John Hawkins recently polled right-of-center/conservative bloggers asking questions copied from a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll. Here’s why.

The poll results were treated as suspect mainly because some controversial questions were asked the results featured what many conservatives perceived as an unusually high percentage of flaky answers.

Comparing the two polls is an interesting exercise. While there are some questions that tracked relatively close to one another, some of the more controversial questions featured significantly different results. Those regarding President Obama are a good example.

In the Kos poll 39% of respondents answered “Yes” to the question, “Should Barack Obama be impeached, or not?” 32% answered “No”. (The Kos poll had the additional option of “Not Sure”)

In contrast, only 9 of the 78 bloggers (11%) who responded to that question answered “Yes.” The other 88% answered “No.”

It is de rigueur to paint the entire right as “birthers”, but look at the difference in response to the question “Do you believe Barack Obama was born in the United States, or not?”

• Daily Kos “Yes” — 42%
• RWN “Yes” — 80%

Quite a difference.

On one Obama characteristic the two polls are much closer. “Do you think Barack Obama is a socialist?”

• Kos “Yes” — 63%
• RWN “Yes” — 89%

The accompanying comment by Kos blames the results on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. A better explanation might be the takeover of banks and auto companies, and the attempted takeover of the medical system.

One thing to note. The Kos poll was a phone poll of self-identified Republicans. John’s poll was of Right-of-Center bloggers, and he points out:

Now, right-of-center bloggers don’t match up exactly to the Republican base. They’re more knowledgeable, more libertarian, and less socially conservative than Republicans overall, but still, they seemed like a roughly representative group.

There are several questions on the Kos poll that John didn’t ask. Here’s one that I’m curious about:

Do you believe Sarah Palin is more qualified to be President than Barack Obama?

The Kos Results:

• Yes 53
• No 14
• Not Sure 33

You can express your opinion in the poll embedded in the side bar. Your comments are welcome as well.

John Hawkins reached out to Right of Center bloggers for their choices of the most respected people on the right.

All bloggers were allowed to make anywhere from 1-10 unranked selections and were allowed to choose anybody on the Right or generally perceived to be on the right that they liked: Republican, Conservative, Libertarian, politician, preacher, blogger, columnist, radio host, you name it!

I didn’t take the time to respond as I was working through the computer issues here at home. I don’t see anyone on the list that I couldn’t have put there, and the order wouldn’t have changed much with my contribution. Fred Thompson and Bobby Jindal would have moved up a spot from their seven person tie for 16th, and Ed Morrissey would have jumped up one position as well.

The top five would have remained the same, but each would have one more tally.

Take a look at the list and let me know who you would have had on your list.

John Hawkins asked 260 Right of Center bloggers to submit between 1-12 names of their “Favorite People On The Right.” Not making the list: Mike Huckabee, John McCain, or President Bush.

I’ve placed the top ten in a poll (see the right sidebar). Who is your favorite?

• (9 – Tie) Ann Coulter, Thomas Sowell
• (7 – Tie) Michael Steele, Michelle Malkin
• (6) Mark Steyn
• (5) Newt Gingrich
• (4) Fred Thompson
• (3) Bobby Jindall
• (2) Rush Limbaugh
• (1) Sarah Palin

Get to votin’.

Readers of Right Wing News noticed the same thing I did regarding John Hawkins’ Blogging While Female post — that good blogging tips are good blogging tips.

There are also things that bloggers who want to be successful should avoid. John lists The Top 10 Reasons Bloggers Don’t Succeed

In addition to the great advice he offers this observation;

On the other hand, traffic for the blogosphere in general, on both the Left and the Right, has been relatively flat since early 2005. If, God help us all, Hillary or Barack wins the presidency, I do expect the Right side of the blogosphere to have another big burst in 2009 and 2010 — but, we’ll see if that plays out.

John Hawkins has a great post today titled Blogging While Female: 5 Conservative Women Bloggers Talk About Gender Issues And The Blogosphere.

Are there lots of other little subtle differences between the ways men and women looked at blogging that I hadn’t caught onto before?

I decided to find out.

So, in order to do that, I reached out to a few of the more intriguing women on the right side of the blogosphere and interviewed them about their backgrounds and gender issues.

His discussion with Pamela Geller, Rachel Lucas, Amanda Carpenter, Ericka Anderson, and Michelle Malkin is extremely intriguing. It is a longish post that is well worth the time it will take to read.

But beyond the gender issue that Hawkins is examining, the post is also contains some great advice regarding blogging success.

