is testament to the runaway influence of Fox News, which Ailes started in 1996 as a rival to CNN. Keeps his distance from the Republican party these days, not least because its higher-ups go to him rather than vice versa . Truth be told, he and Fox are bigger than almost all of them.

8. David Petraeus (2)

Head of US Central Command

As commander of the troop surge in Iraq, General Petraeus became one of the most prominent US military officers in recent memory and was closely associated with President George W. Bush. Not only did his demand for extra troops and a switch to counter-insurgency tactics help put a devastated country on the track towards recovery, it helped salvage a chance of historical redemption for Bush.

Now head of all American forces in the Middle East, he has the delicate task of winding down the Iraq war while helping Obama to win in Afghanistan. In both countries he has commanders, General Ray Odierno and General Stanley McChrystal who share his views of counterinsurgency doctrine and have worked closely with him for years.

Centcom covers a vast area with 20 nations that contains most of the world’s current hot spots. Petraeus had twice travelled to Yemen to discuss how the US will support the government’s attempts to combat al-Qaeda’s affiliate there. Very much the soldier-scholar, Petraeus can more than hold his own in political company. Assumed to be a Republican, rumours of a run for office have subsided for the time being but the tone of his comments on Islamist terror, even in the confines of a congressional hearing, suggest that he tilts to the Right.

9. Paul Ryan (-)

Wisconsin congressman

Paul Ryan has it all – including time on his side. He entered Congress at the tender age of 28 and doesn’t turn 40 until this year. A budget hawk, he is now the senior Republican on the House Budget Committee and is holding the Obama administration’s feet to the fire just as he challenged the Bush administration to return to fiscal conservatism. Undoubtedly a future presidential prospect, he hails from a swing state and won re-election in 2008 even though his district went for Obama – an illustration of his powerful crossover appeal. A Catholic and strong social conservative, Ryan is happily married with three children and is a keen bow hunter and fisherman. His website Americanroadmap.org outlines his plans to rewrite the entire federal tax, healthcare and Social Security system.

Increasingly a national figure, he recently endorsed Marco Rubio in the Florida Senate primary, saying that “Marco’s record of conservative leadership offers convincing evidence that he will hold Washington accountable, prevent government from wasting our tax dollars and lead a new generation of Republicans”. Showed he is not afraid to go against his party’s hierarchy. A former Senate aide, he wrote speeches for Jack Kemp, Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1996. He is the fifth generation of his family to live in Janesville, Wisconsin. Used to hold constituency hours in an old truck that he would drive to remote towns and villages. Has a populist touch, recently penning an essay for Forbes entitled Down With Big Business, railing against lobbyists, “crony capitalism” and the “record profits” of rescued banks.

10.Tim Pawlenty (-)

Governor of Minnesota

The runner-up for the vice-presidential slot on the 2008 Republican ticket, he lost out to Sarah Palin then but is viewed by many GOP leaders as the better long-term bet. Has said he will not run for re-election when his term expires this year, meaning he will have more time to spend with his wife and two daughters, as well as the consultants he has quietly locked in for what everyone assumes will be a 2012 presidential bid. A Catholic who converted to become a Protestant evangelical, he is a favourite of Christian conservatives and also comes from a swing state and has the kind of Mid-West appeal that resonates in a national campaign. Although conservative on all the important issues, he advocates a broad church. “We loved Ronald Reagan, but he made some compromises along the way," he said in 2008. “We don't have a big enough party to be throwing people overboard.”

Has visited first-voting Iowa and even contacted supporters of Mitt Romney, the other Republican viewed as a certain 2012 candidate as well as founding his own political action committee, Freedom First. Is already engaged in a carefully-planned programme of criss-crossing the country speaking at conservatives dinners and other events. An increasingly assured cable television performer, he is a frequent critic of Obama, branding him a “movement liberal” who is “projecting potential weakness” on national security.

11. Mitt Romney (10)

Former Governor of Massachusetts

Romney failed to overcome doubts about the genuineness of his principles in 2008 after he transformed himself from a moderate Republican in Massachusetts in favour of abortion rights into a crusading social conservative. Despite his “Matinee Mitt” looks, huge fortune (though slightly less huge since he spent an estimated $50 million in 2008), executive experience and intelligence, Romney had an authenticity problem that he just could not overcome. His fellow Republican candidates seemed to have a visceral dislike of him, though that has abated somewhat, especially in the case of John McCain, whom Romney loyally supported in the general election campaign.

Since losing to McCain, Romney has barely stopped campaigning, taking frequent shots at Obama’s economic and foreign policy and forming the Free and Strong America Political Action Committee. The Republican congressional party has often sought the former CEO’s expertise for ideas on economic policy. It is widely assumed that he will run again in 2012 and if so probably start as the official frontrunner. The question of his Mormon religion – which many evangelicals regard as a semi-Christian cult – will doubtless rear its head again. And Republicans won’t have forgotten that Romney struggled to connect with voters outside the country club set and will be want to make a cold calculation about whether this is an insurmountable flaw.

