Free Republic

Sixteen years ago a prominent Republican stopped me on the street to complain that his party was in denial. It was falling fast, he said, with little hope. The California GOP was "like an alcoholic," the pol asserted. "We all want him to recover, but he's got to want to recover. And before that can happen he has to hit bottom. We all think he's hit bottom, but he doesn't." The man was talking about the party's addiction to gay bashing and gun worshiping, to feeding off anti-abortion and illegal immigration causes. That resulted in big hangovers on mornings after...

Frustrated with the slow pace at which the Democrat-dominated Congress was working to pass the massive health care reform bill he championed by the early spring of 2010, President Barack Obama insisted that it was past time for the Senate to call an up or down vote on the law. Knowing, however, that the bill would not be able to overcome a filibuster by the Senate’s 41 Republican members, Obama and the Senate’s Democratic leadership proposed using the budgetary process known as reconciliation in order to pass the bill with a simple majority. “White House officials will make the...

Allah keeps chortling, saying, "No you guys will be back," but I don't think he understands. Something has changed. No, we won't be back. Not in the way he means it. If AllahPundit means that I, for example, will still prefer a more conservative president over a less conservative one, sure, of course, but then, Communists preferred the more liberal Bill Clinton over the less liberal George Bush, without actually supporting the Democratic Party with anything stronger than a velleity. In 2014, the Establishment went all out to defeat its foes not just on the electoral battlefield, but in the...

SILAO, Mexico — Jeb Bush often mentions his wife’s family, how he fell in love with her in nearby León, and her immigrant challenges coming to the United States. Only rarely — and critically — do the likely front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination or his aides mention his wife’s father, José Maria Garnica Rodríguez. Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell reiterated Tuesday that Columba Bush’s father abandoned his family. “Mrs. Bush did not have a relationship with her father after he left her mother and their family when Mrs. Bush was just a young teenager,” she said. And published accounts, including...

In spite of its extremism, two factors will assure a more competitive GOP in the 2016 presidential election. First is the GOP’s unified effort to appear less radical in the public’s eye. Second is the belief of Democrats, especially the Hillary crowd, of their advantage due to presidential elections which sport more young and minority voters. Related to this, Hillary’s current strength among the base puts off progressive challengers like Elizabeth Warren. The first is evidenced by the popularity of Scott Walker in New Hampshire, not a known quantity nationwide, certainly not known for his Wisconsin anti-labor, pro-business stance. He...

From the Morning Jolt: Why the Rush to Pick a Favorite in the 2016 Field? Breitbart.com’s Matt Boyle goes in to overdrive, insisting that Scott Walker is ensnared in a massive, race-changing scandal because his newly-hired strategist, Liz Mair, has… er, dual citizenship.* (Hey, if that’s a big deal, what about Ted Cruz’s former dual-citizenship status? What, is the senator some sleeper agent for the poutine menace? “The Manitoban Candidate”?) This morning, Liz Mair departed Scott Walker’s campaign – presumably not because of her dual-citizenship status than from the vocal whining from Iowa Republican Party officials over her previous mockery...

In 2014, the Establishment went all out to defeat its foes not just on the electoral battlefield, but in the battlefield of the mind as well. They wanted to teach the upstarts a lesson: You have not only lost, but you will always lose; you will not be permitted to win, ever. The entire Party will rise up to crush you should you signal any intention of bucking our Rule. I warned them about something then: A hopeless soldier is a soldier who will desert the field. Yes, Establishment GOP, you can teach us that you will always lie to...

NASHVILLE, TN — On Tuesday, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson spoke at Impact Symposium at Vanderbilt University on the topic of “How You See It: Perceptions of (In)Equality.” Robinson commented on the Republicans opposing President Barack Obama and their perception of being racist for doing so. “I have written in my column, actually, that I wish there were a Republican Party that would actually go after African-American votes and like, not be racist,” he said. ...(more w/audio)...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker made another massive misstep on Monday, hiring Liz Mair of Mair Strategies to handle communications and social media for his campaign-in-waiting. Mair’s support for amnesty for illegal aliens, wide-open-borders immigration policies, and public advocacy for the Senate “Gang of Eight” amnesty bill is sure to dog Walker in Iowa, South Carolina, and other early presidential states. During the Senate Gang of Eight bill fight, Mair very publicly and very aggressively promoted the amnesty bill—pushing it to media and making the case for the need for it over and over again. She claims her advocacy was done...

