Free Republic

Link only, due to copyright issues: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/05/18/christian-evangelicals-elections-demographics-medved-column/26474707/

We all know that if the Republican debates include all the declared candidates that it's going to be a circus. Each candidate will only get to speak for a few minutes and we won't learn much. We'd learn more if the debates were limited to the candidates who had the greatest chance of getting the nomination. Here are the most realistic candidates--not the best candidates, but the ones who have at least a chance to win the nomination: Scott Walker: Current governor of Wisconsin, an inspirational speaker, riding high in several polls. Jeb Bush: Former governor of Florida, he's been...

Paul Pressler, a former Texas appeals court judge who has long been a supporter of conservative causes and active in Texas politics, announced Saturday that he is endorsing Sen. Ted Cruz (R) for president. Pressler, who in 2012 hosted a large group of evangelical leaders who voted to coalesce their support behind Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign as a challenge to frontrunner Mitt Romney, said he announced his endorsement of Cruz at a meeting of conservatives in Washington Saturday. “I feel that Ted Cruz is electable and he stands by his convictions in an articulate manner,” Pressler said in an interview...

Caffeinated Thoughts completed a non-scientific poll of our readership from May 1-8, 2015. U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) leads overall being first choice for just shy of 37% of those polled. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) leads among Iowan readers with almost 29% saying he is their first choice. Our overall results (1st Choice): 1. U.S. Senator Rand Paul – 36.8% 2. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz – 19.6% 3. Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum – 11.2% 4. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry – 8.0% 5. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal – 5.2% 6. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio – 4.0% 7. Former...

The GOP presidential primary is on course to be flooded with super PAC money. But in 2016, candidates will need more than a little dough to win over voters.The GOP could have a dozen deep-pocketed presidential contenders, and they'll all learn next year that when it comes to actual votes, that extra money doesn't buy what it used to. Already, super PACs are arming second- and third-tier candidates with tens of millions of dollars while the supposed GOP front-runner, Jeb Bush, promises a record-setting haul. This combined fundraising guarantees that by the time Republicans have picked their nominee in summer...

Conservative presidential candidate Ben Carson says the $7.25 federal minimum wage should be raised.“I think, probably, it should be higher than now,” Carson told CNBC’s John Harwood in an interview Friday.Carson added that government assistance often provides more than the minimum wage in several states, allowing people to ignore the long-term benefits of a job."I don't necessarily blame people for saying, 'Look, I can stay home and make this money, or I can go and work this little chicken job that doesn't have many benefits,’ ” he said."However, recognize that if you go and take that chicken job, you gain...

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a likely 2016 presidential candidate and the winner of the 2012 Iowa caucuses, wants to separate himself from the rest of the Republican field. So he’s explaining a specific plan to reduce immigration levels to the United States in order to protect American workers from foreign labor. Santorum also praised Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, another likely 2016 presidential candidate and the current frontrunner according to most polls, for standing with him to protect American workers against a foreign labor increase. “I think it’s important if you’re going to talk about an issue—if you look at...

Mike Huckabee is the Pepperidge Farm Remembers candidate for 2016. Don't underestimate his chances for success.Nearly nine years removed from holding public office, Mike Huckabee is a different candidate now in a number of ways, operating at a much greater remove from the homegrown populism of his insurgent 2008 campaign – but he’s going to try to bottle that old magic to make his brand of social moralizing and economic moderation populist again. The problem for Huckabee is that there are better populists out there now. Both Huckabee and Chris Christie passed on running in 2012 for their various reasons,...

It is a big week in presidential politics. Carly Fiorina announced her campaign on Skype while sitting alone in a dark room and giving Hillary’s announcement the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment. Ben Carson also announced with an awkward and surreal variety show, featuring a gospel choir, back-flipping dogs, The Solid Gold Dancers and a special appearance by the ghost of Chuck Barris. At least now we know what he is really running for…host of the new Muppets Show. He even announced that he didn’t want to be a politician. Millions of homosexuals and gun owners breathed a sigh of...

Republican Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor and unabashed culture warrior, enters the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday facing competition for the support of social conservatives who backed him in 2008. The ex-governor of Arkansas, 59, became a national figure by staging an upset win in Iowa's kickoff nominating contest during his 2008 presidential bid. This time around other Republicans with national recognition have emerged as rivals for the role of leading crusader on social issues such as abortion rights and gay marriage. Polls show Huckabee's support among Republican voters is only in the single digits....