12. George W. Bush (21)

Former President

In 2007, George W. Bush just missed our Top 20 top conservatives list – a provocative and controversial decision but one that reflected his disastrous poll ratings, the dismay of conservatives at out-of-control spending, the colossal mistakes over Iraq and his failure to consolidate the conservative majority he had won. Aides protested that history would vindicate him and already there are signs that this is happening. The Iraq “surge” of 2007 unquestionably won the war and has helped establish a viable democratic state in the heart of the Middle East. There were terrible errors committed along the way but Bush showed the vision and toughness to change course and commit American blood and treasure when all appeared lost.

Bush’s influence endures also because Obama and his advisers seem scarcely able to do anything without referring to his predecessor. This betrays a shallowness that is beginning to wear thin with American voters. With the recent terrorist attacks, Bush’s relentless focus on Islamist terrorism now looks wise rather than obsessive and he bequeathed Obama one of the most impressive members of the current Cabinet – Bob Gates. Bush’s absence from the limelight and his refusal to criticise Obama even through surrogates is to be commended. So too was his personal insistence that led to the transition between the two administrations being one of the smoothest in American history.

13. John Roberts (8)

Supreme Court Chief Justice

There may be a liberal in the White House, but the Supreme Court has a reliable conservative at its head who is set to shape the parameters of American life for a generation. Aged 50 when he joined in 2005, he was the third youngest man to lead the court and has been a reliable conservative so far. In 2008, the court overturned on a 5-4 vote the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The first major pronouncement on gun rights in the court’s history, it settled the argument over whether or not the controversial amendment applied to individuals. But it ruled that like all rights it was not absolute, essentially allowing states and cities to vary their gun laws on issues such as carrying and concealment.

The court did deal a setback to Bush, ruling that detainees held at Guantanamo Bay have a constitutional right to challenge their detentions in federal court and that congressional legislation has failed to provide a reasonable substitute for such a hearing. On that occasion Roberts was on the losing side as Justice Anthony Kennedy voted with the liberals. The Christian Right’s holy grail of overturning Roe versus Wade and making abortion illegal is not among the chief justice’s plans, but in the next few years detention, torture, free speech and other hot button issues will come before the Roberts court.

14. Haley Barbour (16)

Governor of Mississippi

Head of the Republican Governors Association after Mark Sanford stepped down in June, Barbour is a lawyer, lobbyist, political operative and Republican governor whose influence is huge at this key moment for American conservatism. As chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997 – the period of the “Republican Revolution” when the GOP won the Senate and House for the first time since 1954 – he has led his party back from the wilderness before. Made millions lobbying for the tobacco industry and others before entering electoral politics. Easily re-elected as Mississippi governor in 2007, Barbour is only the second Republican to secure the post since Reconstruction and won the backing of several of the state’s leading Democrats.

During Hurricane Katrina, his performance was compared to that of Rudy Giuliani in New York after the 9/11 attacks as he calmly ordered evacuations, threatened those who would break the law amid the carnage on the Gulf coast and declined to blame Bush or the federal government. As a personable, successful Southern governor with huge experience, he is a potential 2012 candidate but his lobbying background and slightly shambolic air would probably count him out. Recognising this, Barbour instead seems content to be one of the principal advocates for and strategists of another Republican revival. He warned last year, however, that it wouldn’t be easy. “The elections that matter for Republicans are in 2009 and '10. 1993 paved the way for the 1994 congressional election. The 2009 elections in Virginia and New Jersey were a big tick on the box for the GOP and Barbour. He added: “The other thing that's a fact is only once since 1896 has a party won the White House from the other party and only kept it four years. So history favours the Democrats but then again, we're in unprecedented times in many, many ways.”

15. Eric Cantor (-)

Congressman for Virginia

A youthful 46, Cantor is routinely – and accurately - described as a rising star, becoming Minority Whip a year ago after eight years in the House of Representatives. The only Jewish Republican in Congress, he advocates a strong US-Israeli alliance and led a Republican congressional delegation to the Middle East in August to rouse support for Israeli settlements that he felt the White House overlooked.

Although a strong conservative across the board, he aims to help return the Republicans to power by becoming less ideologically focused on social issues and more concerned with economical issues. He believes “60 per cent of America is with us in believing in a Main Street, common-sense conservatism" but that Republicans struggle to connect with voters for reasons of image.

During his first year as Whip showed no qualms about taking on liberal big beasts such as Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank, excoriating them for politicising the first bailout bill. He regularly consults Newt Gingrich for inspiration about how the party can repeat his success of 1994 but it will be up to Cantor and his colleagues to produce eye-catching policy ideas if they really want to capitalise on disenchantment with the Democrats.

16. John McCain (9)

Senator for Arizona

The losing Republican presidential candidate’s concession speech on election night in 2008 was one of his finest moments, a shining example of the dignity, fairness and patriotism that McCain’s supporters adore him for.

Some erratic moments did his campaign no favours, but it was probably always a virtually unwinnable election for Republicans, and the former Vietnam prisoner of war came through with his honour substantially intact, not least because he declined to go strongly negative against Obama and raise issues like his relationship wth the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Plenty of fellow moderate Republicans have privately and publicly questioned the wisdom of picking Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential candidate, but in the end it was perhaps no more than a gamble that didn’t pay off. No one could foresee the phenomenon she became.

