Free Republic

John McCain is a war hero. Period. Unless, of course, he’s a threat to Democrats and Barack Obama — as he was in September of 2008 as the Republican nominee for president. Then the man whose honor is suddenly being defended by outraged Establishment figures from both parties and the media was no longer a war hero. No, back there in the fall of 2008 McCain was being savaged as a mean SOB with an uncontrollable temper — a man who threatened to physically strike a wheelchair-bound, oxygen-dependent mother of a missing Vietnam serviceman. When he wasn’t busy causing another...

Being president of the United States is serious business, not a reality TV show. This is especially true for the next president, who will have a big job ahead after the failures of the Obama administration. Our challenges are too complex — and the future of our country too important — to let egos, inflated rhetoric, and emotion take the place of thoughtful discussion. I made the case recently for why GOP policies are the best to create opportunity across the country for families of all backgrounds. I’ve held up my home state’s reforms in economic, education, and sentencing policies...

As the candidates who will qualify for the presidential debate in August begin their preparations, they are going to want to bone up on a range of policy issues and make sure they have coherent answers to hard questions. (Now that Syria is a mess what do we do about it? If a Supreme Court vacancy opens on Day One, who is at the top of your replacement list? Has the president pardoned too few or too many people?) Equally important will be a game plan for neutralizing Donald Trump. Even before Trump self-destructed on Saturday, we saw candidates like...

At the Family Leadership Summit, Gov. Rick Perry blasts Donald Trump over his comments about John McCain and says that Trump should apologize or be disqualified to be President! I'd like to know where y'all stand on this?

Lots of Donald Trump‘s Republican presidential candidates have already shredded him for his comments about John McCain, but Rick Perry came out swinging by calling for Trump to basically GTFO. In case you missed it, the draft-defering Trump attacked McCain today over his war hero status because, “He’s a war hero ’cause he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”Now, for some unbelievable reason, lots of conservatives including the aforementioned candidates thought Trump crossed a line.Perry was the first to release a statement on The Donald’s latest rambling, this one really going for the jugular (emphasis his): Donald Trump...

Brendan Bordelon has a piece up on the home page on Scott Walker taking a pass on commenting on Trump on grounds that he doesn’t want to discuss other candidates, which strikes me as entirely reasonable. The conventional wisdom demands that Republicans devote themselves to denouncing Trump, but candidates are foolish to do this unless it serves some other purpose. Jeb has criticized him repeatedly, even after he said he was done with it. I don’t know why he really needs to get drawn into a war of words with Trump, but at least this accords with Jeb’s orientation toward...

Rick Perry made a tragic mistake by coming out swinging at the billionaire businessman.(VIDEO-AT-LINK)One of the moderators in one of my favorite conservative communities on Google+ (yes, it still exists) recently published a post in which she praised Rick Perry’s response to Donald Trump’s statements on immigration and border security, while criticizing Ted Cruz for his. She’s not the only one who believes that Republicans have to distance themselves from the successful businessman, fearing they’ll alienate Hispanic voters if they don’t. Moderator Leslie P. quotes from this article by Jon Gabriel: Perry is setting himself up as the grown-up in...

Two candidates in the GOP presidential race are reacting to Donald Trump in vastly different ways, reflecting on their character. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) not only refused to criticize Trump’s racist language about illegal immigrants but praised him, once again demonstrating there is no limit to how low the Texas junior senator will stoop to curry favor with the far right. Then yesterday, Cruz invited himself over to unctuously ingratiate himself with Trump. Thankfully, he did not bow as President Obama has done with foreign potentates. But the entire act showed how weak and desperate Cruz is. He is not...

Here's Rick Perry on Donald Trump: Rick Perry ✔ ‎@GovernorPerry .@realDonaldTrump-ism not conservatism but a toxic mix of demagoguery and nonsense https://t.co/C5aPaaA13p12:03 PM - 16 Jul 2015 The statement that Perry links to in that tweet goes on to savage Trump's "fundamental misunderstanding of border security" and note: "Mr. Trump has done nothing to prove that he is the president America needs.” Them's fighting words -- or at least that's what Perry and his team have to hope. The reality of the 2016 race for second-tier-and-below candidates like Perry is that Trump is soaking up lots and lots of the...

There’s an elephant in the Republicans’ room that just won’t budge. Ted Cruz is trying to befriend it. Rick Perry is kicking at its shins. Chris Christie wants to pay it no attention without being offensive. The elephant, of course, is Donald Trump. The image may not be quite apt—Trump’s Republican bona fides are suspect, indeed, and he’s hardly being ignored by the voters, media, and other candidates. Truth is, many would argue an ornery monkey jumping about the room, throwing things, and performing tricks for the onlookers, would be a better comparison. Republicans, who have made a concerted effort...

