Free Republic

In the fight to reform American schools, former Florida Gov. and outspoken education advocate Jeb Bush on Tuesday took direct aim at labor groups and joined a growing chorus who believe real change must start by loosening the grip of teachers unions. “We need to have a teacher evaluation system that is based on teachers being professionals, not part of some collective trade union bargaining process,” said Mr. Bush, chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education Reform, which kicked off its national summit in D.C. on Tuesday. “We have a system to reward teachers that’s based on an industrialized,...

It is time for Republicans to get serious. After flirting with just about every candidate in a large presidential field, is is time to come home to the one candidate who has the demonstrated ability to run the largest organization in the United States, the Executive Branch of the federal government; who has never been touched by the slightest taint of scandal; whose success in the private sector makes him the outsider that Republicans say they are looking for; and who has by far the best chance of beating President Obama: Mitt Romney.{Snip}

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The 2012 GOP primary between Sen. Richard Lugar and challenger Richard Mourdock is still more than six months away, but you can get a sense of what kind of battle it will be in this week's WISH-TV/Franklin College Poll. Lugar has a big advantage in some areas. When it comes to name identification, more than nine out of 10 voters recognize him, while Richard Mourdock's name registers with only two-thirds of the voters. Lugar also has a high favorability rating at 59 percent. Mourdock gets a positive response from just 17 percent. Yet if you place Mourdock's...

Scott Brown was the Tea Party’s first big electoral coup. Then Ted Kennedy’s successor began siding, again and again, with Barack Obama—and now, as Andrew Romano reports in this week’s Newsweek, some in his own party want to oust him. Scott Brown isn't himself. Which is to say, he isn't sounding much like the square-jawed, truck-driving, barn-jacket-bedecked Scott Brown—the calm, cool, collected Captain America—who stunned the political world a year ago by winning the special election to replace Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate. [SNIP] The strain of walking such a fine line must be getting to Brown, because as...

This GOP Senator Is Ready To Take Down The Tea Party Grace Wyler Feb. 3, 2011, 4:20 PM Image: scriptingnews via Flikr Veteran GOP Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana has thumbed his nose at Tea Party threats. The Hoosier State Republican knows they are coming after his Senate seat in 2012 but he is not going down without a fight. Lugar, who has served six terms in the Senate, has $2.3 million in his campaign war chest, which likely puts him far ahead of any potential primary challengers. But the 78-year old says he is kicking his fundraising up a...

To many, the biggest question surrounding the 2012 presidential election remains: Will Sarah Palin run? Regardless of the answer, conservative columnist George Will believes Palin “cannot be elected president because she cannot compete where elections are decided.” On ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, Will explained that Palin will have trouble getting votes in specific parts of the country.

No, Mike Castle Didn't Vote to Impeach President Bush BY Mary Katharine Ham September 14, 2010 2:00 PM As the Republican primary for the Senate seat from Delaware manages to become even more heated than it's been thus far, the newest charge of O'Donnell backers is that Rep. Mike Castle voted to impeach President George W. Bush. Those backers are referring to this vote, taken in June 2008. As you can see from the roll call, fully 24 Republicans voted to impeach President Bush, including conservatives like Pete King of New York and Kevin Brady of Texas. One imagines that...

Rep. Mike Castle (R) is gearing up for battle in Delaware: He is planning to air negative ads on his GOP primary opponent Christine O'Donnell. "We're not just going to sit by and let her destroy Mike Castle," a Castle campaign source told Hotline On Call. Hotline On Call reported that Castle has purchased about $180K worth of air time from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6. The campaign says that, at this point, it is not planning to air the negative ads during that time span, but it could change its mind. The campaign is currently making the ads. Castle...