Free Republic

Conventional political wisdom pegs Republicans as the most threatened by pollster Scott Rasmussen's shocking finding that a Tea Party party would draw more support today than the GOP, but Democrats have even more to fear. Consider the situation facing Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., an incumbent representing one of her party's most reliable congressional districts in the country, thanks to the 18 point registration advantage Democrats enjoy over Republicans. Her district is so solidly Democratic that Titus has voted with the liberal Democratic majority on all three of the major issues before Congress this year, including President Obama's $787 billion economic...

Fellow Citizens of the 3rd Congressional District of Virginia, My name is James Quigley and I am officially announcing my campaign for Congress as a Libertarian against the incumbent, Bobby Scott (Democrat), of the 3rd District of Virginia. Over the course of the last few years our country has become less of a Free Market Democratic Republic and more akin to a Corporatist Oligarchy while the wealth of the poor and middle classes have been transferred to the few and powerful. Although Mr. Scott has spoken publicly against such interests, his actions and legislation has done little to stop this...

Americans are leaving both political parties in large numbers and are identifying themselves as Independents or third-party supporters. The exodus is so large that the share of Independent voters is now bigger than either Democrats or Republicans. That's the key finding from an analysis conducted by IBD/TIPP. The analysis compared party affiliation data from IBD/TIPP polls conducted in the first half of 2009 to the second half of 2009. Each period had more than 5,000 respondents. The share of voters who identify themselves as Democrats dropped from 39% to 35%, and the share of Republicans edged down from 29% to...

Allahpundit has this in the headlines, and it’s worth having the audio up here to catch the heavy qualifications Sarah Palin gives Lars Larson in this radio interview from last week. Larson asks whether she’d be willing to launch an independent run for the presidency if Palin was dissatisfied with the GOP, and while she didn’t say no, the conditions she lays down to remain within the Republican Party seem rather easy to meet (via The Right Scoop):

A new Rasmussen poll finds that the tea party movement's popularity is growing, so much so that it garners more support than the Republican party on a generic Congressional ballot. The poll hints that the burgeoning discontent among conservatives within the GOP threatens to splinter the party at a time when the popularity of President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress are waning as we head into an election year.

"The stunning Rasmussen Poll showing the Republican Party finishing a decided third to a hypothetical 'Tea Party' candidate should send shock waves through the GOP. It demonstrates once again that the timid, tepid Republican leadership is leading its party to the brink of disaster. Tens of millions of Americans are looking for strong leadership to stand up to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi leftwing onslaught. Instead, the Republican Party is giving them the same shilly-shally two-step that cost it a majority in Congress, and the Oval Office. Looks like the American people are telling the GOP in no uncertain terms, 'Lead, follow --...

I'm all for Ralph Nader running again. I'd love for Howard Dean to get fed up or some other Democrat to get fed up with Obama and I'd love for a third party of Democrats and liberals to establish itself. I want all kinds of liberals to line and up run in third parties. That's how we weaken their side. As for our side, the focus must be to take back the Republican Party. That's the way you win. You can draw attention to yourself by denouncing both parties at the same time, and you can think that you're relating...

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- The state Green Party is hoping to enlist a new candidate to run against Sen. Chris Dodd in 2010. Friday, the party urged Winsted-native Ralph Nader, the 76-year-old frequent presidential candidate, to jump into the race. Nader has experience running in national elections, having run for president three times. Nader was in West Hartford on Friday for a book signing. At the same time, supporters are urging him to get into what they called one of the hottest political races in the country. “If enough people, hundreds and hundreds of people urge Ralph Nader to run,...

Not a huge deal since, according to his spokesman, he’s more inclined to challenge Menendez for New Jersey’s Senate seat in 2012 than run for prez, but it’s still worth flagging given the running debate we’ve been having about third parties. Just think of me as Groundskeeper Willie. I warned ye. Didn’t I warn ye? A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that if the choice is between President Obama, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Dobbs, Obama leads 42% to 34% with Dobbs pulling 14% of the vote. With Mike Huckabee as the Republican nominee, Obama leads 42%...

A Florida conservative has registered an official "Tea Party" with the office of the Secretary of State, and is promising to run candidates against Republicans and Democrats in state and national races. "The current system has become mired in the sludge of special interest money that seeks to control the leadership of both parties. It’s time for real change,” says Orlando lawyer Frederic O’Neal, the new party's chairman, who couldn't be reached immediately by phone, in a press release. A spokeswoman for the Florida Secretary of State, Jennifer Davis, said the party had registered in August, and that its qualified...