Usually, by the time Texas voters get to the presidential dance, the music has stopped playing. With a couple of exceptions, Democrats and Republicans pick their nominees based on the results of elections in early contest states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Texas is the after-party that all the cool folks skip. Next year promises to be different. Texas holds its 2016 primary election on March 1, part of a Super Tuesday grab bag that’s also been dubbed the SEC primary, a nod to states with schools that compete athletically in the Southeastern Conference. With the field of...

If anyone in the GOP field knows how to draw attention, it’s Donald Trump. And if anyone has a recipe for coping with Trump’s unfiltered and inflammatory comments, lots of Republicans would love to hear it. Two Texans in the 2016 field offered studies in contrast as outrage bubbled over Trump’s depictions of Mexican immigrants as thugs and rapists. “Donald Trump does not represent the Republican Party,” said former Gov. Rick Perry. “I am proud to stand with Donald Trump,” said Sen. Ted Cruz. Governing is about choosing, and so are campaigns. “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending...

Former governor and repeat presidential hopeful Rick Perry could have taken one of two paths when Donald Trump called Mexican immigrants in the U.S. "killers" and "rapists." Either debunk his kookery, or pander to the same racist base. Miraculously, he did both. Erstwhile celebrity "reality" TV comedian and Trump had actually taken direct shots at Perry's record on border security. After all, in the Trump-o-verse, if there are ravening hordes coming across the border, someone has to be blamed for it. This being primary season, it's not the federal government (which has actual jurisdiction in these matters), but his primary...

“In Texas, we have a long history of welcoming immigrants from all over the world, immigrants who have helped make our economy the strongest in the country,” former Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry said today. “It’s not fair that some people try to jump the immigration line by coming across our border illegally. One of the core responsibilities of the federal government is to secure the border. As the recent tragedy in San Francisco has shown us, it’s important for the federal government and local governments to be able to cooperate to apprehend illegal immigrants with criminal histories....

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Amidst the GOP infighting over Donald Trump and an uproar in Congress over the Confederate flag, the White House jabbed at Sen. Ted Cruz today. Opening his daily press briefing, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest called out Cruz as one who – rather than condemning Trump for depicting Mexican immigrants as rapists and killers — “saluted” the real estate magnate-turned-candidate. The comments came in prepared opening remarks, suggesting the poke was anything but inadvertent. Cruz appeared earlier today on Fox Business Network and again declined to repudiate Trump’s comments. “No, I am proud to stand with Donald Trump. I...

Rick Perry told Hannity last night that Donald Trump painted with a broad brush and basically said ALL MEXICANS were rapists and killers, which is patently false. Hannity challenged him on that mischaracterization but Perry gave a non-answer, refusing to acknowledge that Trump was only referring to ‘some’ illegals. I’ve liked Rick Perry for a long time and believe he did a lot of good things for Texas, things that would be good for the country. But I am now seeing a side of him I do not like. It’s one thing to disagree with his comments in an honest...

Good day Austin:Former Gov. Rick Perry delivered a speech Thursday at the National Press Club. It was entitled, “Economic Opportunity for All Americans,” but it was really Rick Perry’s speech on race.I know Republicans have much to do to earn the trust of African-Americans. Blacks know that Republican Barry Goldwater, in 1964, ran against Lyndon Johnson, a champion of civil rights. They know that Barry Goldwater opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, because he felt that parts of it were unconstitutional.States supporting segregation in the South cited “states’ rights” as a justification for keeping blacks from the voting booth...

For the most part, the response from 2016 Republicans to Donald Trump’s comments about Mexican illegal immigrants has been uniform: tempered outrage. Rick Santorum was happy with the fact that Trump raised the issue, although not the words Trump used. (In case you didn’t hear the words — welcome back to Earth! — Trump said that "when Mexico sends its people," it sends people who are "bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.") Marco Rubio called the comments "offensive and inaccurate." Rick Perry was similarly offended. Jeb Bush deemed them "extraordinarily ugly." But there’s a notable exception: Ted Cruz. Shortly...

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” former Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry said Donald Trump’s remarks about Mexican immigrants being rapist and criminals were “offensive.” Addressing Trumps criticism of his handling of border security Perry said “I don’t think he understands the challenge, obviously.” Perry continued, “The fact is, I have said clearly that Donald Trump does not represent the Republican Party. I was offended by his remarks. Hispanics in America and Texas, from the Alamo to Afghanistan have been extraordinary people, citizens of our country and of our state. They have served nobly and...

A man has been arrested in the shooting death of a woman who was walking along San Francisco’s Embarcadero with her family Wednesday evening. Texas resident Francisco Sanchez had been detained as a person of interest south along the Embarcadero shortly after the shooting at Pier 14 after witnesses on the pier snapped his photo, which was quickly forwarded to officers investigating the killing.