Free Republic

Bernie Sanders supporters lost a debate over international trade that divided Democrats during a meeting in Orlando on Saturday to draft their party platform. Sanders supporters had hoped the party's official position statement for 2016 would include language explicitly rejecting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, while backers of Hillary Clinton, the presumptive nominee, argued for softer language. Both presidential candidates oppose the controversial trade agreement, but it was championed by President Barack Obama, leaving the party in an awkward position.

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump's much anticipated vice presidential pick is expected to be announced next week, a Trump adviser told CNN Tuesday... Does Trump want to double the bombast by picking a brash straight-talker who mirrors his own style, like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich? Does he prefer someone whose Washington experience and message discipline would counter his freelancing, like Indiana Gov. Mike Pence? Or does he want to elevate a rising star, like Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst or Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton? Pence and his wife Karen met with Trump at his New Jersey...

Let us now address the greatest American mystery at the moment: what motivates the supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump? I call it a “mystery” because the working-class white people who make up the bulk of Trump’s fan base show up in amazing numbers for the candidate, filling stadiums and airport hangars, but their views, by and large, do not appear in our prestige newspapers. On their opinion pages, these publications take care to represent demographic categories of nearly every kind, but “blue-collar” is one they persistently overlook. The views of working-class people are so foreign to that universe...

PHILADELPHIA — Three dozen union workers gathered outside city hall here on Thursday to rally against the global free-trade deals they believe have harmed Americans like them. Their candidate was Katie McGinty, the Democrats’ nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania. But their spiritual leader was Republican Donald Trump. “He recognized there’s some problems we need to solve,” said McGinty, who is challenging Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R), a free-trade advocate. “One, we have to stop bad trade agreements. . . . And two, we have to take the Chinese on when they manipulate their currency and dump goods in our markets.” Just two...

The Washington Post published an article listing five candidates likely to be considered to be Trump's vice president. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa is on that list. Ernst is Iowa's first female U.S. Senator. Ernst was not well known When she ran for the senate seat vacated by the retiring Tom Harkin. KWWL-TV caught up with Ernst and asked if she would consider serving as Donald Trump's vice president. "I would say, 'did my mother pay you to say that?', Ernst said. "But, no. I would have to consider it, but I love what I do in the United...

Which begs the question: Who is he going to pick as his vice presidential nominee? The short answer: No one knows. Trump relishes being unpredictable so trying to game out how this most unconventional of politicians will make his mind up is a bit of a guessing game. Add to that the fact that Trump's inner circle remains, largely, devoid of establishment types and you quickly get into a situation where the people talking don't know much and the people who do know aren't talking.

Donald Trump on Monday spent part of his July 4th with Sen. Joni Ernst -- fueling speculation that the Iowa freshman senator could be on the short list of his vice presidential picks. Ernst told Fox News they had a "good conversation," adding, "I will continue to share my insights with Donald about the need to strengthen our economy, keep our nation safe, and ensure America is always a strong, stabilizing force around the globe." Earlier, Trump tweeted, "I look forward to meeting (Ernst) today in New Jersey. She has done a great job as Senator of Iowa!"

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst is among the candidates being considered to become Donald Trump's running mate, a source with knowledge of Trump's vice presidential selection process tells CNN. Another source close to the process confirmed the information. It's not clear whether the freshman Republican senator and tea party star has received paperwork from the campaign or is just being scrutinized through the wealth of publicly accessible information about her. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence are also being considered, the source said. A senior Trump campaign adviser confirmed Pence is being...

Donald Trump announced he would meet with Sen. Joni Ernst on Monday, one of several recent names dropped on his Twitter feed that are fueling speculation over his highly-anticipated vice presidential selection. "I look forward to meeting @joniernst today in New Jersey. She has done a great job as Senator of Iowa!" Trump tweeted early Monday. Ernst's name appeared in reports on VP shortlists over the weekend, and a senior Trump adviser confirmed to CNN that Ernst is being considered. Trump also doled out some conspicuous praise for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who have also...

DENVER — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won Sunday’s Republican vice presidential straw poll of attendees at the Western Conservative Summit. Mr. Gingrich, who took 194 votes, for 20 percent of the 985 votes cast, was followed by Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, who spoke Saturday at the three-day conference and took 148 votes, or 15 percent. Rounding out the top five were three former Republican presidential candidates: ex-Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas....

House Speaker Paul Ryan sought to present a united front with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump on trade issues, despite their differing perspectives on international trade deals. "He wants to get good trade agreements," Ryan told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an interview Wednesday. "So do I." Ryan's remarks come shortly after Trump sharply criticized trade agreements in a speech at a western Pennsylvania Rust Belt town earlier this week, blaming globalization for having "wiped out totally, totally our middle class." Trump further called the landmark Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal that involves a "death blow for American...