As with the “would you attend a gay wedding? question, I can’t tell how much I should be surprised by Republican pols’ answers to LGBT-themed questions anymore. Policy responses are easy: If you’re running for president, you oppose legalizing gay marriage and strongly, strongly support exceptions to antidiscrimination laws for business owners who refuse to cater gay weddings on religious grounds. Beyond that, once you stray from policy to personal relations with gay/transgender people, things get more complicated and unpredictable. (Which, actually, is why gay-rights activists encourage people to come out. Polls show that people who know someone who’s...

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is clarifying — but not stepping back from — surprising comments this weekend in support of former Olympian Bruce Jenner's decision to come out as a transgender woman. "If he says he's a woman, then he's a woman," Santorum told BuzzFeed during a roundtable discussion in South Carolina on Saturday. Santorum continued: "My responsibility as a human being is to love and accept everybody. Not to criticize people for who they are."

“If he says he’s a woman, then he’s a woman,” Santorum, the former GOP senator from Pennsylvania, said about Jenner in South Carolina... Santorum, who is considering a second straight bid for the Republican nomination... Santorum did add that “these are tough issues” for both businesses and society, including the question of whether Jenner could use a women’s bathroom.

Gather together 1,000 S.C. Republicans in a room these days, and a few 2016 presidential prospects will come calling. The S.C. GOP’s annual Silver Elephant fundraising dinner on Friday attracted three out-of-state White House hopefuls and a fourth homegrown prospect who made their pitches to hardcore party supporters. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz started his speech by bashing Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. He said she appointed a director of email security – a joke about her use of a private computer server while she was U.S. Secretary of State. “I’m pretty sure Saudi Arabia is not paying for the speakers tonight,”...

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who is putting a lot of emphasis on Iowa in his presidential campaign, is continuing to notch endorsements from some well-known activists in the state. Former Secretary of State Matt Schultz told the Quad-City Times on Wednesday he is endorsing Cruz for president. "I’m looking for somebody who’s going to stand up and fight for our country, and he gives me hope we can turn things around," said Schultz, who is now the Madison County Attorney. "He's not going to back down from a fight." In a letter to two dozen members of the Cruz...

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has chosen former Secretary of State Matt Schultz to chair his Iowa campaign in his bid for the Republican Party's nomination for president. Schultz, who currently serves as the Madison County attorney, supported Sen. Rick Santorum in his failed 2012 presidential campaign, though he won the Republican Iowa caucuses. "He is a consistent conservative who cares about liberty and won't back down from a fight,"(continued)

“The Evangelical voting bloc is a dead thing,” Iowa Republican activist Tom Stockebrand says, a glint of mischief in his eye. A top state party official nods in agreement. “If you didn’t see it tonight, it’s 2015 now. Those days are gone.” He’s speaking as attendees stream noisily out of a packed auditorium in Waukee, Iowa, at Point of Grace church, the site of this year’s Faith and Freedom Coalition summit in the state. It’s nearly 10:00 p.m., and for the past five hours around 1,000 conservative Evangelicals have sat on raised bleachers, listening to nine potential White House contenders...

Here’s one name you haven’t seen here at Hot Gas quite so much this election cycle… at least so far: Rick Santorum. After a somewhat shocking start to the 2012 election trail, followed by a gritty, “outlast everyone else” campaign against Mitt Romney, Santorum seemed to have cemented a place as a serious contender in national GOP politics. Further more, he’s made no secret that he’s interested in another grab at the brass ring this time. But where is the splash for him this year? One reason for the lack of media coverage is that the former Pennsylvania Senator hasn’t...

For Christian evangelical voters in Iowa this election cycle is an embarrassment of riches. They're having a hard time picking a candidate because, for the first time many can remember, they have several options to choose from. Nine Republican presidential hopefuls spoke Saturday at an event hosted by the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, a successor to the the now-defunct Christian Coalition. They hoped to win over supporters for the state's presidential caucus, the first major event in the presidential primary. The Iowans could not agree on who did best. "I'd like to elect all of them," said Doug Brown,...

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 20, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Are you now, or were you ever, willing to attend a same-sex “wedding”? That seems to be the question lighting up the Republican presidential field, as GOP hopefuls who may one day have their finger on the nuclear button are asked the query over and over again.So far, the Republican hopefuls' answers are yes, no, I have (sort of), and...unclear.The media began by asking Florida's U.S. senator, Marco Rubio, if he would attend a homosexual 'wedding' ceremony, especially if he were invited by a relative or close friend.“If there’s somebody that I love...