Free Republic

The New Hampshire Republican Party amended its platform this weekend with stricter abortion provisions, including support for "personhood," which defines life as beginning at conception.Personhood has become a hot-button issue in Senate races across the country this year, such as Colorado, where Democrats have successfully attacked Rep. Cory Gardner for having supported such a measure in the past.Now, the issue could spread to New Hampshire, following the state party's decision at its convention.The platform now states: "Support the pre-born child's fundamental right to life and personhood under the Fourteenth Amendment, and implement all Constitutional and legal protections."It added: "Support a...

Republican activists in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire generally speak of Sarah Palin’s presidential prospects in encouraging terms. She’s a star, they say. If she decides to run, she’ll shake up the field. Lately, the praise has been tempered with warnings about how her time is growing short. But on Monday, the day Palin appeared before a large and very enthusiastic crowd at a Tea Party Express rally here, and two days after her much-anticipated speech to the Tea Party of America in Indianola, Iowa, a plugged-in New Hampshire Republican said he believes her window has already...

GOP megastar Sarah Palin’s bus tour rumbled toward the Hub last night, driving into a Republican Party furor as her headline-grabbing East Coast trip threatened to overshadow today’s presidential announcement by party front-runner Mitt Romney. “She will certainly be in New Hampshire to rain on Mitt’s parade,” wrote Massachusetts GOP spokesman Tim Buckley in an e-mail obtained by the Herald. Bay State GOP officials confirmed yesterday that Buckley wrote the e-mail, but said it was a private exchange and not an official communication. “I guess she blew in with the storm,” sniffed state House minority leader Bradley H. Jones (R-North...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates seem to be playing a game of chicken, with contenders waiting for someone to move first, observers said. Some 2012 GOP hopefuls this year seem more reticent about promoting themselves before the midterms in November while others are keeping mum for more strategic reasons, Politico reported Sunday. GOP 2008 presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former Republican National Committee chief and current Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels are among those who are jockeying behind the scenes, leaving Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty virtually...