The overwhelming majority of Americans believe the economy is rigged. Seventy-one percent think the U.S. economic system is "rigged in favor of certain groups," according to a new poll by Marketplace and Edison Research. The poll asked a simple question: Which of the following comes closer to your opinion on the economic system in the U.S. People could select between three options: 1. The economic system is rigged in favor of certain groups 2. The economy system is fair to all Americans 3. Don't know Most selected rigged economy. It didn't matter if the person was white, black or Hispanic...

Today the editors of Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal slammed GOP frontrunner Donald Trump for his opposition to the publication's long-standing support for open border trade and immigration policies. The Wall Street Journal, like Murdoch, is decidedly open borders. In 1984, the WSJ editorial board wrote, "If Washington still wants to 'do something' about immigration, we propose a five-word constitutional amendment: There shall be open borders." "Republicans should look closely before they leap," the Journal warns voters. The Journal points specifically to Mr. Trump's recent hiring of Stephen Miller, the brain trust of populist thought leader Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)80%....

Today the editors of Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal slammed GOP frontrunner Donald Trump for his opposition to the publication’s long-standing support for open border trade and immigration policies. The Wall Street Journal, like Murdoch, is decidedly open borders. In 1984, the WSJ editorial board wrote, “If Washington still wants to ‘do something’ about immigration, we propose a five-word constitutional amendment: There shall be open borders The WSJ editors suggest that they would much prefer Trump work with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)56% and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)44% than Jeff Sessions. The editors write that if Trump were to “work closely...

It’s the very thing the GOP Establishment fears most – loss of control. This week, an example of that diminished control reverberated throughout D.C. as challenger Scott Taylor, who is a former Navy SEAL and current Virginia State Representative, defeated longtime Republican Congressman Randy Forbes. Taylor supported Donald Trump and Trump’s America-first economic platform. Randy Forbes did not. Virginia voters just fired Randy Forbes. Taylor hosted a Virginia Trump rally as far back as September, and has since repeated his plan to support the New York billionaire in his upcoming presidential battle against Hillary Clinton. .. Reports indicate a stunned...

State Delegate Scott Taylor defeated Rep. Randy Forbes in the Republican primary race for the second congressional district on Tuesday. With nearly 53% of the vote Taylor won more than 21,000 votes. Randy Forbes won about 41% of the vote. Pat Cardwell, a local attorney, registered about 7% of the vote. Taylor said enough voters believed in his message that Washington is broken and that he will bring a fresh start. "People trust us to go do something about it," Taylor said. "That's extremely humbling and it's not a responsibility that I take lightly." What may also have helped is...

Second Congressional District in Virginia. Tidewater area for the Virginia challenged. 135 of 180 precincts reporting: Pat Cardwell 2213 votes 6.83% J. Randy Forbes 13165 40.61% Scott W. Taylor 17,039 52.56% Scott Taylor is in the House of Delegates, former SEAL and all around good troop. This is a relatively safe gop district, so he'll likely win the general. Randy Forbes is a carpetbagger from western tidewater, 4th district. He doesn't live in the 2nd. His 4th district was redrawn and is now leaning rat. The incumbent in the 2nd decided to retire to let Forbes run for the seat....

The populist uprising against phony “free trade” and Republicans who love it has taken its first scalp. Rep. Randy Forbes, GOP establishment stalwart and longtime Obamatrade supporter from Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, will soon be unemployed. Voters rejected him in favor of his primary opponent Scott Taylor, who stridently opposed Obamatrade.

Rep. Randy Forbes, GOP establishment stalwart and longtime Obamatrade supporter from Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, will soon be unemployed. Voters rejected him in favor of his primary opponent Scott Taylor, who stridently opposed Obamatrade. Taylor blasted Forbes for voting to give President Obama fast track authority to ram through Congress the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a sweeping 12-nation international regulatory pact that would merge our economy with some of the poorest and most repressive on earth. This move was especially hypocritical for Forbes, chairman of the House Prayer Caucus. Obamatrade would give special economic privileges to countries that persecute Christians, including Vietnam,...

Top Donald Trump surrogate Sen. Jeff Sessions on Sunday called for tougher screenings of Muslims coming into the United States in the wake of the mass shooting at a gay Orlando nightclub. “It certainly looks like another one of the extremist attacks, Islamic extremism,” Sessions (R-Ala.) told Fox News Sunday. “There’s just within the wonderful group of Islamic people, a certain group of radicals and it’s been there for a long time and it seems to be growing. We have to accept that fact.” Sessions said the attack, that left “approximately” 50 people dead and 53 wounded will mean “further...