Free Republic

We are only 20 months away from the next Presidential election, and at this stage, the Republican party should be starting to whittle down its field of contenders. Yet here we are with most of the people expected to run still sitting it out, silent. It’s true that Nikki Haley has started her campaign, as have a few outriders like Vivek Ramaswamy, to whom I wish much luck. But the serving or former officials who should have started their campaigns by now are still sitting it out. Leaving the ground open for Trump to do stunts like his Ohio trip...

The damaging revelations of the Jan. 6 committee hearings are fueling skepticism among Senate Republicans that former President Trump can win the GOP nomination in 2024 or even run for another term in the White House. One Republican senator, who requested anonymity to comment on the former president, said the “cascade” of embarrassing details about Trump’s conduct in the weeks before Jan. 6, 2021, and during the attack on the U.S. Capitol will seriously damage his political viability ahead of the 2024 election.

Personally, I was shocked when the "queen of conservatism" came out for Donald Trump. Phyllis Schafly has been a conservative icon for so long, and even though I've disagreed with her a couple times in the recent past, I was flabbergasted that she would pick somebody who openly declares that he doesn't see his need of asking God's forgiveness for anything. I realize she predicated her choice on what he claims to be his stand on immigrants, and how he says he will deal with the illegals. However, has she been listening to him or just reading what she wants...

While Donald Trump won't be the GOP nominee, reclaiming the party from Trump still requires that we contemplate what a Trump nomination and even possibly a Trump presidency would look like. The picture isn't a pretty one. One of the under appreciated aspects is how any electoral success by Trump in the primaries and potentially the general election could spawn a bonanza for the GOP's much-despised consultant class, at the expense of the party's ability to field principled and/or successful statewide and national candidates. The reason for this is fairly straightforward: Trump is the avatar of the clueless-rich-guy style of...