Free Republic

Mitt Romney has finally found a groove on the right. But he could find himself stuck there if he wins the GOP nomination. With Romney’s recent move to wield the immigration issue as a club against Rick Perry — painting him as “soft” on a topic that resonates with the Republican primary electorate — the former Massachusetts governor is taking advantage of a rare opportunity to outflank Perry on the right among conservatives. After the Texas governor wounded himself with his remarks in the last debate, Romney seized on the issue of illegal immigration, trying to paint Perry as an...

I’m impressed by Rick Perry. He’s got an effective speaking style. I like his book, Fed Up! I’ve also defended Perry against a biased New York Times hit piece. Perry still needs to be vetted on the campaign trail, but on current indications, given his extensive gubernatorial experience, sterling record on job creation, and ability to unite the libertarian and social conservative wings of the party, Perry would make a great nominee. Having said all that, I think we need to be honest with ourselves about Perry’s potential vulnerability. The Left has been busily mining Perry’s book Fed Up! for...

[snip] The expectation was that the enthusiasm gap would decline in the 2012 election, when Barack Obama was back on the ballot, and so too was a Republican presidential candidate. But with Obama’s poll numbers dropping even among self-identified Democrats and liberals, you could imagine the enthusiasm gap dropping by less than the White House had hoped. That would be particularly true if Republicans nominate Romney, who can appeals to Democrat culturally -- he did win elections in Massachusetts, after all -- and manages to project the sense that he is, at heart, a competent technocrat who is not nearly...

The Mrs. just spelled me off from poll watching duty one hour ago. Our precinct had logged in slightly less than 300 voters by 11 a.m., about normal for a mid-term election according to our local judges. Absentee requests for the county were 6500 as of Monday versus 3000 for a normal election. One worrisome note: My daughter's did not arrive even though she mailed it two weeks ago. I'll be on closing duty tonight.>p>Official state results will be available at the link. Pls post your observations, including the part of Pennsylvania.

I received an e-mail last night from the Obama campaign asking for my opinion about what's important in the general election. (See below for the full text.) Which issues am I interested in? Well, I'm particularly interested in how Barack Obama became the Democratic nominee for President of the United States with absolutely no experience and no accomplishments. How would I like to get involved? Trust me, I'm involved. I'll do whatever I can to help John McCain kick Barack Obama to the curb. I'll make it clear to Obama supporters, in no uncertain terms, that race is NOT the...

Last week, a conservative magazine reported that I would not vote for John McCain for President. The magazine based its claim on a column I had written in May 2007 about why I could not support John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination. The magazine was wrong. Though I did not support Sen. McCain in the Republican primaries, the moment he became the presumptive Republican candidate I endorsed him wholeheartedly for President Of The United States. Having not been a supporter from the outset, perhaps my endorsement of John McCain will carry more weight among conservatives who are still undecided...

Check here daily for updates on the latest General Election Projection for the 2008 Presidential Election. Both the map and the "Poll Averages" chart will be updated at least daily, sometimes multiple times a day as new polls become available. The "Poll Averages" are based on a six-week average of polls for each state where available. The projection map is based on a combination of the averages for each state, the state's previous voting history where little poll data is available, and the all important "gut-feeling." Be sure and leave your comments as to how you see the election shaping...

Conservatives may not be thrilled with what a McCain presidency means, but if social conservatives care about the makeup of the House and Senate, as well state legislatures and the courts, then they should rally around McCain. They know better than most the importance of controlling the legislative and judicial branches to achieve long-term influence. With McCain representing the Republican brand, even if he were to lose the race he should be able to save a few Senate seats (say 2-3) and a handful of House seats (perhaps 10). The latter could keep the Democrats majority below 250, a reachable...

My notes on this from the Clinton call weren't clear, but USA Today posts the audio, which is. On the Clinton call earlier, Mark Penn said, "We believe that [the Pennsylvania primary result] will show that Hillary is ready to win, and that Sen. Obama really can’t win the general election." He later revised it to say that losing Pennsylvania would raise questions about Obama's ability to win. But it's a pretty strong thing to say.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican John McCain plans to run a general election campaign as steadfast protector of the United States in the face of terrorism as well as a crusader against big government. The Democrats, he says, offer neither. "They would govern this country in a way that will, in my opinion, take this country backward," the likely GOP nominee said this week in a speech to conservative activists that served as his opening argument for a fall showdown with either Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama. With chief rival Mitt Romney out of the race, McCain is gearing...

