Free Republic

Big Guy filled out his brackets ages ago, have you? It’s time to get started on the  GOP Presidential Nomination brackets since we have only a year before the Republican Convention, and we now have a “Sweet 16” grouping. I know FOX is only dealing with 10 candidates, butt what do you prefer – a  “Zen 10” or a “Sweet 16”? That’s what I thought.Here’s the way it works: I generated my bracket matchups by starting with the results of the ABC/WaPo poll conducted July 16-19 which I  then modified by using Chicago Rules – or as the lawyers put...

By one measure, we’re now up to 19 Republican contenders for their party’s presidential nomination. That’s a measure of how robust and energized the GOP has become in the wake of Barack Obama’s term in office. This year offers the party faithful a set of choices that’s far more intellectually and generationally diverse than in cycles past. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/making-659341-measure-nervous.html

Part of Mitt Romney's success in securing the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 bore out of the fact that he benefited from the spoils of a divided faction on the right. If Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich were ever able to consolidate the sum of their supporters around one of them, Romney's path to victory could have faced great peril. This calculation is weighing heavy on the minds of social conservatives as they look for a horse to ride in 2016. With an adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz telling National Journal Monday the Texas freshman is "90 percent" likely to...