Free Republic

The late, great writer and reporter Michael Kelly was a guest on my radio show almost weekly from its debut in July of 2000 through his death outside of Baghdad in April 2003. So was Christopher Hitchens—more than 70 times in fact—until his death in late 2011. Kelly always emphasized that journalism was a “craft,” not a profession and Hitchens that it was very much a moral crusade. I think it is both, and more. It is part of a functioning, free democratic Republic, and its practitioners must not be intimidated. The very best journalists—those who go to the front...

Two Labor Day Polls Portend ‘Splodey Heads For The Anti-Trump Advocates…. Earlier today Gallup released a poll showing that Trump is the most heavily favored candidate (63% Approval Rating) amid Republicans. A devastating defeat for the establishment GOP (GOPe) who are seeking to push their preferred candidate Jeb Bush. Such substantive favorable opinion of candidate Trump puts the RNC/GOPe in a difficult position as they plot to begin their collective assault against the unpalatable frontrunner. But tonight the news for the Vichy Republican crowd is infinite degrees worse. As they plot the best course of Trump’s annihilation – national polls...

Tallahassee, Florida (CNN)To Donald Trump's supporters, the real estate mogul-turned-presidential candidate is a refreshing reprieve from politics-as-usual, a man who shuns political correctness and the status quo. To Rick Wilson, a longtime Republican political consultant who has spent the past few months waging war on Trump's candidacy, The Donald is something else entirely. In Wilson's words, Trump is a "cancer," an "epic douche canoe," a "statist" with "a little delicious hint of fascism in the mix" whose presidential nomination will spell apocalypse for the Republican Party. And that's just the printable stuff.

The Friday politics panel of CNN’s New Day agreed that Republican Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign was in trouble, citing his poor poll numbers and his wooden attacks on Donald Trump. CNN’s John King noted that while Trump’s poll numbers have gone up and Ben Carson more than tripled his support, Bush’s support has fallen from 12% down to 8% in the newest Monmouth poll. “There’s a reason that Bush better get ‘damn mad,’” King said, quoting Bush’s attack on Trump. “He’s in trouble.” “He’s in big trouble,” agreed AP’s Julie Pace.

Don’t you just hate it when the falcon can’t hear the falconer?So Trump signs the RNC pledge not to run as a spoiler. You would think today’s headline would be “Trump pledges not to facilitate a Hillary win.” Instead we get “Trump stumbles on foreign affairs.”Clearly the GOPe and MSM don’t get it yet: America doesn’t want another politician studied in the memes the media finds indicative of leadership qualities – such as a sharp creased trouser leg. The enduring popularity of The Donald continues to hijack media types like Peggy Noonan. In last week’s column, “America Is So In...

It has still been possible, late this summer, to catch Jeb Bush on a good day. At these times, his stiffness subsides and the dimensions of his empathy become apparent. His interest in policy seems deeper and his grasp of it more intuitive than that of the rest of the Republican contenders for president. His comparative centrism seems not just tactical but felt. And it seems like those $120 million in campaign contributions did not just accrue to him by the accident of his family name but also because he actually represented a possibility: that conservatism might offer not just...

A fiery Jeb Bush ramped up his rhetoric against presidential rival Donald Trump Thursday night in yet another show of force as the former Florida governor changes tactics to go after the Republican front-runner. Taking questions from voters at a Veterans of Foreign Wars facility here, Bush pledged not to get personal but vowed to throw counterpunches if Trump goes for the jugular: his family. "I'm going to push back when he says things that are ugly, that I think will damage our brand, damage our ability to be successful," the former Florida governor said. "I'm sure as hell --...

Thee self-described “joyful tortoise” in the race for the GOP presidential nomination is more angry than happy these days. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who promised an optimistic campaign focused on his record rather than attacks on his rivals, has departed from that approach and begun to forcefully confront front-runner Donald Trump. Just this week, Bush’s campaign released a video and an online quiz targeted at Trump supporters that played up Trump’s past support for abortion rights, universal healthcare and Democratic candidates, including front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. He also got personal, going after Trump’s well-known phobia of germs.

In a Thursday press conference, the Republican presidential candidate finally signed the RNC's pledge to not run on a third-party ticket - but as one crowd member pointed out, Trump listed the wrong date on the document.

They wrote big checks to Jeb Bush before they knew what type of candidate he would be. Now he may become the spoiler they fear. Last fall, when Jeb Bush was still mulling a bid for the presidency, Bloomberg Politics reported on what was considered then—and is still considered now—Bush’s greatest advantage as a presidential candidate: His ability to separate wealthy donors from vast sums of money quickly. “Unlike his competitors,” the thinking went, “Bush could lure donors off the fence in a hurry, without undergoing a hazing trial to test skill and stability.” That is precisely what happened. Instants...

