Free Republic

It's becoming harder for red-state Democrats to say what they really think on hot-button issues. One of the most underappreciated attributes in politics is a candidate's authenticity. In an era when politicians' talking points are scripted, and they worry about a gaffe going viral, the candidate who comes across as genuine holds a real advantage. It's one reason why Barack Obama was able to defeat Hillary Clinton, why Mitt Romney struggled to capitalize on a favorable environment in 2012, and why someone like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is able to use his force of personality to overcome ideological differences...

You gotta be kiddin' me!!!! ********************************************************* Friend, We’d never doubt you. Throughout the year, you’ve heard from Republican figures – elected officials and other organization heads – asking you to contribute to various campaigns and causes. It’s easy to get frustrated. Your past support is beyond question; through thick and thin, even when Washington has failed you, you’ve stayed true to the cause of building a better future for our country. This is a historic election and we’ll all participate as we can. For some that will mean making phone calls every weekend or walking neighborhoods with friends – for...

For the last month, we’ve been adding one or two polls a day to The Upshot’s Senate forecasting model. Today, we update all 36 races, based on estimates from a YouGov online panel that covers every congressional and governor’s race across the country.The panel, asked for its preferences in collaboration with CBS and The New York Times, is unusual in its scope: It comprises more than 66,000 people living in states with a Senate race this year. YouGov, a polling firm, also conducted online interviews with roughly half of the panelists in previous years, allowing it to know how they...

The members of the Uniparty, both Democrat and Republican, no longer feel it is necessary to pretend there are two political Parties in our country. They have no qualms about acknowledging the truth: There is only one Party, the Uniparty which is aligned against us, the American people. The Uniparty continually works against us in its effort to rule every aspect of our lives. New evidence of how pervasive the Uniparty is has just come from the plains of Kansas. If “Fly over country” had a capital state it would probably be Kansas. The Sunflower State has been among the...

Officials have said that more than half of all children initially placed in shelters have gone on to be reunited with at least one parent already living in the United States, and 85 percent of all children have been placed with a close family member.

A note of caution. Republicans in Congress and in the commentariat are fed up with this White House failing to faithfully execute the law, as is its constitutional charge. Regarding this administration’s selective enforcement of the laws passed by Congress – ranging from DOMA to DACA, from recess appointments made while Congress was in session to the delayed and selective implementation of the Affordable Care Act – the GOP is foursquare behind a proposal to sue the president over his flagrant abuse of authority. The public at large, however, is less than enthralled with the idea of suing President...

House Republicans offered a dozen recommendations Wednesday to address the illegal immigration crisis. “Our focus has been to ensure the safety of the children and it has remained a top priority throughout this process,” said task force leader Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX). “In our personal meetings with the Presidents of Honduras and Guatemala they both stated that they wanted their children back, and we believe that is in the best interest of all the countries involved in this crisis. We look forward to working with these countries as they prepare to receive their children back.”

Businessman David Perdue stunned Georgia’s Republican political establishment Tuesday by capturing the party’s U.S. Senate nomination in his first run for office. The former CEO of Reebok and Dollar General toppled 11-term Rep. Jack Kingston by a narrow margin, setting up a battle of political newcomers with famous kin in the fall. Perdue’s cousin, Sonny, was a two-term governor and Nunn’s father, Sam, was a four-term U.S. Senator....

On Monday, DREAMers stormed the halls of Congress to stage a "GOP funeral" in front of the offices of Republican senators, some of whom have expressed concerns that President Barack Obama's unilateral grants of temporary amnesty have caused the current border crisis. Pro-amnesty activists from United We Dream dressed in black and marched around with a mock casket that had these words emblazoned on it: "RIP GOP." They held flowers and started chanting and singing, "We shall overcome." Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has said Obama should not award temporary amnesty to DREAMers in the future because the Deferred Action for...

Republicans entered this election cycle with high hopes. President Obama’s approval ratings had sunk into the low 40s, and the rollout of the Affordable Care Act had been an unmitigated disaster. In an off-year election, Democrats weren’t expected to fully mobilize the young and diverse coalition that has given them an advantage in presidential elections. Off-years are also when a president’s party typically suffers significant losses. This year seemed poised to turn into another so-called wave election, like in 2006 or 2010, when a rising tide of dissatisfaction with the incumbent party swept the opposition into power. Given a favorable...

Will Mitt Romney run again for president? The question seems absurd. Aside from a single commanding debate performance against President Barack Obama, he was not a very good candidate in 2012. After failing in his first attempt at gaining the Republican nomination four years earlier, Romney struggled across the finish line against weak, underfunded primary opponents whose best days were mostly behind them. He then promptly lost to Obama in November. In fact, Romney has only won one general election in twenty years of running for office. He will be fourteen years removed from that lone victory in November 2016....

