Free Republic

In the summer of 1992, Rush Limbaugh saved me from myself. I was an 18-year-old high school graduate about to begin college, too impatient to wait for adulthood to come to me. So instead, I went in search of it the only way I knew how: by engulfing myself in presidential politics and the fascinating campaigns that summer between Bill Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot. Like many idealistic teens, I was at first drawn to the youthful Clinton campaign and Fleetwood Mac's cheerful command to "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow." But then I started listening to Limbaugh and it...

As has been made abundantly clear by his incessant mewling and pathetically thin skin, Donald J. Trump is not in fact an unwaveringly resolute tough guy of the type you would hope to find standing next to you in the trenches, but an insecure attention seeker who cannot help but pander to his audiences' prejudices. In the past few days, Trump has been asked variously whether, if elected, he would use his power to close mosques; whether he believes that Muslims should be registered in a special government database; and whether or not it would be a good idea to...

The GOP pack leader promises to stay in the 2016 race because he ‘NEVER gives up.’ But his business deals show a knack for spotting a coming decline. After sending mixed signals about what might drive him to withdraw from the presidential race, Donald Trump settled on a definitive answer last month: “I’m never dropping out.” The next day, he tweeted, “I’m leading big in every poll and we are going to WIN! Remember, Trump NEVER gives up!” But, like many successful businessmen, the real estate developer and GOP pack leader—who often espouses his disdain for “losers”—does not see every...

Donald Trump on Saturday responded to a question from CNN about whether Muslims pose a danger to the country, saying: "I love the Muslims. I think they're great people." The Republican presidential front-runner made the comment after addressing high school students here at their homecoming Saturday night. During a question-and-answer session with students, Trump was unable to avoid being asked about the latest political controversy dogging his campaign: his decision not to correct a supporter this week who called President Barack Obama a Muslim. One student told Trump that she considered Muslim-Americans to be an important segment of the country....

Even so, if I’m not mistaken, these are the first two polls anywhere since Trumpmania broke big that don’t show him on top.

Rolling Stone writer Paul Solotaroff said this week that Donald Trump has superpowers along the lines of a clairvoyant. If so, Trump may already know what renowned psychic medium Bill Philipps told The Mirror during an extensive phone interview Friday upon the release of his new book, Expect The Unexpected: Bringing Peace, Healing, and Hope from the Other Side. Which is that Trump will not be president. Philipps didn’t address Trump’s candidacy for president. Nor is the Orange County-based psychic medium too well-versed in politics considering he never watches TV or follows online reports about the campaign trail. But he...

".....The reform-minded Trump of decades past is a far more attractive figure than his current incarnation, at least in the eyes of the pro-legalization advocates of today. “Well, I certainly think he had it right in 1990, and what he said then actually seemed to understand the situation,” David Boaz, executive vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute, told The Daily Beast. “My sense is that looking for consistent philosophy or even policies in Donald Trump’s statements is a pretty fruitless exercise.” Boaz also pointed out that Trump recently voiced his support for medical marijuana, and that when asked about...

On August 18, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker became the first leading Republican presidential candidate to release a full-fledged Obamacare alternative. Walker’s alternative would fully repeal Obamacare and provide the sort of real reform for which Americans have long been waiting. But there has been a fair amount of misreporting in the wake of Walker’s announcement, and it’s worth setting the record straight. It’s not Burr-Coburn-Hatch (or Burr-Hatch-Upton). A couple of outlets, most notably the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, have erroneously suggested that Walker’s proposal is pretty much the same as the one released last year by senators Richard Burr,...

Universities are an ecosystem, and when faculty are poached and grant money dries up, everyone suffers If you’re from Wisconsin, the Friday night fish fry is a big deal, and the fish you want on your plate is a yellow perch you caught yourself. But for years, the population of yellow perch has been in serious decline. Now on the verge of collapse, the future of this iconic fish is looking grim. Kind of like what is happening right now with the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, under siege from a legislative agenda that has been steadily decimating its...

Donald Trump's presidential campaign said Sunday it fired a staffer after racially charged Facebook posts he allegedly wrote were uncovered Friday. Effective immediately, Sam Nunberg, a Trump political adviser, is "no longer associated with the Donald J. Trump for president campaign," Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski confirmed to CNN. Nunberg allegedly wrote racially charged and disparaging political posts dating back to 2007, including one calling civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton's daughter a "N—!" and another calling President Barack Obama a "Socialist Marxist Islamo Fascist Nazi Appeaser," Business Insider reported Friday. Nunberg is denying he wrote the posts. Lewandowski told...