"The demoralization of the base is real. I hear it everywhere."

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder attended conservative activist David Horowitz's Restoration Weekend this weekend. The event is designed to let the various wings of the conservative movement meet, mingle and, most importantly, figure out what the movement faces in the upcoming year.

This year the conference focused on concerns that the "conservative revolution" that helped spur Newt Gingrich and the Republican party to wrest control of Congress away from the Democrats in 1994 may be fading.

Marc Cooper of the The Nation quoted Kinder who said, "The demoralization of the base is real. I hear it everywhere."

Cooper is not the first to pick up on grumbles in the conservative community that the movement is sputtering out.

Various reasons are cited for conservatives' lament; Iraq, bribery and influence scandals, an ever-expanding domestic security programs, massive new government spending, ham-fisted health care programs, and President Bush's management skills each leave their own mark.

While speculation runs rampant, the only real measure will come in November.

In Missouri, Democrats aren't leaving any topic off the table. Health care, close connections to lobbyists and an executive with low polling numbers come up in state house races as much as they do at the National level. Add in the Republican division over stem cells and there are the MO GOP has numerous fronts to keep an eye on.