Free Republic

Both camps have denied any real friction, and they blamed “the media” for overhyping tensions, but Trump advisers say they see a hidden hand at play: that of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is in a pitched battle with Trump over the future of the Republican Party in political races all over the country. They pointed to the podcast itself, because DeSantis made the attention-grabbing remarks on Ruthless, which is co-hosted by McConnell’s longtime adviser Josh Holmes. Shortly after the podcast was posted Friday, Twitter was flooded with the suggestion that DeSantis had knocked Trump by saying one...

The Ruthless podcast tore into California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner for being a "no show" for a scheduled interview that her campaign initiated weeks ago. On Thursday's episode, the co-hosts began by revealing to listeners that they were supposed to interview the reality TV star-turned-politician on Wednesday but that when they launched the Zoom session, she never showed up despite the podcast's efforts to accommodate her schedule, which resulted in a special third episode this week. "It tells you a few things… You don't reach out to a show that you ultimately don't go on," Josh Holmes told listeners. "You...

Businessman Matt Bevin is the guy some see moving up in the Kentucky GOP governor's primary. Bevin also challenged now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in a primary last year. These two things are not distinct from one another. Now that Bevin's chances appear to be on the rise in the May 19 primary (thanks to Agriculture Commissioner James Comer's problems), here comes Team McConnell to knock him down a peg or two. And boy do they. Here is top McConnell aide Josh Holmes on Bevin in a new Lousiville Courier-Journal story: Josh Holmes, McConnell's former chief of staff and...

In 9-plus years of blogging, never have I seen a story this telling of a Republican Party that doesn't understand its base, or New Media. Worse, it's indicative of a corrupt inside-the-Beltway party that has abandoned or decided to ignore nearly everything I believe in as an American and a conservative. This is a disaster for several reasons; I'll try to briefly and clearly explain my thinking below. GLOVES OFF: GOP ESTABLISHMENT GOES AFTER TEA PARTY The National Republican Senate Committee, the GOP campaign arm responsible for Senate elections, has decided to use its political power to block consulting firm Jamestown Associates from receiving...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s chief of staff is stepping down from his position to focus exclusively on the GOP leader’s reelection campaign and the national Republican effort to take back the majority next year. The move, Republicans say, is a reflection of the growing belief — and concern — that 2014 could be the last opportunity in years for the GOP to recapture the Senate after blowing their chance at the majority in the past two election cycles. So McConnell is moving a key aide out of his official Washington office to work entirely on campaign politics. Continue Reading...