Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

A survey conducted for the Young Republican National Federation, which claims more than 10,000 members, finds that the RNC chairman candidates’ views on social issues are important to only 6% of the 1,249-person sample. The candidates’ positions on the economy and job creation were most in demand, followed by their views on taxes, energy independence and national security. Illegal immigration, a subject of outsize importance to the vocal wing of the party, ranked 8th out of 10; only five percent of the members said that they were curious about how candidates would talk about the subject.

According to a YRNF spokesperson, self-identified social conservatives were well represented in the survey.

The YR”s have some good insight into the NEW direction of the party. Obviously, the politics of current RNC Chairman Mike Duncan have failed.

The election is tomorrow and Flap is most comfortable with Michael Steele and therefore ENDORSES him for Chairman.

But my colleague Alex Burns reports that with the vote less than 48 hours away Steele’s camp shared a list of 30 supporters with Politico, including 12 privately pledged backers who wish to remain anonymous. (In total, Steele’s team claims 39 supporters – a number which, if accurate, would put him remarkably close to incumbent Chair Mike Duncan’s level of support.)

Why share this info now? It’s “important to have an accurate picture of where the race stands,” they say. It’s a risky move, though. On the one hand, it could give Steele the appearance of momentum in the home stretch. On the other hand, it will also raise expectations for Steele’s performance on the first ballot. And in an election with multiple ballots, when commitments may not last past the first vote, the expectations game can be decisive.

So, does Michael Steele have the Big Mo going into tomorrows vote?

Let’s hope so.

Read Chris Cilliza’s final handicap of the RNC race here.

First Read has a different count:

• Duncan 44
• Steele 30
• Dawson 18
• Blackwell 16
• Anuzis 16
• Saltsman 1
• Unknown 43

The vote is coming tomorrow, Friday, at the Winter RNC Meeting.

But, it was a plausible explanation as to why the New York Times promoted her candidacy for appointment by Governor David Paterson.

Hundreds of thousands of teachers, nurses, factory workers and plumbers marched through French cities on Thursday to demand pay rises and protection for jobs.

The demonstrations were the high point of a nationwide one-day strike called by France’s eight main trade unions to try to persuade President Nicolas Sarkozy and business leaders to do more to help ordinary people overcome the economic crisis.

But the stoppage, billed as a “Black Thursday,” did not bring France to a halt as previous strikes have done. Public transport continued to run, albeit on a reduced and erratic schedule.

“The government has taken measures for banks but today it is the workers who are suffering,” said Charles Foulard, a technician at a refinery run by energy giant Total.

“This crisis comes from the United States, it’s the financial bubble that is bursting. It’s not for the workers to pay for that,” he said as crowds gathered at the Place de la Bastille in Paris, birthplace of the French Revolution.

Surprised they didn’t blame Bush.

France is just broken – a lesson as to what happens to a social democracy when the left-wing unions call the shots.