"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." —Barry Goldwater The 50th anniversary of Barry Goldwater's clarion call for liberty acceptance speech for the Republican nomination passed this week. In a modern world where politicians talk, but their words are hollow, listening to Goldwater's message a half a century later is like a drink of fresh water. But the words were no less scary to politicians less than a year from President Kennedy's assassination. The establishment Republicans, then known as Rockefeller Republicans, played...

I’m wondering where the American spirit is these days, because I’m encountering conversations and commentary pushing the notion that Sarah Palin, a prominent conservative politician and noted tea party champion of We the People, should concede and hush her mouths for the sake of Republicanism. Specifically, I’m speaking of the former governor’s choice to proudly display some American spirit and tell Congress to impeach Barack Obama. Yes, I am on the Palin bandwagon in this issue. Our country is at stake. Sarah Palin is calling for Obama’s impeachment, citing the immigration crisis as “the last straw that makes the battered...

Sarah Palin visits South Fulton in April to campaign for Karen Handel. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin weighed in via Facebook this morning with a couple of Georgia GOP U.S. House runoff endorsements: former state Sen. Barry Loudermilk of Cassville in the 11th and surgeon Bob Johnson of Savannah in the 1st. It’s another tea party stamp of approval for Loudermilk and Johnson, who have the backing of national groups as well. When Palin backed Karen Handel in the U.S. Senate primary, the Handel campaign reported a surge of donations. Here’s Palin’s full post: Just back from a beautiful weekend...

Fred Thompson's political career dates back to Watergate. Since, he has been a U.S. Senator and presidential candidate. He now does triple duty in talk radio, as a columnist and as a respected character actor; a profession he's enjoyed success in since 1987. In a Hollywood Reporter interview about his upcoming film "Persecuted," which opens in 600 theatres this Friday, Thompson admits things are tough for Republicans in Hollywood -- even for a veteran like himself: Is it tough to be a Republican actor in Hollywood? It's a tough business for everybody, but if you happen to run across a...

How could someone filled with such promise plunge so far, so fast? How does one go from national icon to national laughingstock? That’s exactly what has happened to Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. Once arguably the GOP’s most charismatic celebrity, Palin is now better known for “thriving in this role of right wing shock jock” as Nicolle Wallace, a former senior adviser for the John McCain-Palin campaign, now puts it. It’s a far cry from Sept. 3, 2008, when Palin, then the largely unknown Alaska governor, confidently strode onto the stage at the Republican National Convention as...

For a few political cycles now, Republican leaders have strained to distance themselves from some in their midst and focus on the basics to secure and extend their power in Washington: The less-than-sweeping economic recovery and President Obama’s foundering, as they see it, at home and abroad. And those in their midst have continued to define the party in ways that drew an injurious response from key voter groups. There was the dust-up in 2012 when Todd Akin, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Missouri, defended his opposition to abortion by positing that women’s bodies blocked conception resulting from rape....

New Hampshire GOP establishment has foisted Walt Havenstein on the state as the Republican candidate for Governor. But, typical of these establishment types, it seems that they have more contempt for people on their own side than they do for the real enemy; the Democrats. Havenstein, for instance, calls you Tea Partiers the disgusting name “teabaggers.” Not only that but he refuses to apologize for his slander. Havenstein was recorded on video calling members of the Tea Party “teabaggers” at talk he gave a few years ago at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Now, one...

Muslims and Democrats and Republicans I believe that the Muslim community is responsible to withhold support of the most radical members of their religion. I believe that the Liberal community is responsible to withhold support of the most progressive Democrats. I believe the Conservative community is responsible to withhold support of the more corrupted Republicans. The Tea Party Movement accepted Conservative responsibility by withholding their support of corrupted Republicans and taking steps to replace corrupted Republicans. Why can’t Liberals take action to remove corrupted Democrats? Perhaps they support the corruption. Why can’t Muslims take action to remove radical Muslims? Perhaps...

The GOP Presidential rumor mill is ripe with dreams of Mitt Romney running again in 2016. Romney has turned out to be right about a number of issues, particularly on foreign policy. He was also right in predicting Obamacare would be a disaster. In 2014, Romney looks like the wise sage who warned us about what a second Obama term would look like. He even has 45% of the country believing he would have done a better job as President than Obama. Of course, it’s wishful thinking to believe Romney would run in 2016 and win. While 45% think Romney...