Free Republic

Rob Sand is a gun-toting Christian from rural Iowa who goes deer hunting, drives a white Ford F-150 pickup, and opens speeches by quoting the Bible. He is also a rising Democratic star whose run for governor is spooking Republicans in the ruby red state. The father of two, 43, is the only Democrat to currently hold statewide office in Iowa and could hold the recipe for winning over voters in pro-Trump states.

The Kentucky Senator, who is known for advocating libertarian positions, said in an interview on Newsmax that it would be a “huge mistake” for Trump to use the military to help deport the tens of millions of illegal aliens currently residing in America. Trump has long insisted that he will use the military to help speed up the deportations, which will inevitably require a huge amount of manpower in order to send these individuals back to where they came from. Paul, meanwhile, does not agree. He explained:

Libertarian Party of Tennessee Chair Josiah Baker wrote on Tuesday that he opposes the Libertarian Party presidential ticket of Chase Oliver and Mike Ter Maat, and is instead endorsing an alternate ticket of Clint Russell and Josie Glabach. In an opinion article shared via the Libertarian Party of Tennessee’s X account, Baker expressed his belief that the Libertarian ticket of Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat does not align with the values and goals of the LPTN. He cited several primary reason for his opposition to the campaign, including his view that Oliver is a weak advocate for the Second...

OK I went to his twitter page to see if he's explained his vote on FISA inclusion in the NDAA and not a peep. It's full of interviews etc. of him being against Free Speech on campuses What is he doing? He might not like certain speech but as a Member of Congress it's not up to him to decide. He's losing the plot with all this. John Cornyn is taking heat on the NDAA (rightly). I still haven't heard anything from Cruz. Perhaps someone from TX can find out what the situation is. He can't hide from this forever!

EDINA, Minnesota (LifeSiteNews) — A Lutheran female “minister” has gone viral for reciting a heretical “Sparkle Creed” as part of a recent church service. The Edina Community Lutheran Church (ECLC) “minister,” Anna Helgen, led the congregation in the “creed”: I believe in the non-binary God whose pronouns are plural. I believe in Jesus Christ, their child who wore a fabulous tunic and had two dads and saw everyone as a sibling-child of God. I believe in the rainbow spirit who shatters our image of one white light and refracts it into a rainbow of gorgeous diversity. I believe in the...

Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) said on Monday that he will oppose President Trump's attorney general nominee, becoming the first Republican to come out as a "no" vote on William Barr. Paul told Politico that he had concerns about Barr's record on privacy, calling him a "chief advocate for warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens." A spokesman for Paul didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The libertarian-leaning GOP senator had previously raised concerns about Barr, who also served as attorney general to President George H.W. Bush.

With Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) beginning his run for the Presidency today, I should make public the question I've suggested to reporters in private. Senator Cruz is for certain going to be joined by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who will announce in a few weeks. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who I think is underrated in his bid for the Presidency even though Jeb Bush is intent on locking up Florida, will also most likely declare his candidacy. All three of these men would make excellent Presidents. I know them personally. I backed them when they were at single digits in...

Rand Paul will formally declare his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination with a five-state, five-day announcement tour next month, Republicans knowledgeable about the Kentucky senator’s plans told The Washington Times. Mr. Paul will make his announcement first in Louisville at noon on April 7, then head to New Hampshire on April 8, Charleston, S.C., on April 9, Iowa City on April 10 and Las Vegas on April 11. Traditionally, presidential candidates enter the race by declaring in their home state and then flying to at least two of the first four states that hold presidential preference contests the...

“I have a biology degree, okay?”– Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), in remarks at the Lincoln Labs “Reboot Congress” conference, Feb. 12, 2015This column has been updated with an additional explanation by Paul’s spokesman.We first spotted a version of this quote in a Bloomberg column by David Weigel, and then checked the quotes with our colleague Jose DelReal, who had attended the conference.This is a bit of an odd one, given that Paul does not have a college undergraduate degree.The Facts Paul mentioned his alleged degree at the conference not once, but twice. First, in an exchange with TechCrunch founder Michael...

Glenn Beck says he is no longer a member of the Republican Party. “I’ve made my decision — I’m out," Beck said on his radio show Wednesday, according to Mediaite.com. "I’m out of the Republican Party. I am not a Republican; I will not give a dime to the Republican Party. I’m out.” The former Fox News host and founder of the Blaze supported the GOP during the last election cycle but has become disillusioned with the party in recent years over what he believes was its failure to stand up to the Obama administration — specifically, the Affordable Care...

Paul, according to CNN, also talked about making the Republican party “bigger” and much more inclusive, saying that unless Republicans “broaden their message” to reach more people, winning future elections is going to be a bit of a problem. “You go to a Republican event and it’s all white people—not because we’re excluding anybody, but because we just haven’t done a good enough job encouraging people to come into our party.”

