Free Republic

MIAMI -- A donor to the Democratic Party asked for a rebate out of frustration over the party's Florida delegate dilemma -- and he got it. Federal records show that Paul Cejas has given six-figure sums to the Democratic National Committee for years, NBC 6's Nick Bogert reported. Cejas asked for his last donation back. He said he was angry with the party, particularly party Chair Howard Dean, over the failure to resolve Florida's delegate dilemma. "Frankly, he's dropped the ball, and I told him, 'You're going to go down in history as the worst chairman of the Democratic Party...

In the 1960's I had a lady friend who loved Robert Redford. So, naturally, I got dragged to all of Redford's movies. I saw "The Candidate" several times. In that film, Mr. McKay (Redford), a "community organizer" like Barack Obama, hatches a slogan, "McKay, The Better Way" to run for office. Ironically, Barack "Barry" Obama has now chosen "The Better Way" as his mantra through February 10th. Well. Obama's slogan has about as much substance as the celluloid version popularized by Robert Redford. Obama is entirely a creation of wealthy contributors and powerful, liberal media interests. So what he does...

Maybe, just maybe, it’s now worth at least asking whether Hillary Clinton might wind up as the Democratic candidate for vice president. When the chatter about a Democratic “dream ticket” began last year, it was easy to dismiss. Either Clinton or Obama would win a clear victory in the primaries and, after what inevitably would be a contentious campaign, each would want as little to do with the other as possible. Clinton, if she emerged victorious, would instead choose some kind of national security graybeard to her political right, a retired general perhaps, or maybe even a Republican. Likewise, Obama...

In some ways, Barack Obama's speech on race last week was as brilliant as it was nuanced. But for all its rhetorical beauty, it was also an enormous step backward and, in the end, a rather self-serving call for more discussion about racial grievance in a country that has already done way too much talking. Until last week, so much of Obama's appeal lay in the fact that he was not asking us to talk about the racial divide. Instead, he offered himself as a living and breathing symbol of racial reconciliation; his very origins pointed to the goal of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Barack Obama's speech last week, hastily prepared to extinguish the firestorm over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, won critical praise for style and substance but failed politically. By elevating the question of race in America, the front-running Democratic presidential candidate has deepened the dilemma created by his campaign's success against the party establishment's anointed choice, Hillary Clinton. In rejecting the racist views of his longtime spiritual mentor but not disowning him, Obama has unwittingly enhanced his image as the African-American candidate -- not just a remarkable candidate who happens to be black. That poses a racial dilemma for...

In Denver. Denver is not equipped to handle any convention scenario other than a coronation, and certainly not the most (potentially) contentious national convention in 40 years. It is important to point out that the state of Colorado, and the city of Denver, is currently nearly completely controlled by Democrats at every level of government. This puts these locals in a box, politically and from a law enforcement standpoint. This sets up a scenario similar to Seattle 1999 WTO debacle. I happened to be living in downtown Seattle during that awful experience, and what stands out is that the city...

Mr. Obama’s Philadelphia speech, in spite of its eloquent passages expressing his hope for better racial relations in America, is a mastery example of literary subterfuge, the broadening of the scenery whereby an object of inquiry becomes blurred and lost in the background, or more bluntly, the escaping of a slippery fish from a pond into a lake to hide in a wider expanse of water. His speech is essentially a sophisticated lawyerly defense of Rev Wright’s sin on the basis of self-defense. While Mr. Obama’s understanding on the root causes of America’s racial problems is quite apt, he attempts...

Mike Huckabee is the latest victim of a fierce game called “Nap Tag.” Throughout the 2008 election season, Huckabee’s campaign aides and traveling press have been involved in the running practical joke. The game consists of this: When a member of the press or Huckabee’s staff makes the unfortunate mistake of falling asleep while traveling from one destination to another, the others conspire to write a humorous or embarrassing comment on a piece of paper and then place it near the head of the sleeping person. A photo is then taken to memorialize the dreamy, bubble-quote moment. Almost everyone has...

