Ralph Hall, TX-04 Congressman, believes among other things that the Energizer Bunny is real, you can change political parties at any point in life, Jack Abramoff never influenced him and that the Cold War was still going on in 1996. Well we don't know about the Energizer Bunny part, but the other things are part of his repertoire of denial.

Luckily, Hall has a challenger, .Glenn Melancon that has a good grasp on the issues. We know that this is a long shot of long shots, but Ralph Hall is plenty vulnerable. Melancon and Hall faced off in 2006, but the climate is ripe for change this year.

As their party moves to the left, right-wing Democrats (including the sole "Independent Democrat") may have to weigh the advantages of switching parties.  The Republicans are likely to find their party in ruins after November, and they will likely need all the help they can get to rebuild.  Joe Lieberman (and other hawks in the Democratic party) may find tempting opportunities in this situation.

I've had a strange couple weeks as politics go recently. I've mildly supported Obama the last few months, but over the last month have come to give more of my time and money to his campaign. Yesterday I became a precinct captain for the campaign. As such, his name has come up more in my conversations with friends and family, my Mormon friends and family to be specific. I'd like to recount a couple of these stories. This is not so much to praise Obama (though of course I would :), as much as it is to illustrate how badly Bush has hurt the Republican party and the conservative cause.