Andy Card Resigns

OMB Director Josh Bolten Named Successor

"Josh is a creative policy thinker," Bush said. "He is an expert on the budget and our economy. He is a man of candor and humor and directness. No person is better prepared for this important position."

"I'm deeply honored now by the opportunity to succeed Andy Card as White House chief of staff," Bolten responded. "I said, 'Succeed Andy Card, not replace him,' because he cannot be replaced."

Moffett Wins Re-Election

Tennessee Chairwoman Lindsey Moffett narrowly defeated Evan Schlank of Vanderbilt today.

Tennessee Thunder

Lindsay Moffett faces Vanderbilt Chairman Evan Schlank this weekend in a race with national implications.

The former beauty queen is a rumored candidate for Co-Chair of the CRNC in 2007.

If you like to read more:

www.lindsaymoffett.com
www.tncr.org
www.vanderbilt.edu/vcr

Rhode Island Candidate Announces

Rhode Island First Vice Chairman Tom Merrigan has announced his campaign for State Chairman with the following goals: "Chapters Established on each Campus, Strengthen Existing Chapters, Push for the passage of an Academic Bill of Rights, Publish a Statewide College Republican Newspaper, Design and Implement a 72 Hour Operation Task Force and Put forth an emphasis on the youth vote."

Tom's got the right priorities.

www.merriganforchairman.com

Letters and Daker's Successor

Remember the letter from CCR Chair Puetz to CRNC Chair Gourley? The one that just so happened to slip out to the California Executive Board? An establishment source within the California executive board (Shock!) noted that it was drafted not by Puetz, but no one other than former NYCR Chairman Dan Centinello.

Also, this past Saturday the Iowa College Republican Federation elected Bobby Kaufman. Congratulations!

Please welcome: Nick Carraway

Allow me to introduce my friend of many years (dare I say even before CRs). He is the sort of man that has a presence so radiant that tales are told about him. Some of them are true, many legend. His confidence and brilliance are exuding, but never an overstatement.

The substance definitely meets the form. My friends in DC once jokingly observed that Nick's attire and swaggar makes George Hamilton look like a vagabond.

He has been attending school for a number of years on the East Coast but oh, how he longs to return to his native Midwest.

A man of modest stature, but casting a long and endearing shadow...

Please welcome Nick Carraway.

Conservatives on the "Vagina Monologues"

National Outreach coordinator and CT fashiontista, Sarah Armstrong was recently quoted in the Washington Post commenting on the perinnial favorite: The Vagina Monologues.

Early last month, [Monique] Stuart joined a conference call with more than a dozen women's outreach directors from the College Republicans to talk about protesting the play, says Sarah Armstrong, the national women's outreach director. "We try to get good speakers who are not only real role models but who can help us in our states with increasing activism," Armstrong says. "She's coming from the same place we're coming from.

You can view the March 8th article here: [Washington Post]

Sun Tzu is rolling his eyes.

Minnesota - After the recent defeat of Jardon and Miltenburger's Minnesota candidate who lost "only" by 25% of the MN vote there is a time of quiet reflection for opposition leaders. If you are unfamiliar with this massacre, the two state chairmen from Florida and Massachusetts flew all the way to the MN state convention. What they hoped to do there, one can only guess. You could only imagine chairmen from far away states flying in for your convention and telling you how to vote.

Anyways, the door that this may open is undeniable for opposition members. Once the out-of-state tinkering begins there is no going back. One side has a huge coffer of hundreds of thousands. The other? Daddy's credit card. My advice?

There are battlegrounds that one should dare not tread, certain tactics that are futile. They may awaken a dormant giant.

Never play your weaknesses to your opponent's strengths. Only use your strengths to weaknesses.

You are smarter than that.

Kropf Drops Out and Dirty Martinis

Texas and Arizona- With a spectacular air of theater, Pascal Kropf dropped out of his race to be Chairman of the Texas College Republicans. Not only did Kropf drop out of the race, but he resigned his position as First Vice Chairman of the Texas Republicans to boot. Texas is one of the largest federations in the CRNC.

Sources close to the incident relate that Kropf was gaining momentum before the plunge. His opponent Eliza Vielma must have layed down a flying Macho Man Randy Savage piledriver from the top rope.

No one recovers from that.

Also, Arizona's Kara Karlson should stay away from Mr. Days (the restaurant across from Blackwell's Leadership Institute). Apparently she threw up on a bartender . . . from the second floor railing onto the unsuspecting fellow below.

Now that's what I call a dirty martini.

AZ Candidates:
"Leading Arizona Forward"- Troy Hyde
http://www.leadingarizonaforward.com

"Arizona Victory" - Kara Karlson
http://www.vote4victory.com

CR TACTIC #2: Low meeting attendence?

Q: You love your CR meetings. So does all 15 of the people in the room with you. You're a chapter chairman and are asking, "How do I dramatically increase first-meeting attendence?"

Sometimes half of the battle is getting people there. Sure you could call people who showed up at the last meeting. You could even pass out flyers. These methods may have the personal touch to ensure longetivity of membership, but that's not what you need. You need warm bodies.

Try online tools such Facebook and MySpace. Facebook will be a little more precise in targeting, mainly because there is less eye candy in the profiles to distract from YOUR ad. For your campus the price probably ranges from $9 to $19 a day. For example, for a 5 day "College Republican Meeting in Grainger Hall at 7 PM. Be there!" announcment run broadcast to the University of Wisconsin the price is only $95.

How many times will your ad be seen? Plenty. 445,000 times.

Now you've got a room full of people that are interested. It's your job to keep them there.

Spring Reps: UPDATE

Washington, DC - After coaching the trainees at The Leadership Institute, the spring field reps are officially off with a bang. While little can be revealed at this time, 7 of the 9 will be trolling through different states assisting in campus development. 2 of the 9 will be exclusively assigned to Ohio and Pennsylvania. The attention on these two states is due primarily to their swing-state status in Presidential bouts as well as their competitive Senate Seats.