Your Konservatives Update

--As you can imagine, I am super-duper excited for today's RNC committee vote for chairman. Incidentally, I'm getting some chatter that incumbent Mike Duncan is now Mitt Romney's stalking-horse; meanwhile, former Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman (but actually, in my analysis, a stalking horse for Bill Frist), has dropped out on account of having absolutely no support whatsoever. Ken Blackwell, who I was really rooting for because he is absolutely nuts and would be wonderfully entertaining, appears to have faded to irrelevance. Saul Anuzis doesn't seem to have much of a chance. My analysis: if this turns into a choice between Duncan and Steele, Duncan wins; if it turns into a choice between Duncan and Katon Dawson (who I originally predicted months ago would be the next chair), Dawson wins.

--A few days ago, Club For Growth CEO Pat Toomey spread word that he would not challenge PA Sen. Specter from the right. (He's expected to run for gov instead.) Since then, Specter has quickly wheeled around and headed back to the left, voting to confirm Eric Holder, and voting for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act -- the only male Republican Senator to vote for it. On Wednesday, Specter was the only male Republican Senator to vote against the "Mexico City policy" amendment to the S-CHIP bill, which would have cut off funds to overseas NGOs that, among other services, dare to provide abortion services.

--That amendment was introduced by the great Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who, as I've written before, stands out among potential 2012 GOP Prez candidates as playing like he wants it the most. In a speech at the Heritage Foundation, he reportedly called the economic recovery bill the worst thing done to economic freedom since the federal income tax. See what I mean?

--Speaking of that bill, which the House GOP members voted unanimously against, when will these people learn that if Michelle Malkin is proud of them, they might be drifting a tad outside the mainstream?

--And in case you missed it, Toomey's Club for Growth announced that it would weight its next Congressional scorecard in such a way that nobody who votes for the recovery bill can score above 90, the threshhold for the group's "Defender of Economic Freedom" stamp of approval.

--The NRCC, now under the helm of super-conservative Texan Pete Sessions, has named California's Kevin McCarthy -- he of the perfect 100 rating from the American Conservative Union -- to be in charge of candidate recruitment for the 2010 cycle. Dandy! And equally conservative Jeb Hensarling (my 10th Scariest Conservative) has been put in charge of fundraising.