Free Republic

Thousands of Massachusetts Democrats have denounced their party affiliations since January 1 to jump across the aisle and join the ranks of Independent or Republicans. Nearly 20,000 Bay State Democrats, or 1.3 percent of the party's Masachussetts population, left to vote in the Republican primary Tuesday. More than 16,300 of that group have "unenrolled" or become Independent voters, while 3,500 have joined the GOP. Mass. Secretary of State William Glavin attributed the switches to the "Trump phenomenon." The billionaire candidate has a significant lead over fellow top contenders Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz in recent state polls. "The tenor of...

Donald Trump is taking aim at Republican presidential rival Sen. Ted Cruz, a tactical shift that could be risky on two fronts: It may have come too late, and the Texas senator might actually be benefiting from the attacks...... For Mr. Cruz, being under attack by other Republicans is a badge of honor, another backer said. "It's a quasi-endorsement of Cruz to the grass roots," said Saul Anuzis, former Michigan GOP chairman. Polls show a growing number of Trump backers see Mr. Cruz as their second choice. Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler said that when the campaign began, polls showed that...

It’s hard to disagree with most of the bad things that have been said about Donald Trump, and impossible to add a truly fresh accusation to the list. In just six months as a presidential candidate Trump has been called “witless, gross, and unworthy,” “ignorant and bombastic,” a “buffoon” and an “a--hole,” a “clownish demagogue,” and “proto-fascist” whose “ideas range from the absurd … to the monstrous,” and whose policy pronouncements are no better than “barstool eruptions.” And those are just his fellow Republicans’ opinions. Gleeful Democrats have made clear that Trump’s lead in public opinion polls throughout 2015 vindicates...

What do you think? Who will be the next Republican presidential candidate to drop out? Vote in our informal, unscientific poll.

Cruz's Poll Decline Underway? If So Last Barrier To Trump Removed The graph tells the tale. One by one the anti-Trump candidates rise, helped in no small part by a desperate media and establishment, and one by one they fall. The Fiorina, Carson, Walker, Kasich, Bush, Rubio "surges" are noticeable, but like shooting stars are very brief. The exception being Ben Carson who, alone after Trump took the lead on July 20th, actually put his nose in front for three days. But in some sort of cosmic schadenfreude Carson's decline has been spectacular. After Trump rose Bush declined. In...