Free Republic

After my last two columns on Donald Trump, several people have written to ask what I think about some of the other Republican presidential candidates. So I thought I’d address that question this week. Hey, I’m nothing if not responsive to my readers. Please excuse me if I don’t mention everyone. I’ve only got 500 words. Ben Carson. No question, Dr. Carson is manifestly the smartest person in the race, on either side. His slogan should be, “It’s just politics, folks. Not brain surgery.” I don’t necessarily agree with him on every issue, but I believe he’s a man of...

Give him credit. Most elected officials are content to tinker at the edges, but Governor Jindal of Louisiana actually wants to solve problems. Look what he’s done, for instance, on fiscal policy. He sought to abolish his state’s personal income tax, a step that would have dramatically boosted the states competitiveness. That effort stalled, but he actually has been successful in curtailing state spending. He’s amassed one of the best records for frugality of all governors seeking the GOP presidential nomination. And he’s now joined the list of presidential candidates seeking to rewrite the internal revenue code. Since we’ve already reviewed...

Sen. Ted Cruz is cozying up to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in a cynical ploy to court the billionaire's supporters should Trump drop out of the race for the White House, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal charged Tuesday. In an interview with the Tribune, Jindal said Cruz has "enabled" Trump, who has a history of liberal stands, by refusing to criticize him, instead cultivating a chummy relationship with the New York developer. The Texas GOP senator has praised Trump for drawing attention to illegal immigration, headlined a rally with him against President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran and repeatedly passed...

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is blasting the father of accused Oregon shooter Chris Harper Mercer as a "complete failure" as a parent.Jindal said poor parenting and America's violent pop culture were to blame for the mass shooting last week, not the nation's gun laws, in a statement on Tuesday.“He’s a complete failure as a father [and] he should be embarrassed to even show his face in public,” said Jindal, a Republican presidential contender, about Ian Mercer, the father of Chris Harper Mercer. “He’s the real problem here."Jindal’s comments follow last week’s mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore....

KALAMAZOO, MI — Controversial Michigan Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema is close to endorsing Ted Cruz for president and is considering a Congressional run. Agema, who attended a Monday morning Cruz rally at the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, said he is impressed by Cruz's knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, because "we have a president right now that is, in my opinion, ruining the constitution by his executive orders." A tea party favorite and social conservative, Agema said his initial list of top candidates in the crowded GOP presidential field included Cruz, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Bobby...

Louisiana voters would pick Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal to be the next president, a new poll finds — just four years after Jindal sailed to a landslide gubernatorial victory. Louisiana has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996, but the latest poll from The Advocate/WWL-TV found Jindal also is viewed less favorably than President Barack Obama among Louisiana voters.

A warrant for arrest has been issued for a convicted killer who was accidentally released from prison following miscommunication and missing paperwork on the part of the Louisiana Department of Correction. Deputies with the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office, Plaquemine Police Department and the US Marshals are searching for 32-year-old Benjuiel Johnson. He was released on September 23, 2015 from the Dixon Correctional Institute. Officials noticed the error on Monday, September 28, 2015. "We're not trying to make excuses, it's something that should not have happened," said Pam Laborde, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Correction. According to officials with the...

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is offering Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad advice on tactics for defunding Planned Parenthood.According to reports from a conservative website in Iowa, Jindal sent Branstad a letter dated Sept. 23 and written on letterhead from Jindal's office. The letter was released after Branstad announced Tuesday (Sept. 29) that he wouldn't pursue canceling Medicaid funding for the family planning organization.Presidential candidates usually focus on national issues rather than wade into debates over state and local issues where they are campaigning. But in this case, defunding Planned Parenthood has risen to the fore of the national political discussion...

PPP's newest North Carolina poll finds that Donald Trump is holding his ground- at least compared to where he was in the state six weeks ago. Trump leads with 26% to 21% for Ben Carson, 12% for Carly Fiorina, 10% for Marco Rubio, 9% for Ted Cruz, 6% for Mike Huckabee, 5% for Jeb Bush, 4% for John Kasich, and 2% for Chris Christie. Rounding out the field are Rick Santorum and Bobby Jindal at 1%, and Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Rand Paul all at less than 1%. Trump's 26% is almost identical to his 24% standing...

[Full Title] : Bobby Jindal Channels Zoolander In New Ad: Calls Trump’s Tax Plan Really, Really, Really Ridiculous [VIDEO] ...This is not the first time the Jindal campaign has used a movie reference to make fun of Donald Trump. A couple of weeks ago, “Anchorman” was used to make fun of Trump.

