H/T to The Liberal OC for catching this first! : )

After witnessing the damage inflicted on [Former Senator George] Allen by Democrat campaign staff, Markos Zuniga is serious. Democratic Party activists are to be armed with high-tech video equipment looking to preserve any visible or audible mistakes committed by Republicans during public speaking appearances (not just from stages and podiums, but presumably private conversations on public grounds).

That was San Bernardino County Republican Party staffer Adam Aleman on FlashReport today, warning all the poor little Republicans about the monster that is being unleashed by BIG, BAD MARKOS and all his blogger minions. Just look at how George Allen’s political career was destroyed by one innocent little “macaca moment“. Remember that he was supposed to be running for President by now?

So what is it about progressive bloggers that’s scaring the living daylight out of seasoned Republican insiders? Why are they so afraid of us? Follow me after the flip to find out…

So why are they afraid? Well, the infamous “macaca” video didn’t just contribute to George Allen’s loss of a Senate seat. It dashed the hopes of many right-wingers that a charming Southern politician could help them keep the White House in 2008.

Here’s some more from FlashReport:

George Allen is not campaigning for the White House in Des Moines, Manchester or anywhere else as a result of his surprise re-election loss last November. A loss that happened in large part due to Allen being the first major candidate to be “Youtubed.” A paid staff member of his upstart Democratic opponent videotaped Allen making derogatory statements that many perceived as racially insensitive. Senator Allen’s shocking defeat became THE case study of how the term “youtube” suddenly became a verb in political parlance. See the video that doomed Allen here.

How significant of a role did the amateur video by a Democratic Party operative play in Allen’s defeat? Well, consider this fact. George Allen was considered so safe for re-election that his initial campaign manager left Allen’s campaign to work on a race that was considered tougher. Allen was ranked as so secure in his Senate seat that he was already starting to visit early GOP presidential primary states in anticipation of an expected 2008 bid for the GOP presidential nomination.

Well, Allen’s unfortunate incident certainly put a crimp in his presidential plans for 2008, and quite possibly forever. And it clearly was a factor in his 2006 re-election loss to a political neophyte named Jim Webb.

I guess that’s why they’re afraid. If progressive bloggers can not only put this man in the Senate and destroy this man’s Presidential aspirations, but also end twelve years of Republican dominance of Capitol Hill, then just think of all the pain and suffering that Republicans may soon endure. Just think of the horror! The horror!

This man might lose his seat in Congress. And so might this man. And wait, this man might also go down in flames next year! And so might this man! Heck, maybe this woman isn’t even safe any more! What happens if Republicans lose more Congressional seats in California instead of taking back the one that they lost last year?

And with sites like this one and this one and this one popping up all the time, Republicans can never feel safe here. Oh yes, and they always need to watch out for this one and this one. Poor things. Who knew that accountability could be so scary? ; )

OK, so you probably know by now that I wasn’t able to see Mitt Romney on Friday in Dana Point. However, Jon Fleischman did. While I was out in the cold, he was in on all the action… And yes, Fleischman now has his account of the Romney fundraiser up on FlashReport.

Here are some of Romney’s “Greatest Hits” from Friday’s swanky fundraiser. For more videos, go to Jon’s blog.

More after the flip…

Romney on the “War on Terror”

Romney on the “Source of American Strength”
[And no, you commie-loving pinko lib’ruls, it’s not taxes or big guv’munt or ‘dem San Francisco values… hehe ; ) ]

California Romney Chairman Mike “Darth” Schroeder and OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh on why they love Mitt:

And finally, an excerpt from the interview with Mitt Romney. Jon Fleischman talks with Romney about health care:

Jon: Well, what would you say to, because I’ve talked to a lot of conservatives who are concerned about the Governor’s proposal which he, again, says is mirrored after yours, when they pass a law that requires people to have healthcare insurance and kind of the idea that that flies in the face of the notion of individuals taking responsibility for their own action and kind of putting the state involved in putting mandates on people.

Mitt: Well, my proposal in Massachusetts was people either pay for their own healthcare and demonstrate their ability to pay by having a sufficient health savings account or other savings account or they buy insurance, because currently in this country if someone does not have health insurance and they don’t have money of their own, then they go to the hospital and they get free care. And that’s not an option that should be available to people who can afford insurance. So I agree that — and I want to make personal responsibility mean that people either pay for their own healthcare or they buy insurance, one or the other. But no more showing up and expecting other people to pay your way. That’s not personal responsibility. That’s the welfare state. And currently what we have, and I think this is something that people don’t often appreciate, currently what we have in most of America and in California, like Massachusetts, is a sick setting, where people don’t buy insurance, even those who can afford it don’t buy insurance and go get free healthcare. And that’s simply not personal responsibility.

To see the rest of the interview, and to see more videos, go to FlashReport. And thanks to Jon Fleischman for covering the event from the inside. : )