I'm a Texan. And tomorrow I'm voting for Mike Huckabee in our state's primary election. Yes, I know the popular notion is to cross party lines and vote for Hillary. But what does that actually do besides artificially skewer the Democrat's delegate count? No, if I want to send a message, then I want to send a loud and clear message to the Republican Party. I want them to know how disappointed I am with them as they have ignored and abandoned many conservatives. And the number one group of conservatives the GOP has ignored? Evangelicals. Lets remember that the...

Huckabee Wins KANSAS!!

Steven Stark lays out a scenario whereby all the other candidates, none of whom have wholehearted Republican support, cancel each other out, paving the way for Fred Thompson to receive the nomination at the convention. "When conventions deadlock, history teaches us that yesterday's disappointments become tomorrow's stars. If McCain can't stampede to the nomination and Super Tuesday doesn't produce another clear front-runner, we may not have heard the last of Fred..." I find the idea highly unlikely, though appealing...but stranger things have happened. Whoever would have thought the 2000 election wouldn't be decided for 36 days?

This is a weird article. I was never one who believed that politicians were - on the whole - smart enough to pull off something like this. I never thought the Democrats would pull Hillary in as the Party's savior in 2004. And I'm skeptical of what Steven Stark writes in the above-linked piece. What do you guys think? Is this author on to something, or is he certifiable? If McCain loses in Florida, the Republicans may well be headed to a deadlocked race and convention. And history teaches us that the likeliest candidate to emerge in that scenario is...

WASHINGTON -- The Republican presidential race is so unsettled that some party officials are openly talking of a scenario that seemed almost unthinkable until now: the first contested GOP convention in 60 years. Even if Republicans choose a nominee before they convene in Minneapolis-St. Paul on Sept. 1, there's a good possibility he will emerge weeks or even months after the Democratic nominee is chosen, giving Democrats an advantage in fundraising, organizing and campaigning. Congressional Republicans particularly wanted an early nominee to draw voters' attention from President Bush, whose low approval ratings could hurt the entire party in the fall....

The Republican Party primary has so far been an exercise in none of the above. In their turns John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney seemed to be or seemed about to be frontrunners — only to fall back as the party's likely voters got a sharper look at each of them. Even my old boss Newt Gingrich, without even announcing, had a handsome surge from 4-5 percent to 18-20 percent in February — before falling back to single digits.

They aren't Hillary Clinton, nor are they Ron Paul. The two words that will haunt the early primary states are "brokered convention", and we may be heading towards it. At Heading Right, I review the McClatchy analysis of what looks to be a Rudy Giuliani slide. Jim Geraghty points to a Gallup quote arguing that Mike Huckabee's ascent has plateaued after two weeks of hard pushbacks by a number of campaigns. Meanwhile, John McCain rises in New Hampshire, while Romney has treaded water. Republican primary voters have sent a very clear message: they have not found their candidate. After a...

What are the chances that the Republican nominee for President will be determined at the convention next August? And if so, will that hurt our chances in the general election in November.

Were we are in Thumbsucker Central in Boston's Fleet Center, overlooking the Democratic convention as the unthinkable — an unpredictable roll call of the states — is about to begin. A brief recap for those of you who tuned out after the front-loaded Democratic primaries turned into a long, hard slog. After the New Hampshire results were in, John "Bring It On!" Kerry maintained his (professedly unwanted) front-runnership, but Howard "Yee-haw!" Dean recovered strongly from his Iowa waker-upper. John "Two Americas, Count 'Em!" Edwards and Wesley "Call Me General" Clark were nicely positioned for their South Carolina comebacks, and those...

CALL YOUR BROKERWith almost every poll showing Howie Dean trailing John Kerry leading into next week's [Junior Tuesday] primaries--in some cases Dean is running third or fourth behind John Edwards and Wesley Clark--his campaign is looking at what he would have to do to grab enough delegate support to play a role in a brokered Democratic convention.'If we can't be the clear cut winner, we want at least a hand in who that winner will be,' says a Dean adviser in Washington.'We're not just going to let guys like Kerry and Edwards have it easy after [Super Tuesday] March 2....