Free Republic

In a complicated political season, nobody has more complications to worry about than the half-dozen Republican senators seeking re-election in tight, swing-state contests. Those senators–hailing from Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina—are being buffeted by big forces largely out of their control as they try to hang onto their seats. Their fate will determine whether Republicans keep control of the Senate, where they currently have a 54-46 advantage. The predicament of these GOP senators comes into clearer focus in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, completed just last week, which helps crystallize three big complications they...

Based on the raw vote and delegate counts at Real Clear Politics, consider the following: Raw vote %: Trump - 40% Cruz - 29% Delegate %: Trump - 49% Cruz - 32% Bump created by the "system" (delegate % divided by raw vote%): Trump - 22% Cruz - 10% Votes per delegate (how many votes did it take on average to get one delegate): Trump - 10,322 Cruz - 11,430

Donald Trump has presented himself as a protector of conservative Christians and as the best friend Christians will ever have. He has held up his mother’s Bible and pledged to bring Christ back into Christmas. But when the rubber meets the road, he is anything but the defender of conservative Christians and their values. This became crystal clear yesterday morning (April 21), when Trump, appearing on the Today show, answered questions on abortion, North Carolina’s Bathroom Privacy Act, and transgender rights. When he was asked if he would like to change the Republican Party Platform on abortion, which allows no...

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, “hates” the new Trump. Coulter tweeted Friday that she wishes “Trump would go back to retweeting juvenile photos of Heidi Cruz.” “I hate the new Manafort and Black Trump,” she added. Trump’s convention manager Paul Manafort on Thursday told members of the Republican National Committee that the GOP presidential front-runner is “evolving.” “The negatives will come down, the image is going to change,” Manafort said. Trump hired Manafort weeks ago to oversee the campaign’s delegate efforts. He has since been promoted to convention manager. Once a regular on the Sunday...

As his top aides spent the week gingerly courting Republican insiders at a seaside resort in Florida, Donald Trump was busy railing against them. "The system is all rigged," Trump told supporters at a rally Friday at the Delaware State Fairgrounds ahead of the GOP primary. "That's why we have to win big. That's why on Tuesday, everyone has to go out and vote. We have to win big because the system is rigged."

Now that the 2016 presidential election season is in full swing, which candidate(s) are people in the adult industry supporting? Every election year is a nail-biter for pornographers, who are wracked with worry over potential persecution from the next presidential administration. Demonizing the porn industry under the guise of protecting the public’s morality is an old politician’s trick. Charge XXX producers with obscenity, collect fines and put a dent in the debauchery. “Obscene” porn is illegal but not all porn is obscene. Content that was considered extreme 15 years ago might be closer to the norm now. In the late...

As Donald Trump hurtles toward the Republican convention, he is on a collision course with the anti-abortion movement — a crucial conservative constituency that contends Republicans must own that issue to win a general election. Leaders of the movement are suspicious, if not outright opposed, to the three-time married billionaire who only recently came to oppose abortion and whose gaffes suggest he does not understand the issue. The latest flap exploded Thursday after Trump vowed he would "absolutely" change the Republican platform opposing abortion "for the three exceptions" — rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. The...

Romans 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Well hasn’t America arrived at a wonderful place where she cannot decide who belongs in which bathroom. Since so many freaks are gender confused we have to allow them into the women’s bathroom to take a piss. In the old days, of around two years ago these guys would get their butts kicked if they wanted to force their way into a women’s bathroom or shower. We have always had cross dressers and society lived with...

One of Trump’s most enduring and arguably most endearing campaign lines has been his promise to treat American vets better. When Trump dropped out of a Fox News debate in January he held a separate event at which he raised money for veterans. But three months later, Trump’s campaign adviser for veterans, Al Baldasaro, doesn’t seem too concerned about it. He told the Daily Beast, “I’m not concerned about it, because I know [Trump is] an honorable, honest guy… you guys just want to say, ‘gotcha.’”To be fair, Baldasaro is not a Trump staffer. The real problem is that...

On Friday's regular "Shields and Brooks" segment on the PBS NewsHour, pretend conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks slammed the North Carolina bathroom law -- which tries to protect women and girls from men intruding into women's restrooms in state buildings -- as he declared that the law is "so bad now I have to praise Donald Trump" for the GOP candidate's criticism of the law on NBC's Today show. He went on to complain that the Republican party "should have moved on" from "1980s socially conservative culture war politics," and concluded by lauding "moderate" Trump as "not stuck...