One woman seemed rather low on energy during a town hall event for Republican candidate Jeb Bush on Thursday, struggling to keep her eyes open and yawning during part of Bush's event. A 108-second video posted to YouTube shows a woman seated behind Bush, sporting a Boston Red Sox cap. She is alternately closing her eyes and yawning as Bush discussed health care insurance at a town hall at Foss Manufacturing in Hampton, New Hampshire. Resting her head on her left hand, the woman is turned slightly to her left, facing away from Bush's back. "But I think the norm...

On August 6th, in front of a national audience, Donald Trump refused to pledge support for any GOP candidate, and refused to pledge he would not run an independent campaign. In my opinion, it was the most publicly brave political act witnessed in the last two decades. It takes remarkable courage and commitment to principle to stand on the national stage and be the only person to raise your hand. It would have been easier, more politically favorable, and essentially irrelevant in the long term, for Trump to make the pledge. But he didnÂ’t, he took the path of principle....

The MSM no longer even tries to hide their bias when polled results in average America don’t match their narratives. Turn up the dials – increase the gaslighting. Two days ago, Investors Business Daily published an extensive poll showing 59% of Americans favored forced deportation if needed in order to gain control of illegal immigration. The latest IBD/TIPP Poll asked 913 adults coast to coast if they “support or oppose mandatory deportation of illegal immigrants in the U.S.” Not surprisingly, 87% of Trump supporters back the proposal. What’s surprising is that 59% of the overall public does as well. Mandatory...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is escalating his all-out campaign against GOP front-runner Donald Trump with a new ad campaign and quiz on social media designed to highlight Bush’s conservative credentials in contrast with the businessman’s past embrace of the Democratic Party. -snip- In a strikingly personal attack, the quiz asks voters whether they would prefer a candidate who “is a germophobe when it comes to shaking hands,” a reference to Trump’s documented phobia, Bush, meanwhile is cast as a candidate who “strives to shake every hand everywhere.”

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, N.Y. — When Jeb Bush stopped by the Hampton Synagogue here on Saturday, he was expected to offer a critique of the Iran deal and a short version of his stump speech to the Orthodox congregation. But something else was on his mind: the insults hurled at him by Donald J. Trump. “I’ll just give you a little taste of the ‘low energy’ candidate’s life this week,” said Mr. Bush, referring to the stinging taunt Mr. Trump has repeatedly used to describe him. Mr. Bush then spent a minute and a half reeling off the cities he had...

According to the article the leader of BlackLivesMatter claims the RNC has reached out to him.

RUSH: We spent some time on Trump, the polling data coming out of the Iowa, and the fact that three pretty big fundraisers have left the Jeb Bush campaign. I mentioned that sort of in passing in the first hour. Maybe just a little bit more detail. "Three top Jeb Bush fundraisers abruptly [quit] on Friday, amid internal personality conflicts and questions about the strength of his candidacy..." Now, you might recall there was a story at TheHill.com last week, and the headline of the story was, "No Panic in Bush Fundraisers -- Yet." To which I said, "Well, then...

What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. Jeb Bush has been stumping his way across the country, explaining what he would do as president. But nobody seems to understand what the heck he’s talking about. In July, he said that “people need to work longer hours” as part of an economic recovery. Then he said his remarks had been misinterpreted. A couple of weeks later he said “we need to figure out a way to phase out” Medicare. Then he complained that critics were taking his remarks out of context. A week or so after that, he proclaimed that...

Despite what you may have read or watched or come across in a fortune cookie, Donald Trump isn’t actually running away with the Republican nomination, and the only thing he’s “dominating” right now is media coverage. Here’s some perspective for you: As late as October 2011, a pizza magnate named Herman Cain was leading the Republican field with roughly 30 percent of the vote, or about the same as Trump’s zenith in recent polls. The main difference is that Mitt Romney had locked down the establishment vote in 2011 and was running just a few points behind. Trump, on the...

The state party's executive committee voted Friday to eliminate the presidential preference poll held during the party's March caucuses. That means there will be no official count of who won that contest. The vote was unanimous and drew little attention until it was reported by The Denver Post on Tuesday. State GOP Chairman Steve House said the change was made in response to a new Republican National Committee rule that would have made the presidential preference poll binding. The executive committee decided that would bring too much formality to the caucuses, which have drawn criticism in the past for being...