Free Republic

Langston Bowens is a high school senior at Grosse Pointe South in Michigan, and helped arrange for Sen. Rick Santorum to speak at his school. But a funny thing happened after the speech was announced: School district officials changed their minds and cancelled the event. The story may have ended there, but Langston Bowens refused to be bullied by officials he felt objected to the speech based on their own, personal beliefs, so he took a stand. Col. Allen West sat down with Langston at the Reagan Center library in Santa Barbara to find out how he was able to...

Ever since Rick Santorum ended his presidential campaign a year ago this week, he has acted as if that defeat was just a brief setback in his running quest for the Republican nomination. Almost three years out from the 2016 Iowa caucuses, the former Pennsylvania senator is set to return Monday to the nation’s first voting state, where he won a come-from-behind battle against Mitt Romney by 34 votes in January 2012. Having witnessed the perils of underestimating him, Santorum’s potential rivals next time around aren’t likely to discount another strong challenge on his part, particularly in the Hawkeye State.

Since Monday, school district officials in Grosse Pointe, Michigan have canceled a decision to allow Rick Santorum to speak at Grosse Pointe South High School, then reversed that cancellation. There is a catch, though: students who want to see the former U.S. senator and presidential hopeful must first obtain permission from their parents. A local chapter of the group Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) had originally invited Santorum to speak at the high school on April 24, explains the Detroit Free Press. The group raised $18,000 for the speech — presumably to cover costs and pay any fees to Santorum....

Michigan high school cancels, then un-cancels controversial speech Listening to Rick Santorum is the kind of activity that requires parental permission. That's the conclusion a Michigan high school has come to, after a planned speech by the former presidential candidate inspired massive backlash. On Monday, Grosse Pointe High School decided to just cancel the event, but that generated outcry from the other side. So now the speech is back on, but students will need a signed permission slip to watch, the Detroit Free Press reports. Langston Bowens, the socially conservative senior who invited Santorum, has accused the school of...

Rick Santorum says it would be “suicidal” for the Republican Party to support same-sex marriage. In an interview with The Des Moines Register on Monday, Santorum said that Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) backing same-sex marriage is similar to the Republicans in the 1960s and 1970s who broke with the GOP and supported abortion. “I’m sure you could go back and read stories, oh, you know, ‘The Republican Party’s going to change. This is the future.’ Obviously, that didn’t happen,” Santorum told the Register. “I think you’re going to see the same stories written now, and it’s...

As conservatives continue to grapple with how they — and the Republican Party at large — should handle the issue of gay marriage, some prominent voices are coming out to either endorse or condemn pushes for the movement to embrace same-sex nuptials. Among those personalities is former presidential candidate Rick Santorum. In an interview with the Des Moines Register, the politician said that embracing gay marriage would be “suicidal” for the party. The former senator also noted that some Republicans, like Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who have openly endorsed gay marriage are no...

Rick Santorum appears to be eyeing the White House again, with the former Pennsylvania senator telling Newsmax TV’s Steve Malzberg that he may run for president in 2016. “I’m certainly leaving the door open for that,” Santorum revealed on “The Steve Malzberg Show” Wednesday afternoon. … “The same advisors who botched these last two campaigns are now saying, ‘Well, you know, since we can’t win with moderate Republicans, we have to now try to be liberal Republicans to win instead of standing up for the values that made our country great,’” he said. …

Joshua Green shares an amazing story about the secret negotiations between Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich for a “unity ticket” during the Republican Presidential primary. In the end, Green reports, neither of the two Republican leaders could agree which of the two would be president. (T)he two candidates spoke face-to-face at an energy forum just before the primary. Gingrich made an elaborate historical argument that when the party hasn’t been able to agree on a nominee, it always settles on the senior figure. Santorum wasn’t persuaded, and urged Gingrich to do what was best for the conservative movement.

And there was Santorum during his CPAC appearance, still not bashful about defending the Judeo-Christian moralview that is still shared by an overwhelming majority of Republican primary voters across the country. more here...

March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. That's how the saying goes. And oh, how it rings true for my family. It is Lent, of course, a time for the faithful to pray, sacrifice and fast. And it is in our prayerful reflections and daily acts that we prepare ourselves for Easter and new life. March is also Trisomy Awareness Month. For my family, this has become a time to celebrate the life of our daughter Bella. Bella was born almost five years ago with trisomy 18, a severe genetic condition that I believe makes every...

President Obama’s announcement last week on his plans to make sweeping changes to our nation’s gun laws by presidential executive order is yet another example of his continual disregard for the United States Constitution and the separation of powers it set forth to protect the American people from government by fiat. Putting aside for a moment the misdirected emphasis on gun ownership, as opposed to mental illness and cultural glorification of violence to curb gun crime, President Obama’s actions represent another attempt to circumvent Congress – a Congress elected by the people but controlled by Republicans – to establish public...

SNIP Hagel, however, has friends in Democratic lobbying circles. The powerful Washington D.C. organization known as the Podesta Group is reportedly asking defense contractors for financial support to run ads defending the Hagel nomination. Fox News White House Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry reported on Friday: (2:15 in) "Sources confirm to Fox [that] Democratic super lobbyist Tony Podesta has been hired by a firm known as the Bipartisan Group to help mobilize support for Hagel. And defense contractors received calls this week urging them to be ready for a Hagel pick as soon as Monday, and asking them for...

I was an early supporter of Rick Santorum. I made my first contributions in June of 2011, starting on June 8th of that month. There were so few of us back then that my meager contributions probably made a difference. I claim personal responsibility for his very narrow victory in Iowa :-). On January 26th of this year, I fulfilled the requirement (a $100 contribution) to get a Rick Santorum sweater vest. I later heard of others getting theirs, but I never received mine. I simply assumed that, in the tumult of a political campaign and campaign debts, that I...

Gee, and you thought Barack Obama had an inflated opinion of himself. After watching Andrea Mitchell in action, he might actually need self-esteem therapy . . . On her MSNBC show today, Mitchell rolled a clip in which Rick Santorum told the Value Voters Summit that "we will never have the elite, smart people on our side." After asking a former Santorum aide what he he meant by the "elite smart people," Mitchell declared "I think I should plead guilty." View the video here.

"Smart people" in America will never back conservative Republicans, or so says Rick Santorum – a conservative Republican whose verbal missteps are becoming as well-known as his hardline posturing on social issues. Santorum, who ended up being Mitt Romney's closest rival for the 2012 Republican nomination, made the comment at the conservative Value Voters Summit in Washington. "We will never have the media on our side, ever, in this country. We will never have the elite, smart people on our side," Santorum said in a speech to the gathering of conservative activists at a Washington hotel. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania...

Brittney Leon and Terri-Ann Simonelli, a pregnant same-sex couple, went to a Las Vegas hospital where they were told their legal domestic partnership was invalid, as far as the hospital was concerned. Hours later, after being “emotionally upset” over their treatment, Brittney Leon, the pregnant mother, lost their baby. Nevada has banned same-sex marriage, but a 2009 Nevada law makes domestic partnerships equivalent to marriage, yet Spring Valley Hospital’s official policy is that same-sex couples must secure a power of attorney in order to be able to make medical decisions for each other, or even to be notified of the...

Conservative Republican Rick Santorum will campaign for his former presidential rival Mitt Romney in the key swing state of Ohio this week, officials with the Romney campaign said on Monday. Conservative Republican Rick Santorum will campaign for his former presidential rival Mitt Romney in the key swing state of Ohio this week, officials with the Romney campaign said on Monday. Santorum, an ex-U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, emerged as Romney's main challenger during their party's state-by-state nominating contest earlier this year, portraying the former Massachusetts governor as not being a true conservative. He has only campaigned once on behalf of Romney...

Rick Santorum has released more information about the event he is holding at the GOP convention for Mitt Romney, and it will feature a plethora of pro-life leaders and activists. As LifeNews has reported, Santorum, the pro-life former Republican presidential candidate, is organizing an event at the GOP convention later this month to rally pro-life, social conservative voters behind Romney. As LifeNews has reported, Santorum, the pro-life former Republican presidential candidate, is organizing an event at the GOP convention later this month to rally pro-life, social conservative voters behind Romney.Santorum is now the head of a conservative activist group he...

Last time Rick Santorum tweeted about eating at Chick-fil-A, vile progressives suggested he had a gay, incestuous relationship with his own children. Today Santorum thumbed his nose at the hateful Left by stopping at Chick-fil-A on his way to a Ted Cruz rally. Predictably, the oh-so-tolerant Left couldn’t wait to insinuate that Rick Santorum is a vocal supporter of Chick-fil-A because he’s secretly gay. How original. As always, leave it to Left to use “gay” as a slur...

Rick Santorum. . . decided to jump on Mike Huckabee‘s Chick-Fil-A bandwagon and take his sons to the Christian fast food giant — and tweet about it. Needless to say, Twitter responded, in interesting ways…

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul wants people to know that his endorsement of Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nomination does not signify an abandonment of his libertarian political beliefs. When Paul endorsed Romney on Fox News last week, many supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential bid took great offense. But Rand Paul said in an interview with Daily Paul Radio that he was “compromising on strategy, not on principle.” “People need to look beyond politics to look at what’s most important,” said Paul. “I sort of take it as an insult that people think that somehow I don’t...

ROSEMONT, Ill.—Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have never gotten along, and while the primaries are effectively over, their intraparty rivalry could stretch on through the summer. With 267 delegates pledged to him so far, Santorum is planning to flex his muscle at the Republican National Convention in August, where he predicted Friday there could be a showdown over the party platform between the social conservative delegates who pledged support for him and Ron Paul's libertarian supporters. Paul's campaign predicts that about 200 delegates will attend the convention on his behalf. Both want a piece of the party platform, but the...

Over the last few days, since Romney clinched the GOP nomination for President by going over the 1,144 committed delegates needed with his win in the Texas Primary on Tuesday, May 29, 2012, a number of new endorsements have come in for Romney's bid for the Presidency. These include George Shultz, former Secretary of State; Condoliza Rice, former Secretrary of State and National Security Advisor; Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and presidential candidate; and Nancy Reagan, wife of President Ronald Reagan. Here's what each of them had to say on the date they endorsed Romney: NANCY REAGAN endorses Mitt...

Gov. Rick Perry is once again slamming “out-of-state interest groups” backing former solicitor general Ted Cruz in his runoff with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst –this time tweaking Sarah Palin, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint and Rick Santorum by suggesting their states could learn a lot from Texas, but Texas doesn’t need their advice on choosing its next U.S. senator. Perry, standing staunchly behind Dewhurst, brushed off the question about whether his own tea party credibility may be damaged by his opposition to Cruz, who has been endorsed by national conservative and tea party groups and figures (including Palin, DeMint and Santorum)...

(CNN) - Newt Gingrich, speaking outside an event raising money for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, said the event's host, Donald Trump, was not distracting the Republican Party with his questions about the president's birth certificate. "Gov. Romney's not distracted," Gingrich said in Las Vegas. "The Republican Party's not distracted. We believe that this is an American-born job-killing president. Other people may believe that he was born somewhere else and still kills jobs, but that's an argument over background." Gingrich's comments came as Romney and Trump convened with campaign donors at Trump's International Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip...

Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz on Thursday gained yet another high-profile endorsement, this time from Rick Santorum. "Ted Cruz is spellbinding, a tremendous orator and principled," Santorum said on Glenn Beck's radio show Thursday morning, according to Santorum's staff. "We need people who can motivate and lead … Ted has that capability." Santorum reportedly said Cruz, a former state solicitor general, is a "good, conservative vote" and can "engage" beyond taxes and spending. Santorum repeated much of the same praise during an appearance on Dallas radio station WBAP, telling host Ben Ferguson that he's known Cruz for 5 or 6...

Liberals keep finding new ways to demonstrate their civility and class. NYU graduate student Matthew Epler fashioned polling data for the Republican candidates during the 2012 primary into sex toys called butt plugs – for a telecommunications class. He decided to market his creations, which met with the winking approval of left-wing outlets. The plugs represent the polling data of Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Mitt Romney, rotated around a 3D axis.

Mitt Romney begins the general election campaign at a disadvantage among female voters more...

Ever since Trayvon Martin was gunned down by George Zimmerman just moments from his front door, some people have been trying to make Trayvon look like a trouble making 17-year-old black kid who started a fight with a man who was only doing his job. That's crap! Regardless of what they say, I know in my heart that wasn’t the person he was. I’m not saying he was an angel because no one is perfect, but he’s not what people are trying to make him out to be. I consider that totally disrespectful for anyone to slander anyone else’s name...

A lifelong Nebraskan, Deb Fischer knows about hard work, strong communities, and the Nebraska way of life. Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Deb attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a B.S. in Education. Deb and her husband Bruce have been married for over 39 years and own a ranching business near Valentine. On the ranch, they raised their three sons, all of whom have returned to live and work on the family ranch. The Fischer family has been recognized for their conservation and environmental stewardship, receiving honors from the Nebraska Natural Resources Districts, Nebraska Cattleman and the...

But there are many significant areas in which we agree: the need for lower taxes, smaller government, and a reduction in out-of-control spending. We certainly agree that abortion is wrong and marriage should be between one man and one woman. I am also comfortable with Governor Romney on foreign policy matters, and we share the belief that we can never allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons. And while I had concerns about Governor Romney making a case as a candidate about fighting against Obamacare, I have no doubt if elected he will work with a Republican Congress to repeal it...

On the “Tonight Show” Jay Leno told Rick Santorum that his endorsement (that‘s what we’re calling it) of Mitt Romney seemed “kind of tepid,” given that it was sent out in an email at 11 p.m. Monday. “I think we just needed some time,” Santorum said. “It was a rough and tumble campaign. I can‘t say that it would have been an easy thing the next day to turn around and say ’oh you know, lets just go forward.’ It was tough. So I wanted an opportunity to sort of think about it a little bit… Over the weekend I...

(Reuters) - Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum endorsed his one-time fierce rival Mitt Romney on Monday, a move that may help the party's presumptive White House nominee win over religious conservatives. Santorum said in an unusual late-night statement that the two have differences, but that he came away from a meeting with the ex-Massachusetts governor impressed with Romney's "deep understanding" of economic and family issues central to the campaign. "Above all else, we both agree that President (Barack) Obama must be defeated. The task will not be easy. It will require all hands on deck if our nominee is...

WASHINGTON –  Former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum urged his supporters to back fellow Republican Mitt Romney's campaign Monday in a late-night email that ignored that Santorum once calling Romney the "worst Republican in the country" during their bitter contest. He added: "Above all else, we both agree that President Obama must be defeated. The task will not be easy. It will require all hands on deck if our nominee is to be victorious. Gov. Romney will be that nominee and he has my endorsement and support to win this the most critical election of our lifetime."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rick Santorum is endorsing his one-time bitter rival Mitt Romney in a late-night e-mail to his supporters. Santorum on Monday urged his supporters to join him in working with the effective Republican nominee to deny President Barack Obama a second term.

Republican party leaders are starting to rally around Mitt Romney, but it's not exactly a stampede of support for the expected GOP presidential nominee. With Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich out of the race, Romney is his party's pick to take on President Barack Obama this fall, barring a catastrophe. While Romney talks like the nominee, the former Massachusetts governor has work to do to round up enough convention delegates to make it official. Romney has 859 delegates, according to The Associated Press count. That's 285 short of the 1,144 he needs to win the nomination. Romney could get about...

PITTSBURGH — Rick Santorum dropped his presidential bid nearly a month ago, so his meeting here Friday with presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney would have seemed like the perfect opportunity to offer Romney his endorsement. But even before the 90-minute meeting took place, everyone knew that no such nod would be coming anytime soon. Santorum, like pretty much everyone else who has run in the Republican presidential contest, has embraced the party's standard-bearer with a stiff arm. Of course they will work to defeat President Obama, they say. Yet few have been willing to get behind their party's winner with...

Rick Santorum Backs Richard Mourdock in Indiana Senate Race By Shushannah Walshe | ABC OTUS News Rick Santorum has weighed in on the fierce primary battle in the Indiana senate race. The former presidential candidate tweeted his support of State Treasurer Richard Mourdock over longtime Sen. Dick Lugar. @RickSantorum: I encourage Hoosiers to help GOTV for @RichardMourdock. If I lived in Indiana he'd have my vote in Tuesday's #INSen race. Lugar has held the seat since 1976, but Tea Party favorite Richard Mourdock is waging a serious challenge and is leading in state polls. Mourdock also has the backing of...

The North Carolina primary is next Tuesday and based on the sample ballot and the number of robocalls I am getting, everybody and his grandmother is running and most of them claim to be true conservatives according to their Web sites listed at the NC GOP site linked above. There are even three people running against Renee Elmers in the 2nd District US House race claiming to be more conservative! Can anyone recommend a list of conservative endorsements, Tea Party or otherwise?

John Brabender, a senior strategist to former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, said Friday if the ex-GOP candidate endorses his former top rival Mitt Romney it will be "in the next week or so." Brabender's comments came after a meeting between the one-time opponents, which he characterized as a productive, issues-driven conversation. Nonetheless, the session did not produce an immediate endorsement from Santorum. Asked by CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley what "sooner" meant, Brabender said "probably in the next week or so, not in the next two months."

Newt Gingrich, the colorful former House speaker and fiery partisan, formally exited the Republican presidential contest Wednesday and vowed to help Mitt Romney's bid to defeat President Barack Obama. Ending a campaign that seesawed between implosion and frontrunner and back again, Gingrich threw his support to his one-time rival as expected and promised his supporters he would continue to push conservative ideas. Gingrich bowed out of the race more than $4 million in debt and his reputation perhaps damaged. "Today, I am suspending the campaign. But suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship," Gingrich told a hotel ballroom in...

While formally suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that he believes presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney is conservative enough when compared to “the most radical, leftist president in American history.” “And my answer is simple: compared to Barack Obama? You know this is not a choice between Mitt Romney and Ronald Reagan. This is a choice between Mitt Romney and the most radical, leftist president in American history.”

WASHINGTON — Rick Santorum wants to ensure the GOP's policy platform represents conservatives' interests. Newt Gingrich wants help retiring his campaign debt and repairing his reputation.Both Republicans are expected to endorse their former rival Mitt Romney — and signal to their backers to fall in line behind the party's presumptive nominee — but each wants assurances that Romney will deliver for them. Neither is rushing toward the task.Meanwhile, it doesn't appear that Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is going to go that way. Paul is still in the race and hasn't yet recognized Romney as the party's nominee. The tea...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told The Daily Caller in a video interview that he is dropping out of the Republican presidential race 'probably about Wednesday' May 2 and endorsing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Gingrich, alongside his wife Callista, said the GOP's message in the general election should be, "Can you afford four more years like this? Not complicated. Do you want this much unemployment, this high a gasoline price, this much deficit spending? You have a great president but if you don't want this, you better vote for somebody new."

I think you are missing something here. Newt would bring the ever Lurking Calista with him and she was the cause of divorce # 2. He was rubbing it in everybody's face that an old coot like him could get somebody like her. No matter how God awful she looked. He was delusional to think he could get the evangelicals with that approach. Newt is the one that shot himself in the foot not Hume. Hume is just another excuse for Newt in a long line of excuse's. He was rubbing it in everybody's face that an old coot like...

Veteran Manchester Republican activist Mike Biundo, the former national campaign manager for Rick Santorum, has signed on with the Mitt Romney campaign in a key post organizing conservative voters for the presumptive presidential nominee. UnionLeader.com has learned that after guiding Romney's chief rival's presidential effort, Biundo has now been hired for the general election as the Romney campaign's deputy national director of coalitions. “Mike Biundo ran an outstanding campaign for Senator Santorum,” said Romney spokesman Ryan Williams. “We are excited that he has agreed to bring his considerable skills and abilities to our team.” Williams said Biundo's decision to join...

Texas governor Rick Perry announced Wednesday night that he would endorse Mitt Romney's presidential bid, hours the campaign of Newt Gingrich — Perry's previous choice — announced that the former Speaker would be ending his bid for the White House. "Mitt Romney has earned the Republican Presidential nomination through hard-work, a strong organization, and disciplined message of restoring America after nearly four years of failed job-killing policies from President Obama and his administration," said Gov. Perry in a statement released by his campaign. "So today I join the many conservative Republicans across the nation in endorsing Mitt Romney for President...

Imagine if Rush Limbaugh said this about the two Johns ticket of Kerry and Edwards in 2004. Randi Rhodes does what she can to make her presence known in that barren wasteland known as liberal radio. Unfortunately, it usually consists of little more than bloviating inanities. (audio clip after page break) Here, for example, is her take on GOP Senator Marco Rubio of Florida campaigning with Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania -- I guess I'll call it the, is Marco Rubio too short to stand next to Mitt Romney tour/audition? That's what it is. And you know, and the answer is...

ANALYSIS/OPINION: You know you’re running a lousy presidential campaign when you get bitten by a penguin. The Newt’s presidential campaign has got to be one of the worst ever run in American history. Last May, when Newt was casually campaigning, as is his way, he found himself exhausted. He had, after all, been at it for weeks. So, he did what any pooped-out candidate would do: He split on a luxury cruise to the Greek Islands with Wife No. 3 (22 years his junior — he was already out of college when she was born). Newt rose during the debates...

In an unprecedented move, New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane took to the pages of his newspaper on Sunday to pledge to the reading public that they would do a better job vetting the president. Yes, you read that right: the New York Times is now channeling Andrew Breitbart. Here’s what he wrote: The Times needs to offer an aggressive look at the president’s record, policy promises and campaign operation to answer the question: Who is the real Barack Obama? Brisbane admits that critics “view The Times as constitutionally unable to address the election in an unbiased fashion.” He...