Doug Hoffman’s narrow defeat in New York’s 23rd Congressional District special election was one of few blemishes in a nearly flawless Election Day for Republicans. But Hoffman’s strong showing — coupled with the successful uprising against Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava’s candidacy — will embolden some conservatives to consider abandoning the GOP and initiating a broader third-party movement. As a staunch conservative Republican whose political action committee invested much in Hoffman’s campaign, I believe nothing would hurt the conservative movement, or the GOP, more. National Democrats would love nothing more than for conservatives to start looking for third-party candidates all across...

"Listen to the highly respected Gerald Celente, who pulls no punches, announce that the political system is failing the America people and that the Banks (Oligarchy) are robbing us blind. If you're not outraged, you're on life support. As Celente predicts – watch for the formation of an angry Progressive / Libertarian third party before the mid-term elections in 2010 and I'll be an active participant."

But enough with the blind contributions to the Republican Party, and with the blind voting for establishment-backed candidates. That the establishment attempts to save face every time it loses, at it is doing now by supporting Hoffman two days before the election, should not blind anyone from the fact that only hours ago, it was throwing money at a genuine leftist while trashing Hoffman, and that in the coming months, it will be supporting a decidedly non-conservative Charlie Crist over a perfectly conservative and perfectly electable Marco Rubio in the Florida Republican Senate primary. Thus, until the Republican establishment truly...

The Conservative Party, beginning its 47th year, continues to be the champion of the taxpayers of New York State and now more than ever the proposals in this legislative program are needed to restore New York’s fiscal well being. The Conservative Party urges the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government to adopt the following proposals in order to restore New York's fiscal credibility, properly educate our children, keep our citizens safe and maintain the values that made New York the Empire State. The Conservative Party made substantial contributions in bringing New York State back from a credit rating equal to...

I've had it with progressive media outlets out there talking up third parties as the route for conservatives. Please tell me that all of you see through this. We here on FR have to be largely immune to these attempts at misdirection by the media. Here is one example: The Doug Hoffman Effect Strikes in Two Key Races for GOP With Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman running neck and neck with the Democrat in Tuesday’s special election in New York, some other disaffected Republicans are seeing the third-party route as more viable. Here is the clinton news network doing it,...

With Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman running neck and neck with the Democrat in Tuesday’s special election in New York, some other disaffected Republicans are seeing the third-party route as more viable. And it could hurt the Republicans in those races. In Virginia’s 5th district, state Sen. Robert Hurt’s entry into the GOP primary has spurred little-known candidate Bradley Rees to switch to the Virginia Conservative Party. And in Ohio, another GOP primary contender said this week that he’ll run as a Constitution Party candidate. Both will go at the GOP nominees from their right flanks and try to expose...

With Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman running neck and neck with the Democrat in Tuesday’s special election in New York, some other disaffected Republicans are seeing the third-party route as more viable. And it could hurt the Republicans in those races. In Virginia’s 5th district, state Sen. Robert Hurt’s entry into the GOP primary has spurred little-known candidate Bradley Rees to switch to the Virginia Conservative Party. And in Ohio, another GOP primary contender said this week that he’ll run as a Constitution Party candidate. Both will go at the GOP nominees from their right flanks and try to expose...

The events of the last 24 hours have pretty much clinched it: NY-23 is now officially a two-man race between the Democratic nominee Bill Owens and the Conservative Party upstart Doug Hoffman. From NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions to former Gov. George Pataki to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (through his operative, Jake Menges), Republicans are quickly abandoning their nominee, Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, and backing Hoffman in a last-ditch effort to keep former Rep. John McHugh's seat in GOP hands and, perhaps more importantly, deny the Obama administration a much-needed political victory. "I think it’s now to a point where we’ve got...

He may have been starry-eyed, but he wasn't a fool. Carl Romanelli, a divorced father of two grown sons from Wilkes-Barre, knew that as the Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006, he'd have a hard time beating the big boys in the race: Republican incumbent Rick Santorum and Democrat Bob Casey. But he hoped to focus on his issues: an end to the Iraq war, health insurance, the rights of women and gays. He did not foresee that, first, he'd get knocked off the ballot and, three years later, both he and his lawyer would be facing...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: In NY-23, Real Clear Politics: "Doug Hoffman, plus five."  Doug Hoffman may in fact win this with nowhere near the amount of money the two Democrats have.  I know there's a Democrat called a Republican, but we actually have two liberal Obama Democrats, one calling herself a Republican, and you've got the Reagan conservative Hoffman in there.  Tim Pawlenty threw in with him today, by the way, so you have Sarah Palin, Fred Thompson, Rick Santorum, who else?  (interruption)  Sue Collins endorsed -- so?  Is that a surprise?  That's going to sway a lot of votes.  Susan...

