Free Republic

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ supporters don’t lack in enthusiasm, as a cursory perusal of social media proves. In fact, mainstream media once likened their zealotry to that of an “unhinged cult.” And now, with Hillary Clinton all-but cementing the Democratic nomination, the Bernie-or-bust crowd has drawn a line in the proverbial sand: nearly half of voters who support Sanders refuse to capitulate to the Democratic establishment by casting a vote for Clinton in the national election. According to a recent national poll from Bloomberg Politics, just over half, 55 percent, of the Vermont senator’s followers said they would toe the Democratic...

But it shouldn’t bank on it. Hillary Clinton has a substantial lead in the polls over Donald Trump, and has vastly more cash on hand. But when it comes to spending that cash, her campaign may be making a strategic miscalculation. The campaign and an allied super PAC have reserved $137 million of ads across eight states — yet they’ve conspicuously left out the state that might be likeliest to tip the 2016 election: Pennsylvania. Michigan and Wisconsin were absent from the list, as well, but the Keystone State is the most curious Rust Belt omission. In May, we laid...

Nativism is not an American value, Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson declared Thursday, delivering a pointed rebuke to Donald Trump without mentioning his name while calling on an end to immigration quotas symptomatic of a broken system. “The overwhelming cause of illegal immigration and visa overstays is the fact that our legal immigration process simply doesn’t work, and that we impose absurd caps on various work visas,” Johnson said in a statement on Thursday with his remarks to the annual National Association of Latino Elected Officials conference in Washington. “Let the market, not bureaucrats and special interests, determine how many...

During a brief appearance on FOX News Channel's "Your World with Neil Cavuto," evangelical faith leaders Bob Vander Plaats discussed his take on Donald Trump's recent "conversation" with more than 900 faith leaders this week in New York City. And while he said the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting still had some ways to come to secure the support of concerned evangelicals like himself, he didn't entirely slam the door shut on a future endorsement. Guest host Charles Payne, who was filling in while Cavuto recovers from open-heart surgery, asked specifically about that door being left open. "I think one of the...

The Baltimore police officer facing the most serious charges in the death of Freddie Gray has been cleared on all counts, marking the second acquittal of an officer charged in connection with Gray's death. A third officer's trial ended in a hung jury. Police van driver Officer Caesar Goodson, 46, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office after Gray's death. He elected to be tried by a judge rather than by a jury. Judge Barry Williams found him not guilty on all seven charges Thursday. In the opinion he read, Williams said the prosecution failed...

A super PAC initially linked to Ted Cruz transformed itself Wednesday into a new big-money group backing Donald Trump, the latest twist in the confusing orbit of pro-Trump super PACs. The new group, Make America Number I, was until Wednesday known as Keep the Promise I, a group funded almost entirely by $13.5 million from Republican megadonor Robert Mercer. The super PAC will now focus primarily on advertising opposing HIllary Clinton as opposed to supporting Trump, according to spokeswoman Kristina Hernandez, a decision made to give Trump-skeptical donors more comfort in contributing. Make America Number I is at least the...

A shuttered Philadelphia prison that was built 120 years ago and once used inmates as test subjects for biochemical research is being readied in case space is needed to hold protesters arrested during the Democratic National Convention. Tens of thousands of protesters are expected at the July 25-28 convention. Officials with the city's prison system tell the Philadelphia Inquirer Holmesburg Prison can be used if needed for mass arrests. The prison was closed in 1995....

OHIOPYLE, PA.- Judy and her husband Phil, who is in his 29th year of service in the military, along with three other couples who ventured from Pittsburgh to attend an annual craft beer festival held on the fringes of the Pennsylvania state park, all sat in folding chairs, waiting for the event to begin. They were three hours early, the second in line and well stocked with sunscreen, bottles of water, string cheese, beef jerky, cold beers and a very happy state of mind. “We come for the atmosphere, the camaraderie, the music, the beer of course, it’s just a...

OHIOPYLE, PA.- Judy and her husband Phil, who is in his 29th year of service in the military, along with three other couples who ventured from Pittsburgh to attend an annual craft beer festival held on the fringes of the Pennsylvania state park, all sat in folding chairs, waiting for the event to begin. They were three hours early, the second in line and well stocked with sunscreen, bottles of water, string cheese, beef jerky, cold beers and a very happy state of mind. “We come for the atmosphere, the camaraderie, the music, the beer of course, it’s just a...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-06-22/nearly-half-of-sanders-supporters-won-t-support-clinton

Donald Trump marked the real start of his general-election campaign Wednesday with a full-bore attack on Hillary Clinton and a clear appeal to Americans across the spectrum. He slammed her, accurately, as a “world-class liar” who’s part of the “rigged system” that boosts “insiders” like her at the expense of the common good. And he vowed to end the inside game while reaching out even to Bernie Sanders supporters. He talked issues Americans of all political persuasions really care about, starting with, as he put it, “jobs, jobs, jobs.” Trump laid out how the “special-interest monopoly” has ruled Washington at...

