Free Republic

The National Rifle Association, which did not endorse President Bush in 2000 and 2004 until just a month before the general election, is considering stepping into the presidential campaign fray early next year during the primary season, the group's chief lobbyist says. While the NRA waited until October in each of the past two presidential election years before endorsing a candidate, the group plans to take a more high-profile role early in the 2008 Republican nomination process. "Historically, we have not gotten involved in primaries. We traditionally wait until after the conventions," said Chris Cox, head lobbyist for the NRA....

NOTE: all of the hot links are available by clicking here 2008 Presidential Primaries,Caucuses, and ConventionsChronologically Disclaimer:These pages contain a combination of preliminary, unofficial, and estimated data. The information posted here is subject to change. The delegate selection processes herein, along with any and all dates associated therewith, are unofficial and based on either (1) information obtained from either Major Party, (2) Presidential Primary dates established by currently-effective State statute, or- where the foregoing information could not be obtained- (3) the state's 2004 delegate selection process and associated dates adjusted to the corresponding dates in 2008.Republican delegate counts are based...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - South Carolina Republicans on Thursday moved their 2008 presidential primary to Jan. 19, triggering a chain reaction among Iowa, New Hampshire and other early voting states that could push the first presidential balloting into December 2007. South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson made the announcement with officials from New Hampshire, whom he called allies in protecting the traditional early states' voting order. "We are here to stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends in New Hampshire to reaffirm the important role that both of our states play in presidential politics," Dawson said. South Carolina had scheduled...

South Carolina's Republican Party will move its 2008 presidential primary forward to Jan. 19, sources said yesterday, a decision almost certain to spark a cascade of calendar changes that could push the start of voting to New Year's Day or even to before Christmas. The move, set to be announced today, is likely to cause the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucuses to be shifted at least to early January, and other states are actively angling to stake out spots earlier in the process. The maneuvering has injected a new note of uncertainty into what is already the earliest-starting presidential...

Just reported by Carl Cameron on Fox News. This likely means New Hampshire will be held January 8th, with a possible Iowa caucus January 7th or even in December.

The other day I received an e-mail from my cousin Kathy in California. Kathy is one of the most thoughtful people I know. Kathy teaches in the university system in California. She holds at least two graduate degrees. She is always open to new ideas. And while she and I sometimes do not agree, I know she is listening and studying different points of view. Kathy said she was thrilled when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the law moving the primary date in California from June to February of 2008. At last, she thought, California would be a major player...

For a while now, the conventional wisdom has been that John McCain is sucking up to the right wing of the Republican Party in order to augment his chances of winning the nomination in 2008. I guess I had bought into that sentiment, because this account of McCain slamming Bush on, of all issues, global warming with his buddy Ahhhnold in Cahleefohnhuh caught me by surprise.

In a straw poll conducted in Maricopa County, AZ, Duncan Hunter beat out all other candidates. Hunter's record had been featured at the event. While this seems almost inconsequential, the point is that when people in any arena find out about him and his issues Hunter attracts broad support. He's still relatively unknown but with the base not sure of any of the top three contenders, there's a window of opportunity for Hunter to be introduced. He's the best candidate by far and the only one who doesn't apologize for his conservatism and who can properly articulate his philosophy.

SPRINGFIELD -- The powerful speaker of the Illinois House said Wednesday he wants to help U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's possible campaign for president by moving up the state's 2008 primary election to give Obama an early home-state victory. Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, proposed moving the March 18 Illinois primary to Feb. 5. A long list of states have primaries scheduled that day, but only four states -- Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina -- would be earlier than Illinois. ''These states are not representative of mainstream America. They're clearly not as representative of America as Illinois would be,'' Madigan...

WASHINGTON — You're traveling through another dimension; a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. It's a journey into a wondrous land where the surname Bush is glorious, and whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead -- your next stop, Florida. Older readers will recognize the words above from the introduction to the hit TV show, "The Twilight Zone." Believe it or not, there's a swing state in this country where the name Bush is not a negative. In fact, in this magical place, Republicans clamor to be seen next to this Bush....

Democrats are on track to jumble the states in the presidential primary calendar in response to growing criticism that the same predominantly white states hold many of the cards in early voting. And not even complaints from a former president and a half-dozen White House hopefuls can stop them. Iowa would still go first in the new calendar, but a Western state - possibly Nevada or Arizona - would be wedged in before the New Hampshire primary. A Southern state - possibly Alabama or South Carolina - would follow New Hampshire. The national Democrats' rules and bylaws committee expects to...

WHEN POLITICAL HANDICAPPERS START LAYING ODDS on a presidential election, the conversation inevitably turns to Iowa and New Hampshire. Their status as the first caucus and primary states remains critical, but as media scrutiny has amplified their importance, both have morphed into a kind of Heisenberg fishbowl. Otherwise humble locals, constantly harassed by marauding network TV crews to name their candidate, sometimes retort, "I don't know. I haven't met him yet." It's no surprise political prognosticators are starting to look elsewhere for early clues about the race in 2008. Michigan's status as an important early primary state has been overlooked--until...

WASHINGTON - In the battle for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, no one is running harder than Mark Warner. The former Virginia governor has a lot going for him: he is tireless and engaging; he talks about policy and international affairs with verve and a grasp of detail. In a 30-minute interview, he comes across as an affable all-American guy who made a fortune in the cell phone business and happens to have an insatiable interest in politics. At the end of his four years as governor, Governing magazine gave his administration an A- grade for its management of money...

IMAGINE THAT RIP VAN WINKLE was a Democrat--one waking up from an 18-year slumber.As Rip nodded off in the summer of 1987, his party was mobilizing to take down a conservative Supreme Court nominee. Rip's fellow Dems needed the win: They'd lost two national elections during the decade to a president they were convinced was a lunkhead; opinions differed over whether the party needed to chart a more moderate course. But Rip remembered that help was on the way in the form of New York's most glamorous Democrat (Mario Cuomo), who was the odds-on-favorite to be the next president. Not...

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Just 23 weeks after the second inauguration of the 43rd president, someone who aims to be the 44th came here for the annual luncheon of the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women. It was a target-rich environment for George Allen. He has the same name as his father, the late Hall of Fame head coach of the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins who was, to say no more, tightly wound, as coaches tend to be. If the son is similarly driven -- and he must be to embark on this marathon -- he conceals it beneath...