Free Republic

Lou Dobbs was a CNN anchor that many people loved. Lou Dobbs was the only reason I would tune in to CNN over Fox News at any time. Why? Because Lou Dobbs told it like it is.... And that very well could have gotten him fired, or at least inspired him to quit. According to Reuters, Lou Dobbs has hinted at a possible White House Run or Senate run. While he's such a great figure, I am not sure if he would make a good President. Of course, the Lou Dobbs For President campaign would drum up a lot of...

Conservatives win many votes saying that liberals are elitist. I am here to tell you that the liberal movement is indeed very elitist. Its organization's staffs are composed mainly of Ivy leaguers whose life experiences are dramatically different than the 70 percent of Americans that never graduate from college. Very few of them have any actual experience living with or knowing working-class people. As a graduate of Bucknell, I still feel out of a place and most glaringly underdressed when I get in a room with the Ivy Leaguers running our movement. As garbageman turned United Electrical Workers (UE) in...

Who Do You Think is the Most Likely GOP Contender in 2012 of This Group? Mitt Romney 46% 2,273 votes Sarah Palin 27% 1,341 votes Tim Pawlenty 17% 837 votes Newt Gingrich 9% 423 votes

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Republican voters nationwide say former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is their pick to represent the GOP in the 2012 Presidential campaign. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 24% prefer former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney while 18% would cast their vote for former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gets 14% of the vote while Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty gets 4%. Six percent (6%) of GOP voters prefer some other candidate while 7% remain undecided. These numbers reflect an improvement for Huckabee since July when the three candidates were virtually even. Huckabee’s...

Like most young conservatives, I find myself very concerned about the way the country is going. It really kicked in hard for me in the middle of 2006, when it became very clear Iraq was going south. Obviously I didn’t expect the blowout in 2008 back then.... Since November, many liberals and Democrats have declared the Republican Party dead -- and one could find reasons to agree with them, starting with the clear minority support for President Obama and Democrats and ending with Representative Joe Wilson’s public relations disaster yell of, “You lie!”. I, however, have great hope for Republicans.......

So which Republican would do the best against President Obama if the 2012 election were held today? The answer, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Sept. 18-21, is former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who would get 41 percent to Obama's 48 percent with 11 percent undecided. Huckabee has been the strongest candidate against Obama all six times PPP has posed the question.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said he would consider running for president in 2012, citing a changing political environment making President Obama seem more vulnerable. "I think that it's something I would consider," Santorum said during a conference call Tuesday organized by the Republican National Committee (RNC). "But I think that's as far as I'm willing to go three years out."

The most important thing about what anyone says are not the words themselves but the credibility of the person who says them. The words of convicted swindler Bernie Madoff were apparently quite convincing to many people who were regarded as knowledgeable and sophisticated. If you go by words, you can be led into anything. No doubt millions of people will be listening to the words of President Barack Obama Wednesday night when he makes a televised address to a joint session of Congress on his medical care plans. But, if they think that the words he says are what matters,...

Public Policy Polling has replicated the same result for the past five months: On the question of which Republican would do the best against President Obama in a hypothetical race for the presidency in 2012, former-Arkansas-governor-turned-talk-show-host Mike Huckabee makes the strongest showing. Here's how the latest numbers break down for each potential face-off: Barack Obama 47% Mike Huckabee 44% Barack Obama 47% Mitt Romney 40% Barack Obama 49% Newt Gingrich 41% Barack Obama 52% Sarah Palin 38%

Today President Obama has separate meetings at the White House with his former rivals, Bill and Hillary Clinton; and while the topics of discussion may be about diplomacy, one issue not likely to come up is that recent polls show the Clintons are surging in job approval polls, and the president’s are hitting new lows. The numbers represent a striking reversal of fortune for the Clintons, whose were supposed to have been eclipsed by Obama’s historic presidency. Instead, their stature has grown as Obama’s has shrunk Just 53 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s job performance, compared with 66...

Add former Sen. Rick Santorum to the list of potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates. POLITICO has learned Santorum will visit first-in-the-nation Iowa this fall for a series of appearances before the sort of conservative activists who dominate the state GOP’s key presidential caucuses. The Pennsylvanian, who lost his 2006 re-election bid, will visit Iowa on October 1st, appearing on a Des Moines radio talk show and speaking to a luncheon and workshop of Iowa’s Right to Life group before heading east to Dubuque, where he’ll headline a fundraiser for the conservative America’s Future Fund PAC and then speak about the...

It's striking that today's Associated Press profile of Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate, excludes mention of his evangelical faith and strong ties to the evangelical world. I was struck by the same absence in a recent New York Times Pawlenty profile. How solid are Pawlently's evangelical bona fides? The pastor of his home church is president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the nation's largest evangelical interest. Last year, as John McCain struggled to win over evangelical leaders, Pawlently quietly tried to arrange a meeting between the Republican presidential nominee and National Association of Evangelical...

When She resigned today, Sarah Palin (videos above and below) made either the most impressive political move ever, or ruined her political career. She talked about how the frivolous ethic lawsuits, and how she has to spend too much of her time and her staffs time and money defending herself. Beyond that the unfairness of the press, the Letterman type family attacks, and the Vanity Fair article could not have been morale boosters. Her speech was heartfelt and she talked how she is a maverick and this is a maverick move. She gave the speech like a fighter. This is...