Rachel Lucas:

I think a lot of blogs by people who complain that they don’t get much traffic? Those blogs tend to be very boring. If you can read the exact same material on 10,000 different blogs and all they’re doing is repeating the same thing and it’s not very well written, I don’t know what they expect. I think people need to have a little more humor, either really know what they’re talking about… and have connections and do interviews, or they need to be a lot more interesting. I think a lot of blogs are really boring.

Michelle Malkin:

There are a couple of factors. The first is not to try to be somebody else. If you want to be a success…don’t be another Michelle Malkin or Glenn Reynolds or a Drudge wannabe. The marketplace of ideas rewards original ideas and original thinkers and I think having a niche is very important. …The blogosphere rewards fresh information and reporting, energy, initiative, and…I think a lot of the humor blogs do well, like Iowahawk, Ace of Spades HQ. There are so many people with something unique to add. Plus, it takes a work ethic. You’re not going to be successful if you only post 2 or 3 times a day and if you don’t have fun doing it, you shouldn’t be in it.

Great advice and a great post. Do go read the whole thing.

No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of odour to the nostrils. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Happy 1st Blogiversary to
Vanishing American

Blue Crab Boulevard (Gaius) A Presumption Of Stasis

Lindzen is a huge thorn in the side of the First Church of the Presumptuous Assumption of Global Warming™ for a very good reason. He’s rather good a pointing out the Emperor’s lack of knickers. Which is why the true believers want all debate closed off and critics silenced. They hate trying to answer these annoying questions.

Scott Ott at ScrappleFace has a post that fails to provide the tongue in cheek humor that we’ve come to expect and love. Instead it is quite simply the speech that President Bush should give. Here’s a taste:

Calling it the ‘global war on terror’ is accurate in this respect: This is a not a national conflict. It belongs to no country and respects no borders. No legitimate claim to sovereignty exists. When we triumph over the terrorists, no nation of people will be humbled. The losers will be the terrorists. No sensible person in any nation will mourn their loss. And some who now cower in caution, appearing to give tacit approval to the terrorists, will dance with joy on their graves.

Read the whole thing. I think I should send a copy to the President.

Read The Rightosphere Temperature Check For April at Right Wing News

John Hawkins and Right Wing News have been mentioned on the Rush Limbaugh show three times this week. With good reason.

The posts Rush referred two are dead-on looks at the illegal immigration debate. Read Democrats: Illegal Aliens Who Engage In Burglary, Assault, & Kidnapping? Make Them American Citizens and Answering 13 Frequently Asked Questions About Illegal Immigration. Way to go John.

Let me play bird dog this morning and point out some really good stuff.

Jay Tea — Wizbang Speaking truth to pinheads

With the anniversary of the war in Iraq (or, as I like to call it when I’m feeling formal, the Iraq Campaign of the War on Terror), I think it’s long overdue time to actually LOOK at some of the anti-war crowd’s charges and give them the slightest shred of credence, for at least long enough to rip them to pieces.

Which he does.

Mark Noonan — Blogs for Bush The Anti-Liberation Demonstrations Really Did Fizzle

One of the biggest protests was only 6,000 strong? In San Francisco!?!?! Geesh! And by the report it seems just a bunch of ageing hippies…people who showed up for the Summer of Love back in ‘67 and never grew up and got jobs.

Ed Morrissey — Captain’s Quarters American Death Rate In Iraq Lowest In Two Years

Handwringers in the press have turned Iraq into Viet Nam, calling it a quagmire so often that the repetition has become numbing. However, according to a study done by USA Today of military data, the casualty rate for US troops has dropped to its lowest level in two years, while the Iraqi forces show increasing engagement against the terrorists:

And

More Connections Between Saddam And Al-Qaeda

At the same time that leftists would have us believe that Saddam was safely in a “box” and contained by UN sanctions, he had corrupted the UN’s aid program and plundered his own nation for billions of dollars.

Howie — The Jawa Report Christian Man on Trial, Facing Death for Converting from Islam.

I thought Islam teaches Jesus is cool? They are always talking up how much they respect Jesus Christ. Yeah right, they respect him so much they execute Christians!

John Hawkins — Right Wing News Does The GOP Deserve To Retain Control In The Senate?

For — I don’t know — at least, a good, solid three years now, conservatives have been yapping, complaining, and kvetching non-stop about two issues on the domestic front: out-of-control spending and our government’s refusal to take a tough stand against illegal immigration.

Yet, here we are, in an election year and what are we seeing from Republicans in the Senate on these two crucial issues?

Well, that should be enough to get you started on this first day of spring. Go get another cup of coffee and jump in.