The elder statesman remains his own man and one of few Senators whose remarks always command attention. His objections to Obama’s July 2011 to start bringing home troops from Afghanistan had a credibility rooted in his long foreign policy experience and advocacy of the successful surge in Iraq. Recently accused Obama of "leading an extreme Left-wing crusade to bankrupt America”. Obama would have done well to court his former opponent but seems to have missed his chance. McCain will remain in the thick of the legislative action, especially if the Democrats lose their filibuster-proof majority. Now 73, he will not run for President but is on course to be re-elected to another six-year term in the Senate.

17. Mike Pence (19)

Indiana congressman

Any conversation about rising stars within the conservative movement involves Mike Pence. A lawyer, former talk radio host and now the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives has just fuelled rumours of a possible presidential run by hiring national campaign operatives Kellyanne Conway and Bill Neale. Entered Congress in 2001 and has described himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order". As chair of the Republican Study Committee - a conservative congressional caucus - Pence was a crusader for small government, low taxes and the outlawing of abortion. Now he’s even higher profile as chair of the GOP House conference.

Is beloved by the tea party movement, which could yet turn out to be the kingmaker in the Republican party. Although a 2012 presidential bid is possible, a more likely option for Pence might be to run for Governor of Indiana when Mitch Daniels steps down (he is term-limited). Alternatively, with Senator Richard Lugar in his 78th year, Pence would be a natural to replace him. An outspoken defender of conservative radio and television hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, he said in October: “To my friends in the so-called ‘mainstream media’ I say, ‘conservative talk show hosts may not speak for everybody but they speak for more Americans than you do.’” An accomplished communicator, he is at the forefront of rebuilding the Republican brand. “If you can’t communicate, you can’t govern,” he has said.

18. Bob McDonnell (-)

Governor-elect of Virginia

McDonnell’s landslide 17-point victory over opponent Creigh Deeds in the Virginia governor’s race last November stunned Democrats and demonstrated at an early stage that Obama’s party is in for a rough ride in 2010. Virginia took on an almost iconic status for the Obama campaign, voting for their man by a thumping margin over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. The traditionally conservative state with a strong military presence then chose Mr Obama over McCain.

19. Newt Gingrich (4)

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives

It is a testament to the power of Gingrich’s intellect, personality and penchant for self-promotion that a decade after leaving public office he remains a central conservative figure. Part of this is his interest in ideas rather than just the mechanics of politics. He has remained committed to low tax and small government as well as looking for innovative solutions to social challenges. He was increasingly critical of the Bush administration, eventually branding it a study in “arrogance, isolation and destructiveness” and vigourously opposed Bush’s proposed immigration reform.

Although still a hate figure among Democrats, he has cooperated with the likes of Hillary Clinton on healthcare and Al Sharpton on inner city education and appeared in a television ad alongside Nancy Pelosi to urge action on climate change. None of these alliances across the aisle has endeared him to grassroots Republicans. Neither did his endorsement of GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava in a New York state special House election rather than Doug Hoffman, the Conservative candidate. When Scozzafava pulled out and backed the Democrat, Gingrich was left with egg on his face.

He eventually ruled out a presidential bid in 2008 after conducting a long tease with the media. True to form, he is engaging in the same act for 2012, declaring this week: “"I think I'm probably on a list of seven or eight possible candidates at this stage.” Former aides, however, state that the thrice-married Gingrich knows he could never be president. An omnipresent media commentator, he has been a trenchant critic of the Obama’s national security policy. “We are watching the Obama administration return to the criminal-justice attitudes that failed to keep [the US] safe in the Clinton years,” he said recently.

20. Mike Huckabee (11)

Presidential hopeful

It is widely assumed Huckabee will be among the early declarers for the 2012 Republican primary and if Sarah Palin joins the race they will battle for the evangelical, activist vote, which would test Huckabee’s gracious manners (except when he’s talking about Mitt Romney) and ready wit. Already preparing for the challenge, he told the New Yorker that the main difference between them was "she looks better in stilettos than I do, and she has better hair".

The former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister, and occasional rock musician, swept to a surprise victory in Iowa on the back of evangelical support and finished second to John McCain overall. Next time his fundraising operation should be stronger while he will have a ground operation established in Iowa and South Carolina. But many Republican insiders believe that 2008 was his political high water mark. His 2012 hopes were dealt a blow recently when it emerged that Maurice Clemmons, accused of murdering four police officers in Washington state, had been granted clemency by Huckabee in Arkansas in 2000.

Huckabee, who before 2008 was best known for losing lots of weight and advocating a healthy lifestyle, has kept his profile high after the primary, with a daily commentary on ABC Radio and the Huck Political Action Committee. Perhaps the biggest question mark over his participation is whether or not the former teenage local radio host finds his Saturday show on Fox News too comfortable a gig to leave.

Lists compiled by the Telegraph staff in Washington – Toby Harnden, Alex Spillius, Rachel Ray, Andrea Viola and Meghan Cassin.
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