Free Republic

Dumb yet fascinating. Obama’s birth certificate won’t be an issue in the primaries (let’s hope) so how the big three rank is unimportant — unless Birtherism is actually a proxy for other political dynamics, in which case this becomes an interesting little data point. But if it’s a proxy, what’s it a proxy for? Level of education? Regional identification? Something else? My hunch is that the further right you go, the more Birther-y you get, not because you’re any more credulous on the merits of the birth-certificate argument but because the more adamant your opposition to Obama’s agenda, the more...

Just heard on Hannity, Romney will be in a few mintues

According to Public Policy Polling (PPP), a North Carolina polling firm, only 24% of self-identified Republican voters in the state believe Barack Obama was born in the United States. 47% do not believe that Obama is American born, and 29% of Republicans aren’t sure. One part of PPP’s data might reassure sentient readers somewhat: 7% of those who voted for John McCain do not believe Hawaii to be a part of the United States. Now perhaps this is just another irrational expression of Obama hatred. But, it may also be older voters who never quite absorbed the news that our...

Likely 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney is publishing a book. The Republican former governor of Massachusetts has signed a deal with St. Martin’s Press to put the book out next March, The New York Times reports. The work will be titled “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness” and is currently set for 304 pages. It will read like a campaign platform, including Romney’s take on the economy, military and families, jobs, education, health care, energy and citizenship, The Times reports. St. Martin’s hasn’t revealed how much Romney will be paid. Perhaps Romney was trying to match former Alaska Gov....

Someone sent this video to me as a means to saying Romney isn't a "real conservative." I'm curious to see if any of you agree with this analysis, and why. Please post your thoughts directly on the blog in response to this post. I will add my comments in a later post...

Frum disses Palin for sharing money with Alaska taxpayers when she comes out against government "handouts" He says Palin was popular in Alaska because she gave everyone 1200 bucks. Frum: Palin failed in interview after interview. Coulter: She has tremendous star power Frum: Palin a divisive force within the republican party And within the country. And will lead the party to political defeat and ineffectiveness in government. (LOL HUH? That's what the GOP did with McCain)Coulter: Reagan was divisive too, and they said he was just appealing to the base (It worked then) Coulter: Palin a lot closer to the...

Before the storm, said Louisiana resident James Madison, he had Mormons knock on his door just like everybody else and the object was to try to get rid of them as fast as possible; go away, not interested, don’t want to hear what you have to say. After the storm, “ . . . a little bit different now. They’re part of my family now. Always will be. They got into my heart. They’ll never stand on my doorstep again without being invited into my house.” They were hearing stories of troops coming in and heard helicopters were flying over,...

A palate cleanser occasioned by this weekend’s official resignation. Nothing too surprising here from any of the participants but the prospect of a Coulter/Frum faceoff over Hot Air readers’ favorite Republican is too juicy to resist. Plus, it beats the hell out of the umpteen thousand “Alaskans debate Palin’s legacy” pieces being cranked out by the media this weekend. Man on the street #1: “I love her!” Man on the street #2: “I hate her!” Wash, rinse, repeat. Frum does raise an interesting point at the end, though. Of the potential big three GOP candidates for 2012 — Romney, Huck,...

Mormons: The Most Conservative Religious Group In America That's according to a new report from Pew, released today and based on data from the group's 2007 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. More Mormons (60 percent) identify themselves as conservatives than any other religious group; they also lead every other group in GOP party identification (at 65 percent)--much higher than the general population in both categories.

If the GOP was smart, they would go with someone like Governor Linda Lingle (R), of Hawaii to challenge Obama in 2012. She's one tough lady. She's really smart, very level-headed, pro-business, fiscally conservative, and yet she supports women's issues, and she's also a social moderate. George W. Bush LOVED her. Interestingly, she's also Jewish (from Missouri), and was married, although now she's divorced. She would please conservatives AND moderate Republicans, plus she's got the Jewish vote and I know she would appeal to minorities, since she totally understands and relates to minorities, having presided over one of the most...

