Free Republic

“If you analyze it, I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism…The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom, and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.” – Ronald Reagan We’re entering an unusual time in politics. It used to be conservatism versus liberalism; that was the standard by which everything was judged. There was little to no nuance within the two groups. I’m not saying that was incorrect. For the time, it was perfectly appropriate. Now, however, we’ve become a less...

Do supporters of the Christian right candidates Ted Cruz has eclipsed hate him so much they'd sabotage their own heroes? The late stages of the invisible primary would not be complete without reports of intrigue and skullduggery in Iowa, with campaigns forming tactical alliances against common enemies. We have one today from National Review's Tim Alberta and Eliana Johnson, who report that supporters of the last two caucus winners, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, are so bitter at being eclipsed by Ted Cruz that they are conspiring to block the Texan and instead elevate Marco Rubio. There's only one problem...

If there is, is there any way to explain it apart from pure spite? Huckabee and Santorum combined are averaging less than three percent in Iowa. Rubio is nearly 20 points behind Cruz in the state. Denying Cruz some extra social-con votes won’t do much to help Rubio but it might be enough to help Donald Trump, the least socially conservative candidate in the race, top Cruz if the caucuses are close. That’s a natural thing to do if you’re angry at Cruz for dislodging your hero as the GOP’s premier evangelical and want to punish him, but as a...

Some who mistrust the Texas senator may tactically support Rubio over their first-choice candidates. To a concerned and angry bunch of Iowa Republicans, their mission heading into next month’s caucuses is as simple as ABC: Anybody But Cruz. As the Texas senator solidifies his front-runner status with just over a month to go before the February 1 caucuses, a loose network of social-conservative activists has undertaken a quiet effort to defeat him by any means necessary — even if that means rallying together behind a more electable rival to their own preferred candidates. Many supporters of Mike Huckabee and Rick...

Rick Santorum is in what will hopefully be his last run for the White House. I’ve long felt sorry for him for a couple of reasons. First, he’s fated to ever be a Jeremiah or Cassandra. He’s been right a lot but no one really cares. And why does no one care? Because Santorum doesn’t inspire, he hectors and nags and sounds generally unpleasant. I like his view point but I have to fight the urge to stick myself in the eye with something sharp whenever he starts to speak. These are not good traits to have in a politician....

Via BuzzFeed, here's Santorum springboarding off of Craig Robinson's post yesterday dismissing Cruz as a "false prophet of social conservatism." Apparently you can't be a truly strong social conservative if you're a federalist on "values" issues. "Donald Trump has never been a social conservative up until the last few months, and Ted Cruz takes the position, very much a 10th Amendment, states rights, which is, you know, very much Rand Paul, Ron Paul position," Santorum said... "If people want to do drugs in Colorado, it's fine with him," said Santorum. "If people want have different kind of marriages, it's fine...

With just two major Republican debates remaining before the Iowa presidential caucuses, Donald Trump has been remarkably lucky. The only major candidate who could actually inflict lasting harm on the vulgar poster child for inherited wealth, and the only one who could readily attract and hold some of Trump's blue collar constituency, is the only one banished - by the idiotic, poll-driven debate rules to which the feckless Republican National Committee acquiesced - from sharing a single stage with The Donald. For reasons both stylistic and substantive, Pennsylvania's former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum could eviscerate Trump in a direct encounter....

The GOP presidential field that rolled into the 2016 election cycle like a crowded bus already has dropped a few passengers, but the remaining 13 appear committed to staying on board at least through the next debates and the first two contests. Just three of them have double-digit numbers in an average of national polls, with front-runner Donald Trump gobbling up more than a third of primary support. On the other end, candidates such as Rick Santorum and George Pataki have failed to garner even 1 percent. Though Santorum has never been among the 2016 front-runners and did not compete...

I’ve never quite understood either the appeal of Mike Huckabee as a national candidate or why Mike Huckabee thinks of himself as a national candidate but, for the second time Governor Huckabee has made a bid to become the GOP’s nominee for president. In 2008, he made a creditable run in the early states but dropped out in March when it became apparent that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) 48% would win Texas and the nomination. Huckabee had hoped to reprise his 2008 campaign this year but has been frustrated by one man: Ted Cruz. Cruz won the endorsement of Iowa...

