I came across two really good reads on the war taking place inside the Republican party. This one at the FlashReport examines the battle by comparing how the nation is divided using red states and blue states as a metric.

The second one, by Richard Viguerie, takes a longer Washington, D.C. view and marks the starting point for the war as 1912:

The most important battle in politics today is the one within the Republican Party, and the tea party movement didn’t start it. The GOP’s civil war began in 1912 when Teddy Roosevelt made progressivism the governing philosophy of the Republican establishment.

They are both great reads.

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One of the things I love about RedState is how much one can learn about American culture.

When Erick delves into religion in many of his diaries, he references Christian authors and/or pastors that I have never heard of. Being born and raised in Southern California, I am sure the same is true with respect to the Christian leaders that I have been influenced by and am familiar with.

I say all this to introduce the song I’m going to close with today. It is an old spiritual song sung by Crystal Lewis — a well-known local singer who works with Greg Laurie — a well-known
Southern California pastor — at most of his evangelistic outreach events. She’s an incredible singer as you will see. Enjoy and have a great weekend.

The Watercooler is always an open thread.