This fall's only congressional election, featuring a third-party conservative challenging the Republican nominee, tests the future of the GOP. Will the Tea Party insurgency prevail? Atlanta Pitting conservative purists against party pragmatists, a growing number of national Republican figures are bucking the party standard and backing a third-party candidate in the sole congressional election scheduled this year, upstate New York’s 23rd congressional district. Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former Senator Rick Santorum, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, current Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann, former Tennessee Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson, and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes have all...

On NY-23, I'm with Fred Thompson and Jack Fowler: A Conservative can win in a three-way race, and Doug Hoffman is deserving of your support. Newt really needs to re-think his support for Dede Scozzafava. This isn't RINO but DIABLO - Democrat In All But Label Only. It's not one of those "socially liberal, fiscally conservative" bi-swinger deals — not when you're pro-"stimulus", pro-cash-for-clunkers. And the reductive argument that her sole redeeming value - a willingness to vote for John Boehner as Speaker — is reason enough to support her is silly in a special election. If he's ever Speaker,...

On NY-23, I'm with Fred Thompson and Jack Fowler: A Conservative can win in a three-way race, and Doug Hoffman is deserving of your support. Newt really needs to re-think his support for Dede Scozzafava. This isn't RINO but DIABLO - Democrat In All But Label Only. It's not one of those "socially liberal, fiscally conservative" bi-swinger deals — not when you're pro-"stimulus", pro-cash-for-clunkers. And the reductive argument that her sole redeeming value - a willingness to vote for John Boehner as Speaker — is reason enough to support her is silly in a special election. If he's ever Speaker,...

Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) endorsed GOP special-election candidate Dede Scozzafava on Monday, saying a vote for her Conservative Party opponent is tantamount to a vote for the Democrats in the close 23rd Congressional District race in New York. . . . . . In a statement, King made the case that voting for Hoffman will only help Democrat Bill Owens win. "Dede is the only Republican candidate in this race, and the only candidate with a proven record that Republicans can trust in Washington," King said. "A vote for either of her opponents is a vote for Nancy Pelosi and...

The special election to fill New York's vacant 23rd congressional seat is perhaps the earliest test of the GOP's chances to reclaim the House in 2010. Yet the GOP candidate, Dede Scozzafava, has struggled to line up Republican support, and has taken a pummeling from conservative groups that assert she's liberal. The Club for Growth and Eagle Forum, among others, support her opponent, Doug Hoffman, who's running on the Conservative Party ticket. Add North Texas' Dick Armey to the list of conservative stars backing Hoffman. The former House Majority Leader has confirmed to the Hoffman campaign that he'll spend Thursday...

Poltico's Jonathan Martin reports: "The surging campaign of third-party candidate Chris Daggett has turned the New Jersey governor's race into a dead-heat and left Republicans divided over the seriousness of the threat he poses to GOP nominee Chris Christie." The Hill's Reid Wilson reports: The House GOP conference is bitterly divided over a centrist New York Republican’s run for the House seat vacated by Army Secretary John McHugh. "Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who backs abortion rights and has voiced support for gay rights, has drawn a challenger from the right who is running on the Conservative Party line. And though House...

The time is right for Silicon Valley -- style progressivism to woo independents into a political force under the Libertarian Party banner. Here's how. If the two-party system is ever going to be seriously challenged, this is the moment. The GOP, the stall-tactic party, is reeling. The Democratic administration is struggling to turn around the economy. And across the country, creative, engaged folks are increasingly feeling politically homeless. More Americans consider themselves independents (39%) than Democrats (33%) or Republicans (22%) -- and the gap is widening. Who will fill that void? Sarah Palin is rumored to be mulling the...

Jason Cullen, an Independent candidate for New Jersey Governor, is a conservative not bound by party politics. Jason is a hard working middle class New Jersey resident who is looking to bring the peoples’ voice back to the government. He believes in the free market, fiscal responsibility, budgeted and effective government spending. Jason is someone who will stand up for what he believes in and is willing to go the distance if it means doing what is right for New Jersey, not for its special interest groups. The time has come to follow George Washington’s advice that political parties would...

Finally, a third party candidate is getting some serious consideration in the highly corrupt and dysfunctional Garden State. Independent candidate for New Jersey governor Chris Daggett has picked up the endorsement of the Star-Ledger, the state's largest daily newspaper, in an editorial published Sunday. It cited the need for "radical change" in how state government operates, saying Daggett's election would repudiate the status quo and put "a highly qualified occupant" in the governor's office. "(Our) decision is less a rejection of Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Chris Christie than a repudiation of the parties they represent, both of which have...

