Free Republic

When I found out that the gyrocopter guy who landed on the Capitol lawn yesterday was protesting against obscene political campaign finances, my first thought was to wonder why he didn't land on Hillary Clinton's Chappaqua lawn. If ever there was an example of obscenely large and shadowy campaign finances, Hillary's political war chest would be ground zero. However, the lesson taken away from yesterday's incident by the Washington Post's Hunter Schwarz is that both the gyrocopter guy and Hillary have opposition to such financing in common. I kid you not!"Hunter Schwarz covers the intersection of politics and pop culture for...

While John McCain has risen to the top of the heap among contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson remains adamant that he will not support McCain’s bid for the White House. Dobson, one of the nation’s most influential evangelical Christians, declared more than a year ago that he wouldn't support McCain under any circumstances, saying McCain didn't support traditional marriage values. A Dobson spokesman told the New York Times’ David Kirkpatrick Wednesday that he stood by that position, and as a matter of conscience could never vote for the Arizona Senator. According to...

To revise the old Woody Allen line: Eighty percent of success is not showing up. While Mitt Romney may have nominally "won" the Iowa Straw Poll over the weekend, the real victors were the ones who stayed away from Ames: Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and Fred Thompson (who has made something of an art of not showing up, in recent months). The paradox could mean the end of the straw poll as a GOP touchstone. And that would be nothing but good news for the Republican Party. Let's look first at how Mr. Romney comes out of all of this....

Few political or social positions in and of themselves should disqualify a person from being a candidate for president. Just about every candidate will differ with any of us even on something we consider important. That is why I admire pro-life Republicans, such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who argue that a pro-choice position should not automatically disqualify a Republican from pro-life Republicans' support. A big tent is necessary in politics, or one ends up with a small tent and no power. Thus, I could support politicians with whom I differ on taxation (I support a consumption tax), on...

In politics, it is known as the burn rate — the speed at which a campaign spends the money it has raised. The Hardball ad watch team estimates that the Bush campaign has already spent nearly half of its pre-convention advertising budget. With the polls showing the president even or slightly behind John Kerry, it means that the Bush campaign's huge financial advantage has now all but disappeared.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Republican National Committee, seeking to strengthen its case against the new campaign finance law, has subpoenaed the New Democrat Network and several labor unions for details on their fund-raising. The RNC subpoenas and deposition requests seek information on campaign ads the New Democrat Network has run, how and when it solicits contributions, its top donors and communication between the political action committee and federal officeholders, include any lobbying. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, helped found the PAC five years ago to promote the ideas of centrist, pro-business Democrats. The RNC requests...