Free Republic

A few factors have increased the chances of a multi-ballot convention.... 17 candidates entered the race and 15 remain. ...five contenders who today appear to have the message, money, organization and poll numbers to play the long game: neurosurgeon Ben Carson, real-estate magnate Donald Trump, Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. What complicates the picture is the GOP’s rule requiring the 28 (states+) that vote before March 15 to award their delegates proportionally. The exception is South Carolina, whose winner-take-all primary was grandfathered in. Add in the eight states voting on or after March...

NEW YORK — (CNN) Donald Trump must rule out a third party bid before October if he wants to compete in South Carolina’s Republican primary, a crucial test in the nominating contest. Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out a third party candidacy, noting that he could use the threat of an independent bid as leverage, but he cannot appear on the South Carolina primary ballot unless he pledges to support the GOP nominee in the general election.

For Florida taxpayers, the move by the administration of then-Gov. Jeb Bush to forge a relationship with Lehman Brothers would ultimately prove disastrous. Transactions in 2005 and 2006 put the Wall Street investment bank in charge of some $250 million worth of pension funds for Florida cops, teachers and firefighters. Lehman would capture more than $5 million in fees on these deals, while gaining additional contracts to manage another $1.2 billion of Florida's money. Then, in the fall of 2008, Lehman collapsed into bankruptcy, leaving Florida facing up to $1 billion in losses.But for Jeb Bush personally, his enduring relationship...

Activists demand answers to lawmakers' falsification of documents for ObamaCare perks. Americans fed up with the unbridled arrogance of the nation’s “ruling class” are about to be further infuriated. As American Commitment president Phil Kerpen reveals, there’s yet another outrageous scandal occurring on Capitol Hill, where the House and Senate have falsely certified themselves as small businesses so they can fund themselves and their staffs with taxpayer-funded health insurance—sidestepping ObamaCare provisions in the process. “They conspired to break the law,” Kerpen told Front Page. In an interview with Newsmax TV, Kerpen reminded viewers that Americans had “demanded” Congress enter the...

An analysis of Boehner’s current investment holdings includes a number of stocks benefiting from Obamacare in a total portfolio estimated at between $3.5 and $5 million in current market value. Boehner’s Obamacare-related investments trace back to 2009, when the Obama administration was pushing the Affordable Health Care Act through Congress. Boehner has consistently maintained his investments are held in a blind trust and that he does not personally make investment decisions in his own investment portfolio. But few experienced congressional critics believe Boehner and other members of Congress are unaware of their investment holdings, because public disclosure requirements demand yearly...

JACKSON, Miss. — The question seemed to tug at Senator Thad Cochran throughout his bumpy re-election campaign in Mississippi: Why, after a long, distinguished career — 42 years in Congress, including six terms in the Senate — was he seeking a seventh term? By all accounts, Mr. Cochran had needed to be talked into running. He told one national publication that he had planned to retire, and another that the first thing he wanted to do after Election Day was take a nap. And while the snowy-haired, 76-year-old Republican tried to hush whispers that he was not quite as sharp...

RUSH: The Republican Party establishment... Let me set this up by going back to the 2012 presidential campaign. Remember when you learned that the Romney campaign, along with Republican establishment types, had put the word out that there was to be no criticism of Obama? In fact, I remember... I think I told you all this. A prospective Republican presidential candidate in 2010 or 2011 visited me. There was some confab here in Palm Beach, and this man called and wanted to come by and tell me what his plans were. So I said, "Sure, come on by Sunday morning."...