reconstructi reconstruction, ed brooks. i would have thought he would have been his homework a little more. ben, the students were not hostile. they were challenging but respectful. does he gets points for showing up and maybe is this the beginning part of a learning process that might eventually pay dividends? well, i got to tell you, there were some republicans who think that a little bit of outreach and messaging is enough to increase their share of the african-american vote and increase their share of the latino vote. look, if these sorts of lectures that are heavy on ideology and hevy on revisionist history were effective, newt gingrich would be president right now. the republican party is desperately looking for a new leader and a new public face, and i think despite what some republican leaders would like, senator paul has stepped into that role over the past several weeks and it traps them in a number of distractions that distract from the core message and the future of whe