Free Republic

Yesterday Ann Coulter might have unintentionally, or possibly intentionally, let it be known that Sarah Palin will not run for president in 2012. Everyone has made their own best guess on whether or not Palin will run, but Coulter may have access to more "insider knowledge" given her position as an established conservative commentator. In an interview with Sean Hannity last night Coulter said that she "loved" Palin, but also took a slight verbal jab at the former half-term governor of Alaska. After praising Palin, Coulter goes on to say that she does not think that Palin will run for...

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I think American voters would do better to think about the influence political leaders exert by their words and actions, instead of treating their speeches (not to mention their sound bites and 60-second spots) as evidence of anything but what they think we want to hear. This came to mind last week as I read the report about Sarah Palin's non-appearance at this year's biggest conservative non-event (or should that be biggest non-conservative, pretending-to-be-conservative event?). She released a statement intended to keep her distance from the individuals and organizations whose non-appearance was meant to convey disapproval of CPAC's trendy surrender...

Oil industry leaders delivered a stinging rebuke of the production tax that became a hallmark of Gov. Sarah Palin's administration, telling a legislative committee Wednesday that it has discouraged investment and made Alaska a less attractive place to do business. Representatives of BP Alaska, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Pioneer Natural Resources said the tax cut and expanded tax credits proposed by Palin's successor, Gov. Sean Parnell, is a positive step toward encouraging greater activity and boosting oil production.

As the 2012 presidential race approaches, the Republicans are exploring all possibilities to deny Barack Obama a second term. As the potential Republican candidates met in Washington for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the real estate mogul Donald Trump made a surprise appearance to reiterate the possibility of him running for president in 2012. Among the likes of Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, the real estate mogul will have to first beat out the ever popular Sarah Palin to even be considered. Although Trump flirted with the idea way back in 1999 when Bill Clinton was the...

Tammy Bruce, columnist, radio host & conservative gay activist, announced on her website today that she will resign her position as advisory board member to GoProud. I want to let you know that after being a supporter and serving as Chair of the Advisory Board since May of 2010, I gave Chris Barron and Jimmy LaSalvia my resignation Saturday night. If you search GOProud here at the blog you’ll see the affection with which I’ve held both Chris and Jimmy, and I wish them well. I spoke with Tammy at the CPAC convention and when asked for comment on the...

I applaud Sarah Palin’s passion, her adroit sense of humor, and her you-go-girl! gumption. But the more I learn about Sarah Palin, the more I become perplexed by her over-heated gender-bending rhetoric. I believe we can all agree that men and women should have equal opportunities. But let’s not confuse equal opportunities with identical outcomes. Just because a woman has the same right to an education and a decent job doesn’t mean she will pursue the identical career path, toil as long, or work as many years as a man. Men and women have differing proclivities and interests — most...

Sarah Palin has hired a veteran operative to serve as a chief of staff to her loosely organized team, one of the biggest indicators yet that the former Alaska governor is leaning toward a run for the White House. POLITICO confirmed late Friday night that Palin has hired Michael Glassner to serve the key role.

Sarah Palin did not say she supports gay marriage. She hasn't celebrated the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. But she also did not say that a gay Republican group should be banned from participating in a big Republican conference, and for that, social conservatives are begging her to "clarify." Controversy has been brewing for months over GOProud, a gay conservative group, and its participation in CPAC, one of the biggest Republican events of the year--a must-do for most aspiring presidential hopefuls. Many social conservative groups are boycotting the conference because GOProud was allowed to participate. But Palin said she...

No great surprise here, really; Palin has quietly backed the end of DADT and expressed support for conservative gays and lesbians in the past. Speaking here with David Brody from the Christian Broadcast Network and excerpted by Breitbart TV, Palin doesn’t endorse GOProud but does defend their attendance at CPAC, and argues that the value of events such as CPAC is to debate the issues and provide as much information as possible to attendees:

WASHINGTON—The tax deal now before Congress has kicked off the first real debate of the 2012 Republican presidential campaign, with several prospective candidates heralding the package as a victory for taxpayers and others criticizing it as a costly stimulus bill in disguise. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have both come out sharply against the measure, which President Barack Obama hammered out last week with Senate Republican leaders. Both cite the deal's price tag, with Mr. Romney saying it will heap billions more onto the nation's debt load. Supporting the package are former Arkansas Gov....

A conservative political scientist and historian believes Sarah Palin will have the advantage among the field of GOP presidential hopefuls when the Iowa caucuses begin a little more than a year from now -- but adds that doesn't guarantee she'll win the nomination. Last week ABC News aired an interview of the former Alaska governor by Barbara Walters. During that interview, Palin made it very clear she is strongly considering a run for president in 2012. Palin: "I'm looking at the lay of the land now and trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country,...

Over the past month, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has quietly altered her case for the presidency in a savvy shift of rhetoric. The lofty goal? Turning the main reason a Republican might oppose her into the primary reason for voting for her. If she can pull it off, the nomination might be hers, but she is up against a tough set of barriers. Every candidate must have a compelling reason for running, and until one month ago, Palin’s was simple. In October, she told “Entertainment Tonight” that she would only run if the field were missing a candidate...

This is another installment of the Duncan Hunter interview series in which the former congressman and conservative stalwart discusses the issues of the day and offers his Reaganesque approach to solving the problems currently vexing our nation. With some luck, perhaps Hunter will throw his hat into the ring for the 2012 presidency. Either way, he certainly is not through serving this country as he pushes to re-ignite and finish the Reagan Revolution. AJM: There you are, you sound much better than on the cell? DH: Hey, how you doing there? AJM: Not too shabby. You’re not out doing a...

The Associated Press NASHVILLE -- Tennessee's two Republican senators on Thursday voted in Washington against a non-binding resolution calling for continued support of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Sen. Bill Frist said the landmark decision is flawed; Sen. Fred Thompson said the Supreme Court should be left alone on the issue."I'm The vote came on a resolution by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. The resolution said: "It is the sense of the Congress that Roe v. Wade was an appropriate decision and secures an important constitutional right and such a decision should not be overturned." A...

The Politico has one of the most interesting articles up about Fred Thompson published in quite a while. Most political observers focus on the polls, who raises what (plead guilty); in short, the details, but the Politico’s Roger Simon takes a closer look at how Fred Thompson handles himself and what kind of person he is and what kind of campaign he has. When Roger asked Thompson whether the considers himself to be an “11th Commandment man” (never speak ill of a fellow Republican), the former senator answered that he’s more of a “12 Commandment man.” The 12th Commandment, according...

All the candidates from both political parties have emphasized the need for better education. It is plainly obvious that many, if not most, public schools across America are sub-par. Sub-par not only relative to schools abroad, but when judged against the rigors of American schools of yesteryear. The Democrats and Republicans, in theory, differ greatly when it comes to federal funding of education. Ronald Reagan, as well as the conservative wing of the party, wanted to get rid of the Department of Education altogether, while the donkeys have long howled about the supposed lack of spending on schools. The so-called...

In the last six months or so, when my Democrat friends have engaged me in discussions about Hillary Clinton, at some point I usually ask them a simple question to gage their support, knowledge, and level of commitment to their candidate. The question is, “What has Senator Clinton accomplished in her life, in her career to qualify her to be President of the United States?”. And of course they know who I support and they generally know his amazing credentials and experience, so when I press them for answers to, “What has she actually done that sets her apart?”, I...