11 county Republican straw polls — 11 wins for Marco Rubio over Charlie Crist.

But this one was different.

The fact that Crist lost in Pinellas County, which he represented in the state Senate and where he’s lived nearly all his life, can’t be a good sign for Crist.

This is another in a string of positive events for Marco Rubio. Nearly unknown and trailing significantly in the polls just a year ago, Rubio’s conservative message has energized party faithful and impressed those less politically aware.

One common, if anecdotal, theme is that Rubio stands out because of his beliefs, but also because of how genuine he appears to be.

I’ve added a few new things at The Regiment to improve the site and make it more “social”. You can read about them here.

For anyone who isn’t aware of The Regiment it is “a group site for those willing to work to take back our country by education, activism, and grass root effort. It is also a social networking site for conservatives.”

Go by and check things out, register, and join in the fun.

I wish more politicians understood this:

Scott Brown in his debate with Martha Coakley. (h/t Gina Cobb)

He also had a pretty good day fund raising, ending the day with over a million dollars.

The Democrats from the bluest state in the nation have to be in panic mode. To actually win this seat every star will have to align perfectly, not a high odds bet. Still, it could happen and, whatever the outcome, it will be a quite a indicator of conservative chances in the rest of 2010.

First there was Breitbart and BreitbartTV. Then things got big — Big Hollywood and Big Government big.

Now we are treated to Big Journalism. Here’s what Editor in Chief Michael Walsh has to say:

So let me be blunt: we’re not here to compete for Pulitzer Prizes, to sit on committees, to scratch each other’s backs on the weekend television wagfests or to conform to some arbitrary code of ethics cooked up in the days when the mainstream media was the only game in town, and had already begun to cozy up to the government and the establishment, thus abandoning its constitutional mission of keeping a finger on the pulse of America, and an eye on the crooks:

[...]

So welcome to the other side. I am extremely proud to be joined in this venture not only by my colleagues here at breitbart.com but by the more than sixty writers and reporters who thus far have volunteered – volunteered! – to enter the fray.

The list of contributors and the deserved success of Breitbarts other ventures are reason enough to add BigJournalism to my feed reader, twitter, and blogroll, but this focus more than justifies those decisions.

No longer need we simply assert and ask you to trust us: now, we can use pictures, links, and video clips to carry the argument forward and make our case. Or at least get you to think about it in a way perhaps you never did before. Because we believe the search for the truth is not some figment of Derrida’s imagination. We believe that the truth, while elusive, is knowable, or at the very least worth trying to know.

We stand foursquare with the Founders. We believe in the First Amendment, not just for we, but also for thee. We believe the phrase, “Congress shall make no law…” could not possibly be clearer. We despise “political correctness” and everything it represents. We will not be told, “you can’t say that,” because to accept that stricture means we cannot think it, either. We believe that freedom of inquiry, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression are the fundamental liberties upon which this country was founded. And we will fight to defend them.

I encourage you to check them out, and follow the stories that they will be offering.

Cross Posted at The Regiment

A pair of Democratic Senators will not be running this fall.

North Dakota’s Byron Dorgan made the announcement yesterday.

North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan stunned fellow Democrats when he decided not to seek re-election this fall and swung open a race that Republicans are convinced will help the GOP dent the Democrats’ fragile majority in the Senate.

Today Connecticut’s Christopher Dodd will announce his retirement.

Trouble-plagued Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, who has for months been considered the most vulnerable Senate incumbent seeking re-election this year, will announce Wednesday that he is ending his bid for a sixth six-year term, a Democratic source confirmed.

Dodd will make the announcement at a press conference at his home in Connecticut.

I guess this moves Harry Reid up to the “the most vulnerable Senate incumbent” spot. Unless he wants to join the departure parade.

Central Florida, and by extension me, is in some desperate need of a bit of global warming.

The two hours before dawn Wednesday will be the coldest, perhaps the coldest on record in Central Florida.

Forecasters are predicting lows just below freezing with some cold spots in the mid 20s. The wind chill will make bare skin feel like the temperature is 6 to 8 degrees colder.

When sun peeks above the horizon at 7:19 a.m. when many people are heading for work, the cold will be a shock. The wind will make it seem colder.

Central Florida residents are already preparing for another night of chilly weather in the Sunshine State. Don’t expect much improvement in the temperatures until Friday.

It is 30 degrees right now, the same as it was when I took the dogs outside a little while ago. We get cold weather in central Florida — a day at a time. This is the third day (and the coldest) and there’s no warming forecast for another few days.

I can only imagine what those of you are going through where it’s supposed to be cold.

Brrrrr.

I have a new poll in the sidebar to the right. The question is: How will conservatives do in the 2010 Mid-terms? Vote, and add your comments here on this post.

2010 is here and, whatever your thoughts on the eventual outcome, it’s time for conservatives to get to work. And to discuss things about the mid-terms and conservativism in general go join the group at The Regiment.