Obama hits Hollywood on fundraising trip U.S. president to tap movie, music executives at Beverly Hills hotel LOS ANGELES - President Barack Obama looked not for votes in California on Wednesday but for millions of dollars to aid Democratic campaigns, including at a fundraiser hosted by such Hollywood names as Steven Spielberg. Like Bill Clinton and other top Democrats before him, Obama visits the Golden State now and then to tap wealthy, liberal-leaning activists, especially in Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Wednesday night's two-tiered event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel offered tickets ranging from $1,000 to $15,200. The lower prices bought...

President Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, said that Governor Huntsman makes him a "wee bit queasy.” He is referring to Huntsman supposedly being a legitimate challenger to President Obama in 2012/2016. After Plouffe’s comment Huntsman got a lot of media play, which has intensified with him being picked as the new ambassador to China. The Democrats know exactly what they are doing placing a moderate-squishy Republican in the limelight. I guess the Dems apparent fear is supposed to make us start screaming to have Huntsman as the Republican nominee in 2012. They media think the message from his ambassadorship is...

Has anyone mentioned his name as a GOP candidate for president? He's certainly said all the right things in the last month. He's got experience - he's been governor of TX since Bush took the White House. Is this a guy who would excite you if he ran? Could he win in the general election?

More than a decade after he stepped down as speaker of the House into what seemed like almost certain political oblivion, Newt Gingrich is back and seemingly more relevant than ever. Gingrich seems to be everywhere these days, headlining an endless circuit of GOP dinners, popping up on TV news shows, authoring yet another best-selling book and acting as a policy guru to out-of-power congressional Republicans on how to do battle with the Democratic White House. As beleaguered Republicans look for a standard bearer after last year's disastrous election, they've been tossing around the names of flashy new stars like...

Intrade opened up contracts for 2012 recently. Palin is priced at $12, Jindal at $22, which suggests Palin is underpriced compared to her popularity. There is an anti-Palin/Anti-Social Conservative bias at Intrade, so that is probably dampening Palin's price.

The last thing you want to think about right now is the 2012 GOP primary calendar, but I am afraid you have to, if you want the RNC chairmanship contest to have meaning and the GOP to have a good chance of recapturing the White House four years down the road. Each would-be RNC leader should be asked about the 2012 presidential primaries they will be overseeing. Specific questions need to be posed, and concrete answers delivered. The RNC must begin now to consider overhauling the presidential nominating process three years hence for the simple reason that the process as...

Video here. Great interview with Sarah Palin in her own home kitchen as she prepares dinner and talks about what an awesome father to their kids Todd Palin is and related topics in the best four minutes and twenty eight seconds from the most recent home interview by Greta Van Susteren.

Spend six minutes with Sarah: video here. Wolf Blitzer never had a chance.

Essentially, she affirms being excited about the prospect and says that if the door is open, she will go through it. I say conservative supporters of Sarah Real Deal Palin help push that 2012 door open for her by establishing websites, talking with friends, posting articles, writing letters to the editor, and such. Video here. Make no mistake, the day will come when the North Star will be asked, "Sarah, are you running for President in 2012?", and the answer will come in two iconic words: "You betcha!"

Video here. The hope of America is 44, Alaskan, and beautiful.

Very, very, very emotional video right here.

Sarah Palin, smiling radiantly and standing several feet above the crowd in Raleigh, NC, said “You want me to sign that?” An apt question—I was surrounded by excited Palin supporters, all yelling frantically and holding out pink t-shirts and Palin photos for her autograph. The lady next to me shouted “For my daughter, Sarah!” In my pocket I had found a piece of sloppily folded script left over from the phone campaigning I had done just prior to the event. I held it toward Governor Palin, upward and through the barrier of angry looking Secret Service men. “Yes!” was my...

Video here. A world of thanks to everyone who has supported Sarah throughout this election. Please continue to support her for the next four years and beyond. The hope of America is 44, Alaskan, and beautiful.

Video here.

This is quite real, 8 seconds long, and adorable. Join this young Sarah Palin fan and vote Sarah into the White House November 4th! To watch the video, click right here. I recommend sending the link to this video to everyone that you have an email address for. It offers a good opportunity to make a constructive pitch for electing Sarah along the lines of "Hi, I ran across this really charming video and wanted to share it with you. I have decided to vote for Sarah and John because of all the shared values and their commitment to making...

"Sarah" at 3 years old..ADORABLE.

Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers, some of whom are currently working for Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin's bid for the White House, have been involved in spreading ant-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election. "Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012," says one former Romney aide, now working for McCain-Palin. "The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney. He's in charge on November 5th."

Video here. Piper Palin fields questions from Greta Van Susteren on pivotal issues like costume selection and trick-or-treating. This video features the Sarah Palin and Todd Palin family together on the campaign trail October 31st, 2008 for an "On the Record" interview with Greta Van Susteren of Fox News. Greta clearly decided early on that she liked the whole family and was going to promote them. Vote November 4th.

Video here

Video here.

Video here. Classic line when she refers to the flag pin, an "accessory" Obama dislikes. Anyone who has pictures of Sarah Palin, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Laura Ingraham, and other both principled and attractive conservative women, please post them all here. Who can post the most? Let the contest begin.

<p>Just six weeks after reluctantly surrendering to Barack Obama in the brutal 2008 Democratic primary race, Sen. Hillary Clinton has begun raising money for what she says is her 2012 New York Senate re-election campaign.</p> <p>Clinton still faces some $20 million in debts from her unsuccessful presidential effort this year. As part of a so-called "unity drive," Obama has appealed to his supporters in recent weeks to give to Clinton to cover the costs she incurred while raking him over the coals in a bareknuckled bid to return to the White House. Some Obama backers have balked.</p>