Free Republic

As Republicans rubbed their eyes on the morning of November 9, it became painfully clear that the much-predicted red wave had turned out to be a mirage. A slew of unremarkable Republican candidates lost their bids to unseat Democratic congressmen, and prominent “MAGA-style” Trump-backed candidates lost as well. Both groups within the GOP blamed the other, with MAGA Republicans saying that the establishment GOP was milquetoast, and mainstream Republicans criticizing the crass populism of many Trump candidates. In spite of rampant inflation and general economic anxiety, Republicans only nar­rowly reclaimed the House of Representatives and failed to take the U.S....

As the forensic audit in Maricopa County, Arizona, winds down, expectations are rising that the defects of the 2020 election will finally be addressed. A recent poll reports that "more than half" of Republicans expect the audit to bounce President Biden out of office. That's not going to happen. And that's not a bad thing. Fixing the 2020 election requires more than Biden has to offer. Real reform requires going after the people who put Biden in office. If the goal is bouncing Biden, then, as a practical matter, at a certain point, we need to stop litigating the outcome...

President Joe Biden’s inauguration marks not only a new administration’s beginning but also a new chapter for the loyal opposition. The Grand Old Party lost the White House while picking up U.S. House seats, holding half the Senate, and adding to its numbers in state legislative chambers. These conflicting outcomes leave Republicans facing the difficult task of cementing blue-collar Trump voters into their ranks while regaining strength in the suburbs and making inroads with an increasingly diverse electorate. To rebuild, Republicans must decide what their party stands for. The way forward begins with clarifying what the GOP’s answers should be...

My column this weekend is about why Mitt Romney, however inevitable he may seem to some, has not closed the deal for me. Hint: I couldn’t care less about Bain Capital. The issues in the election are Obamacare and debt. Focusing on them massively favors the GOP … except that Romneycare is the building block for Obamacare and, far from admitting error, Mitt has doubled down. As readers will see, I believe his federalism defense of Romneycare is fatuous. The Massachusetts program is indefensible. By nominating someone who vigorously defends it, I am very worried that we are giving away...

Former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Sunday became the latest pundit to concede that while Mitt Romney may not be the perfect candidate, conservatives should prepare to support him as their nominee. As Ben Smith reported, when Huckabee was asked Sunday by 77WABC New York "Investigative Radio" host Aaron Klein to comment on whether the tea party will sit out the 2012 election if former Massachusetts Gov. Romney is the Republican nominee, Huckabee responded with the following: It would be real tragic if they stayed out because Mitt Romney may not be their first choice, but...

The dust is beginning to settle; the fix is in on the likely 2012 GOP candidate, and Mitt Romney is looking more-and-more likely-than-not to win the GOP Presidential nomination. I can see the establishment Republican leadership vying to get a Cain, Bachmann, or Rubio as a VP candidate to placate Tea Party support. As a Tea Party supporter, I perceive the likely appearance of a third party TEA PARTY candidate, Ron Paul or onother; which would almost ensure the re-election of Obama through Ross Perot-effect, and the end-game fundamental transformation of our Constitutionally-driven American Republic to a Socialist nightmare through...

GOP needs tough love, not abandonment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Star Parker, World Net Daily, October 14, 2006 A survey just released by the Pew Center shows that 51 percent of Democrats are enthusiastic about voting in 2006 as opposed to 33 percent of Republicans. This is almost a mirror image of what the picture looked like in 1994. A Pew Center poll also shows a precipitous drop in support for Republicans and the Bush administration among white evangelicals. It's now a little over 50 percent, whereas in 2004 it was closer to 75 percent. Given the realities staring us in the...

JAPAN TODAY March 28, 2002 ATLANTA — U.S. President George Bush quietly signed what he called a flawed law to reform political fund-raising on Wednesday and then set off on a blitz to raise some $3.5 million for fellow Republicans. Bush praised the law's ban on the unlimited contributions known as "soft money" to national political parties but he questioned its limits on outside political advertising and its failure to protect union members and company shareholders from having their money spent on politics without their consent. In a sign of his misgivings about the bill, the broadest overhaul of U.S....