Free Republic

Utah State Senator Daniel Thatcher left the Republican Party this week to join the Forward Party, becoming the first sitting member of the Utah State Senate affiliated with the organization and its ballot line. In a statement released Friday, the Forward Party said that Thatcher changed his registration on the last day of the legislative session. Reasons provided from a speech Thatcher gave that afternoon include his disappointment with the Utah Republican Party’s leadership on voting rights and legislative priorities. Specifically, Thatcher voiced concerns over the passage of HB 300, which he believes undermines the vote-by-mail process, as well as...

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants is nuts, says FWD.us, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s political advocacy group. The Facebook founder got name-checked in the CNBC Republican candidates debate Wednesday, as Trump grudgingly admitted calling Florida Sen. Marco Rubio “Mark Zuckerberg’s personal senator” for promoting expanded use of the H-1B employment visas used by Silicon Valley companies. Trump has argued H-1B visas displace Americans who otherwise might land high-paying tech jobs. He’s advocating restrictions in the program as part of an overhaul on immigration that includes deporting immigrants who lack legal status in the U.S....

House Republicans looking to garner support for leadership's immigration-reform principles are about to get a little help from a group with ties to Mark Zuckerberg. Americans for a Conservative Direction is the GOP arm of pro-immigration reform organization FWD.us, which is backed by the Facebook chief executive. And they will be airing roughly $750,000 worth of television and radio ads across the country, according to a source with knowledge of the ad buy. The ads, which will air for 10 days on radio and cable television, describe the drafted principles unveiled to the Republican Conference during their retreat as a...