While it has only been a short time since the release of WordPress 2.9, some discovered issues created the need for the release of WordPress 2.9.1

This release addresses a handful of minor issues as well as a rather annoying problem where scheduled posts and pingbacks are not processed correctly due to incompatibilities with some hosts.

You can download the current version, or upgrade right from your blog admin area using Tools -> Upgrade.

Even without Tiger, it’s time for the PGA golf season to get under way. That means it’s time for Yahoo! Fantasy Golf to get under way. That means it’s time for you to join the BlogGolfers group and compete against other bloggers.

If you’re interested in joining the group just sign up for a team and join BlogGolfers with the password n0bama12. Do it soon, the first tournament is this weekend.

Hey Wyatt, how soon can we sign up for The League Too Tough to Tame?

UPDATE: Duh. I forgot, it’s group #5073

Yes, I’ve been pushing The Regiment quite a bit over the past few days. I will continue to do so. I really want to see the group grow. Let me explain a little bit of my goals for the site.

I see The Regiment as a group site for conservatives. I hope it becomes a place where like-minded individuals can go to share ideas, connect with others, learn, educate, and socialize. I hope that it can become a social meeting place that is both useful and fun.

My short term goal is to grow the membership and to have those members create active groups for their state. I’ve explained some of that this morning. I hope to have groups for at least 25 states by the end of January. Of course that means we need members from at least 25 states.

I know how busy we all are, but I think that a social network for conservatives can be a great resource, and hopefully fun as well.

I can only spread the word so far by myself. I know that others are talking about The Regiment and I appreciate it greatly. Now I’m asking you to help by visiting, joining, and encouraging others to join as well.

Here’s hoping you are off to a great start in 2010. Thanks for stopping by.

The 2009 Weblog Awards have been canceled.

It is with a great deal of regret that I must inform everyone that The 2009 Weblog Awards are canceled.

Unfortunately the resources required to handle the load of voting (nearly 1,000,000 votes in 2008) could not be adequately provisioned. Even if the servers and bandwidth required appeared today it would be at least a few weeks before everything could be ready for voting.

It is sad, but understandable, why Kevin had to cancel the awards. I hope that the issues can be worked out to start them again in 2010.

Good morning, and welcome to 2010! The old meme for the new year used to be how long would you be writing 2009 on your checks. In 2010 the question is, do you still write paper checks?

One conversation at work yesterday was about not just how quickly 2009 went by, but how it seems like such a short time ago that we were welcoming 2000 (when we weren’t worried about Y2K bringing the world to an end).

2009 was a very interesting year in many ways. Of course the biggest story has been the year of the unprecedented presidency. Why it’s been one historic moment after another. Then you remember that the Hindenburg and Little Big Horn were also historic moments and hope that 2010 can fix some things.

Politics, of course, will be a big part of 2010. The mid-term elections, and the primaries preceding them, will interesting to watch (and blog about). In addition to following the national races, I am going to watching the Rubio-Crist race here in Florida very closely.

One very important story here in the very first moments of 2010 is will Fox and Brighthouse/Time Warner resolve their dispute?

The negotiations between Fox and Time Warner Cable were extended a second time early this morning.

The original midnight deadline first was pushed back to 3 a.m., then a second time to 7 a.m. The two parties are negotiating in Los Angeles.

As of 8:44 local time Fox is still on. Why is this important? For many people it’s today’s Sugar Bowl between Florida and Cincinnati and Tim Tebow’s last college game. Beyond that, for me at least, is the fact that Season 8 of 24 starts in just 2 weeks, 2 days, 11 hours and 11 minutes. I need Fox so I can continue to contribute to Blogs.4Bauer.com

So, what are my blogging plans for 2010?

• More, and more regular, posting here at bRight & Early. Sure, I make this a goal every year, but this year I’m going to do it.
• I’ve posted over the past few days about The Regiment. I’m going to work very hard to develop the site as a great social network and resource for conservatives.
• Reclaim Conservatism also deserves some attention.
• FloridImagine.com is my hosting reseller site. There’s no excuse to neglect an opportunity to generate some revenue.
• I’ve made some halfhearted attempts to get Blog News Co-op off the ground. Perhaps a wholehearted attempt is what’s needed.
• Aside from working on the various sites I contribute to, I absolutely have to be a more active visitor and commenter on my friends and favorite blogs. Like:
  • Support Your Local Gunfighter
  • Sister Toldjah
  • No Runny Eggs
  • Common Sense Political Thought
  • Flopping Aces
  • Ace of Spades HQ
  • Pirates Cove
  • Brian Pickrell
  • Michelle Malkin
  • Hot Air
  • Right Wing News
  • Confederate Yankee
  • The Jawa Report
  • And so many more that I shouldn’t have even started a list like this.

And, to make this a Rule 5 post remember that 2010 is the year the Danica Patrick joins NASCAR.

Happy New Year!

2010 image by freeimageslive.co.uk – christmashat