Free Republic

On Wednesday morning, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told radio talk show host Laura Ingraham he could "absolutely" see himself teaming up with former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum to beat Mitt Romney. "Of course," Gingrich said. "Rick and I have a 20-year friendship. We were both rebels, we both came into this business as reformers, we both dislike deeply the degree to which the establishment sells out the American people. We both think Washington has to be changed in very fundamental ways, and we have lots of things that fit together. And the thing that’s interesting is if you take...

According to Karl Rove, now speaking on Fox News, a high-ranking official in the Republican party has declared that Mitt Romney has won the Iowa Caucus by exactly 14 votes. Update- Fox News has confirmed that a second source has verified this report and that Mitt Romney has indeed won.

by James Lewis, staff writer George W used to call Karl Rove a nickname that always puzzled me. Let’s say — it’s a fresh flower growing in a Texas cowpat. It seemed a little bit rough even by Texas standards. Now I think I get it. Karl Rove is a smart policy guy, and unlike the Obama Democrats who never met an anti-American Marxist or a radical Muslim they didn’t like, he is not an ideological throwback to 1848. Unlike Obama, Rove would not agitate to overthrow every Arab regime in the Middle East — along with the Israelis, who...

As I noted the other day, Mitt Romney’s new strategy is to send out surrogates to attack Newt. Tomorrow it is former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, a big name in New Hampshire politics but someone whose name is associated with two of the most major conservative failures in the post-Vietnam war history of the Republican Party. As Matt Lewis points out, Sununu holds a grudge against Newt because Newt tried to stop George H.W. Bush from breaking his “no new taxes” pledge: With former Speaker Newt Gingrich surging in the polls, Mitt Romney has finally decided it’s time to...

Karl Rove isn’t officially affiliated with any of the GOP candidates, but if you listen to him, it’s becoming increasingly clear he has a favorite. We’re not the first to notice, but Karl Rove seems firmly in the Mitt Romney camp. What’s more, he’s goes on TV a lot to lob attacks at just about every other candidate. Rove has taken a stab at just about every candidate other than Romney, and on Tuesday it was Newt Gingrich’s turn. With multiple polls showing Newt Gingrich surging in Iowa, Rove took to Fox News, to undermined the former speaker: “If in...

Karl Rove isn’t officially affiliated with any of the GOP candidates, but if you listen to him, it’s becoming increasingly clear he has a favorite. We’re not the first to notice, but Karl Rove seems firmly in the Mitt Romney camp. What’s more, he’s goes on TV a lot to lob attacks at just about every other candidate. Rove has taken a stab at just about every candidate other than Romney, and on Tuesday it was Newt Gingrich’s turn. With multiple polls showing Newt Gingrich surging in Iowa, Rove took to Fox News, to undermined the former speaker: “If in...

In response to comments from Karl Rove that candidates should skip the debate at the end of December to be moderated by Donald Trump, Trump said that in his opinion Rove was “highly overrated,” and “basically is a loser.” Rove says that a Trump-moderated debate would trivialize the process “I don’t think that Karl Rove is a smart person. I think he’s highly overrated,” said Trump, on a conference call about his new book. “I’ve watched Karl Rove for years. He’s a man who is only after Karl Rove, and he’s part of the problem with the Republican Party. Rove,...

Karl Rove defends Sharon Bialek, who is accusing Herman Cain of sexual assault, because her attorney is Gloria Allred. "Credibility matters here. And Gloria Allred, while she is a Democrat and a liberal Democrat and openly so -- nonetheless, has been involved in a number of high profile cases like Tiger Woods and others where the charges have been borne out. "So this gives Ms. Bialek's charges and accusations a little bit of credibility, and that's what we're talking about here -- credibility."

It was because he was going to retire anyway, lost a favorite port town in redistricting and had a tough race last time. Was this really why Congressman Barney Frank announced today he’s retiring from the House of Representatives? Perhaps another reason was he’s no longer chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and like a lot of bullies, Mr. Frank found it’s not easy to be stripped of the power to torment and humiliate others. Brilliant, but acid tongued and generally unpleasant, Mr. Frank ruled with an iron gavel, ran over critics with delight and treated committee members and...