Among the liberty movement the Rand Paul debate rages on. Is he a political player or an opportunist sellout? Senator Rand Paul stunned many libertarians in 2012 when he endorsed Mitt Romney for President. This was the same Romney who deployed campaign lawyers to the Republican National Convention and rigged the future nomination process.Now Senator Paul has “wholeheartedly” endorsed Senator Susan Collins for re-election, telling the Portland Press Herald she is “doing a great job for Maine and for the country.” Enter another war between Senator Paul apologists and principle-driven libertarians.It’s unsurprising to some degree. A year ago State Senate...

Rand Paul will do his best to charm a group Mitt Romney’s top donors next week at an event facilitated by Romney finance director Spencer Zwick. The Friday luncheon will take place in Boston at the offices of Zwick’s private-equity firm, Solamere Capital, according to a source familiar with the event. Romney’s eldest son Tagg is also a managing partner at the firm, and Romney is the executive chairman. The event is yet another signal that Paul is preparing a for a serious presidential bid in 2016. Two years before the GOP primary, Paul is attempting to branch out beyond...

Lawmakers in Washington are debating whether to export more natural gas to combat Russian threats to cut off its gas supplies to Europe. Our D-C reporter Matt Laslo has a look at what that could mean for Wyoming’s economy – and environment… MATT LASLO: Wyoming's junior senator, John Barrasso, made waves when her first came to Washington. And while he's now in the Republican leadership team in the U-S Senate, he's starting to get brushed aside by many reporters and politicians because of his near singular focus on dismantling what he terms Obamacare. But this week lawmakers of all stripes...

I read the following (italicized) from the New York Young Republican Club this afternoon on another Thread here on Free Republic. Ron Paul is proud of his friendship with the late Murray Rothbard, an economist of the “Austrian” school.... Paul and Rothbard shared an affinity for sound money (i.e., gold) and a disdain for the Federal Reserve System.... Rothbard, among conservatives, is mostly known for two things: 1) His authoring of a hate piece against Ronald Reagan, entitled “Ronald Reagan: Warmonger,” published in 1983, in which he roundly criticized Reagan’s policies for fighting the Cold War in South America (specifically...

2012 Libertarian Party presidential nominee and chairman of the Our America Initiative, Gary Johnson announced yesterday the formation of a 527 Super PAC called Our America PAC. The new Super PAC has the goal of supporting and ultimately getting into elective public office, principled candidates committed to smaller government, fiscal conservatism and individual liberty... Yesterday, Johnson said of the new Super PAC, “From the realities of government-run healthcare setting in to the continuing disclosures of the breadth of NSA’s domestic spying, more Americans than ever are ready to take a serious look at candidates who offer real alternatives to business-as-usual....

Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI) was endorsed by the conservative Club for Growth, which gives him a 100% lifetime voting scorecard rating, on October 8. However, seven Republican establishment donors who live in his western Michigan district recently endorsed his primary opponent, Brian Ellis, who claims Amash is not a "traditional conservative." First elected in 2010, Amash has ranked #1 on the fiscally conservative, pro-economic growth Club for Growth scorecards out of 435 members of the House of Representatives in both the 112th and current 113th Congress.The seven donors (J.C. Huizenga, Mark Bissel, Mike Jandernoa, Mark Murray, John Canepa, Marge Potter, and David...

Crime And Trivia I haven't written about the Laci Peterson murder case or the rape case involving Kobe Bryant for two reasons. One, the only things that should be legitimately reported about any criminal trial are the testimony of the witnesses under oath and the remarks of the judge and the attorneys inside the courtroom during the trial. Everything else is hearsay and gossip. Two, an ordinary crime and subsequent criminal trial do not affect anyone except the victim, the perpetrator and their families. Therefore, it should be of no interest to anyone else. Unless you are family or friend,...

MSNBC's Chris Matthews made a bold prediction on Wednesday's Hardball. "The hard-right is going to take over the Republican Party in 2016 and the nomination is going to Rand Paul" (video follows with transcript and commentary):CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me finish tonight with this. I’ve been offering a prediction of late. Let me nail it down now. I believe the Republican Party is going to go hard-right in 2016. It’s going to run someone from the growing hard-right wing of the Party, something it hasn't done since 1980. And here's the thinking which works equally...

Money line: “This is what I do for a living.” Didn’t he predict a Bush/Clinton race in 2016 just nine months ago? If he believes what he says here about the parties swinging like “pendulums” from moderate nominees to ideologues and then back again, why would he have named Jeb as a strong contender last November? In fact, the roots of the counterargument are in Matthews’s own shpiel here: Most of the time, they head to the center. This is what Republicans did most successfully in 1952 – when, after twenty years of Roosevelt and Harry Truman – they wanted...