Free Republic

Money may be growing tight for four Republican presidential hopefuls clustered under Donald Trump and Ted Cruz - just when they're about to need it the most. Financial reports coming out Sunday will reveal those who began the year with enough cash to put their long-range campaign plans into motion. -snip- The financial health of the campaigns of Christie, Kasich, Bush and Rubio is critically important because they're competing not only with each other, but with Trump, a billionaire who has vowed to spend whatever it takes to win, and Cruz, who began the year with $19 million in the...

If Donald Trump ends up on stage this July formally accepting the GOP presidential nomination, don't be surprised if everyone from Washington Republicans to Twitter conservatives gathers outside the convention arena in Cleveland to burn Mike Murphy in effigy. -snip- Perhaps unsurprisingly, some disgruntled donors have struggled to keep their displeasure with Murphy to themselves. As one nameless Bush backer grumbled to Politico during the latest round of venting in the media, "You might as well light all this money on fire." -snip- Now, with the spectre of the Trumpocalypse looming over the GOP on the eve of the Iowa...

This weekend in San Francisco while speaking to the National Automobile Dealers Association, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) said, "First and foremost we need to control our border." "The 40 percent of the people that have come here illegally came with a legal visa and overstayed their bounds," he added. "We ought to be able to figure out where they are and politely ask them to leave."

It's Republican presidential primary "game time", and where the party's candidates stand on the proper role of judges in our representative democracy could not be a more important - or, in most respects, a more unifying - issue. All GOP contenders understand that the next president will shape the U.S. Supreme Court and appeals courts for the next decade, and possibly the next generation, given the ages of jurists and philosophical breakdowns on these courts. The Republican candidates all also share the same view of the judge's role in our system of government. They say they want judges who will...

...At this very critical juncture in our history, while our nation and our liberties have been ravaged by the Obama years, and life as we know it in this nation hangs precariously by a thread, Fox News, Limbaugh, Levin, and Hannity have gambled with our future, knowing we have no collateral to back up the game. For months, these fair weather friends of conservatism have heaped slovenly, starry-eyed adoration on Donald Trump. Trump - that gilded toad, who's conservative history began at about the time he decided to run as a Republican has been shoved in our faces from the...

— Angry Cuban exiles in New Jersey are demanding state Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto condemn a trip 10 state lawmakers quietly made to Cuba this week, an action they say legitimizes that government's oppressive regime. Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo said Friday that American tourism "props up a murderous regime with every penny they spend in Cuba." "I would like to see every Cuban American legislator come out strongly and condemn this trip," said Rendo, who was born in the communist country.

For those of us who focus daily on Islamist activities in the United States and threat they pose to both U.S security and constitutional freedoms, presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson's invocation at the Fox Republican Debate of the threat posed by "civilization Jihad" was a breath of fresh air following a series of primary debates which have in large measure devolved into discussions of which candidate has the most aggressive kinetic approach to Islamic terrorism. An approach that, 15 years after 9/11, has proven largely unsuccessful. Carson referred specifically to the phrase, "civilization jihad" because it is mentioned in the...

For those of us who have been waiting decades for a Republican presidential candidate to figure out that the Establishment Media is already at war with us, Donald Trump is not only an answer to that prayer but an effective answer. After just taking down the once-infallible Fox News a notch, in New Hampshire Friday, The Donald eviscerated New Hampshire’s Union Leader. The New York Times: Mr. Trump has denounced the paper repeatedly since it endorsed Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey for president, but on Friday he let loose with a new and more intense stream of invective against...

The battle to be the Republican choice for president has been nasty, brutish and anything but short. The hope among some Republicans is that the Iowa caucuses on Monday and the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9 will promote a candidate who can appeal to the half of their electorate that doesn‘t support the two current front-runners. Those two, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, are equally objectionable for different reasons. Mr. Trump has neither experience in nor interest in learning about national security, defense or global trade. Even unemployment figures, which he’s pegged at 23 or 42 percent (the correct...

A Newark, New Jersey deli owner who shot and killed an armed man will not face charges, police and prosecutors say. Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray as well as Newark Police Director Eugene Venable say that the owner of the deli had a permit for the gun that he used to defend himself. New Jersey is notorious for having some of the strictest gun regulations in the nation. The robber apparently thought that meant there was no legal way for his would-be victims to arm themselves. According to Guns.buzz, Mark Robinson’s last words inside the New Neighborhood Deli Supermarket...