(11/04) If it's a constitution trampling, gun grabbing, gay agenda pushing, illegal alien supporting abortionist liberal vs a constitution trampling, gun grabbing, gay agenda pushing, illegal alien supporting abortionist liberal in the general election, who do you vote for? (A) Neither, the election is rigged. (B) What's the difference? (C) Pass

California State November Ballot Propositions General Election - November 7, 2006 Remember Bonds to a Politician are like DRUGS to an Addict, Vote for one and they will put a bigger one up next time. Another reason bonds are bad is that they all have a clause that allows the money to be spent on ANY cause the elected officials want to spend them on. That is why School Bonds are so frequent and so often, It is just a marketing ploy. Recommendations of California Ballot Propositions

VIENNA : Austria's opposition Socialist Party was narrowly ahead in the general election on Sunday, according to the first exit polls. The Socialists had 35.8 percent of the vote to 35.3 percent for Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's conservatives, the ORF state television prediction said. - AFP/de

If Canadians in Monday's election bring about a minority Conservative government, as the polls declare they will, it will be the first time in 26 years they have elected a prime minister who is not from Quebec. If they give a non-Quebecker a majority, a distinct possibility, it will be for the first time in 47 years. In their massive perhaps premature celebration or commiseration of what they unanimously view as an impending Conservative victory, nowhere to my knowledge have the Canadian media mentioned this curious reality, which of course reflects Quebec's undeniable domination of the federal government for nearly...

Voting began in Germany's closely fought election today with millions of undecided voters holding the key to a result that will have major implications for economic reform in Europe. Angela Merkel, a Christian Democrat (CDU) chancellor, is expected to emerge as Germany's first woman chancellor, displacing Gerhard Schroeder who has led Germany for the past seven years at the head of a centre-left government of Social Democrats and Greens. A provisional result is expected to be announced in the early hours of Monday morning. The final opinion polls published on Friday gave Merkel's centre-right coalition with the liberal Free Democrats...

Thought I would start a thread on the New Zealand general election - returns starting to come in now. Non-NZ FReepers can try the live streams of Channel One News, http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_minisite_index_skin/news_election_2005_group or 3 News, http://www.tv3.co.nz/listings/index.cfm

Berlusconi coalition at risk of collapse By Tony Barber in Rome Published: April 15 2005 03:00 | Last updated: April 15 2005 11:04Italy’s ruling centre-right coalition was struggling to hold itself together on Friday after Marco Follini, the Union of Christian Democrats (UDC) leader and deputy prime minister called on his party to leave the coalition but to continue supporting the government in Parliament. Mr Follini proposed the move at an emergency meeting of the UDC on Friday, after leaders of all four ruling parties met on Thursday to form a response to a devastating defeat in region-al elections last...

Call for the immediate resignation of New Jersey Governor McGreevey and allowance for New Jersey citizens to vote for a new Governor at the General Election on November 2nd. Electronic Correspondence to New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html http://www.nj.gov/governor/govmail.html Mailing address: PO Box 001 Trenton, NJ 08625 609-292-6000 Party Chairs: Bonnie Watson Coleman (ishana@njdems.org) Chairman, New Jersey Democratic State Committee Sen. Joe Kyrillos (info@njgop.org) Chairman, New Jersey GOP State Committee Legislative Roster: New Jersey Senate and Assembly Alphabetical List of Members http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/abcroster.asp Senators: SenAdler@njleg.org,SenAllen@njleg.org,SenAsselta@njleg.org,SenBaer@njleg..org,SenBark@njleg.org,SenBryant@njleg.org,SenBucco@njleg.org, SenBuono@njleg.org, SenCardinale@njleg.org,SenCiesla@njleg.org,SenCodey@njleg.org, SenConiglio@njleg.org,SenConnors@njleg.org,SenGill@njleg.org, SenGirgenti@njleg.org,SenGormley@njleg.org,SenInverso@njleg.org, SenJames@njleg.org,SenKarcher@njleg.org,SenKavanaugh@njleg.org, SenKean@njleg.org,SenKenny@njleg.org,SenKyrillos@njleg.org,SenLance@njleg.org, SenLesniak@njleg.org,SenLittell@njleg.org,SenMadden@njleg.org, SenMartin@njleg.org,SenMcNamara@njleg.org, SenPalaia@njleg.org, SenSacco@njleg.org,SenSarlo@njleg.org,SenScutari@njleg.org,Sensmith@njleg.org, SenSweeney@njleg.org,SenTurner@njleg.org,SenVitale@njleg.org Individual Contact: Senator John...

He didn't just support the war — he thought it was great. "I've been against this war from the beginning. I was against it last summer. I was against it in the fall. I was against it in the winter. I was against it in the spring. And I'm against it now." Retired General Wesley Clark, in a candidates' debate, October 26, 2003. This isn't really a test — after all, the answer is in the title of this article. But just for the exercise, please ask yourself the following questions: Who said, in April of 2003, "Can anything be...

<p>Gubernatorial candidates still arguing over ads, not issues Louisiana Gannett News Posted on November 5, 2003 BATON ROUGE - Democrat Kathleen Blanco of Lafayette has retreated from allegations that gubernatorial rival Bobby Jindal of Baton Rouge and a "Republican truth squad" aired television commercials attacking her.</p>