Free Republic

Ted Cruz has to win the Iowa caucuses. Not because there's something magical about Iowa or its predictive powers. No, Cruz can't afford to lose in Iowa because he's already predicted, unequivocally and without reservation, that he will win Iowa. And while Cruz is in so many ways an unconventional politician, there are certain immutable rules in politics. One is that falling short of expectations in Iowa or New Hampshire is bad. "He will win Iowa. We're very confident he will win Iowa," Cruz campaign co chairman Chad Sweet declared last month. It's a bold prediction, though not outside the...

Now, with Trump training his focus on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, the rest of the pack is fighting to rise above. The latest round involves Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The super PAC backing Bush is out with a new ad blasting Rubio for missing a Senate meeting after the Paris terror attacks - and another contrasting Bush's gubernatorial record against those of Christie and Kasich. "Politics first, that's the Rubio way," the first ad says, slamming Rubio for fundraising while missing meetings and hearings on...

Do supporters of the Christian right candidates Ted Cruz has eclipsed hate him so much they'd sabotage their own heroes? The late stages of the invisible primary would not be complete without reports of intrigue and skullduggery in Iowa, with campaigns forming tactical alliances against common enemies. We have one today from National Review's Tim Alberta and Eliana Johnson, who report that supporters of the last two caucus winners, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, are so bitter at being eclipsed by Ted Cruz that they are conspiring to block the Texan and instead elevate Marco Rubio. There's only one problem...

A super PAC alligned with Jeb Bush has launched a direct assault on Marco Rubio's national security record, accusing the Florida senator of missing a top-secret briefing to fundraise for his presidential campaign. The assualt has triggered a furious pushback from Rubio's campaign, which says the Bush super PAC's charge is unfounded and accuses Bush of taking a page from Democrats. Both Rubio and Bush are vying for support in Iowa and New Hampshire, two critical early-voting states where voters will go to the polls next month. Bush has been lagging behind Rubio, but the latest ad signals the former...

A new poll reveals that 45 percent of the Democrats who responded believe that Christians are a greater threat to America than Muslims. No shock that 72 percent of atheists agree. But the surprise is that 18 percent of those who consider themselves ”very conservative” agree. As do 29 percent of Protestants. And 23 percent of Catholics. Interestingly, the sample of Muslims was very small, but 100 percent said it is Muslims who are the greater danger. The results are from a new WND/Clout poll by Clout Research, a national opinion research firm in Columbus, Ohio. The telephone survey of...

Earlier in the day, Trump explained that he was attacking Christie because he felt the governor had colluded with the Union Leader on a scathing front-page editorial that opined, "Trump has shown himself to be a crude blowhard." The New Hampshire newspaper previously endorsed Christie. Trump blasted Christie at his rally in the middle of an 10-minute-plus criticism of the Union Leader's publisher, whom Trump called a "loser," "lowlife," and a "sleazebag." Trump said he couldn't believe that Christie earned the paper's endorsement because of his embrace of Obama in 2012 and his overall stewardship of the New Jersey economy.

Just like it's past time for Jeb Bush and Rand Paul to get out, and it's past time for Rick Santorum and George Pataki to get out. That's obvious, but it's made more obvious now that Huckabee is resorting to off-base and stupidly dishonest ads attempting to trash candidates who have taken his votes away. Here's a PAC ad Huckabee's camp is running in Iowa... (VIDEO-AT-LINK) The same consulting firm also put out similar attacks on Cruz in Iowa on his opposition to ethanol subsidies and accusing Cruz of being bankrolled by the oil industry....

He was supposed to win the GOP nomination easily and just six months ago, it appeared he would do just that. He had tens of millions of donor dollars at the ready, the approval of the GOP Establishment, and a successful stint as governor of one of the most important swing states in the country. Nothing went as planned. SNIP A D.C. Whispers source painted the Bush campaign with the following colors: "He just doesn't have it and he's not a good enough politician to fake it. He's also suffering from eight years of Barack Obama faking it and voters...

Bernie Sanders allegedly told a group of Latino activists and politicians in Chicago on Christmas Eve in a closed meeting that as president he would do an end-run around Congress and grant amnesty and then a path to citizenship to millions of illegal aliens in the U.S. In 2013, Senator Sanders voted for the comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the U.S. Senate but was unable to clear the House. Sanders, an independent socialist from Vermont, is running for president as a Democrat and reportedly trails front-runner Hillary Clinton among Hispanic voters based on polling data. Apparently the premise among...

With a deeper-than-ever split between Republicans and Democrats over abortion, activists on both sides of the debate foresee a 2016 presidential campaign in which the nominees tackle the volatile topic more aggressively than in past elections. Friction over the issue also is likely to surface in key Senate races. And the opposing camps will be further energized by Republican-led congressional investigations of women’s health care provider Planned Parenthood and by Supreme Court consideration of tough anti-abortion laws in Texas....

