1.  McCain's pick of Governor Sarah Palin pleases movement conservatives.  Senator John McCain's unexpected selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican candidate for vice president has excited movement conservatives throughout the nation.

Palin is an effective speaker who will energize the conservative base for the general election campaign.

2.  Ron Paul shocks conservatives with endorsement of Congressman Don Young.  Conservatives were shocked and dismayed that Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) unexpectedly endorsed the re-nomination of Congressman Don Young (R-AL) in the Alaska Republican primary.

Paul sent out a letter to his supporters in Alaska asking them to vote for Young over Sean Parnell, the state's lieutenant governor and a strong, principled conservative.

By contrast, Young, who is under federal investigation for illegal gratuities and unreported gifts, is a world-class porker, infamous for his "bridge to nowhere" and hundreds of millions in other earmarks.

The chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, Richard A. Viguerie, said back in July that "Young is an essential part of the massive culture of corruption in politics that runs hand-and-glove with Big Government and is causing almost all Americans to lose confidence in Congress."

After learning that Paul had sent out letters backing Young, Viguerie was astounded.

"I have been a strong supporter of Ron Paul for many years, including naming him one of the nation's up-and-coming leaders in a Conservative Digest magazine article I published almost 25 years ago," he said.

Viguerie said the endorsement is "completely inconsistent with everything Congressman Paul has said that he stands for." 

2.  Republicans make slight comeback in fundraising for congressional candidates.  After losing their majorities in both the House and Senate in the 2006 elections, Republicans have faced the prospect of losing additional seats in the 2008 elections.

In an unfavorable political environment, the GOP has had a difficult time in fundraising.  However, for the first time in almost two years, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has raised more money than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

During July 2008, the NRCC raised $9.2 million to $6 million for the DCCC.

However, the DCCC had a total of $56.5 million in the bank, compared to only $14.1 million for the NRCC.

The result will likely mean that much more money will be available to spend on Democratic campaigns to influence independent and split ticket voters.  Unless Republicans continue to do better in fundraising, it is hard to see how they will be able to prevail in close races.