Free Republic

alk about campaign trail déjà vu. As hundreds of bundled-up supporters gathered around him on a freezing January day, Rick Santorum towered over a lectern and rallied his troops. Aides pecking at smartphones lined the perimeter of the hotel conference room. An army of young children scurried across the floor. Volunteers collected email addresses and phone numbers at a fold-up table near the door. The people, the “candidate” — even the weather — gave the event a presidential primary campaign feel. But this scene played out in the Capitol Hill Hyatt in Washington, not a Sheraton in West Des Moines...

ATLANTA (AP) --- Newt Gingrich, the House speaker who led a national GOP resurgence in the 1990s before facing ethics questions and resigning, is running for president. Gingrich's announcement, made on social networking websites Monday, came after months of public flirting with a bid. He enters a slow-to-form GOP presidential field that has left some Republicans craving more options as they search for a nominee strong enough to credibly challenge President Barack Obama. The former Georgia congressman, well-known to most Republicans, brings to the race a years-in-the-making political machine with ties to early nominating states as well as a network...

Jeb Bush in ’12: Third time may be charmCommentary: Never say never again By Darrell Delamaide WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Stranger things have happened. The notion that yet another Bush could run for the presidency only four short years after George W. Bush took his cowboy’s ride — and abysmal approval ratings — into the sunset may seem to be a stretch. But have you noticed? Jeb Bush, W.’s younger brother and a former two-term governor of Florida, is back. He’s giving interviews, making speeches, spearheading a Republican effort to woo Latino voters and clearly keeping his options open. “Never say...

It's looking highly likely that the 2012 Republican presidential nominee will be a retread. With Gov. Mark Sanford at wit's end, and Sen. John Ensign joining Sanford at adultery camp, and Gov. Jon Huntsman going to China, and Gov. Bobby Jindal flopping in his first big national TV appearance, and Gov. Mitch Daniels saying he doesn't want to be president, and Gov. Sarah Palin running such an undisciplined operation up there in Alaska, the prospect for fresh blood is thinning. We got some old party leaders from down South—Gov. Haley Barbour and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich—and a couple of...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Could there be a third President Bush? The current chief said Wednesday that younger brother Jeb would make a great one, too, and has asked him about making a run. The first President Bush likes the idea as well. Jeb Bush the Republican governor of Florida, has one asset that his presidential brother doesn't right now — approval from most of his constituents. While George W. Bush's approval ratings are in the low 30s, some 55 percent of Florida voters surveyed last month by Quinnipiac University said Jeb was doing a good job. The governor has repeatedly...

Is there anyone here who cannot pronounce the word "No"? I rather doubt there is. Ladies are generally familiar with it. "Sweetheart, may I kiss you goodnight", she replied, "No!" Men have used it to strangers many times. "Sir, may I have one of your cigarettes and borrow a dollar?" He replied, "No." This is a word we have all heard since we were tiny children, and one we have all said, probably too many times to our kids. Question: Do you have a problem speaking this word to persons of authority? Have you ever told a police officer, "No,...