Free Republic

Republican Kevin McCarthy of California, the House majority whip, first met Paul Ryan more than a decade ago, when McCarthy was a staffer for congressman Bill Thomas, the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Even then, McCarthy recalls, he was impressed with Ryan’s grasp of complicated fiscal issues. Ryan was only in his early 30s, and he looked even younger, but he had the knowledge of a senior member and none of the usual swagger. .... “He has been a teacher to so many others,” McCarthy says. “During the listening sessions, he sketched out how the entire...

Although she almost endorsed him in an earlier appearance on Fox, Fox News contributor and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin revealed that she voted for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich in the Alaska Republican presidential primary. During Fox Business Network’s special coverage of Super Tuesday, Palin was asked by host Neil Cavuto who she voted for, and Palin explained why she wasn’t going to dodge his question. (RELATED: More on Sarah Palin) “I knew you were going to ask me that, and I am just the poorest politician-sounding pundit,” Palin said. “It is tough for me to spin...

On his Monday radio show, Rush Limbaugh advised former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to stop using his hobbyhorse to rip on the media publicly, although many have credited the tactic for his win in the South Carolina primary. “This presents a huge stumbling block potential for Newt,” Limbaugh said. “He is vulnerable on the very thing he can do better than anybody else. He had better fully embrace his conservatism and not make it a part-time thing. The days of being able to keep this momentum going by ripping on the media are over. The standing ovations for taking on...

Though I have yet to read anything on the Internet that caused me literally to bash my laptop computer into the nearest available hard surface, comments like this, in the comments section of a popular conservative website, come pretty close: Oh no we won't. The GOP has been forcing us to choose their candidates. No thank you. As most of you reading this probably have already guessed, the "oh no he won't" the commenter is vowing is that he won't unite behind Mitt Romney should the ex-gov of Mass win the GOP nomination. Well, let me be the first to...

In a five-page order yesterday, Judge Gibney of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, wrote: The Court finds that there is a strong likelihood that the Court will find the residency requirement for petition circulators to be unconstitutional. (...) If absentee ballots are printed, and particularly if they are mailed, it will impair the Court's ability to enter an order granting relief to the plaintiffs. They are presidential candidates and will have no chance to secure the delegates from Virginia at the Republican convention. The harm to them would obviously be irreparable. (...) The defendants point...

After Iowa, the picture on who will be this year’s Republican presidential nominee is becoming a bit clearer, for better or for worse. And in the eyes of National Review columnist Mark Steyn, author of “After America: Get Ready for Armageddon,” it is for worse. Steyn has often categorized this election as “truly consequential” and warned that without a change of course, the United States is destined for the same fate as some European countries or worse. On “The Dennis Miller Show” on Wednesday, Steyn said the prospects of that change by defeating President Barack Obama were in doubt. “If...

Despite the steady stream of negative economic numbers, conservative Washington Post columnist George Will thinks that President Barack Obama‘s election prospects aren’t so dire. “All of the numbers say that the president won’t be,” Will said of the President Obama’s election prospects on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday. “But if the president carries the John Kerry states, he has 245 electoral votes. He needs 25 more. Don’t count the president out.” ABC political analyst Cokie Roberts went further, saying that she thinks the odds are in favor of the president’s reelection. ...more (w/video)...

In an appearance that lasted three segments on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Friday, Republican presidential candidate Texas Rep. Ron Paul gave a wide-ranging interview about his vision and how we would handle certain issues. However, at the end of his interview, the Texas congressman gave his thoughts on some of his competitors, with some less-than-flattering words for his Republican colleague Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann. Leno named off several of the candidates and Paul gave his opinion of each. ...more (w/video)...

With former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney set to make a long-awaited appearance on Fox News Sunday next week, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough and Fox host Chris Wallace have begun to trade barbs. On his Thursday show, Scarborough — who at the time mistakenly thought it was set for this Sunday — offered some advice for Romney, alleging that his interviewer, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, “loathes” him. “And by the way, he’s going on Fox News Sunday,” Scarborough said. “Chris Wallace has never made a secret of the fact that he loathes Mitt Romney. He has never liked him....

In an appearance on “The Michael Berry Show” on KTRH in Houston on Tuesday, a disappointed Mark Steyn, the author of “After America: Get Ready for Armageddon,” declared the 2012 Republican nominating process a failure and chalked up the proliferation of cable debates as a substitute for campaigning in the early primary states as the reason. “I think the nomination process failed last time around when John McCain wound up as the nominee and I think it is heading for failure this time around,” Steyn said. “I’m speaking to you from my home in New Hampshire … but in my...

