Free Republic

IN HIS BATTLE against Ron DeSantis for the 2024 nomination, Donald Trump and his allies believe they’ve found a new weapon in their effort to bury the Florida governor. His name is Vivek Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old “anti-woke” entrepreneur .. who vows to be even Trumpier than Trump. The explanation for the former president’s interest in Ramaswamy’s campaign is simple: The insurgent candidate has spent much of his run for office trashing Trump’s top rival, DeSantis. As Ramaswamy’s poll numbers and standing in the primary have risen a bit in recent weeks, so has Trump’s interest. The former president has praised...

The upcoming week or two should provide more clarity on 2024 candidate field as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott are all likely to make their enlistment official. Of course, most eyes will be on the Jeb! lane for 2024 which is currently occupied by Ron DeSantis.Current Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, another approved republican, is in a holding pattern above the race in the event that DeSantis does a big stupid. Meanwhile New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is now pushing himself into the foray, while simultaneously meeting with DeSantis to talk...

Yesterday, the New York Times ran and “investigative” piece on Ted Cruz’s finances. I their story they point to an alleged failure by Ted Cruz to report a loan he received to finance his campaign: Those reports show that in the critical weeks before the May 2012 Republican primary, Mr. Cruz - currently a leading contender for his party's presidential nomination - put "personal funds" totaling $960,000 into his Senate campaign. Two months later, shortly before a scheduled runoff election, he added more, bringing the total to $1.2 million - "which is all we had saved," as Mr. Cruz described...

I have a column up at RollCall today suggesting that the GOP should root for a Ted Cruz vs. Marco Rubio clash. Cruz, skilled at channeling indignation, is a better choice than Trump—if the “populist” lane wants a candidate who can beat Hillary. Likewise, Rubio, who can communicate compassion and optimism, would stand a much better chance in the so-called “establishment” lane than Jeb Bush.But aside from the fact that Cruz has a better chance of beating Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump, I’m constantly hearing from Republicans who believe he is more cunning and “flexible” than he is an ideologue....

A rescued yellow Labrador retriever mix was popularly named Reagan by Rick Scott Facebook fans as the now Florida governor campaigned in the 2010 close election against Democrat Alex Sink. Unfortunately, Reagan's photos disappeared shortly after Scott was sworn in on January 2011, reports the Tampa Bay Times. So what happened to Reagan the rescue pooch? Introduced as the newest addition to the Scott family back then, all sorts of dog friendly and Rick Scott photos were plastered everywhere. Of course, animal advocates love that kind of compassion; statistics reveal that 39% of Americans have at least one dog in...