Free Republic

Outside of Republicans, she’s not popular at all. According to our NBC/WSJ poll, just 29% view her favorably, compared with 43% who view her unfavorably (not far from George W. Bush’s 29%-50% score). In addition, the poll shows that 52% have problems with a candidate who has been endorsed by Palin, versus only 25% who are comfortable with that attribute. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Palin is more of a political celebrity than a political figure. ~First Read This is true, but there is nothing here about Palin that we know now that we didn’t already...

One of the most flogged excuses by both Palin and her supporters for her resignation as Governor of Alaska was that ethics complaints were "bankrupting" her. But the Independent Council Report issued in conjunction with the decision on her Legal Defense Fund says otherwise. Not only does it show the State of Alaska offered to make payments for her legal costs it shows that even bfore the election the Palin campaign was making alternate plans to not only get the McCain campaign to pay for them but to hit up the Rnc AND set up a legal defense fund. When...

Truth in advertising: I've been an off and on, Mitt Romney supporter. By and large, off. But I'm beginning to wonder if maybe Mitt deserves a second look.

As Sen. John McCain readies for a potential primary challenge from the right this fall, the Arizona Republican is playing his trump card. Sarah Palin, McCain's former running mate and perhaps the most powerful brand in Republican politics, will stump for McCain in Arizona on March 26 and 27, a Palin adviser told CNN. The presence of Palin - and the considerable crowds and media attention she will draw - might give pause to J.D. Hayworth, the former Republican congressman and radio host who opposes McCain's position on illegal immigration and is mulling a Senate run of his own.

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, look what the pollsters just brought in. A pair of new surveys revealing that Democrat President Obama is still declining and has hit a new low in job approval among Americans just 56 weeks after they elected him with a decided margin. And -- wait for it -- Republican Sarah Palin is successfully selling a whole lot more than books out there on the road. Even among those not lining up in 10-degree weather to catch a glimpse of pretty much the only political celebrity the GOP has these days. First, el jefe. Facing double-digit unemployment, rising...

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said Monday that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would have “some explaining” to do if she seeks the White House. “She's done a lot to draw attention to herself that's positive,” Santorum during an interview on ABC’s “Top Line,” adding that the former Republican vice presidential nominee has “done some things that, you know, certainly are going to cause her to have to do some explaining if she runs for president.” “But right now I think she's on a roll, she's having a good time, she's having an impact,” he continued. “If you're sitting here...

Two weeks ago, an Iowa poll showed Palin trailing Huckabee by just two points, 70% to 68%, in favorability ratings among Iowa Republicans. She easily outdistanced Mitt Romney, who garnered only 58 percent. Despite a media onslaught attempting to spin the Clemmons story, Huckabee's credibility has taken a serious hit. Even those who boosted him to victory in the 2008 Iowa Caucus are questioning the former Arkansas governor's judgment.

Sarah's explanation of why she legitimized the birther conspiracy theorists feeds right into her victimhood storyline: Voters have every right to ask candidates for information if they so choose. I’ve pointed out that it was seemingly fair game during the 2008 election for many on the left to badger my doctor and lawyer for proof that Trig is in fact my child. Conspiracy-minded reporters and voters had a right to ask … which they have repeatedly. Ah yes... Palin was a victim of a massive left wing conspiracy that forced her to courageously step down as Alaska's governor.  So it's...

Mitt Romney says that like other presidents, Barack Obama inherited a recession. But the former Massachusetts governor feels unlike his predecessors, Obama has made the recession he inherited worse, not better. In an op-ed in Wednesday's USA Today, Romney says what he calls the president's inability to "stem" the rise in unemployment should not be a surpise. "With no experience whatsoever in the world of employment and business formation, he had no compass to guide his path. Instead, he turned over much of his economic recovery agenda to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, themselves nearly...

I have been a minor participant at Free Republic, the Internet’s leading conservative forum, since September 2004. An online friend referred me to a discussion where members of Free Republic were talking about the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections, and using my maps from this page to make a point. I had to join FR to introduce myself to that group, and thank them for visiting. Because that was right after the “Rathergate” scandal, I thus became one of the “Pajamahadeen” that had just brought down the Sauronic eye of CBS. Being a “Freeper” has been an interesting and fun...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – It looks like Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may have one less fan. On the same day that Palin is set to transfer power to her lieutenant governor, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos said her prospects for national office looked grim. “’I’ve been a supporter of Sarah Palin — at times,” Castellanos said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “She gave the McCain campaign its best two weeks. But, you know, if we’re going to be critical of Democrats when they shirk their responsibilities, we have do the same within our own house. She abandoned her state in...

The Honorable Governor Palin had this to say about the latest media BS: inaccurate story floating around regarding ethics violation & Legal Defense Fund. The matter is still pending and new information was just requested. Their will be a final report. Amanda Carpenter, of Human Events, responds to the Associated Press’s illegal and premature leak about Governor Palin and the most resent ethics complaint. The Associated Press claims soon-to-be former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin will be found guilty of violating her state's ethics rules, citing a report leaked to their offices from the State Personnel Board on one of the...

POLL: Are Palin ethics investigations a waste of money or necessary for keeping politicians in check?

Update, 10:15 p.m.: Randy Evans, the attorney who helped Palin set up the Alaska Trust Fund, released a statement moments ago dismissing the allegation that there was any impropriety in its founding as "absolutely untrue". Added Evans: "It was specifically patterned after well recognized trusts of prior Presidential candidates as well as high profile public servants. As with other public servants, there is no impropriety in the creation or operation of such a trust and any suggestion to the contrary is candidly absurd." Evans, a partner in the firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge, is a well known Republican attorney,...

You’ve got to hand it to them. The Democrats and radical lefties know how to hit below the belt. For the umpteenth time in a long string of dismissed complaints, a leaked investigative memo details that soon to be ex-Governor Palin may have traded on her influence for personal gain. The report is so laughably shoddy and lacking in common sense. It lacks two important things: One, any mention of what Palin may have traded (in kind) for contributions to the defense fund. Instead, the report states that a normal individual wouldn't be able to raise money like that and...

"I find the notion that I have taken any action pertaining to the legal defense trust fund misguided and factually in error. I am informed that this fund was created by experienced attorneys in DC and was modeled after other similar funds established for senators and others. The fund itself was not created by me nor is it controlled by me. Neither I nor my lawyer has received a penny from this fund, and I am informed the Trustee was withholding any action or payment pending final resolution with the Personnel Board. This is the hallmark of legal compliance and...

Rachel D'Oro of the Associated Press has a story on Kim Chatman's ethics complaint about the Alaska Fund Trust with a big, splashy headline: "Palin implicated in ethics probe." The practical effect of the ruling on Palin will be more financial than anything else. The report recommends that Palin refuse to accept payment from the defense fund, and that the complaint be resolved without a formal hearing before the Alaska Personnel Board. However, it seems that the report "obtained" by the AP is not the final one from the Personnel Board's investigator. The governor just tweeted: Re inaccurate story floating...

Outgoing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated state ethics laws by letting supporters set up a legal defense fund to help her battle ethics complaints, a preliminary report on the issue has found. Sarah Palin's attorney says the report is not final, and he is preparing more information for the investigator. An investigator hired by the state personnel board recommended Palin -- who gives up her office on Sunday -- refuse money from the defense fund and ask the state to pay legal fees for ethics complaints that have been dismissed. Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein said the report...

Governor Palin has seen a huge increase in the amount of people following her on Twitter since she announced her resignation in early July. She currently stands at nearly 106,000 followers, but I believe that we can push her to at least 110,000. So, tell all your friends to start following Governor Palin on twitter!