Free Republic

The nomination race isn’t over yet but the possibility of Trump winning that race is something both sides are having to take more seriously after his Super Tuesday showing. On the Democratic side there is dawning awareness that, despite polls showing Clinton would beat him in a head-to-head matchup, Trump may turn into a more formidable general election candidate than expected. Politico reports on some of the advice Democrats are getting about the need to take Trump seriously: “It’s fair to say there’s been a graveyard already out there of people underestimating him,” said Doug Sosnik, a former Bill Clinton...

Democrat blasts White House for anonymous sniping Posted: October 23rd, 2009 03:46 PM ET From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby The president last campaigned for Deeds in August. WASHINGTON (CNN) – A well-known Democratic strategist in Virginia is blasting the White House for placing anonymous quotes in the Washington Post in a pre-emptive effort to blame Creigh Deeds for what might be a loss in the state's upcoming gubernatorial election. David "Mudcat" Saunders, who gained political fame helping Democrat Mark Warner reach out to rural voters during Warner's successful 2001 gubernatorial bid, told CNN Friday that trying to blame Deeds...

Can political consultants Dave "Mudcat" Saunders and Steve Jarding win rural voters back to the Democratic party? Roanoke, Virginia "YOU'RE SLOWER than cream rising on s--. Haul ass down here so we can get this piece knocked out, Brotha!" As I barrel down I-81 in Virginia's Blue Ridge country, Dave "Mudcat" Saunders is growling on the other end of the line. He first entered my consciousness in the summer of 2003, like some force of nature sent my way by the Color Gods of Feature Writing.Back then, I was one of a group of short-straw reporters assigned to cover Bob...

Toeing the Borderline By Craig Crawford, CQ Columnist Immigration is the next big thing in political hot buttons, but who wins and who loses? Both parties are divided within their own ranks on how to position themselves for maximum advantage on an issue that is rising quickly toward the social and political surface. Both sides agree it could be a deciding factor in many races in next year’s midterm election.

Immigration is the next big thing in political hot buttons, but who wins and who loses? Both parties are divided within their own ranks on how to position themselves for maximum advantage on an issue that is rising quickly toward the social and political surface. Both sides agree it could be a deciding factor in many races in next year’s midterm election. “It is the strongest issue out there for the blue-collar white males,” says Dave “Mudcat” Saunders, a Virginia-based Democratic consultant who is co-author of an upcoming book, “Foxes in the Henhouse,” which will suggest ways his party can...

Friday, February 25 Mudcat Slings It Southnow’s Jon Bloom had the chance to sit down with political strategist David “Mudcat” Saunders, a speaker on the “Mind of the South” panel. Saunders, a self-confessed ‘colorful quote,’ did not disappoint. A word of warning to sensitive readers: Saunders did not pull any punches. SouthNow: Why did the Democrats lose in 2004? Mudcat: They can’t f***’n count. That’s the Democrats’ problem. You don’t get in the football game and punt on first down. You concede nothing. We condeded 20 states at first and then six more by Labor Day. That’s 227 electoral votes....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The star of the 2004 presidential campaign may not be a Vermont peacenik or a four-star general. It could turn out to be a small-town, blue-collar guy who loves family, God, country and very fast cars. Meet the NASCAR Dad, the successor to the Soccer Mom, the well-off suburban woman whom politicians chased in 2000. Political strategists think he's holding the key to victory next year, although many people who know both politics and NASCAR find the concept a bit daft. The term NASCAR Dad was coined last...

ROANOKE, Va. · For Florida Sen. Bob Graham to have much chance of becoming president, the country folk of this struggling mountain region and in much of small-town America will have to lift him up and carry him to the White House. Graham, who once got elected governor while crooning a song about "cracker backers," now is counting on support from the down-home conservative Democrats of the early primary states.