Free Republic

From almost the first day he entered the 2016 race, Jeb Bush has cast himself as the cerebral, wonky adult in a room full of colorful, bombastic Republican candidates. After the rise of Donald J. Trump, and the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., Mr. Bush doubled down on that strategy, using Mr. Trump as a foil to try to show that he was a serious candidate for serious times. On Tuesday, Mr. Bush will take his message of national security and somber foreign policy to New York and the Council on Foreign Relations, where he will give...

From almost the first day he entered the 2016 race, Jeb Bush has cast himself as the cerebral, wonky adult in a room full of colorful, bombastic Republican candidates. After the rise of Donald J. Trump, and the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., Mr. Bush doubled down on that strategy, using Mr. Trump as a foil to try to show that he was a serious candidate for serious times. On Tuesday, Mr. Bush will take his message of national security and somber foreign policy to New York and the Council on Foreign Relations, where he will give...

Pointing to the effects of "horrible" super-PACs, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Sunday said America needs to come up with a solution to keep big money out of politics. "Well, I think you need it, because I think PACs are a horrible thing," Trump said on CNN's "State of the Union" when asked if he would pursue campaign finance reform. The billionaire businessman, who said he is self-financing his campaign, said the wall separating super-PACs and candidates running for public office is illusory. "First of all, everyone's dealing with their PAC. You know, it's supposed to be like this...

The Washington Post published a glowing profile Friday morning about Heidi Cruz - highlighting her professional accomplishments - beyond the fact that she is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)'s wife. The profile was mostly flattering, pointing to her career at Goldman Sachs in Houston before she stepped down when her husband decided to run for president. Curiously, however, the article began pointing out the similarities between Heidi and Hillary Clinton: -snip- Is that a compliment?

We've all heard him say it at least once. Ted Cruz calls the Council on Foreign Relations a "Pernicious Nest of Snakes". He has excused his wife Heidi from her FIVE YEARS of serving on the Council on Foreign Relations as a Junior stint, joining after the Bush years to only try to put a conservative viewpoint into that pernicious nest! Well, Ted, why didn't she quit when she realized her assigned project wasn't going to be a conservative constitution based one? Why did she stay and help to create the manual to destroy America's structure from within to achieve...

WINTERSET, Iowa - Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz on Monday warned voters that their Second Amendment rights are in jeopardy if they elect Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton this November."If Hillary Clinton is elected president, the Supreme Court will rule that no individual American has any individual right to keep and bear arms whatsoever," the Texas senator said. "And the government can make it a felony for you to own a firearm and protect your family."The GOP candidate and Iowa frontrunner backed up his claim by arguing that the next president will likely be responsible for naming anywhere from one to...

In just a few years, he turned an obscure Texas legal post into a national platform for red-meat conservative causes.In 2008, in the high-profile Supreme Court gun-rights case called District of Columbia v. Heller, a brief was filed from the eighth floor of the Daniel Price Sr. State Office Building in Austin, Texas, specifically from the corner office of the man who was then the state's solicitor general, Ted Cruz.The brief took a strong stance on the divisive question of whether the Second Amendment establishes an individual right to own guns, or just protects state and local militias. The brief...

Few will argue with the claim the Republican Party's 2016 presidential nomination process has been a wild ride.Candidates Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have all made strong pushes in the polls at one time or another, but only business tycoon Donald Trump has managed to sustain his base of support (and even add significantly to it). According to Real Clear Politics, Trump has been king of the GOP mountain since the end of July.Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has stood somewhat quietly in the background throughout all of the election chaos. Like his career in the...

At this point in the campaigns we all pretty much know where our preferred candidates stand on issues that mean the most to us as individuals. You know whether you and your candidate are in sync. I have no problem saying I’m in sync with Ted Cruz on the issues. But for me it’s more than just the issues this time. My vote will be cast for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) 100% because of my absolute and utter loathing for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 47%. A protest vote. A protest against one of my own kind, supposedly. For awhile Rep....

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) slammed a 2,009-page spending bill on Thursday, saying he will oppose the measure. "Typically in the Senate you have two votes, you can vote either yes or no. On this particular matter, my vote I intend to be hell no," Cruz, who is running for president, told the John Fredericks show. "This is what's wrong with the Washington Cartel."The comments come as the Senate is scheduled to vote Friday on the end-of-the-year legislation as well as a separate tax package after leadership got unanimous consent-which requires agreement from every senator-to speed up the votes.Cruz is the...

