Two for the Roll

Two new Web sites on the scene worth checking out:

1) Pioneer Press columnist, and MOB member in absentia, Craig Westover is attempting to reform the state Republican party with the Grassroots for an Open Republican Party iniative. They list seven spot-on and sadly forgotten principles of governance and aspire to:

"Returning to Republican principles" means holding fast to those principles even when it hurts. It means turning to those principles everyday to guide every action taken as a member or officer of the Republican Party. It means incorporating those principles into how we organize the Minnesota GOP, manage the Minnesota GOP, and communicate the message of the Minnesota GOP. It means we turn to those principles to guide our candidate selection process, to provide the code by which we conduct elections, and to hold Republican officeholders accountable to the people who endorse them.

They're targeting state party delegates and alternates for recruitment and further action (and already have Dave Thompson, Tony Sutton, and 75 others aboard). And Westover is one of the most principled and sharpest Republicans around. But even with him leading the charge and this early support, with no real institutional leverage over the status quo, this grassroots effort seems like a long shot. We wish this band of Quixotics well.

2) A new MOB blog to be added as soon as we figure out a way to navigate through Blogrolling's new security procedures (so secure, the members can't even access it). It fills a gap in MOB coverage, with its primary focus being pro-life issues. It's called A Voice for the Unborn and it is very well done. Feel free to add it to your own MOB rolls until our technical difficulties can be resolved.