My nine hunting companions last weekend in South Texas didn't look particularly special. Ranging from early-30s to mid-40s, they could be mistaken for the young doctor down the street, the general manager of the car dealership, the guy who builds custom motorcycles. But they are extraordinary. Among them, they had a Navy Cross, four Silver Stars, 26 Bronze Stars for valor and four Purple Hearts. These were Navy SEALs with a combined 150 years of service and more than 67 overseas deployments in the war against terror.

This is a collection of links to bolster my contention that Dick Marriott, former treasurer and former head of the National Restaurant Association, maintains connections with the NRA. I apologize for the the sporadic way in which I will be posting links. I am baby-sitting for my adorable grandson and will be cooking for guests today. Dick Marriott is a close friend of Mitt Rommey, who is named after Dick's father, J. Willard Marriott.

Joel Bennett, the lawyer for one of the former employees of the National Restaurant Association who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment, spoke to Wolf Blitzer live on CNN moments ago. Bennett said that in his legal opinion, what occurred between Cain and his client met the legal definition of sexual harassment. But despite repeated questions from Blitzer, he refused to specify what the alleged actions were, and he said his client would not be appearing to shed any further light on the matter. When Blitzer pointed out Cain’s vehement, blanket denial, Bennett replied, “In all my years of lawyering,...

Karl Rove said Friday that Herman Cain had no evidence to accuse the Rick Perry campaign of driving negative stories against him, arguing that Cain did "exactly what [he is] accusing the media of doing." Rove said in an appearance on "Fox and Friends" that the "best way" for Cain to survive this week is to get the National Restaurant Association to release new information about the sexual harassment complaints lodged against him in the 1990s.

"This is the biggest single Twitter controversy of the campaign. 48,000 mentions!" That was Mike Allen doing his best "look--a squirrel!" impression on today's Morning Joe. Pressed by Joe Scarborough as to whether Politico had any more details beyond its vague allegation that Herman Cain had made gestures "that were not overtly sexual but that made women uncomfortable," Allen's telling first instinct was to point to the story's popularity on a social networking site. View the video here.

Karl Rove said Monday that Herman Cain has failed to properly respond to the POLITICO report that at least two women accused him of inappropriate behavior, saying he needs to say “yes or no.” “He’s not denying, but he ain’t responding and that’s not the best place to be,” Rove said on Fox News. “If these allegations are not true, say they aren’t true and put it behind you. If not, better get everything out sooner rather than later because in a situation like this, if there is something there, that something’s going to come out.” Continue Reading Text Size...

By his own account, Rove's sights are set even further into the future than Bush's re-election. He has spoken about strategic shifts of power that happen every so often in American history. The precedent he often refers to was set over a century ago by William McKinley, another Republican with brilliant advisers, who narrowly defeated a populist Democrat (William Jennings Bryan) in 1896 and established a Republican hegemony that lasted more than three decades.

Rove is again slamming Cain (practically begging that folks demand from the National Restaurant Assoc. disclose documents) and then vigorously defends Romney against Plouffe's attack) It is transparent that he is a shill for Romney. I am getting sick of Fox repeatedly putting this jerk front and center to not so subtly attack Cain. F'em.

When Gov. Sarah Palin was deciding whether or not to get into the presidential race, Karl Rove was popping up on Fox News to talk about why her skin was too thin for the job. And when Gov. Rick Perry was thinking about his entrance into the race, Rove was Johnny-on-the-spot with reasons why a Perry candidacy would not be viable either. Now Rove’s moved on to Herman Cain, whose candidacy he’s doing all he can to sink, sidetrack, or On Fox News this past Monday, Rove did his best Mr. Rogers imitation by holding up a small dry-erase board...

Rove is very much in a “do I have to do everything myself” mode these days, which is why he’s also running the GOP’s congressional campaign as an independently funded venture. Here he is practically acting as a Romney surrogate on Fox and attacking Herman Cain, because actual Romney surrogates seem unable to.

Is it just me, and because I don't like Rove, or did "the Architect" sound like he was really reaching with his attacks on Herman Cain on Hannity's show just now?