From the time of her announcement as the Vice Presidential selection by Senator John McCain, Governor Sarah Palin has been the target of a nearly solid wall of attacks from the Democrats. It was obvious to them from the very beginning that with her popularity rating in her home state of Alaska, her knowledge of the issues, added to the fact she is an attractive, young woman with a family must have terrified them. Could it be that she could actually lead the Republicans to the White House in 2009? Speaking from a Conservative viewpoint, I think it goes without...

Is it me or is Romney turning into Mclame?..... In the last two weeks, political commentators have expressed doubts over President Obama's time frame for healthcare reform. Meanwhile, even some Democrat lawmakers appear to be getting cold feet. In response, Obama is relentlessly pitching his plan. He has spoken about healthcare on eight out of the last nine days, and he's scheduled to hold a town hall meeting on the topic this Thursday. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is one of the few politicians in the country with first hand experience of steering major health care reform through the legislative...

At this time the two leading contenders for the Republican nomination in 2012 are Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin. Both possess virtues head and shoulders above all other Republican candidates, and both can easily restore the respectability of the Republican Party. So why not run both on the same ticket?

This says more about the downturn in The One’s approval ratings than it does about Mitt or Sarahcuda, but you know the Hot Air policy: You can never have too many 2012 polls. Just 21% of voters nationwide say Palin should run as an independent if she loses the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Sixty-three percent (63%) say the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee should not run as an independent. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure. If Romney secured the GOP nomination and Palin chose to run as an independent candidate, Obama would win the resulting three-way race with 44%...

If voters get to choose between Republican Mitt Romney and Democratic President Barack Obama in the 2012 election, a new national poll suggests the race would be too close to call. Both Romney and Obama had the support of 45 percent of respondents to a new Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday. The public opinion polling company asked 1,000 likely voters nationwide on July 18-19 whether they would vote for Romney or Obama if the 2012 presidential election were held today. The telephone survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. Utah's top pollster, Dan Jones, said...

POLL TO BE RELEASED AT 10:30 AM ET: ... OBAMA 45 ROMNEY 45 OBAMA 48 PALIN 42 ... DEVELOPING.....

Who knows how the Sarah Palin story will play out? It seems as if every political pundit in America has a take on PalinÂ’s resignation as AlaskaÂ’s governor. They can be mean-spirited (SheÂ’s hiding a scandal!), or cynical (Since she can rake in $60 grand and up for a simple speaking engagement, sheÂ’s taking the money and running like hell.) Some wonder whether this is her way of tuning up for a presidential run in 2012, or is the resignation a case of a hometown girl unable to stand the heat in her kitchen? We will get more information, but...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is leading Sarah Palin in the early fund-raising race among potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates, raking in a cool $1.6 million in the first six months of the year, new figures show. Romney, who raised more than any other Republican during his time in the 2008 primary, has continued his torrid pace, more than doubling the $733,000 raised by Palin since Jan. 1. Romney’s Free and Strong America political action committee raised a total of $1,610,019 since Jan. 1 while handing out $74,000 to federal and state GOP candidates nationwide. After expenses, the PAC was...

As the readers of FR know there is a decided gap between Sarah Palin's favorability numbers among her own party and/or Republicans and Republican Independents and who they would actually cast their vote for as POTUS as multiple polls have shown recently. Here is my take on why this is so: 1)There is a certain segment of Republicans or conservatives who firmly believe that Sarah will be too politically damaged by the MSM to be a viable candidate in 2012 even though many of them like Sarah personally or her policies. This is a legitimate concern that I hope does...

She pulls at the heartstrings of the Republican base, but in addition to all the peculiar problems of her own design, Sarah Palin has one obstacle she cannot overcome. Republicans like to choose the next in line—and she isn't. Sarah Palin is the bright red thread in the dull, grey fabric of the Republican Party. She is charismatic, quirky, melodramatic, and fervently anti-choice, anti-gay, and anti-Obama. But there's one thing she'll never be—the GOP nominee for President in 2012. Palin has the most intense grassroots base of any potential candidate, in the true-believing core of the party. And that's worth...