Free Republic

Sen. Lindsey Graham tore into Donald Trump’s speech on foreign policy, calling it “unnerving,” “pathetic” and “scary.” The South Carolina Republican former presidential candidate told WABC Radio on Wednesday that the speech was “nonsensical” and showed that Trump “has no understanding of the world and the role we play.” “This speech was unnerving. It was pathetic in its content, and it was scary in terms of its construct. If you had any doubt that Donald Trump is not fit to be commander in chief, this speech should’ve removed it,” Graham said. “It took every problem and fear I have with...

Throughout the Republican Party, from New Hampshire to Florida to California, many leaders, operatives, donors and activists arrived this week at the conclusion they had been hoping to thwart or at least delay: Donald Trump will be their presidential nominee. An aura of inevitability is now forming around the controversial mogul. Trump smothered his opponents in six straight primaries in the Northeast and vacuumed up more delegates than even the most generous predictions foresaw. He is gaining high-profile ­endorsements by the day — a legendary Indiana basketball coach Wednesday, two House committee chairmen Thursday. And his ­rivals, Sen. Ted Cruz...

CNBC: Cruz will make major announcement at 4PM

Bill Kristol, son of Irving, names Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mitt Romney, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and others on his hypothetical shortlist of third-party candidates that he could run if Donald Trump becomes the Republican nominee. The “Weekly Standard” editor and self-styled neoconservative power broker is back to talking about a third party, declaring that a Trump victory in Indiana would force him to re-focus on his so-called “Latter-Day Republicans” independent ticket. A third party could help to split the vote on the Right and elect Hillary Clinton president, which would allow Kristol to stave off the Trump threat and...

Bill Kristol, son of Irving, names Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) 79% , Mitt Romney, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) 79% , and others on his hypothetical shortlist of third-party candidates that he could run if Donald Trump becomes the Republican nominee. The “Weekly Standard” editor and self-styled neoconservative power broker is back to talking about a third party, declaring that a Trump victory in Indiana would force him to re-focus on his so-called “Latter-Day Republicans” independent ticket. A third party could help to split the vote on the Right and elect Hillary Clinton president, which would allow Kristol to stave off...

“Well, I think it would be a bad idea to put little girls in a bathroom with grown men,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told CNN on Thursday. But the senator also made it clear that the issue is not one of major national importance, as far as he is concerned: “All I can say is that the only bathroom I can control is in my office, and you can use the bathroom in my office without bringing your birth certificate.” …

GOP front-runner Donald Trump says he'd like to bring Florida Sen. Marco Rubio into his campaign as part of his effort to unify the party. Trump already has the support of two of his vanquished foes: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. "Frankly, Marco I'd love to have involved," Trump said Thursday on Fox News Channel's "Hannity." "This party has to unite," Trump said. "Then you're going to have the House and Senate." Rubio dropped out of the race after losing his home state of Florida, but has yet to endorse anyone. Trump also responded to...

"Reince Priebus' former loyalists say they have reluctantly concluded that forces at the RNC will stop at virtually nothing to keep the door open to the nomination of Ohio Gov. John Kasich at the July convention – or, as some skeptics fear, some “white knight” who moderates claim will have broader voter appeal this fall than either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, the two top-delegate winners, have shown in most polls so far."

Washington Post (and others) sitting on video. We've indy confirm video looks bad, showing multiple hotel encounters According to person who worked for Rubio campaign. Cruz video shows *multiple* hotel encounters with non-spouse females. Just entry & exits

Rubio was on Cavuto and Hannity’s shows today and so naturally I watched Cavuto (watch daily) not Hannity and he (Rubio) was outraged about the current IRS scandal and said we need MORE investigations into it. See? He is one of us. And he says we can’t trust Obama with big government health care, (how about big government amnesty-care Rubio?) and we must repeal it , see, he is going after Obama ? He is on OUR side. He really ripped Obama on that too. Then Cavuto got to immigration and never letting us down he started by played a...

The Republican National Committee is expected to debate a proposal next week that would dramatically shift the balance of power at this summer’s convention — and impose a new rulebook for selecting the party's nominee. The proposal, which will top the agenda during a meeting of the Rules panel at the RNC’s annual spring meeting in Hollywood Beach, Fla., would fundamentally alter how the convention is conducted, further empowering the delegates to determine the course of the proceedings. It amounts to not just a changing of the rules but of the rulebook itself, with far-reaching implications, potentially impacting whether party...

