Free Republic

We have told you before about “Republican” strategist David Kochel. Kochel has been an integral part of the Branstad-Reynolds machine. He was Mitt Romney’s top Iowa guy. He targeted Congressman Steve King for years. He lobbied for legalized homosexual marriage for years before it happened. Before Joe Biden and Barack Obama got on board, even. Four years ago he proclaimed himself a Never Trumper. He has gone so far as to suggest Trump coordinated with Putin and it was “maybe treasonous.”

Former staffers to Jeb Bush's suspended presidential campaign on Friday tore into Chris Christie for endorsing GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump. Former Bush communications director Tim Miller called Christie "pathetic" and suggested he bonded with Trump over a "big meal," an apparent reference to Christie's weight. And former chief strategist David Kochel compared the endorsement to a "fat kid" surrendering his lunch money to a "bully."

When Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker visited Iowa recently to speak at a well-attended Republican dinner, only one national political reporter (NBC's Alex Moe) showed up. That just proves you don't need national press attention to make a strong start in the 2016 Republican presidential race. There's a Walker boom, or at least a boomlet, going on in the nation's first voting state. When you hear speculation about the '16 GOP field -- Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal and others -- it's rare to hear Walker's name included in the group. But keep an eye on him; politically-savvy...

MIAMI — Facing the unthinkable here just seven days ago — a second loss in a row to Newt Gingrich — Mitt Romney’s campaign team hatched a two-part plan to win in Florida: make Newt mad and Mitt meaner. [snip] If Mr. Romney does win here on Tuesday, it will have been through a blistering and unrelenting series of attacks. His campaign has pressed everything at its disposal into service to eviscerate Mr. Gingrich, painting him as an erratic, unreliable Washington insider in mailings and television advertisements, at two critical debates here (where his team made sure Mr. Romney had...