Earlier today I arranged to conduct a round-table discussion on George Bush's immigration speech as well as the conservative rebellion that threatens the Republican Party's dominance in Congress in the upcoming mid-term elections. Unfortunately, two of our potential conferees could not make it, Michelle Malkin because of her commitments to Fox News tonight, and Stephen Bainbridge because of technical difficulties that he tried mightily to overcome but could not.

Fortunately for me and for the CQ community, Mark Tapscott and I had a great one-on-one conversation instead. Besides being an outstanding blogger, Mark had spent years at the Heritage Foundation integrating bloggers into their efforts to great effect, and now serves as editorial page editor for the Washington Examiner. Mark has been fighting for the conservative movement for decades, and he has a unique perspective on the crossroads conservatives face, ironically because of their electoral successes.

We first talked about immigration, and Mark and I saw this very similarly. Neither of us think that Bush helped himself in the long term, although both of us predict that he will get a short-lived rise in the polls. We gave Bush high marks for consistency, but do not believe that the base will follow him on this effort. We also do not understand why Bush continues to push for a temporary worker program, and Mark has some good perspective based on his experience covering the German auto industry and their imported workforce.

Mark also clarified his position on the options for conservatives. He does not support the impulse for conservatives to disengage in the upcoming elections, or any other elections for that matter. Mark sees the potential for an effective and quick formation of a third party through the use of the Internet, and figures that such a project may be a rational option for disaffected conservatives. Until then, Mark wants to see the Right work through the GOP to elect the kind of leadership that will deliver on conservative policies.

This description barely skims the surface of our half-hour discussion. Be sure to download the MP3 at the link above for the entire interview.

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