Christie Wins Fifth And Mercifully Last Republican Debate This Year... Donald Trump, shark among plankton, didn't have to win the debate. He's 42% nationally. A fact not lost on the other low digit participants including the Act of Love candidate who at 3% has been Tsunamied by a Trump ratio of 14 to 1. Low-digit John Kasich, who looked like a lurker at an I-10 rest stop, yammered about economic security. Was not Kasich a Lehman Brothers Board Member when it utterly failed and nearly took down the world's financial system. Note: During this financial cataclysm, Lehman Alumni Jeb Bush...

It might have been a Merry Christmas for Donald Trump, but his Boxing Day sure doesn't look bad either. The GOP front-runner holds a 13 point lead over Ted Cruz - 33-20% in Arkansas. While this isn't too surprising, the fairly substantial lead that he has with about 10 weeks to go before the primary bodes well for his chances. Donald Trump - 33% Ted Cruz - 20% Marco Rubio - 13% Jeb Bush - 6% Rand Paul - 6% Ben Carson - 4% Chris Christie - 3% John Kasich - 3% Carly Fiorina - <1% Other - 8% Undecided...

Iowa caucus voters start voting for president next year on Feb 1 with New Hampshire primary voters following eight days later on Feb. 9. For the 13 Republicans jockeying for pole position in the demolition derby called the GOP primary season, only five of them—Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, real estate billionaire Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—have any shot of taking on the Democratic nominee next year, according to an interactive match-up offered by The New York Times that takes the measure of each candidate in several key categories....

Author and political satirist P.J. O’Rourke stated Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump “will finally be exposed as a double agent,” criticized GOP presidential candidate Texas Senator Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for “dragging in all these tired, sick, old social issues” and said of Cruz and Trump, “I really do hate it with this immigration stuff” on Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN Tonight.”O’Rourke said, “Cruz could actually get…nominated. I’m assuming that Trump will finally be exposed as a double agent, and will have to be stuck in a Chappaqua safe house, or wherever Hillary has got Bill stashed. But Cruz could actually...

Ten days after the Paris terrorist attacks, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie trumpeted his connections to Americans who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001. "For me, it is a daily occurrence to look into the eyes of the people who lost their husbands and wives, their fathers and mothers, their sisters and brothers, their sons and daughters," he told the Council on Foreign Relations in November. "The threat is not minimal." A little more than a week later, after the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif., those words seemed prophetic -- and the Republican presidential hopeful shifted emphasis from...

Could Mitt Romney and John McCain turn out to be the hidden arrows in Marco Rubio's political quiver in New Hampshire?[continued]

While now claiming Donald Trump is the personification of an ISIS recruiting poster and having Tweeted last month that Muslims have nothing to do with terrorism, Hillary Clinton was telling a different story post-9/11. In fact, she once called for profiling Muslims and doing "whatever it takes to keep our people safe." That's what she told ABC's Sam Donaldson in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.----- Clinton responded: "Well, I think everyone recognizes we have to tighten security. We have to do whatever it takes to keep our people safe." Donaldson asked: "Including profiling, senator?" Clinton answered:...

Perceptions of his favorability, electability, and strategy on key areas have all improved over the past six months. In many of these cases, he has seen dramatic turnarounds with the GOP electorate. Here's a look at the shifts: Favorability: In a July CNN poll, just 51% of Republicans viewed Trump favorably, compared with 40% who saw him in an unfavorable light. In December, 72% of registered Republicans say they view Trump favorably. That contrasts with just 27% who view him unfavorably. Electability: In August, just 38% of Republicans thought that they would have a "better chance" of winning the presidency...

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump seems set to end 2015 as the dominant force in the race for next year's Republican nomination for president, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz now a clear -- yet distant -- second after a strong debate performance, a new CNN/ORC poll released on Wednesday has found.Trump tops the field with 39%, according to the poll of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters. That's more than double the share backing Cruz, who, at 18%, has inched up 2 points since the last CNN/ORC poll, which was taken in late November. Trump has been a constant atop the polls since...

During an appearance yesterday on MSNBC, “Hardball” host Chris Matthews said that if progressives weren’t so consumed with discussing the antics of Donald Trump, they’d realize that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is a “scarier” candidate for president. “I expect if [Trump] keeps in there fighting against somebody like Cruz they’re going to realize something that really is scary to most moderates and progressives, that Cruz is scarier than Trump and that will be a frightening prospect to realize that Trump is the more – well, he’s not acceptable to progressives, but when you look at him against Cruz,” Matthews said....