I continue to be shocked and dismayed how far too many people seem willing to latch on to conspiracy theories and make meritless accusations against fellow Republicans. Worse, these accusations continue even when clear evidence to the contrary is presented. Such is the case with the furor over Florida's redistricting. Let me say this for the millionth time: There is no conspiracy in the Florida Legislature to hurt Allen West, and Mitt Romney doesn't have a darn thing to do with our redistricting process. I wrote two posts earlier this week, the first explaining why rumors of a Romney-based conspiracy against Allen West were utter nonsense, and the second detailing a very elegant deal between Republican candidates to leapfrog districts in a way that gives more conservatives a strong chance at election.

Want to know why Newt Gingrich's campaign is falling apart in Florida? Here are the numbers that tell the story: The Sayfie Review conducted a survey of likely Republican voters on January 27, 2012 (the day after the CNN debate in Jacksonville), and got some interesting numbers. The poll was conducted by New Frontier Strategy, a GOP public relations firm. The "headline" results for whom voters prefer matches the trends we've seen the past few days:

Hello, I’m Marco Rubio, a Senator from Florida. Right now all eyes are focused on my home state ahead of next week’s Republican presidential primary. It’s an exciting contest and I know that passions are high. So I wanted to take a moment to explain to the rest of the country why Republicans in Florida are so excited about this primary: Because we believe our country is in big trouble...

Churchill never had the opportunity to meet Marco Rubio, but I believe he would have felt a kinship with my Senator. Today, Reuters joined the unholy alliance of jokers and schemers who have been engaged in a vicious quest to smear the name of Marco Rubio in the eyes of the American public, and specifically in the Hispanic community.

Today, President Obama appointed Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) while the Senate was in pro forma session. The CFPB is an unaccountable bureaucratic nightmare that was birthed from the Dodd-Frank bill, and Republicans are rightfully criticizing this latest abuse of power by the Obama Administration. The criticism of this appointment is warranted for several reasons...

The internet makes sharing information quick and easy, but sometimes it also facilitates the spread of misinformation. Such is the case withHR 3261, the Stop Internet Piracy Act ("SOPA"). Let me take a quick moment and point out that I do not support SOPA. Erick Erickson wrote a post last week that lays out some of the main problems with the bill, but the short story is that it gives too much power to a government agency without proper safeguards to protect free speech. I have seen some chatter online this month criticizing Senator Marco Rubio for supporting SOPA, but this criticism is misdirected. Part of the confusion seems to stem from Rubio's co-sponsorship of a separate bill in the Senate, S. 968, the Protect IP Act.

...My worry centers on what I saw in 2008: John McCain won the primary by basically outlasting the other candidates and secured the nomination without having a majority of the Republican electorate behind him. The problem was exacerbated when the campaign was slow to reach out to the other candidates' supporters and the conservative base. While Obama's 2008 campaign (especially combined with the economy) was a juggernaut that was likely unstoppable, McCain's failure to reach out and bring everyone into the fold was a contributing factor in the fatal lack of enthusiasm that doomed his campaign. Now, this year, we have several of the frontrunners either ignoring or taking for granted major sections of Republican voters...

1. I really, really hope Herman Cain doesn't drop out this week. Regardless of the truth of any of these accusations, if he gives up this quickly, it will send a signal to the Left and the media that burying someone with allegations of sexual impropriety is a successful way to drive a conservative candidate from the race. In our reality TV world, all it takes is a little bit of money and a promise of notoriety, and you can find someone who will do and say just about anything on camera. I do not want to encourage future efforts to organize character assassinations of our candidates. If Cain drops out, it should be because the campaign at the top is dysfunctional and destructive, not because of this nastiness...

For months, we've been hearing that Mitt Romney is the "presumptive Republican nominee." He's the permanent frontrunner, the "inevitable" candidate, the polished professional running a machine-like campaign. Each stumble by any other candidate has been viewed as bequeathing benefits to Romney, further forging his armor as the almighty invincible candidate. But is Romney really invincible? Is his selection as the Republican nominee for President really inevitable? Or does Emperor Romney have no clothes? If you recall the famous Hans Christian Andersen tale, the Emperor parades through the town in a new suit of clothes which are supposedly made out of a magical fabric that is invisible to those who are stupid, incompetent, or unfit for their positions. The townspeople make a great effort to all proclaim how attractive and fine the Emperor's new clothes are, until a child, too young and naïve to know any better, cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"

What were you doing in 1994? If you're old enough to vote, you were alive then. I was at Edgewater High School, in the marching band and German Club. (My nerd credentials run deep). One big highlight from that year was finally convincing my parents to let me get contacts instead of glasses. Yes, 1994 was an interesting year. Between Nancy Kerrigan getting clubbed on the leg by a figure skating rival, Kurt Cobain's suicide, and O.J. Simpson no longer being viewed as just that football player in the Naked Gun movies, it's amazing anyone managed to remember there was an election. And regarding that 1994 election, here's what some people you may recognize were doing: