Free Republic

We say happy birthday to the Grand Old Party, the GOP, or, the Republican Party. The birth of the party happened in Ripon, Wisconsin, on this day in 1854. The new party was formed by former members of the Whig Party to oppose the spread of slavery into the western territories. In my case, I became a de facto Republican after the Kennedy administration fumbled The Bay of Pigs invasion.

Honoring the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is an admirable cause, but one university says no matter how honorable the intent, such a memorial can’t be done with images of the World Trade Center attacks. Administrators at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin have ruled that posters created for Young America’s Foundation’s 9/11: Never Forget Project create an “environment” where “students from a Muslim background would feel singled out and/or harassed.” YAF undertakes its 9/11 memorial project at campuses around the country every year. The posters created for last year’s 9/11 remembrance sparked complaints.

Mitt Romney is a great person and a decent politician, but he also embodies the deepest problems in the Republican Party. He shouldn't run for president. Republicans, if they want to control Congress or win the White House, need to become a Party of the People. Romney may be the worst possible man to take the GOP in that direction. Romney’s most telling moment in 2012 was when he told a crowd of rich donors that the 47 percent of the country that “pay no income tax” are unwinnable for Republicans, because they “are dependent upon government,” and “I'll never...

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter — who used her talk show platform in the last presidential election cycle to campaign hard for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — has taken up the mantra once again, calling on Republicans to give the failed White House bidder another shot in 2016. She made the suggestion during a discussion on Sean Hannity’s radio show while speaking of her new book, “Never Trust a Liberal Over 3-Especially a Republican.”Ms. Coulter also addressed the question of Mr. Romney’s shortcomings by saying that his 2012 loss wasn’t entirely his fault. “I think too much blame, not only...

The periodic squabble over where the Republican Party began is mildly amusing. The national committee says the first official gathering of Republicans took place on July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Mich., about 80 miles from Detroit. Don't be so cheesy, says Ripon, Wis., which according to lore and a 2004 congressional resolution hosted the first gathering of Republicans on March 8, 1854. In a pig's eye, say the folks of Crawfordsville, Iowa, who claim their hamlet hosted a group of abolitionists on Feb. 23, 1854, who debated a campaign platform and nominated candidates who ran under the Republican banner in...

Scott Peterson's defense team Tuesday briefed two forensic experts on a statanic cult theory, including paintings and artwork near San Francisco Bay and an experiment showing that the pregnant Laci Peterson's body could have been placed in the water at the art site. Attorney Matt Dalton, using a laptop computer, showed artwork that he said depicted ritualistic killings and occult practices, and said the artwork could be found near the end of a peninsula in the bay. Dalton also said that the defense team placed weighted flotation devices in the water at the end of the peninsula, and they ended...

RIPON -- More than a dozen people shared their ideas Tuesday night about what phrase should be painted on the 175-foot-tall water tower at Jack Tone Road and Highway 99. After nearly an hour of debate, the City Council voted unanimously to leave it blank. In the past few weeks, residents have wrangled over whether "God Bless America," "One Nation Under God," or "In God We Trust" should be emblazoned on the water tower. "I would hate to see that tower become a billboard," said Councilman Mike Restuccia. "I don't think it shows anymore than a reaction to something that...