A senior Republican official is urging Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to resign from his job as the Republican leader of the Senate. “Mitch is a good and honorable guy, but the base is leaving our party,” Roger Villere, the chairman of the Louisiana GOP... “I’ve worked for 12 years as chairman to build this party, and I just don’t want to see it all go down the drain because the [leaders] aren’t willing to fight for what we believe… Our base is demanding we do something or they’re going to leave us,” said Villare, who also holds a position...

BATON ROUGE – On 60 Minutes Sunday, Donald Trump made one thing perfectly clear – he supports a new federal entitlement program to give free government funded health care to every American. This is how the Donald described ‘Trumpcare’ on 60 Minutes:Scott Pelley: Universal health care.Donald Trump: I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.Scott Pelley: The uninsured person is going to be taken care of. How? How?Donald Trump: They’re going to be taken care...

Earlier this Summer, the members of the ‘Duck Dynasty’ clan have said they endorsed their state’s governor, Bobby Jindal, for the GOP nomination, but Friday, Willie Robertson declared his love for a Yankee, Donald Trump. Mr. Robertson joined Donald Trump at his rally at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City Friday evening, where he declared “I do like me some Trump, I gotta admit. http://www.livetradingnews.com/willie-robertson-declares-i-like-donald-trump-119439.htm

Ben Carson once gently questioned Donald Trump's Christian faith, but on Friday Bobby Jindal went much further. The Louisiana governor explicitly and repeatedly ridiculed Trump's faith, effectively accusing him of faking his Christianity before an evangelical conference that had heard the GOP frontrunner speak only hours earlier. Jindal, who is lagging at 0.3 percent in the national polls for the Republican presidential nominee, came onto the stage at the Values Voter Summit in Washington holding a book. Jindal joked with the audience, saying that Trump -- who on Friday morning held up what he said was his childhood Bible before...

He cited an online post he had seen from a 17-year-old gay Catholic. "The church has a lot to say about what I'm not supposed to do," the youth wrote. "But ... I couldn't find any church document (about) what a gay person is supposed to do with his life. I feel abandoned by the church." He said the church teaches much about the beauty of marriage, but then tells its gay members they "can't have this wonderful thing."

Rand Paul’s on the departure list too, insiders predict. Bobby Jindal and George Pataki are the next two quitters in the Republican field. That’s the assessment of Republicans in the POLITICO Caucus, our weekly bipartisan survey of the top activists, operatives and strategists in Iowa and New Hampshire. . A quarter of Iowa Republicans say it’s Jindal, a frequent visitor to their state, who is on his way out. "He's become desperate," an Iowa Republican said. "He's taken to attacking Trump (we know how that worked out for Perry and Walker) and has nothing going on here in Iowa." Added...

Jindal Challenges Secretary Clinton to Healthcare DebateBATON ROUGE – According to a report in The Washington Post, Secretary Hillary Clinton is preparing to double down on her support for ObamaCare with a series of campaign events across the country.Secretary Clinton’s first stop on her socialized medicine tour is today in Louisiana, where Governor Bobby Jindal has rejected the expansion of ObamaCare in the state because it would put more people on a poorly-run government healthcare system, take away freedom from people, and bust the budget.Governor Jindal said, “As Secretary Clinton seeks to distract the voters from her e-mail scandal, she...

Madison (WKOW) -- A new national poll shows Governor Scott Walker polling at 0 percent in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. The CNN/ORC poll released Sunday shows there were five candidates who received less than one percent of support from likely Republican voters. Walker was among them, joined by former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and former New York Governor George Pataki. Less than one percent equates to zero percent, statistically. The results show Donald Trump is still the front-runner with 24 percent, but has lost ground from earlier in...

Last week, National Review’s Jim Geraghty published what may be the most insightful essay yet [1] on the difference between the conservative movement and Donald Trump and his followers. Geraghty has noticed a telling reticence on Trump’s part to utter such words as “freedom” or “liberty.” By contrast, Geraghty notes that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker used the word “freedom” six times in the 179-word announcement of his plan to replace ObamaCare, and Ted Cruz used “freedom” twice and “liberty” eleven times in his announcement speech at Liberty University, not counting references to the university itself.The reason for this lack of...

Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., called on people to consider leaving the Republican Party if congressional Republicans fail to defund Planned Parenthood this fall. "If we can't defund Planned Parenthood now, if we can't stand for innocent life after these barbaric videos, it is time to be done with the Republican Party," he said in reference to the controversial Planned Parenthood videos uncovered and released this summer. "We defunded them in Louisiana, let's defund them in D.C.," said Jindal, who is number 11 in the Washington Examiner's presidential power rankings. "There's no point in being cheaper Democrats, no point for having...