According to radio host Rush Limbaugh, last week was not the first time former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said he was going to be the nominee, and has been predicting an easy primary win since at least May. "Long before he officially announced his presidential run, he told me he's going to run. He went through his agenda bullet point by bullet point,” Limbaugh said on his May 17 show. Limbaugh said that, at the meeting, Gingrich detailed how he was thinking beyond the nominating process and already dismissing who at the time were thought be some of...

Conservative pundits have been lining up to voice their frustration over the possibility that former Speak of the House Newt Gingrich could wind up being the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. And you can add Washington Post columnist George Will to that list. On Friday’s “The Laura Ingraham Show,” Will responded to Gingrich’s recent remarks that being the smartest isn’t enough, but instead to be the wisest. “Mr. Gingrich said it’s not enough that he is the smartest guy in the room, he also has to be wise,” Will said. “Now you can associate many things with Mr. Gingrich, but wisdom...

Mike Huckabee ranks atop the GOP presidential field, according to the latest 2012 poll, released Friday afternoon by Fox News. Fox didn't ask Republicans whom they'd vote for; rather, it asked whether respondents thought the potential candidate in question would make a good president. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Sarah Palin followed Huckabee. No GOP candidate was thought to make a good president by more than 50 percent of all respondents (including Democrats, Republicans, and independents). Find the list below:

February will almost certainly be moving month for Republicans with an eye on the 2012 presidential race. With the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary roughly one year away, the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that has defined the race up until now will begin to go public. "The practicalities of running -- debates, straw polls, staffing, lining up endorsements on paper -- means candidates will have to end the sub rosa campaign soon," predicted one adviser to a potential 2012 aspirant. With the next 20 days almost certain to be full of 2012 machinations, we thought it made sense to give Fixistas...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads President Obama by two points, 44-42 percent, in the latest Rasmussen Reports national survey of voter preference for the 2012 presidential campaign. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is in a dead heat with Obama, with both drawing 43 percent. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin trails Obama by 11 points, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is behind the Democratic incumbent by eight and Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX, by nine points. As he should, Scott Rasmussen offers some important qualifiers about these results: "Seven lesser-known candidates trail by anywhere from 10 to 17 percentage points."...

Jon Huntsman's planned resignation as ambassador to China this spring seems to be a clear indication that former Utah governor is planning on running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. He'll be far from alone. There are currently 18 Republicans mentioned as 2012 candidates and the vast majority of that group is doing the sorts of things -- visiting Iowa and New Hampshire, writing books etc. -- that people who want to run for president do. Assuming even two-thirds of that group runs, it will match the largest field in presidential history and create a decidedly chaotic primary season....

Fresh off dominating the New Hampshire straw poll over the weekend, Mitt Romney got another boost to his presidential aspirations in the form of a new national Rasmussen poll that shows the former Massachusetts Governor leading his potential competition for the GOP nomination. In the poll, 24% of respondents went for Romney, while 19% supported Sarah Palin, and 17% said Mike Huckabee was their top choice. Newt Gingrich came in fourth at 11%, followed by Tim Pawlenty (6%), Ron Paul (4%), and Mitch Daniels (3%). An aditional 16% said they were either undecided or planned to vote for another candidate....

Addressing business leaders in Louisiana last week, national political pollster Scott Rasmussen said that the GOP’s 2012 nominee will not go to a big-name candidate (i.e. Romney, Palin or Gingrich?), but likely someone lesser known, who has experience on the national stage, the News Star reports. Rasmussen addressed the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry at their annual meeting last Wednesday, weighing in on the political climate and condemning Washington partisanship saying “Both parties have worked together for decades to alienate the people.” Any dark horses out there?

WALL STREET JOURNAL - The lack of a clear 2012 Republican presidential frontrunner is prompting lesser-known figures to consider joining the race, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. Instead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, some conservative groups are looking for fresh faces and asking: Why not Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan or former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain? Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who is President Barack Obama's ambassador to China, has hinted he might join the Republican contest. Former United Nations ambassador John Bolton is talking up a possible bid, and Rep....

Jen Rubin makes the sensible case that, because all the potential GOP presidential candidates have weaknesses, a newcomer could have a real opening in the 2012 presidential election. Among others, Rubin suggests that Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, and Mike Pence might have a chance. It's the case now in politics that one can become famous very quickly. With cable TV, the Internet, and various other lightning fast means for exchanging information, it's not inconceivable that a candidate could start late, and still muster enough positive attention in a short amount of time to win a presidential primary. Consider the most...