Free Republic

DEAD possums litter the roads of the southern United States and whenever Bernie Smith encounters another fallen marsupial he pulls over and hurls the corpse into the back of his truck. One man's detritus is another man's feast: cooked slowly with potato, carrot and celery, the meat becomes tender in a rich and spicy stew known as burgoo. Mr Smith, 67, was showing off this traditional technique at the annual Road Kill Cook-Off festival in Marlinton, West Virginia, an isolated town nestled in the Appalachian mountains. Thousands were on hand this weekend to compare his casserole with barbecue squirrel, bear...

Prominent Middle East expert Dr. James Zogby tells Newsmax that President Obama is polling about 18 percent below his 2008 numbers among Arab-American voters. But those Arab-Americans who are Muslims now “overwhelmingly” support the Democratic candidate compared to four years ago, he adds. Zogby also discloses that Arab-Americans across the board consider jobs and the economy as the most important issue in this year’s elections. Zogby is founder and president of the Arab American Institute, a Washington, D.C.–based organization that serves as a political and policy research arm of the Arab-American community, and author of the book “Arab Voices: What...

Mike Duncan, chairman of the powerful super PAC American Crossroads, tells Newsmax.TV that undecided voters will make up their minds late in the campaign and elect Mitt Romney as the next president. He also says he is confident that Republicans will retain control of the House and are within “striking distance” of winning the Senate. (VIDEO AT LINK) Duncan served as the chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2007 to 2009, and on the campaigns of five presidents. He is also the president and CEO of American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. His political action committee American Crossroads, backed...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I got this last night. Wall Street Journal, NBC poll. And it was depressing, folks. You know what it was? I don't have it right in front of me, but I remember it. In essence, it said it's over in Virginia, Florida, and Ohio for Romney. The latest NBC News/Washington Post poll has shown that President Obama has pulled ahead in these three swing states to the point that if Romney's to have any chance whatsoever he's going to have to convince Obama voters to vote for him because the undecideds have already made up their minds....

Executive Summary On the days of September 8th and 9th, Gravis Marketing, a non-partisan research company, and Capitol Correspondent conducted a survey of 2,238 likely voters in the state of Virginia. The survey covered the same questions as the August survey, which comprised questions regarding the presidential election, Virginia’s senate race, the direction of the United States, and the effect of a libertarian candidate on Romney and Obama. Overall, from August to the most recent survey, Obama’s 44% to 40% lead has turned into a Romney lead of 49% to 44% in the most recent poll. Interestingly, Obama didn’t lose...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Sept 8 (Reuters) - Mitt Romney was set to try another lap around the track on Saturday to win over NASCAR stock-car racing fans. Romney, the Republican presidential candidate facing President Barack Obama, will visit a NASCAR race on Saturday night in Virginia, targeting white male voters in a swing state where early voting begins in two weeks. Romney needs to win among white men by a healthy margin to offset the advantages Obama enjoys with women as well as black and Hispanic voters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week showed Romney with a 20 percentage-point lead among...

Less than an hour after President Barack Obama had stepped off of the Democratic National Convention stage, Republican challenger Mitt Romney's campaign announced 15 new, state-specific television advertisements which the campaign says will run in 8 battlegrounds. A week ago, Romney was officially made the Republican Party's presidential nominee, granting him access to a substantial war chest set aside for the general election. His campaign largely stayed off of television during the Democratic National Convention, which concluded after Obama's speech on Thursday. --snip-- Now that Romney has officially been named the GOP nominee his campaign will get its hands on...

Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund plans to spend more than $3 million in Ohio and Virginia against Mitt Romney in the wake of his pledge to “get rid” of the women’s health advocacy group. The group is one of several liberal-leaning women’s organizations planning to spend millions of dollars in crucial election states to swing undecided female voters toward President Obama. Joining them are NARAL Pro-Choice America and EMILY’s List, two abortion-rights groups who are also planning aggressive campaigns. Their message is in line with Obama’s increased courtship of female voters. Several women will address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte....

Although the most recent Gallup poll didn't find any "immediate bump" nationally from the addition of Paul Ryan to Mitt Romney's presidential ticket, a new Purple Strategies survey finds that Ryan helped contribute to a decent upward swing in two crucial battleground states over the past month. The Romney-Ryan ticket now leads President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the key swing states of Virginia and Ohio, which each saw 5-point swings in the last month. Romney-Ryan lead 46 to 44 percent in Ohio and 48 to 45 percent in Virginia. Combined, the two states account for 31...