Christopher J. Daggett had the crowd on its feet. Well, it was a bar, there were not many seats, and the crowd was only about 50 people. But they were devoted Democrats in a bastion of New Jersey’s Democratic machine. And Mr. Daggett, the independent candidate for governor, was winning them over. While the Democratic governor, Jon S. Corzine, and the Republican candidate, Christopher J. Christie, appear to be turning off voters with nasty ads and personal attacks, Mr. Daggett is turning them on — or at least persuading them to give him a closer look. After he showed up...

The Star-Ledger today endorses independent candidate Chris Daggett and recommends his election as the next governor of New Jersey. The newspaper’s decision is less a rejection of Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Chris Christie than a repudiation of the parties they represent, both of which have forfeited any claim to the trust and confidence of the people of New Jersey. They share responsibility for the state’s current plight. Only by breaking the hold of the Democratic and Republican mandarins on the governor’s office and putting a rein on their power will the state have any hope for the kind of...

I consider myself one of those disgruntled registered voters who prefers to consider himself a conservative rather than a Republican. In fact, I had been leaning toward throwing my support behind candidates from lesser-known third parties. That changed today after a conservative friend of mine shared a copy of an e-mail he sent recently to a local representative of a conservative, third-party group seeking candidates to run against Democrats and Republicans in future elections.

Many people speak to the creation of a third party which will inevitably lead to a win for the radical left. (They are telling us this if we would only listen) Understand there is a considerable group of Republicans ; McCain, Graham, Crist who would like nothing more than to lead this march to socialism. The other day I heard on Rush that McCain the man who refused to fight to win an election against the most radical president in our time now in the face of polls saying 40% of the American people consider themselves Conservative to move our...

Many people speak to the creation of a third party which will inevitably lead to a win for the radical left. (They are telling us this if we would only listen) Understand there is a considerable group of Republicans ; McCain, Graham, Crist who would like nothing more than to lead this march to socialism. The other day I heard on Rush that McCain the man who refused to fight to win an election against the most radical president in our time now in the face of polls saying 40% of the American people consider themselves Conservative to move our...

The upcoming New York special election to succeed Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) is shaping up to be a real free-for-all, with a new poll showing any one of the three candidates having a shot to win. The anti-tax Club for Growth commissioned a poll showing Republican Dede Scozzafava, Democrat Bill Owens and Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman all within three points of each other. Scozzafava leads with 20 percent, with Owens and Hoffman tied at 17 percent. That’s consistent with the results of an internal poll conducted by Hoffman’s campaign – and privately, Republican and Democratic strategists report hearing similar...

"SCF is a political action committee dedicated to electing strong conservatives to the United States Senate," the PAC's website declares. "We do not support liberal Republicans and we are not affiliated with any Republican campaign committee."

Last week's talking point at The Humble Libertarian was a question of how we of a libertarian mindset should approach politics. Should we work to reform the Republican Party from the inside-out, should we focus on a third party, or should we eschew parties altogether and focus on education? A very thought-provoking discussion ensues in the comments, including my own response, which turned out much longer than I thought it would, and so I am re-posting it here.

The Libertarian Party’s chairman said that the Republican Party’s hero “was not serious about cutting the size of government.” I receive the Libertarian Party’s “Monday message” each week, as a byproduct of the brief period before the 2008 election when I wasn’t sure if I could bring myself to vote for John McCain…until I realized that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” (That must be what McCain meant when he began every other sentence with “My friends…”) I couldn’t let Virginia turn blue and asphyxiate (though of course, it did anyway,) so I gave up on the Libertarians...

Independent candidates are poised to run serious campaigns for governor in at least a half-dozen states, a development that threatens Democratic fortunes in some of the bluest and most progressive-minded states in the nation. In New Jersey, where Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine is seeking a second term in November, polls suggest an independent candidate is carving a sizable portion of voters out of his hide. In two other reliably Democratic states, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, well-known politicians running as independents could significantly undermine Democratic chances in 2010, if not flat-out win. Credible third-party candidates are also mulling over bids in...

“It comes down to the most fundamental of all freedoms. If government can force potentially dangerous substances into our bodies what, then, can’t government do to us?” asked Constitution Party National Committee Chairman Jim Clymer. “Whether mandated by the federal government, the individual states such as Massachusetts or international organizations like the World Health Organization WHO) or the United Nations U.N.) forcing potentially dangerous chemicals on a free people is tyranny”, Clymer added.

