Free Republic

TALLAHASSEE - Already lagging in the polls and facing possible ethics violations, Republican Tom Gallagher suffered another setback Friday, finishing dead last in fundraising among the four candidates for governor. Gallagher's $45,740 in so-called hard dollars raised during July trailed fellow Republican Charlie Crist by nearly $290,000 and leading Democrat Jim Davis by about $150,000. Democrat Rod Smith raised twice as much as Gallagher. Friday's news raised fresh speculation among Republican insiders about whether one of Florida's longest serving politicians will drop out of his fourth and likely last run for governor. Gallagher, the state's chief financial officer, is trailing...

WASHINGTON - Each December, the Family Research Council grades Congress on how it voted during the year on important conservative social issues, such as gay marriage and abortion. But this year, the group didn't even bother to score the Senate. Blame Terri Schiavo. After the public backlash that followed congressional intervention in Schiavo's end-of-life case in March, conservative social victories were just too few to count. Moderate Republicans, already uncomfortable with the rightward cant of their congressional leaders, found in Schiavo a new reason to keep their distance. And the Democrats who had helped pass several Republican priorities early this...