Virginia election officials decided Monday to not take action against a D.C. group that sent voter registration cards to dead people, children and pets and prompted calls for an investigation from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The Virginia Board of Elections said it was already working with the Voter Participation Center to improve the group's registration practices so ineligible voters would not be targeted in the future. Romney's campaign recently called for an investigation of the group, which targeted minorities and young voters when it sent out 200,000 registration cards. The campaign said it was satisfied with the board's decision....

In October 2011, the Republican Party of Virginia's State Central Committee voted to nominate its 2013 statewide ticket in a primary. Tuesday's Times-Dispatch reported that the committee might change the rules and opt to nominate candidates in a convention instead. The appropriate response runs to three words: Don't do it. The Times-Dispatch long has considered primaries the preferred vehicles for nominations — for both parties. Although primaries can compel campaigns to spend more money, they tend to leave less blood on the floor. Caucuses and conventions often turn personal; they open wounds. They also attract activists, ideologues, partisans and crackpots...

Former Alabama Democratic Rep. Artur Davis has turned in his Democratic Party card as he prepares to register for the GOP in Virginia. The switch was rumored for some time following his departure from Democratic politics in 2010. Davis left political circles after his unsuccessful run for governor in Alabama. He lost in the 2010 primaries, and generating hostility from some fellow Democrats who disliked his effort to avoid identity politics. The winning Democrat was trounced by the Republican candidate in the general election. “If I were to run [for office], it would be as a Republican … [because] wearing...

Not too long ago pundits were arguing that Mitt Romney’s path to 270 electoral votes was “narrow.” We didn’t buy it. Lo and behold, conventional wisdom has now changed. The Associated Press writes: “Warning signs for Obama on tight path to 270.” The AP explains: Obama’s new worries about North Carolina and Wisconsin offer opportunities for Republican Mitt Romney, who must peel off states Obama won in 2008 if he’s to cobble together the 270 electoral votes needed to oust the incumbent in November. Iowa, which kicked off the campaign in January, is now expected to be tight to the...

If you need proof that President Obama's team will run a formidable ground game in Virginia, consider this: At the 2012 kickoff rally in Richmond, organizers say they signed up 1,500 new volunteers from the 8,000 people in the crowd. But in addition to obvious dangers like a struggling economy, Obama’s team will face a new threat -- a better-prepared Republican Party coming off three years of victories in the state. That wasn’t the case in 2008, when John McCain’s campaign figured Virginia would follow its long-established trend of voting Republican in the presidential race. He ended up losing by...

The Virginia State Board of Elections announced Monday evening it would allow a Democratic primary challenger to U.S. Rep. Jim Moran on the ballot after initially disqualifying him.

Mitt Romney today announced the support of former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore.

Boots-on-the-Ground to stand in the Gap - Agreement with God in prayer support of "Constitutional Reset"IMH observation "The goal of the Constitution Party is to restore American jurisprudence to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries."  from http://www.constitutionparty.com/party_platform.php is entirely within the heart’s desire of "God & Country".  Is this so?IMH observation it appears that the Constitution Party is entirely in agreement with the 912 Project's  9 principles and 12 values.  Is this so?IMH observation it appears that the Republican Party of Virginia has a large enough constituency that is mostly in agreement with the Project's 9 principles and 12 values that it is moving...

Watch this video, NOW! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS_jsAxkAzA

Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin apparently live rent-free in the heads of some Democrats. According to a recent mailer sent out by the Virginia Democratic Party, Rush Limbaugh, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin and Ken Cuccinelli want "total control" of the Commonwealth of Virginia. "They want total control over Virginia," the mailer screams, adding, "Vote Tuesday November 8th to stop them!" The message, although ridiculous, could not be more clear - if Virginia Democrats do not vote this Tuesday, Virginia will be controlled by Rush Limbaugh, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin and Ken Cuccinelli, the current Attorney General of Virginia. "If only,...

There was a sudden change in Obama’s Virginia itinerary this week. The White House initially told local Democrats that the president’s bus tour would stop in four communities: Danville, Newport News, Fredericksburg, and Charlottesville. To the White House, the cities represented friendly territory. In 2008, Obama carried Danville with 59 percent, Newport News with 64 percent, Fredericksburg with 64 percent, and Charlottesville with 78 percent. But Virginia has state legislative elections this year, and the initial Obama list coincided almost perfectly with a selection of incumbent Democrats who are desperate to distance themselves from the national party. From the perspective...