Atlantic City's local officials backed a revised plan proposed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Tuesday that called for the city to be rescued through additional layers of state oversight and new revenue sources. The plan, which Christie introduced with state Senate President Steve Sweeney and Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian by his side, combines elements of previous proposals to save the distressed gambling hub. [...] Christie's joint plan on Tuesday, which he said he wants to get cleared by the end of February, would allow the state to restructure city debt and terminate municipal contracts, including with labor...

Panic Time for FOX and GOP…. FOX News host Greta Van Susteren asked her conservative viewers if they will tune in to Thursday’s GOP debate now that Donald Trump has announced he will not participate.

Republican leaders are growing alarmed by the ferocious ways the party's mainstream candidates for president are attacking one another, and they fear that time is running out for any of them to emerge as a credible alternative to Donald J. Trump or Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Leaders of the Republican establishment, made up of elected officials, lobbyists and donors, are also sending a message to the mainstream candidates, such as former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, that they should withdraw from the race if they do not show strength soon. The members of the party establishment are growing impatient...

As the end of the year approaches, Donald Trump is solidly ensconced at the top of the Republican polls nationally. The man just behind him? Senator Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) , an establishment bugaboo. The establishment’s favorite candidate, Senator Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) , is currently running far behind in national polling, a distant third in Iowa, and in a deadlock with Cruz and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for second in New Hampshire. Panic time. So, here’s the establishment roundup for Christmas week. If You Support Donald Trump, You Want to Lose. Earlier this week, Bret Stephens of The...

In 1994 a New Jersey state agency known as the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) tried to seize the home of an elderly widow named Vera Coking, who lived just off of Atlantic City's famous beachfront boardwalk. In place of Coking's modest residence, state officials envisioned a new limousine parking lot for the neighboring Trump Plaza, the high-rise hotel and casino owned and operated by real estate tycoon Donald Trump. Thankfully, this preposterous attempt to wield eminent domain on Trump's behalf was struck down in court. "What has occurred here is analogous to giving Trump a blank check with respect...

Passengers arriving at Kennedy Airport on an international flight were allowed to exit the busy hub without going through Customs -- for at least the second time in recent months, the Daily News has learned. Bumbling airline and security officials let travelers on American Airlines Flight 1223 from Cancun, Mexico, out of the airport on Monday morning without having their passports or bags checked, sources told The News. The security lapse mirrored a similar incident involving another American Airlines flight in November. A 34-year-old man who had been in Cancun to attend three Phish concerts told The News he was...

"The ad is very misleading. In fact, it outright lies about a widow's home being bulldozed," Pierson tells Breitbart News in an exclusive interview. "When you look at the facts, there is a process in place for eminent domain which was followed in this instance. Ms. Coking ended up keeping her property for years, because Mr. Trump didn't purchase it, and it ended up saving him a fortune," Pierson adds. In 2014, 16 years after the court battle ended and several years after Coking moved to California, her grandson sold the house at auction for $530,000, far less than Trump...

With polls showing a surge by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump in early-voting states, billionaire Michael Bloomberg is weighing a presidential bid as an independent, third-party candidate, the New York Times reported Saturday. Bloomberg, the popular former mayor of New York City, has sent up trial balloons before. But this time he seems concerned enough about the rise of candidates on the fringes of both parties - and Hillary Clinton's weakness in Iowa and New Hampshire - to assemble advisers and set down plans. In fact, Bloomberg is reportedly even studying up on past third-party runs by H. Ross Perot...

Let me be clear - I am pro-life. I support that position with exceptions allowed for rape, incest or the life of the mother being at risk. I did not always hold this position, but I had a significant personal experience that brought the precious gift of life into perspective for me. My story is well documented, so I will not retell it here. However, what I will do with the remaining space is express my feelings about life, and the culture of life, as we just marked the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I build things. There is...

On the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, many GOP presidential contenders were not silent. While Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton continue to defend the horrors of abortion, Republicans Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, Carly Fiorina, and Ben Carson took to social media. Recognizing the tragedy of over 58 million lives lost, these candidates explained why they stand for life. Donald Trump, however, has been silent on abortion, the March for Life, and Roe v. Wade all day. He is the only GOP front runner to avoid making a statement. Issues concerning Trump’s pro-abortion past continue...