Free Republic

Maybe Donald Trump’s not as anti-establishment as some people think. It seems GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch — one of the most “establishment” senators out there — thinks Trump could be the ticket to a GOP victory in November:

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney and his strategists expected his Mormon faith to fade as an issue for fundamentalist Christians during his first presidential campaign. This time around, should he choose to run again, they have doubts. ...But even as the national Republican establishment warms to Romney as never before, the former candidate and his closest aides now believe a group of voters will always be off-limits because of his religion. SNIP In Iowa, three-fifths of caucus-goers considered themselves “born-again or evangelical Christian,’’ according to a survey, taken for a media consortium as voters entered the caucuses. SNIP More than one-third...

President-elect Barack Obama’s outreach to Republicans may be generating goodwill on the other side of the aisle, but the honeymoon is likely to be short-lived. There’s just too much distance between Obama and congressional Republicans on too many key economic, social and foreign policy issues. There are, however, some Republicans who stand to have a less adversarial relationship with the new administration. Either their past history or present statements put them at the top of the list of GOP members who are expected to work closely with the White House, even if it means bucking their own party. Here is...

Those of us who got our hopes up that $4 gas would finally galvanize the country to break the strangle-hold the extremists in the environmental movement have on our lives and on our future – and impel the Congress to do something sensible for a change – are going to have to grit our teeth and fight even harder. Not only have these five Republican Senators joined with Democrat environmentalists to scuttle all attempts for citizens of the U.S.A. to begin to achieve some semblance of energy independence, but they may have robbed John McCain of the hottest issue to...

I'm optimistic that in this election we are choosing between two good and uniquely qualified individuals seeking the job with a least a more inherent civility, let alone grasp of history, than we've experienced in the last eight years. This can only be a good thing. I like John McCain. I wouldn't walk across the street to shake George Bush's hand, but I'd walk a country mile, barefoot, to shake McCain's.

Political reporters have long been obsessed with conflict between presidential candidates and their running mates, at least since the days of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. That's probably one reason why McCain's joke in Detroit last week that Mitt Romney was "doing a better job for me than he did for himself" sparked a wave of news stories speculating that McCain was seriously considering, for the vice-presidential slot, his bitter rival turned loyal surrogate. But while choosing Romney to be his running mate would make Washington journalists happy, it would be nothing short of political suicide for McCain.

WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate have freed GOP members to go against the traditional party platform if it will help them get re-elected, aides say. The Politico reported Tuesday that the GOP leadership set their members free amid fears they could lose five or more seats to Democrats in November. Republican leaders have told senators in tough re-election bids to side with Democrats on anything but energy and national security issues, a leadership aide told Politico.

SURFSIDE - Democrat Joe Lieberman, campaigning among Jewish voters in South Florida for fellow senator John McCain, said today he won't be the Republican presidential candidate's running mate. "I had the opportunity to run in 2000," said Lieberman, a self-described "independent Democrat" from Connecticut. Lieberman, who was Al Gore's Democratic vice presidential running mate, said he's looking forward to staying a U.S. senator and working with McCain in the White House to build a coalition of Democrats, Republican and independents.

Americans should pick a president they think they can trust. John McCain should pick a running mate he knows he can trust. McCain knows he can trust Lindsey Graham.

Biting the Bullet: It’s Either McCain or Obama By Rene Guerra Never, ever, in her 232 years of illustrious existence, has America been at such a dire juncture where her enemies and rivals--domestic and foreign--are so determinedly poised and so advantageously positioned to undoing her. Islamofascism has vowed to destroy America, at any cost; “Death to America” the frenzied, mouth-foaming, suicidal Iranian throngs cry. Our brave troops in Iraq and Afghanistan keep fighting day in and day out the terrorists that the Saudi Wahhabis, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Iranian Shiite fundamentalists, and the Syrian Baathists would otherwise be sending to...

