Free Republic

The conservative blogosphere has yet to move past the death of patron saint Andrew Breitbart, but it will get a major jolt this month from an equally provocative hero: Sarah Palin. The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee has committed to delivering the keynote address at Right Online, the annual gathering of conservative bloggers and online activists organized by the Koch-backed non-profit group Americans for Prosperity Foundation. The June 15-16 conference will be the first time the event is held on a different weekend and in a different city from the liberal online activism conference upon which...

That cheery, DIY effort masks a different campaign, one that is slowly expiring in all the usual ways of terminal campaigns at the end-stage: cash is running low, supporters are griping about not getting paid and aides are valiantly trying to convince themselves as much as the press that, really, there is a path forward.......To a degree rarely seen in presidential politics, Gingrich is his own strategist, scheduler and press secretary.“He makes the decisions about 99.9 percent of the campaign,”.........“They never build any structure to live past the next state,” complained one GOP strategist who advised Gingrich in one key...

Last night on Politico's live-stream election show, Politico editor-in-chief John Harris highlighted a provocative Politico story about "stupid voters." The Politico article by reporter Alexander Burns examines poll numbers from voters who still think Obama might be a Muslim, believe that the president can change gas prices, and appear to have conflicting opinions about the war in Afghanistan. The article quotes Tom Jensen of the Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling who admits, “The first lesson you learn as a pollster is that people are stupid. . . I tell a client trying to make sense of numbers on a...

It’s not unusual for candidates to use leftover cash from aborted campaigns to form political action committees. But traditionally politicians have opted for so-called leadership PACs that allow them pay for political staff, travel the country and dole out contributions to favored candidates – all of which helps them keep themselves in the political spotlight and curry favor for potential future runs. Super PACs, which were spawned by a 2010 federal court ruling, could be used to maintain a political staff and fund a politician’s travel, but not to make donations to candidates. On the other hand – unlike leadership...

Perfect resume, perfect looks, perfect family, and a perfect roster of skilled campaign operatives and blue-chip endorsements: Mitt Romney has them all. Yet he comes out of his drubbing in South Carolina with a perfect dilemma.

Almost two-thirds of adult Facebook users in South Carolina say they aren't fans of the tea party, according to a Facebook poll conducted today with POLITICO. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said they are "not at all supportive" of the tea party, compared with 20 percent who were "somewhat supportive" and 18 percent who were "very supportive." Of those surveyed, women were slightly less supportive of the tea party. Just 35 percent were either "somewhat" or "very" supportive of the movement, compared with 42 percent among men. The results only represent the sentiment of South Carolina users on Facebook, not...

Mitt Romney is the only 2012 candidate whom a majority of Republicans — including conservatives — consider an “acceptable” GOP nominee for president, according to a Gallup Poll Tuesday. In the new survey, 59 percent of all Republicans said Romney would be an acceptable presidential nominee for the Republican Party. Just 46 percent said the same for Newt Gingrich and 45 percent for Rick Santorum, who were trailed by Rick Perry at 37 percent, Ron Paul at 29 percent and Jon Huntsman at 21 percent. Romney is also the only candidate whom the majority of both conservative and moderate/liberal Republicans...

New Hampshire primary: Where's the tea party? By KENNETH P. VOGEL | 1/9/12 4:32 AM EST Updated: 1/9/12 3:11 PM EST New Hampshire might seem like ground zero for a tea party offensive.But ahead of the Republican primary Tuesday, there’s no sign that the populist conservative movement is poised to shape the presidential results in the “Live Free or Die” state — or anywhere else, for that matter.Instead, activists in the Granite State have divided their loyalties — and even seem resigned to seeing their sworn enemy Mitt Romney win his second straight victory.The situation in New Hampshire and across...

A group of movement conservatives has called an emergency meeting in Texas next weekend to find a “consensus” Republican presidential hopeful, POLITICO has learned. “You and your spouse are cordially invited to a private meeting with national conservative leaders of faith at the ranch of Paul and Nancy Pressler near Brenham, Texas, with the purpose of attempting to unite and to come to a consensus on which Republican presidential candidate or candidates to support, or which not to support,” read an invitation that is making its way into in-boxes Wednesday morning. The meeting is being hosted by such prominent conservative...

A drastic departure from his usual image as a stoic, policy-drive candidate, Gingrich cried more than once in recalling how even today he still cries when he sings Christmas carols. GOP pollster Frank Luntz asked the tear-evoking question. "I get teary-eyed everytime we sing Christmas carols," he said, starting to choke up. "My mother sang in the choir and loved singing in the choir. And I don't know if I should admit this, but when I was very young she made me sing in the choir and we had pictures of me at a very young age singing in the...

