Free Republic

Joe Biden’s disastrous results in Iowa and New Hampshire have spooked Democratic donors who are preparing to jump ship and throw their money behind someone else—even as his campaign vowed Wednesday that the best is yet to come. New York heavyweight donors raising money for Biden are alarmed by the former vice president’s fifth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary and are privately wondering whether he can make it to Super Tuesday on March 3. “There’s a great deal of concern,” said a donor who is bundling contributions for a Biden fundraiser in New York Thursday. “It wasn’t expected that...

[I begin] with the story of a series of Socialist scholars conferences that Barack Obama attended when he lived in New York City between the years 1983 and 1985. And when I finally reconstructed what had gone on at these Socialist conferences that Barack Obama attended, I truly was amazed because what I saw was a kind of map of Barack Obama’s entire subsequent political career. It was at this Socialist conferences in New York in the mid-’80s that Barack Obama encountered the groups, the strategies, and the mentors who would guide him throughout his entire political career. [T]hese Socialist...

n March of 2005, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and its Pennsylvania counterpart (PPTA) honored Senator Rick Santorum for his dedication to public transportation. APTA president William W. Millar noted Santorum’s “tireless advocacy” and contributions on “both the national and local level.” This recognition came shortly after Santorum appeared on Meet the Press with Joe Biden and vowed to oppose President Bush in his efforts to cut Amtrak funding. “Without substantial government funds or other intervening action, Amtrak would quickly enter bankruptcy and shut down all of its services, leaving millions of riders and thousands of communities without access...

Sarah Palin said she wasn't surprised at Rick Santorum's success in Iowa, and warned that the GOP should not take Ron Paul's supporters lightly. Speaking on Fox News before Iowa's final numbers were in, she called Santorum "spot-on" with his policies toward Iran and praised his "social conservative" positions. Her strongest comments came for Paul, however, saying "the GOP had better not marginalize Ron Paul and his supporters after this" because "a lot of Americans are war-weary and we are broke" and Paul has reached that constituency well. She warned that the GOP "better work with them."

The best thing that can be said about Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s economic plan and its Tuesday rollout speech is that before now, he didn’t have a plan, and now he does. He can check that box. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, and, as a good Republican, I support everything he said. The problem is, we have supported it all before. Our voters want and appreciate creativity. This didn’t offer much in the way of anything new. This program is Steve Forbes-lite. But it is what it is. Now he has to stick with it. “Cut, Balance, and Grow”...

His speech and policies utilize the bait-and-switch. President Barack Obama, facing political heat and plummeting poll numbers inevitably generated by rapidly rising gasoline and energy prices, is calling for a one-third reduction in oil imports over the next decade. How will this potentially laudable — but likely farcical — goal be accomplished? By boosting domestic energy production, offering incentives to increase the use of biofuels and natural gas, and making cars and trucks more fuel-efficient. According to the AP and Fox: Obama long has said the U.S. needs to reduce its dependency on oil — particularly from overseas sources —...

Stanley Kurtz hit an Organizing for America nerve during Barack Obama’s campaign for president. Stanley, a Harvard-educated social anthropologist, is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and has written for National Review and National Review Online for over a decade. When he started not only asking questions but digging into Barack Obama’s academic and activist past, the campaign tried to shut him down — literally, organizing a phone slamdown on Chicago radio. Well, this still is America. And so Stanley has done what he is trained to do — research and present evidence to present a...

Via The Hill: Latino voters, the president said, would have an opportunity to send a message to Republicans, who Obama accused of “politicizing” immigration reform and the border security debate. Obama said “pressure has to be put on the Republican Party” if immigration reform is to become a reality. “And if Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, we’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us, if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it’s gonna be...