Link only: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/caucus/2015/12/18/rants-iowa-get-what-deserves-caucus-night/77564982/

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum argued that "Islam is different" and the idea that its political structure is "protected under the First Amendment is wrong," a point former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee agreed with. Santorum said, "The fact of the matter is, Islam is different. I know this is going to come as a shock to a lot of people, and I mean that sincerely. Islam is not just a religion. it is also a political governing structure. The fact of the matter is, Islam is a religion, but it is also Sharia law. It is also...

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum talked to Breitbart News exclusively before the fifth GOP primary debate. The former Pennsylvania weighed in on the “Omnibus bill,” which provides the government spending through the next year, saying, defunding the Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States “is absolutely essential.” “Here’s the reality, not all Muslims are jihadists, but all jihadists are Muslims,” Santorum stated. “We can’t be politically correct to the point where we ignore that reality.” “I’m hopeful that they will include some things in there that push the President a little bit on some of these...

Since the day he announced his candidacy, Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been making the case that he's the conservative candidate who can win the Republican nomination. It doesn't matter if he is speaking to a group of homeschool kids and their parents, Cruz closes by telling his audience about how much money his campaign has raised and that he is positioned to win. Now as we enter the final phase of the 2016 caucus campaign, Cruz has a handful of prominent Iowa endorsements to go along with all of his campaign cash. The big three statewide Republican elected officials,...

"We will not start World War III by taking out (Iran's) nuclear capability. We will stop WWIII. WWIII is underway in the world today. Everybody needs to understand that. WWIII has started and unless we short circuit it, it's going to explode into a real global conflict," Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum warns on Breitbart News Daily.

Republicans in Iowa are working overtime to prevent a repeat of the botched 2012 caucuses when scores of unaccounted ballots caused Mitt Romney to be wrongly declared the winner over Rick Santorum. State party officials say they've moved aggressively to address the problems that plagued the ballot count in January 2012, and believe the new technologies they've adopted, as well as having more workers on staff and enhanced training programs, will pave the way for a smooth and accurate reckoning at the Feb. 1. caucuses. "We're extremely confident that we've addressed all of the issues," said Iowa Republican Party spokesman...

It's been said to me a number of times from Republican activists of every stripe. Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, both former Iowa caucus winners, just don't have it this time around, and thus, they should take the cue and get out of the Republican race for president. In the poll-driven presidential campaign that has also been overly nationalized, I completely understand why this sort of thinking is prevalent in Iowa less than three months before people will head out to caucus. While the size of the Republican field has been reduced, it's still large and cumbersome. And after watching...

GOP presidential candidate Sen. Rick Santorum says President Barack Obama is “ignorant to the threat posed by radical Islam,” in response to Obama’s statement that Republicans are creating a “potent recruiting tool” for ISIL through their rhetoric. “President Obama should be ashamed of himself, but sadly he is so ignorant to the threat posed by radical Islam that he doesn’t even have a clue how wrong he is,” Santorum challenged. “Radical Islam is not exploiting Republican rhetoric. Radical Islam IS at war with the West!”

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is taking issue with comments pro-life presidential hopeful Ben Carson made about the legislation Congress passed to help Terri Schiavo's family try to save her life. As LifeNews reported, Carson thinks the federal and state governments overreached when they attempted to protect Terri Schiavo from a painful 14-day starvation and dehydration death... "All life deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. That was the message that persuaded every member of the senate to agree to a federal court review before Terri was starved to death," Santorum said. Santorum told LifeNews that there was such...

Republican presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) are coming to the aid of their colleague Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) in the final week of his Louisi­ana gubernat­ori­al run­off cam­paign. On Sunday, National Journal reported the two presidential hopefuls recorded robocalls voicing sup­port for Vitter, who is trailing Democratic Louisiana state Rep. John Bel Edwards in the heated race. The Vitter campaign told National Journal that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is expected to do the same. Vitter's involvement in the 2007 "D.C. Madam" prostitution scandal resurfaced after a tough Edwards attack ad alleged Vitter "chose...

I wish to NOTIFY you that the bona-fides of four Republican Candidates to be President is hereby DISPUTED. It is claimed that the following persons do NOT meet the United States Constitutional requirement that one be a "Natural-Born Citizen" in order to be President under Article II, Sec. 1. I am disputing the bona-fides of: Marco Rubio - NOT an NBC. He was born in the U.S., however his parents were un-naturalized "permanent resident" Cuban citizens when he was born. Ted Cruz - NOT an NBC. He was born in Canada to a Cuban father and American mother who may...