Free Republic

Defeated conservatives like to believe they are beautiful losers. The remnants of the Never Trump movement are convinced they were right in standing (as they see it) for principles, character, and competence against a Republican nominee lacking all three. They may be politically exiled and impotent, but they are preserving an unsullied conservatism.A new book from Oxford University Press, Never Trump: The Revolt of the Conservative Elites, provides an extensive account of the leaders of this movement. The authors, Robert Saldin and Steven Teles, are sympathetic to their subjects, whom they quote at length, and this book does not...

President Obama hasn’t visited Montana in years, but he’s casting a long shadow over Democratic Sen. Jon Tester’s re-election chances. In a race marked by jostling over which candidate is the most politically independent, the freshman Democrat has been slammed by accusations that he’s too willing to dance to Mr. Obama’s tune. His opponent, Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg, has all but printed up T-shirts stating that Mr. Tester votes with the president 95 percent of the time. “One of the big themes of this race is, Who’s the real Montanan? Who’s more independent? Who’s willing to buck his party?” said...