What comes to your mind when you think of Republicans? Old, cranky guys complaining about the government, right? C'mon, you know you do.

Well, not so fast.

While I am on my way to being old and cranky, I'm not there just yet. I'm still middle aged and somewhat impatient, I'm not full blown cranky yet. As for the rest of the Yolo County Republicans, we have a group of young people who are fast becoming a force in our organization. The Davis College Republicans are a great resource, they walk precincts with us, they show up at out public function to help do some of the leg work, and they are upbeat and positive, even after finals.

They want to get involved and they don't mind a little hard work. It's great to have people with new ideas, who may have a different take on the popular culture, keeping our organization up to speed with the environment our younger members deal with day to day.

I'm glad to see that college Republicans have started their own blog. We hear the stories of the absolute intolerance they face every day at the colleges and universities in our nation, it's time they pulled out a pen and paper or a video recorder and showed the rest of the country what is going on in the hallowed halls of academia. Good for them.

I hope we have some of our DCR members in the booth at the Dynamite Chili Cook-off September 22 at the Yolo County Fairgrounds. Stop by and have some of Doug Young's famous salsa. He says he won't make it too hot this year.

I guess it worked for Arnold.

As the rest of the Presidential field, all 10 of them, debate tonight in Durham New Hampshire, Fred Thompson sits in the comfy chair next to Jay Leno to announce his candidacy for President.

While most of the punditry criticizes Thompson for skipping another debate, I am not not bothered in the least. The reason, no one is paying attention right now. Well, that excludes political junkies like you and me, but the average voter isn't paying attention until the calendar ends with an 8.

With the primary season moving up, I agree that the cycle will start sooner, but January is long way off.

If you want to handicap the race, follow the money. If Thompson fails to raise serious cash in the next two months, he will be slammed for waiting to long. If that happens, I will agree to a certain point that his timing played a role, but a candidate with a message can stand up to a good ground game. All the GOTV grassroots teams in Iowa will not get folks to vote for a candidate with a poor or unclear message. A good communicator with a clear message can move the polls in a hurry.

Fred may have a hard time living up to the expectations he has been saddled with, but that is where the rubber meets the road in politics.

The Republican primary season can now begin. Lets get rid of the second and third tier candidates and let the top 5 go at it hammer and tong.

What do Republicans in Yolo County think about whats happening in our world?
You are about to find out.

Check back soon.