RUSH: And you enjoyed it for all the reasons that you've mentioned. But we've gotta be really, really careful here, Dana, about this left versus right government thing. You mentioned third party, and we've been through this with Perot. CALLER: I know that. I know that. And I think Perot helped Clinton get in, I don't doubt that. I do believe there has to be a huge movement before people can vote that way. RUSH: But a third party is not going to do anything other but ensure the reelection of Obama and every other Democrat running for office because...

It appears that the marginal-at-best Green Party will go to any lengths to thumb its collective nose at the American voting public. A report from The Hill suggests that the party whose platform is equal parts ecological wisdom and social justice has extended feelers to disgraced former Green Jobs Czar, Truther Jones. Having garnered a thimbleful of plausibility with the nomination of perennial Presidential candidate Ralph Nader as their choice in 1996, the party received nearly 2.7 % of the votes in the 2000 Presidential election. By 2008, the political geniuses at Green Party central had whittled their share of...

Sorry for the vanity, but ever since yesterday I have been thinking that it is high-time for the Tea Party to be a little less laissez-faire about politics and perhaps recruit and groom it's own candidates. I used to consider myself a Republican, but now am a equal-opportunity hater of everything and everybody in DC. ALL the bums must go, no matter what the party. Ideally, I would remove the center of gravity from DC and return it where it belongs: the state legislatures. Nobody in WDC speaks for me, nor for -- I suspect -- most of the Tea...

The Green Party invited President Barack Obama’s green-jobs czar to join their ranks, possibly as a future presidential candidate, after he stepped down last Sunday following controversial statements and activities. Van Jones had recently come under fire for making derogatory comments about Republicans, calling them “a—holes,” earlier this year, and likening former President George W. Bush to a “crackhead” in a speech captured on YouTube. The Green Party compared Obama’s restraint in coming to Jones’ aid over the recent controversy to President Bill Clinton’s lack of defense when his African-American nominee for Assistant Attorney General, Lani Guinier, was attacked and...

What is the issue that we all can rally around? Is it healthcare? Guns? Taxes? Spending? The IRS? Corrupt politicians? etc, etc, etc. Folks, how can we become a force to be reckoned with if we are all over the map on the issues? Please remember that these folks in Washington have very short attention spans. If you can't get to the point and/or you don't have a pocket full of cash they won't hear you. These elected officials can not even read the bills that they are passing. How about this, The Constitution of the United States! Lets rally...

State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill today launched a challenge to Governor Deval Patrick as an independent candidate, vowing to cast aside entrenched partisan differences and "make the government we have work." "I do not enter this race to run against any individual or party," Cahill said in a speech in a downtown hotel ballroom, standing before a black banner that proclaimed "Tim for Governor" in white letters. "Instead I run because I believe we need new leadership to make Massachusetts a vibrant place once again." He vowed to make the state a place "where jobs grow and the economy rebounds....

Forming the ‘Leave Me Alone’ PartyPosted By Mike Baron On September 9, 2009 @ 8:33 am In Politics | 38 Comments “Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.” –Michelle Obama [1]There is a right not specifically spelled out in the Bill of Rights...

This is a great day! New York State’s first 9/12 Candidate has already been attracting attention, and this announcement is the result of him attracting our attention. Aaron Blake, a contributor for “The Hill” recently wrote: Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman is beginning to look like he might be a force in the upcoming New York special election. DeRoy Murdock of the “Washington Times” had this to say: Appropriately for a Lake Placid resident, Mr. Hoffman is rather low-key and soft-spoken. However, his voice urgently rises when he addresses the ways in which Washington pins down so many of his...

by John Armor (BB 670, Even, 4 Sept, 707 words) The last time a new American political party came into being, one strong enough to elect a President, was in 1854. As you have guessed, that was the Republican Party. Its first elected President was Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Many third party and independent campaigns have been mounted since then. The Progressive Party around 1900 managed to elect Governors and majorities in the legislature of several states. Their high water mark was in 1912, when former President Teddy Roosevelt chose that Party as his vehicle to run again when the...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Gov. Jodi Rell said she will use her line-item veto power to comb through a budget approved by the General Assembly early Tuesday morning. The bill passed the Democrat-controlled House on a 103-45 vote at about midnight. All House Republicans voted in opposition of the bill, joined by nine Democrats. The Democrat-controlled Senate passed it 22-13 early after 2 a.m. Tuesday, with one Democrat voting with the opposing GOP. Rell said she will not sign the budget because she doesn't agree with it, but that she will not veto it. She said the budget would take effect...