(CNSNews.com) - The Open Society Institute, a private foundation controlled by liberal billionaire and political activist George Soros, received more than $30 million from U.S. government agencies between 1998 and 2003. Last year, Soros donated at least $20 million of his own money to such liberal groups as Moveon.org, in a failed attempt to block the re-election of President George W. Bush. Tax records the Open Society Institute (OSI) is required to file with the Internal Revenue Service list "FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES" as "Contributors" of amounts between $4.6 million and $8.9 million over a six year period: * 1998 -...

Senator Lindsay Graham opened the evidence session of the Senate Appropriations Committee which hosted U2 singer Bono yesterday by telling the room that you don’t win wars against terrorists by killing them, or “dropping bombs on their head” but rather, by spending U.S. tax payer cash attempting to keep migrants un-radicalised. He said that non governmental organisations and charities in the Middle East and North Africa “can do just as much good as any battalion of soldiers”.

Ted Cruz's and Marco Rubio's supporters have teamed up in Arkansas to pack the state delegation with individuals who'll turn against Donald Trump in a contested convention. Since Rubio ended his presidential bid March 15, his network of party insiders has lined up behind Cruz to win delegates who'd vote for the Texas senator once they're no longer bound to Trump in a floor fight. Trump won Arkansas' GOP primary March 1 with 32.8 percent of the vote compared to Cruz's 30.5 percent and Rubio's 24.9 percent. But Cruz's canny operatives, with Rubio riding shotgun, is likely to thwart Trump...

Florida may prove crucial to Donald Trump’s presidential hopes if the Republican nomination race goes to a contested convention. Under the state’s GOP rules, all of the 99 delegates Trump received when he won Florida’s March 15 primary must vote for him through the first three nominating ballots at a contested convention. That makes Florida unique. Thirty-one states and territories require Republican delegates to support the winner of a given primary or caucus only for the first ballot, according to the Republican National Committee. Seven require delegates to back the primary or caucus winner for the first two ballots. The...

OK. So Trump looks like he might end up a few delegates short of 1237. Maybe, maybe not. If he were to offer the VP to Rubio, in exchange for his 171 delegates, he the would only need to get to 1066. He freezes out Cruz, he freezes out Kasich and rewards them for their machinations with a loss. He solidifies his vote in Florida by adding Cuban American voters and other Rubio supporters. He wins back some of the disaffected fedgov employees of NOVA that went for Rubio and improves his chances in VA. He somewhat assuages the establishment....

Sen. Marco Rubio has fought to take the delegates he won to the Republican National Convention in July, leaving him in a position to be a power broker or even, if everything falls into place, to make another run at the top of the party’s presidential ticket. Under current rules, he doesn’t qualify to be considered for the presidential nomination — only Donald Trump has clearly met the threshold so far — but if the party starts looking beyond the billionaire businessman, Mr. Rubio could be in line. “You can see absolutely how it could play out,” said Chris Bravacos,...

An ad created by the super PAC supporting John Kasich has adopted Donald Trump’s nickname for rival Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): “Lyin’ Ted.” New Day Independent Media Committee’s video ad begins, “Many just call him Lyin’ Ted,” as a narrator proceeds to list Cruz’s alleged “lies.” “Lied about Ben Carson to steal a win in Iowa; lied about being the best for the GOP when polls show he can’t even beat Hillary Clinton; his TV ad about John Kasich lied. Stations had to pull it off the air.”“If Ted Cruz’s mouth is moving, he’s lying,” the ad continues.

Probably to stop Trump - and we'll explain how that works - but hey, you never know. Usually when candidates announce they’re “suspending” their campaign, that’s a legal term of art that simply means, “I’m no longer running but I need to be able to still raise money to pay off my campaign debts.” In Marco Rubio’s case, though, maybe he is only suspending it. In this election year there’s hardly anyone who can truly be said to be out of the running. And if we do get to a contested convention and the party starts looking for a compromise...

Ted Cruz dodges question about whether he's 'always been faithful' to his wife as endorser Carly Fiorina leaps in to insist a declaration that he's not an adulterer is a 'dance to Donald trump's tune' Texas senator could put National Enquirer scandal to rest with a simple statement that he has never strayed in his 14-year marriage Instead he has batted down the supermarket tabloid's speculative story about five alleged affairs in a more limited fashion Carly Fiorina leaped in to intercept DailyMail.com's request for a blanket statement of marital fidelity and Cruz ultimately punted on the question Fiorina pleaded...