Just minutes ago. The Colorado State GOP has denied establishment Chairman Ryan Call his reelection. The liberty backed candidate Steve House has been elected as chairman. Ryan Call has been a monkey for Karl Rove and the RNC in the passed two elections. Ryan played backhanded tactics to deny the liberty vote at almost every stop he could. Earlier this month, he disqualified the election results of a specific county and decided to redo the county election himself. All so he could get a few more votes for his reelection. Steve House was backed by the liberty crowd. He is...

Jon Voight supports Netanyahu in new ad, says Obama abandoning Israel so he can buddy up to her ENEMIES VIDEO Posted by The Right Scoop on Mar 15, 2015 in Foreign Policy By The Right Scoop Legendary actor Jon Voight has created a new ad with an urgent message to Israel, explaining that Obama wants Bibi Netanyahu to lose and is NO friend of Israel. He points out that Obama wants to control Israel because his agenda is to be friends with Israel’s enemies.

You have to give a certain amount of credit to politicians who are able to maintain a level of consistency, if nothing else. Stopping in New Hampshire, Jeb Bush was faced with yet another series of questions on the subject which seems to have sunk his prospects with conservatives this cycle. When asked yet again about a possible path to citizenship for illegals and a chance to “come out of the shadows” in an orderly fashion, Bush doubled down and let all of you haters out there know that he’s the grown up in the room here. Jeb Bush said...

Category Benefits / Fundraisers Date Mar 15, 2015 Time 6:00 PM Grafton County Republicans have announced that US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas will be the keynote speaker at the Annual Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner on Sunday, March 15 at the Indian Head Resort in Lincoln. Bruce Perlo, Grafton County Republican Chairman, said that he, and fellow Republicans, are delighted that Senator Cruz accepted their invitation to speak . "This will be an incredible evening for voters to listen to one of our country's leading conservative voices." Senator Cruz is widely seen as a top-contender for the Republican nomination for President...

House leaders are closing in on a deal to permanently avert cuts in payments to physicians under Medicare, two House aides confirmed Friday. The deal would offset only about $70 billion of the more than $200 billion cost of making the permanent fix, however, which would likely draw opposition from conservatives that the agreement would bust the budget.

“President, how are you?” That’s how Glenn Beck greeted Ted Cruz on radio Friday morning, and once you hear how Cruz responded throughout, it’s not too far off to think the Texas senator could be making a run to fulfill Beck’s greeting. Beck and his co-hosts spent a majority of the interview trying to get Cruz to announce he’s running. And while Cruz didn’t fully commit, he did make some interesting comments. Here are some of them: “So what I’ll say is stay tuned.” “I will point out, I was in Iowa last weekend. Tomorrow morning, I’m flying to South...

Before Hugh Hewitt would answer my questions, he had a condition: Through the producer of The Hugh Hewitt Show—his 15-year-old radio program that touts 2 million weekly listeners—he informed me that I would need to first answer his questions, on air. Hours later, I was live on his show. "I got a note from my producer today, associate producer Marlon, saying you want to meet up with me and do a profile on me, which I think is about as dull as possible," Hewitt said, "but is that true?"

The Texas General Land Office is terminating its contract with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to run the Alamo, ending a role the DRT has held for 110 years in managing the state-owned site, the Express-News has learned. In a joint statement with the DRT, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said the change will help “create a bigger, brighter future for this Texas shrine.” The contract, which runs through Aug. 31, 2016, will be terminated after 120 days, on July 10. “The Alamo has always had the same owner — the people of Texas. And so to...

For the second straight election cycle, Republicans in Virginia may face a limited choice when picking their party’s candidate for president. After a much-derided 2012 primary that offered voters a ballot with only two candidates to choose from, the state GOP is now contemplating scrapping the primary system entirely in favor of a nominating convention.

Although people like to say "throw the bums out" before American elections, when it comes down to casting ballots, voters choose incumbents, mainstream candidates, establishment nominees, and party regulars the vast majority of the time. "Except in Presidential elections," said William S. Bike, author of Winning Political Campaigns: A Comprehensive Guide to Electoral Success. "It's an oddity in American politics that in the most important race of all, voters tend to favor insurgents, fresh faces, and untested candidates over regulars, mainstreamers, and establishment types." The proof? Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, all fit the definition...

(AUDIO-AT-LINK) Former New Hampshire GOP Chairman Fergus Cullen is preparing to host a meet-and-greet at his Granite State home for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — but said firebrand Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz represents “everything that is wrong with the Republican Party.” “Ted Cruz is someone who will not darken our doorstep ... He doesn’t seem to be very interested in campaigning to all of Americans but only seems to be interested in appealing to a fringe,” Cullen said during an appearance this morning on Boston Herald Radio’s “Morning Meeting” program. “I think he has been irresponsible in Washington...