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has a 14-point lead over his closest 2016 GOP rivals in the early state of New Hampshire, according to a new poll that also showed a bit of reshuffling among the rest of the pack. Mr. Trump was at 26 percent in the Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald poll taken from Dec. 13-17, followed by Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas at 12 percent apiece. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was at 11 percent, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 10 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 8 percent....

Sen. Ted Cruz said Tuesday he opposes granting legal status to the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, significantly hardening his stance on immigration. Cruz has repeatedly sidestepped the question of what to do with undocumented immigrants currently living in the country, asserting that the U.S.-Mexico border must be secured before addressing the issue. A plan for what to do with undocumented people living in the country was conspicuously absent from an immigration proposal Cruz unveiled last month. It is the farthest Cruz has gone on the issue, and the answer came during the Republican debate in an...

Are you a conservative? Are you rocking so much conservative street cred that you chose to stay home rather than vote for Republican nominees Mitt Romney in 2012 or John McCain in 2008 because you consider them undercover liberals, a couple of donkeys outfitted with fake trunks? Do you look at the big government left and the big government right and have trouble telling them apart? Do you currently support Donald Trump? If you answered "yes" to the above questions, this intervention is for you. I don't want to make you angry. I don't want you to make you scream...

Rush Limbaugh is backing Ted Cruz in his immigration battle with Marco Rubio. The conservative talk show host tried to break down what he called a "muddled" back and forth between the two candidates on Thursday."Marco Rubio was part of the Gang of Eight trying to secure amnesty and wishes he wasn't. Ted Cruz never was and they're trying to make it out like he was," Limbaugh said. "At the end of the day when people go vote, people are gonna remember of the two it was Marco Rubio that was a member of the Gang of Eight and Ted...

Please listen to Jeff Sessions defense of Ted Cruz on the Howie Carr Show today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Nnt_obTRM&feature=youtu.be

When U.S. presidential candidate Ted Cruz withdrew from a fundraiser in Texas, his wife Heidi stepped in to charm donors. A major backer uses her whenever she needs to close a deal. Another is planning a women's only event featuring Mrs. Cruz. Heidi Cruz, a Harvard Business School graduate and former Bush administration official, has emerged as a central figure in her husband's campaign, charming on-the-fence donors while acting as a bridge to the Republican establishment. The effort to broaden Ted Cruz's appeal is crucial as he soars in the polls. He has long had a strong base of support...

Former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, who served under President Bill Clinton, has died at the age of 70. "V sad start to day; just learned Sandy Berger passed away during the night," Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, tweeted Wednesday morning. "Good man & friend who served nation well as bill clinton's NSA." Antony Blinken, the current deputy secretary of state and a Berger acolyte, tweeted, "Mourn the passing of Sandy Berger --- father, husband, mentor, friend, leader and great patriot. RIP SRB." Berger, a longtime lawyer who founded Stonebridge International, a Washington-based advisory group,...

Three of communist China's big state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are part of a bidding war underway for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the parent group that owns iconic high-end hotel brands Sheraton, Westin,  St. Regis, and W Hotels. According to various business news reports, the Hyatt hotel chain is a front-runner in the buyout competition, but if deeper pockets prevail the sale could go to China Investment Corporation (CIC), a sovereign wealth fund of China's communist government. Also bidding for the prestige hotel acquisition are the giant Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Group Co, Ltd. and HNA Group, the parent company...

The U.S. and Russia are "barreling toward a Second Cold War," Marco Rubio will say in a speech today in Iowa, "and strong American leadership is the only force capable of ensuring that peace and security once again prevail." Rubio, who has gotten attention for his hard-line foreign policy outlook, is to speak in Cedar Rapids at the Americans for Peace, Prosperity and Security National Security Forum. "The more our current president fails the test of leadership against Putin, the more important it becomes for our next president to pass it. I will pass this test," Rubio vows in prepared...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday branded U.S. support for rebel forces in Syria as illegal and ineffective, saying U.S.-trained rebels were leaving to join Islamic State with weapons supplied by Washington. In an interview with U.S. networks recorded ahead of a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Putin said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad deserved international support as he was fighting terrorist organizations. Obama and Putin are scheduled to talk on Monday after Putin addresses the United Nations, although White House and Kremlin officials have disagreed on what the two leaders will discuss and even who initiated the meeting. "In...