Despite his big win in New York on Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has had a pretty bad week. But will it matter? It should -- and just might. During an NBC "Today" show town hall Thursday, the host read a question from Twitter concerning Trump's views on LGBT issues and how he plans to be inclusive as president. "Speak about North Carolina bathroom law in particular." Trump responded: "I had a feeling that question was going to come up, I will tell you. Well, look, North Carolina did something that was very strong, and they're paying a big...

Since the debate over what he said yesterday is still raging, it’s only fair that you get to hear his latest comment about it. Skip to 8:35 of the clip below from last night’s interview on Trump TV.His response to Hannity’s question about North Carolina is a dodge but it’s a dodge with a conservative pedigree. If you’re a Republican who’s been put on the spot about a hot-button social issue, you can’t go wrong saying, “Leave it to the states.” Even righties who disagree with you on the merits will tip their caps at your nod to federalism....

One of the biggest stories of the last couple weeks was Ted Cruz's complete shutout of Donald Trump in the Colorado delegate selection at the Colorado state Republican convention. The story, pushed hard by Trump and his zombie followers, is that the election was "stolen" by Cruz in an "unfair process."Okay, fine, sour grapes and all. But on Sunday I watched Media Buzz with Howard Kurtz, and realized that real story is this: the media has not, and apparently will not, do the tiniest bit of research in order to get the grossest, most basic facts about this correct. "It...

What sort of man is lurking deep inside Donald Trump’s innards? [SNIP] Evolving? Projecting an image? Moderating? Back in the South those are code words for snookered, two-faced and phony-as-a-two-dollar-bill. Oh, Donald. What have you done? Say it isn’t so. “Donald Trump is telling the American people that he’s lying to us,” Sen. Ted Cruz said on the campaign trail Friday. “His campaign is now run by Washington lobbyists.” [SNIP] In just the past few days we’ve seen him begin to waffle on issues like abortion and religious liberty. Pro-life groups are extremely concerned by comments he made about rewriting...

I have heard that a lot of Republicans, ESPECIALLY Trump supporters, have said that the candidate who comes into the Cleveland convention with the most delegates should be (automatically?) awarded the nomination even if he cannot get 1237 votes on the first ballot. I just want to go on record as saying that this widespread notion is politically stupid--even politically monstrous. The Republican Party's rules since the very birth of the Party have specified that a prospective nominee must achieve a majority of Convention votes to become the nominee. As most FReepers already know, this longstanding fact is not disputed....

After failing to secure a single delegate in Colorado nearly two weeks ago, angry Donald Trump supporters, reacting to the candidate’s claims of a ‘rigged’ nomination process, began taking matters into their own hands. This included issuing death threats to Colorado GOP chairman Steve House, who said he’s received emails warning him to hide his family and “pray” he makes it to the convention in Cleveland, as well as phone calls from people telling him to put a gun down his throat, and if he doesn’t they will come help him out. But it seems House hasn’t been the sole...

Republican Donald Trump says he'd be fine with Caitlyn Jenner using the bathroom of her choice at Trump Tower. (AP File Photo) (CNSNews.com) - Republican Donald Trump, appearing on Thursday's "Today" show, said transgenders should be allowed to "use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate." "So if Caitlyn Jenner were to walk into Trump Tower and want to use the bathroom, you would be fine with her using any bathroom she chooses?" host Matt Lauer asked Trump. "That is correct," Trump said. Asked for his view on the North Carolina bathroom controversy, Trump said the state has "paid a...

Donald Trump on Thursday hammered a controversial North Carolina law that requires transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond with the gender listed on their birth certificate. Trump told NBC that North Carolina is "paying a big price" for the controversial legislation, and said the state has created problems that did not previously exist.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on campaign 2016 (all times Eastern): 8:15 a.m. Donald Trump says he believes transgender people should be able to use whichever bathroom they choose. Speaking at a town hall event on NBC's "Today" Thursday, Trump said North Carolina's so-called "bathroom law," which directs transgender people to use the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificates, has caused unnecessary strife.

Manipulated Conservatives: Transgendered Bathrooms are Trivial As I watch people get involved with dramas over this issue, I think: What is it that we are not supposed to pay attention to? What is it that the elites, the media and the government don't want us to notice? Is it the loss of our history and culture with the change with monies, another knife in the gut by the Obama administration? Is it the subtlest of this election? Is it the lousy depression like statistics in some areas of the country? Is it the invasion of western Civ and our country...