With not one Republican primary vote cast yet, we're getting way ahead of ourselves by speculating about whom Mitt Romney might pick as his vice-presidential running mate. But Willie Geist did invite Politico's Mike Allen to make his "bold predictions" for 2012. And Allen delivered, prognosticating that Romney would pick Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman as his ticket-mate. Mark Halperin strongly seconded Allen's assertion. View the video here.

In a campaign that has been chiefly shaped by debates, Newt Gingrich demonstrated Saturday night why he tops the polls — and why he won’t easily be dethroned. Facing tough questions from his Republican rivals and debate moderators in Des Moines, Gingrich parried blow after blow without losing his cool or showing the much-discussed undisciplined side of his personality. It was the former House speaker’s first debate as the undisputed frontrunner and not only did he stand up to the fresh scrutiny, he reminded Republican primary voters of his command of the issues, his intellectual dexterity and his self-assured, forceful...

Conservative pundits turn down Newt By: Alexander Burns December 9, 2011 10:42 AM EST The conservative opinion elite has reached a consensus on Newt Gingrich: He’s not the one they’ve been waiting for. In the days since Gingrich leaped to the forefront of the Republican presidential race, the nation’s most prominent right-leaning commentators — many of whom have spent the last year pining for alternatives to Mitt Romney — have rendered a swift and caustic judgment on their party’s latest out-of-right-field challenger. In columns dripping with disdain, they’ve argued that Gingrich isn’t just undesirable as an opponent for Romney —...

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is set to give a full-throated defense of his former boss, President Obama, at the Iowa Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, where he'll make the first national speech of his current career. At another point, he'll say, "In the next four years there will be more challenges and more crises that will determine the economic vitality of the middle class and the economic future of this country. Whose character, whose judgment, do you want in that office?" He will also focus on the issue of people doing their "fair share" and middle class preservation.

POLITICO's Reid Epstein, on the ground in Manchester, N.H., reports: Herman Cain's campaign stuck a finger in the eye of the most powerful conservative voice in New Hampshire on Thursday, blowing off a scheduled interview with the Union Leader newspaper. Continue Reading Before Cain's no-show, the campaign had requested the 10 a.m. meeting, scheduled for 60 minutes, be shortened to 20 minutes. Cain also told the Union Leader it would not allow C-SPAN cameras to record the sit-down, as it had the paper's meetings with Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum. The Associated Press reported Cain's meeting with the...

This, from Bloomberg News, is the kind of scrutiny that you draw when you start getting taken seriously as a presidential candidate: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said during a Nov. 9 debate that he earned a $300,000 fee to advise Freddie Mac as a “historian” who warned that the mortgage company’s business model was “insane.” Former Freddie Mac officials familiar with the consulting work Gingrich was hired to perform for the company in 2006 tell a different story. They say the former House speaker was asked to build bridges to Capitol Hill Republicans and develop an argument on behalf...

Was this sober political analysis, or merely an MSMer pining for the good old days of Speaker Pelosi? On Morning Joe today, touting a Politico Pelosi puff piece about her "golden touch," Mike Allen claimed it was "very possible" that Democrats would retake the House majority in 2012. View the video here.

Was it wise for Mitt Romney to offer any opinion on Herman Cain’s campaign crisis? Romney tells George Stephanopoulos in an interview today that he finds the allegations “serious” and particularly disturbing,” although Romney declines to answer whether they are disqualifying if true. All he says in that regard is that Cain has to address the allegations directly: Mitt Romney today for the first time characterized sexual harassment allegations facing fellow GOP candidate Herman Cain as “particularly disturbing.”“These are serious allegations, George,” said Romney in an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos that aired on ABC News and Yahoo. ”And they’re...

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney says allegations that rival Herman Cain groped a former employee are "particularly disturbing" and must be addressed. Romney told ABC News/ Yahoo! on Tuesday that he will not judge whether Sharon Bialek's claims against Cain are true. He declined to say whether they are disqualifying. ... Romney .. "These are serious allegations and they're going to have to be addressed."

The Society of Professional Journalism’s code of ethics is apparently unknown to, and easily dismissed by, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. On “Andrea Mitchell Reports” Monday, the anchor introduced Politico’s Jonathan Martin after playing a clip of former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain suggesting some reporters at an event in Texas check the Society of Professional Journalism’s “code of ethics.” “Jonathan Martin is the senior reporter for Politico and broke the original story,” she said. “I assume you read the journalistic code of ethics, whatever that is.” Martin replied by saying he had his copy “well-thumbed.”