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For months, the press and the Republican establishment alike have been expecting the Trump bubble to implode. Now that it's clear Trump isn't going anywhere, we're seeing stories about a long slog of a campaign or even a brokered convention. But there's a very real possibility that, far from those kinds of days of reckoning, Donald Trump could actually "run the table." Ironically, Trump not only could win — he could win more decisively than any non-incumbent Republican contestant for the nomination since the dawn of the modern primary system.Let's see how that might happen.New HampshireFirst, let's look not at...

Welcome to the Free Republic CaucusPlease read the rules, and participate according to the guidelines provided.  Thank you. Only vote on this thread on: 01/22/2016  another thread will pop up five minutes before: 01/23/2016Wait to vote until 12:00 midnight EST, and don't vote after 12:00 midnight EST at the at the end of the day.  Look for the new thread. Votes outside the 24 hour period, will not be counted.  Give it five minutes or so on each end, so you are sure to get your vote counted. If you have quesitons, FReep Mail me.  DO NOT disqualify your vote...

On his Thursday broadcast, conservative talk show Rush Limbaugh offered his analysis what has led certain elements to gravitate toward Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, including former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), the 2008 GOP vice-presidential nominee. According to Limbaugh, what he deemed to be the "Trump Coalition" predated the Trump's presidential bid and its roots lie in the Tea Party movement that was inspired by President Barack Obama's stimulus and later by his so-called health care reform legislation, later to be known as ObamaCare. "Guess where they are now? They're with Donald Trump," Limbaugh said. Transcript as follows (courtesy of...

Six People Well now this just got interesting. As only six people showed up to see Hillary Clinton at the Jefferson County airport. Why is this interesting? Well – Jefferson County is the DEMOCRATIC STRONGHOLD OF TEXAS? And Hillary comes to town and nothing? Nobody? Nothing? And get this – she refused to stop and say hello to the common people of Jefferson County. She just blew right by them? No really we mean high speed flew by! Now let’s go back and remember when about 28 days ago Donald Trump came to town? The secret service got nervous as...

Marco Rubio once "arrested for drinking beer in public park" By Robert Tait, Los Angeles 3:23AM GMT 22 Jan 2016 Marco Rubio, the Republican presidential contender who has been touted as a possible choice of the party's "establishment", was once arrested in a Miami park notorious for gang violence, drug-dealing and prostitution, a newspaper profile has revealed. He was detained along with two friends while going through a wayward late teenage phase for drinking alcohol in his home city's Alice C Wainwright Park after it had been closed to the public for the night. Mr Rubio, a United States senator...

Apple argues that the lower courts made a critical mistake in its ruling. Apple is pulling out all the stops in its bid to overturn a ruling that it fixed ebook prices. In a new filing to the Supreme Court, the company insists the federal government and a lower court made a crucial legal error, and warns the result could be a "long shadow" on the digital economy. The filing is part of a long-running saga in which the Justice Department says Apple organized a plot by book publishers to fix prices and wrest control of the ebook market away...

Earlier today it was widely reported that North Carolina Senator Richard Burr was not happy with Ted Cruz. That doesn't make him a special snowflake. Most of the practitioners of crony capitalism and Failure Theater in the Senate are not happy with Ted Cruz. But Burr was not content to merely take a number and get in line. Burr had to make a point of how pissed he was at the idea of Ted Cruz winning the nomination. (Burr's Heritage Action score is 45%, which is the same as arch-conservatives John Cornyn and Mitch McConnell.) Cruz has become such a...

Video at link. David Stockman (Office of Budget and Management, Reagan Administration) explains why the market will not be going up any time soon.

North Carolina Republican Senator Richard Burr told supporters at a private fundraiser that in a hypothetical general election match-up, he'd support Bernie Sanders over Ted Cruz. Burr isn't the only Republican member of Congress who takes issue with Cruz. New York Rep. Peter King told the Associated Press this week that Cruz is a "fraud" and that he doesn't, "know of anyone else in Washington, certainly, who gets this opposition from his own people... I'm talking about people as conservative as he is who just can't stand him." Cruz has previously drawn ire from fellow Republicans for calling Mitch McConnell...

Seeking Life, Mercy, and HealingA Common Statement by Orthodox and Catholic Bishopson the 43rd Anniversary of Roe v. WadeOn January 22, Catholic and Orthodox Christians will once again stand in solidarity on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. As our communities firmly believe in the sanctity of life, the faithful--along with many people of other traditions and good will--lament the legal circumstances that facilitate abortion and the cultural phenomena that present abortion as the only choice for expectant mothers experiencing difficult conditions.We recognize that the choice to abort an unborn child ultimately reflects the broken condition...

As the election of 2008 approached, America was in crisis. And as we would soon learn, that crisis would not go to waste. Years after Bill Clinton disingenuously claimed that the era of big government was over, Obama won his party's nomination by promising its furious revenge. For constitutional conservatives, the Republican contest functioned less like a primary and more like an abandonment. Politically orphaned by their party, conservatives were forced to either stay home or hold their noses and vote for a progressive Republican. There was a silver lining, however. Rising out of the ashes of that electoral defeat...

With less than two weeks till the Iowa Caucus, the shape of the Republican race could hardly be more frightening for the Republican establishment. Both of the two leading candidates, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, carry baggage that would make winning the general election a tough slog. But while some establishment types still hold out hope that one of their preferred candidates--Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, or even Chris Christie--can pull off a surprise resurgence, there is a growing acceptance of the reality of having to chose between Cruz and Trump. And the surprise is that all signs are pointing to...

The retailer sees a big opportunity in the appliance business, and in Sears' problems. For the first time in 33 years, the department store will be selling home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines by General Electric, Hotpoint, LG and Samsung, at 22 of its roughly 1,000 stores. If all goes well with the pilot, which begins Feb. 1 in stores in the San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa metro areas, Penney could roll out the home appliance offerings to hundreds more stores by October. The return to home appliances is the first major new initiative by former Home Depot...

January 22, 2016 Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children Reading 1 1 Sm 24:3-21 Saul took three thousand picked men from all Israel and went in search of David and his men in the direction of the wild goat crags.When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he found a cave, which he entered to relieve himself.David and his men were occupying the inmost recesses of the cave. David's servants said to him, "This is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'I will deliver your enemy into your grasp; do with him...

The bill, similar to a New York draft law, would prevent companies like Apple from selling its encryption-enabled iPhone on its own turf. California: home of the world's biggest technology companies, terrible bagels, and the only place that can suffer both drought and floods at the same time. Despite the state's deep tech roots, California's legislature is considering banning devices that come with unbreakable encryption. SECURITY As New York looks to ban encrypted smartphones, here's what you can do As New York looks to ban encrypted smartphones, here's what you can do A new website lets New Yorkers vote on...

For Hillary Clinton, it’s starting to look like deja vu all over again. Start a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination as giant front-runner. Check. Raise tens of millions of dollars and look unbeatable for large swaths of the year before the primaries start. Check. An insurgent challenger running to her ideological left? Check. Collapsing poll numbers on the eve of actual votes? Check. Over the past week or so, Clinton has watched as her national polling lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), a self-avowed socialist, has shrunk. And, far more important, Clinton’s standing vis a vis Sanders in the...

There have been a lot of negative ads flying around in the Republican presidential campaign, but none of them from Donald Trump -- until now. On Friday morning, the Trump campaign will unveil its first attack ad of the race, targeted at closest GOP rival Ted Cruz on the issue of immigration. The 60-second ad, entitled "Clear Difference," has no narration. Instead, it is built on clips of what was perhaps Cruz's weakest moment in the campaign so far -- his halting and defensive interview last month with Fox News anchor Bret Baier concerning Cruz's efforts to amend the Gang...

The chatter continues this morning about Donald Trump’s call for raising taxes on the rich.

Might Roger Goodell and Co. object to seeing courtroom opponent Tom Brady on the league's biggest stage? Would the NFL stoop to making it extra-difficult for the controversy-magnet franchise? That fear picked up some fodder when the Boston Herald pointed out the Broncos are undefeated in games refereed by Hochuli. What's more: The Patriots, despite their off the charts winning percentage this decade, are 3-4 in Hochuli games since 2010, and he was the ref who threw a crucial offensive pass interference flag against Rob Gronkowski in the Week 10 nail-biter against the Giants. ...

I guess Trump’s Olympian self-regard can lead him to never forget a slight, harbor grudges against critics for a very long time, and drive him to engage in childish name-calling late into the night, which are obviously some of the attributes we all look for in a presidential candidate. A huge ego and a penchant for spite is totally the kind of guy we should entrust the nuclear football to. Trump also knows more about self-promotion than almost anybody alive, Lady Gaga included. So he must have some kind of plan here. And if his goal is to get people...