Donald Rumsfeld, a key architect of the Iraq war, announced Wednesday that he’s supporting Donald Trump, one of its biggest critics. The former defense secretary in the George W. Bush administration said he’s never met Trump, but he’s certainly preferable to Hillary clinton. “I don’t even find it a hard decision,” he said. Rumsfeld pooh-poohed the candidate’s accusations that the Bush administration lied to get the country into war. “I’m 83 years old, I’ve been through a lot of elections, and I’ve never found anyone that I’ve agreed with 100 percent of the time,” Rumsfeld said....

Local Motors, the Arizona-based automaker that crowdsources vehicle design, has introduced a 3D-printed, autonomous, electric shuttle bus that is partially recyclable called Olli. Local Motors says that it's the first vehicle to use IBM Watson’s car-focused cognitive learning platform, Watson Internet of Things (IoT) for Automotive. It’s a boxy, far-out concept that may be the first of its kind, but that’s the point for a company that isn’t focused only on making vehicles — it’s about remaking the car manufacturing business. If all goes according to plan, Olli will be giving autonomous rides at the company’s introductory event on the...

When it comes to the economy, Donald Trump is the preferred choice of American voters. Voters overwhelmingly think Democrat Hillary Clinton will be the next president (whether they want that or not), but when they are asked specifically who would be the better candidate to “handle the economy,” 51% say Trump and only 43% say Clinton, according to the latest CNN/ORC poll released Tuesday morning. Clinton is fighting back to change that impression. In a fiery speech Tuesday, she lashed out at Trump, calling him “reckless” and “dangerous” for the economy. His policies would cause 3.5 million Americans to lose...

The No. 1 trending question related to Donald Trump on Google right now is "Who tried to shoot Trump?" Which means a lot of people don't know the answer. Which is probably because the assassination attempt on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hasn't been covered as a major news story.(TWEET-AT-LINK) The answer, authorities say, is Michael Steven Sandford, a 20-year-old British citizen who was in the United States illegally after overstaying his visa. Sandford allegedly tried to pull a gun from the holster of a police officer at a Trump rally in Las Vegas on Saturday. He was arrested and...

Paul Davey, the father of 20-year-old Michael Sandford, helped pay for him to go to the United States to "get his life sorted out" The father of a Brit accused of trying to kill Donald Trump said today his son had never shown an interest in politics and believes he may have been "put up to it or blackmailed". Paul Davey, the father of 20-year-old Michael Sandford, said his family are "absolutely devastated" by reports he has been charged with attempting to assassinate the Republican presidential nominee. Sandford is charged with 'an act of violence on restricted grounds ' after...

A new Morning Consult poll shows national security is back at the forefront of voters’ minds following the mass shooting in Orlando that left dozens dead and injured. In a national survey taken in the days after Omar Mateen’s attack on Pulse, a gay nightclub, almost three out of 10 voters (29 percent) said security was their top issue under consideration when casting their vote — a 10-point increase from a poll in early June. Similar spikes in voters’ concerns about national security were observed following the attacks in Paris, San Bernardino and Brussels....

While under FBI scrutiny, Hillary Clinton says that those under FBI scrutiny forfeit Second Amendment rights. Clinton is currently being investigated for emails she allegedly sent and received on a private, outsourced server while secretary of state. The Washington Times reports that “15 percent” of one batch of such emails were “marked classified.” The FBI continues to investigate Clinton and her State Department staff over this issue. Yet on June 13, one day after the terror attack on the Pulse Orlando nightclub left 49 dead, Clinton suggested that people under FBI scrutiny ought not be able to buy firearms. According...

Hillary Clinton will soon be feeling the Bern in the form of millions of Bernie Sanders supporters bent on shaping history. They are fighting for a history with President Sanders and without another President Clinton. Millions of angry protesters will descend on Philadelphia, PA ahead of the convention to attempt to sway superdelegates. Trained in nonviolent protests, they plan an Occupy-style protest for the length of the convention. Organizers predict Millions will attend. Many media outlets are predicting a smaller number in the tens of thousands. This figure, reported on Facebook, accounts for just one of dozens of groups participating....

“They’re not buying it to go out and hunt deer. You don’t need an AK-47 or an AR-15 to hunt deer. They’re buying it do bad things and we need to recognize that and address it.” Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said certain types of firearms like the AR-15 are the kind of guns that should be banned. She added that people trying to purchase the weapon — which is popular among American gun owners — are “buying it do bad things.” “Well, I think people need to have their voices heard, and what I’ve heard from people in...