On Saturday, I had the privilege of speaking at the Evergreen Leadership Conference held over in Bellevue.

Clearly, a conservative revolution is brewing in this state and nationwide.  The ELC committee did an amazing job of bringing the disparate elements of this movement together from all over the state:  the Ron Paul supporters in the Campaign for Liberty, the Tea Party organizers, values voters, Second Amendment defenders, the Patriot movement, the 9.12 Project, the FReepers, the evangelical Christian conservatives, pro-marriage and pro-life activists, property rights advocates, and the old school conservatives who helped Ronald Reagan carry Washington in 1980 and 1984.

And then there's Tim Eyman (pictured with me above), the hero of the day.  Tim is a political movement all unto himself.  His tax-cutting, hold-the-line-on-spending initiatives have appealed to voters all across the political spectrum.  Tim has single-handedly protected the citizens of this state from the ravages of the ultra-liberal tax-and-spend Democrats while the Washington GOP has floundered and lost seats in the legislature over the last 10 years.

The unifying message of the day was simple and clear:  

WHEN REPUBLICANS SUPPORT LIMITED GOVERNMENT AND LOWER TAXES, THEY WIN.  WHEN THEY DON'T, THEY LOSE.

And to that end, there were some excellent candidates on hand, such as Pierce County Councilman Dick Muri, who is conducting the best campaign you haven't heard of yet, and who has a really decent shot to beat Democrat Rep. Adam Smith in the 9th Congressional District in 2010.  Dick deserves your support and you are going to be hearing a lot more about him from me. Also in 2010, ELC keynote speaker Pat Toomey will very likely drive the snake Arlen Specter out of his Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Present at ELC was motivational and leadership guru Chris Widener of Positively Republican, who is exploring a run against Patty Murray (and her tennis shoes) next year.  And I cannot fail to mention Hans Zeiger, the 24 year-old who is running for state representative in the 25th Legislative District in 2010 and was listed in Newsweek’s Current magazine among “15 College Students You Haven’t Heard of … But Will” in 2005.  Hans is out to prove that Generation Y is not the Obama Generation.

Young people like Hans give me hope for the future of conservatism in Washington State.  And something else that gives me hope is all the talent we Washington conservatives have on hand. 

Blogger Keli Carender of Bremerton (a.k.a. Liberty Belle) really started the whole Tea Party movement with her February 16 "Porkulus" protest in Seattle, not Dick Armey and Fox News.  Pacific County GOP Chairwoman Nan Malin (@Nansen) is the most followed non-celebrity on Twitter.

Republicans; a party barely alive. Ladies and gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the technology. We have the capability to rebuild this country's best hope for the future. The Washington State Republican Party will be that party. We can make it better than it was before. Better, stronger, more conservative...