Conservatives don’t love John McCain, but unless they’re considering abandoning their cause with Atlas Shrugged proportions, there’s no way in hell they’ll vote for Barack Obama. Sometimes, things have to get worse before they get better. And with that idea in mind, the conservative movement really is America’s crutch. The most specific example is economics, as conservatives constantly preach lower taxes and greater individual freedom. One would think that the Bush tax cuts, which have yielded continued economic growth (yes, our economy is growing, despite the lies you keep hearing), and the burgeoning economy during the Reagan Administration would provide...

This is a serious question and I respectfully ask for serious, thoughtful responses from the most ardent McCain detractors and not the casually disgusted. If you are only casually disgusted, please refrain from mucking up the thread and allow only the truly bulemic to air their rationale. I am not a McCain supporter, never have been probably never will be. That he will be the eventual GOP nominee is all but assured and that I might find I must vote for him if only to counter an Obama or Clinton administration, well, that's my decision and one I hope you...

All indications are the Democrats will pick up seats in both the House and Senate, with the Senate likely being a couple of RHINOs away from the magic 60. McCain is no Reagan but he's the only thing standing in the way of the most liberal Senator in Senate becoming President with a clear majority in Congress and at a critical time with decisions to be made on the war on terror, the war in Iraq, heath care, taxes, illegal immigration and likely the Supreme Court. Sometimes you do have to pick the lesser of two evils. This is one...

Today John McCain campaign released a very powerful and emotional ad that portrays a man who made the ultimate sacrifice to serve this greatest nation in history of mankind. I do not know how anyone cannot consider that this great man will be great commander in Chief when they see the footage of him in captivity and being interrogated by his Vietnamese captures. This is the man that we need to continue and win this great war against the Islamic terrorist enemy. (View the very powerful ad here) http://blogsforjohnmccain.com/new-john-mccain-ad-mccain-624787 When he was at the lowest point of his campaign last...

How conservative is Mr. McCain? During his quarter century in Washington, the senator has assembled an 82% rating from the American Conservative Union, placing him 39th among senators in 2006, while drawing a 25% lifetime rating from the liberal American Civil Liberties Union. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, has a 75% ACLU lifetime rating. A scorecard by the antitax Club for Growth, a conservative political-action committee, ranked him 29th among 55 Republican senators in 2006.

Sen. Thad Cochran has shifted his support to Sen. John McCain for president. Cochran made the announcement in a statement Thursday after his first choice, former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, dropped out of the Republican race. Mississippi's other senator, Roger Wicker, a Republican, had endorsed former Tennessee senator, Fred Thompson, who has also withdrawn from the race. Wicker has not announced his support for another candidate. GOP Cong. Chip Pickering endorsed McCain last year. Cong. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, has endorsed fellow Democrat, Barack Obama for president.

With the race to succeed him reaching a critical juncture, President Bush on Friday began rallying the Republican base around its presumptive nominee, John McCain. In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Bush offered an implicit endorsement of McCain, a senator from Arizona, as a true conservative in the face of deep skepticism on the right.

Fred Thompson, the one-time Republican presidential candidate, endorsed Sen. John McCain Friday, calling on the party to "close ranks" behind the presumed nominee

Syndicated talk-radio host Mark Levin said this about John McCain last night, “We know who John McCain is … we’ve seen him with our own two eyes, we’ve heard him with our two ears … We smell defeat in November whether he wins or loses.” This is the audio of Mark explaining why. For many of us who have flatly stated that we will not vote for John McCain in 2008, it is not just resisting the urge to vote for the lesser of two evils, we see McCain, Obama, and Clinton as a wash.

By unanimous vote of our principals, we endorse the candidacy of Senator John McCain for President of the United States.Why? Because in spite of our preternaturally youthful looks...we're grown-ups. Or, if you prefer...because America is more important than any one of us and our personal feelings. Mitt Romney delivered an amazing speech at CPAC yesterday. He proved himself a noble, good, decent, patriotic man. He showed us all that he's a man we'll be seeing a lot more of down the road, and that we'll be lucky to have him. There were a lot of specifics in his speech, but...