Free Republic

House Republicans have moved quickly and strongly to the right, embracing the most extreme positions on cultural issues (including abortion, gay and trans rights, and guns) and isolationism on foreign policy and national security. snip The House now has a long list of extreme ideologues, ranging from Eli Crane and Andy Biggs of Arizona to Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Troy Nehls of Texas, Bob Good of Virginia, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, who don’t care if government works at all. In fact, they are content with gridlock, as they pander to the needs of former...

Two in states won by Clinton and six in states that backed Trump ANALYSIS — The fight for the Senate starts off with only a handful of seats at risk. And that’s being generous. A few other states are worth your attention because of their competitiveness or questions about President Donald Trump’s impact, but almost two-thirds of Senate contests this cycle start as “safe” for the incumbent party and are likely to remain that way. Of course, a retirement or a public scandal could create a contest where one should not exist, and an implosion of the Trump presidency could...

President Trump's absence for the second year in a row from the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner may end up being the least controversial thing about Saturday night's gathering of the White House press corps. Chatter online among journalists and some in the administration's orbit after the event was full of criticism for comedian Michelle Wolf, who was the evening's headliner; criticism and soul-searching about the annual event itself; and an effort by former White House press secretary Sean Spicer to pressure the leadership of the White House Correspondents' Association into answering for Wolf's vulgar, personal jabs leveled primarily at...

The trajectory of the 2016 presidential race — which will result in a Hillary Clinton victory — remains largely unchanged from May, when Donald Trump and Clinton were in the process of wrapping up their nominations. But what has changed recently is Clinton’s likely winning margin. For many weeks, even months, I have believed that Clinton would defeat Trump by three to six points. If anything, that range now looks a bit low, with the Democratic nominee apparently headed for a more convincing victory, quite possibly in the four-to-eight-point range.

One of the most knowledgeable and respected political analysts in the country has changed his mind about Donald Trump, now believing the real estate tycoon is for real and is in it for the long haul. Stuart Rothenberg first thought that “once Iowa Republicans start to see the caucuses as an opportunity to select the next president, rather than an opportunity to express their frustration and anger, they will turn away from Trump (and other outsiders) and toward politically experienced, mainstream contenders.” But with the recent rise in Trump’s favorable rating, and after speaking with GOP strategists in Iowa, Rothenberg...

One of the nation's top political forecasters declared Tuesday that six-term incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) is in "deep trouble" against conservative challenger state Sen. Chris McDaniel in this year's Mississippi GOP senate primary on June 3. Stuart Rothenberg wrote in Roll Call that McDaniel actually has "the best chance of any anti-establishment Senate hopeful to knock off an incumbent, and the defeat of six-term Senate veteran Thad Cochran would send shock waves through both the national media and the Republican Party." "Cochran, 76, is in trouble – in deep trouble – primarily because of changes in the Republican Party,"...

Suddenly, White House aides and liberal columnists like Stuart Rothenberg and Eugene Robinson are attacking Donald Trump with a vengeance. Why? When I asked a high-level Democrat in Washington why the full-court press was being directed at Trump, this person said, "Simple. He's touched the third rail of Obama's mysterious birth certificate and the White House and those who advocate for the president in the media are petrified that Trump's very name, stature and ability to generate headlines is going to give the subject a whole new life. "Hence, they have to try to belittle him and marginalize him as...

<p>WASHINGTON - Despite trailing in the polls, Democratic candidates in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana are narrowly favored to win over the only Republican running, political analysts said last week.</p> <p>But that hairline Democratic edge, as one put it, could change in a puff of Louisiana's erratic political wind.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON - If one of the Senate's most effective moderates decides not to seek re-election, action on issues from Medicare to taxes could be in jeopardy.</p> <p>Seniors might never see their prescription drug bills drop. Workers might be without health insurance between jobs. Welfare moms might not get training for work.</p>