Free Republic

Although there is much talk among political observers about the possibility of a brokered GOP convention in Tampa, Republican National Committee Communications Director Sean Spicer is not buying it. "The last time we had a brokered convention was in the 1940’s, and we’re four contests in that have awarded delegates," Mr. Spicer told me on Wednesday. "We are four weeks and four states into a process. I get that it’s the buzz, but I literally spend as much time worrying if some space alien attack happens."

PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has a Rick Santorum problem that can't be easily swept aside, even with wins in the sparsely attended Maine caucuses and a poll of conservative activists. The former Massachusetts governor arguably has fewer effective weapons against Santorum than he was able to pull out against Newt Gingrich after getting a thumping in South Carolina from the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. As they battled for the 2012 Republican nomination, Romney attacked Gingrich on several fronts, scoring a big hit with ads focused on Gingrich's ethics violations in...

H.R. 796, which Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich voted for, was intended to preserve the right of pro-lifers to protest at abortion clinics. In 1993, President Clinton proposed a law, supposedly to protect abortion clinics from violence. In reality, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act has been used to prevent pro-lifers from coming anywhere near abortion clinics, stifling their first-amendment rights. Pro-life Republicans and moderate Democrats (they existed back then) attempted passage of H.R. 796 to head off this threat to constitutional liberties. The bill would still create a federal law to prevent the physical obstruction of clinic...

Mitt Romney is in danger of losing his fourth straight state in Saturday's caucuses in Maine, where he and his allies have been all but absent from TV. That's no coincidence. Over the past month, he has won in states where he and an allied super PAC, called Restore Our Future, have pounded his rivals with millions of dollars in negative ads. But he has tended to lose big when he has stopped using his power to crush other contenders by spending a ton of money — particularly on TV.

Rick Santorum is about to see the kitchen sink up-close. So far he hasn’t been a threat, so he hasn’t faced much harsh scrutiny, much less the attacks that are about to come his way. His candidacy is for real, and Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney both know it. While Gingrich thought he could isolate Romney and become his lone real competitor, yesterday’s results, combined with a deflating Gingrich campaign, have allowed Santorum to leapfrog Gingrich as the more viable Romney alternative today. It’s not in Gingrich’s nature to give up. Attacking Romney hasn’t gotten him to where he thought...

Exclusive: Two women accused Cain of inappropriate behavior By: Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman and Anna Palmer and Kenneth P. Vogel October 30, 2011 08:00 PM EDT During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm to POLITICO. The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave...

While I don’t believe Cain is one of them, there are those who claim pro-life status while also maintaining that abortion shouldn’t be criminalized. They use the “I’m personally opposed to abortion but wouldn’t impose that belief on others” argument popularized by former New York governor Mario Cuomo in a famous 1984 Notre Dame University speech. But it cuts no ice. When you advocate allowing the choice to have an abortion, it is by definition the pro-choice position. The reality is that being “personally opposed” to abortion doesn’t make one unique. There are no politicians campaigning to resurrect the Inca...

Full Title: Cain clarifies again: Abortion shouldn’t be legal, but some families might decide to break the law anyway. A better answer than yesterday’s spin attempt but Mediaite is right that it still doesn’t jibe with what he said to Piers Morgan. Then: No, it comes down to is, it’s not the government’s role — or anybody else’s role — to make that decision. Secondly, if you look at the statistical incidents, you’re not talking about that big a number. So what I’m saying is, it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to...

David Keene, the Chairman of the American Conservative Union trashed Sarah Palin publicly today on NewsMax. However, a quick search of Mr. Keene's recent political contribution history reveals the following: David Keene, Managing Associate of the Carmen Group Lobbying Firm, and Head of ACU, Alexandria, VA. Political contributions in 2008 election cycle: KEENE, DAVID, ALEXANDRIA,VA 22314 THE CARMEN GROUP/EXEC 5/1/07 $1,000 Specter, Arlen (R) KEENE, DAVID, ALEXANDRIA,VA 22314 THE CARMEN GROUP/EXEC 12/19/07 $800 Specter, Arlen (R) KEENE, DAVID, ALEXANDRIA,VA 22314 THE CARMEN GROUP/EXEC 12/19/07 $200 Specter, Arlen (R) What I want to know is, how does a guy like this...

COLUMBIA — Less than 10 hours before deadline, Gov. Mark Sanford sent a letter to the Obama administration Friday to accept on behalf of South Carolina all but $700 million of the nearly $8 billion in federal stimulus money the state stands to receive to jump-start its economy. While many across the state can rest easy that food stamps and jobs rebuilding South Carolina roadways are on the way as the federal cash starts flowing, schools are still in trouble. The two-term Republican governor warned the public school system, the intended primary recipient of the $700 million over two years,...