Free Republic

January 10, 2020 Dear Friend, I ran for president to help forge another direction for our country. I wanted to discuss things I felt needed to be discussed that otherwise were not. I feel that we have done that. I stayed in the race to take advantage of every possible effort to share our message. With caucuses and primaries now about to begin, however, we will not be able to garner enough votes in the election to elevate our conversation any more than it is now. The primaries might be tightly contested among the top contenders, and I don’t want...

California Rep. Eric Swalwell is officially in the running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Swalwell made the announcement during a taping Monday of CBS’ ”The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The congressman says, “I see a country in quicksand, unable to solve threats from abroad, unable to make life better for people here at home.” He says, “None of that is going to change until we get a leader who is willing to go big on the issues we take on, be bold in the solutions we offer and do good in the way that we govern.” He says:...

For the first time since the dramatic change in public opinion around gay rights, Democratic presidential candidates will be invited to participate in a forum focused exclusively on LGBT policies. The event is scheduled for Oct. 10, the eve of National Coming Out Day. Hosted by the Human Rights Campaign and the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, the 2020 candidates will discuss topics related to hate crimes, bullying and transgender rights. The HRC Foundation held presidential forums for Democratic primary candidates in 2004 and 2008. In 2012 and 2016, it did not hold one for the large Republican primary...