Free Republic

Mitt Romney made a hastily arranged trip to Charlotte, N.C., on Friday, and not just because that city is the site of the Democratic National Convention. It's because North Carolina looks to be leaning red. President Obama won the state four years ago but his decision to publicly endorse same-sex marriage this week could cost him the Tar Heel state, especially as his announcement came the day after the state rejected an amendment legalizing gay marriage. The Republican National Committee circulated a memo on the state, arguing that the retirement of high-profile Democratic lawmakers in the North Carolina, a sexual...

Gay group starts petition to force Dems to move convention out of NCBy Neil Munro - The Daily Caller | The Daily Caller – 7 hrs ago A gay advocacy group is trying to rally sympathizers to help shift the Democrats’ trouble-plagued convention from North Carolina to another state. The group, Gay Marriage USA, launched a petition on change.org immediately after the state’s voters overwhelmingly decided May 8 to define marriage as a heterosexual institution. The state’s amendment “discriminates against LGBT people, couples & their families [and] in protest, the Democratic National Convention Committee should MOVE its convention… to a...

At the Democratic convention four years ago, her spirited speech helped unite the party behind Barack Obama. And four years from now, many Democrats hope she’ll be the White House nominee delegates rally around. But as for the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte – Hillary Clinton won’t be coming. This year, she’s secretary of State. And as the country’s chief diplomat, she’s expected to stay above all things partisan. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will be at the DNC in Charlotte, his spokesman, Matt McKenna, confirmed Friday. But various federal statutes and the State Department’s ethical guidelines will...

Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate and perennial third-party presidential candidate, announced last month that he would work to find a Democrat to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012. Nader now says that a primary challenge is a near certainty. “What [Obama] did this week is just going to energize that effort,” Nader promised in an interview with The Daily Caller. “I would guess that the chances of there being a challenge to Obama in the primary are almost 100 percent.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Democratic Party didn't just think Charlotte would be a nice place to hold the 2012 nominating convention. On Wednesday the city released a copy of the contract the city signed and the promises it made to win the convention. Money usually tops any list and Charlotte agreed to raise $36 million in private contributions. Will Miller of Charlotte 2012, the group that lobbied for the convention, said he did not believe that would be a problem. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Document: Download the contract (PDF) http://media.wcnc.com/documents/020211-DNC+Master+Contract.pdf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We've got a sitting president and I think history has shown that...

Charlotte, N.C. — The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that it will hold its 2012 convention to nominate a presidential candidate in Charlotte. The convention is expected to draw up to 50,000 delegates, politicians and journalists to the city for the week of Sept. 3, 2012. In a statement following the announcement, the co-chairmen of the Charlotte committee were effusive in their praise for their city and eagerness to host the Democrats. Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx said, "We have an unmatched opportunity to show the world what a beautiful, energetic, innovative and diverse city we are building in Charlotte." Jim...

CNN: "She has more experience working in and with the White House than most living presidents. She is one of the most admired women in our nation's history. Let's make sure the president we should have elected in 2008 will be on the ballot in 2012. Hillary 2012: Hillary Clinton for President. Start now. Where there's a Hill there's a way," says an ad that began running on television in New Orleans Wednesday. Click here to watch the Video from Youtube

A reform effort to take away party bigwigs’ presidential-nominating power suffers a setback. Before 2008, your average American might not have known what a Democratic Party superdelegate was. But that year these mysterious party insiders became a feature of the daily news cycle as the fierce presidential-primary battle swept across the country. In a neck-and-neck race, the party confronted the very real possibility that these unelected delegates to its national convention might support Hillary Clinton in sufficient numbers to give her the nomination, despite Barack Obama’s slim but indisputable lead among pledged delegates, who are assigned by the results of...

On 60 Minutes earlier this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented that the American economy is making it more difficult for her to do her job because other nations are telling her that “we always look to you because you have this great economy, and now you’re in the ditch.” Bill O’Reilly saw “a little jab” at the President in those comments, blaming the White House for her job troubles, but guest Dick Morris took that premise a bit further, suggesting the remarks, coupled with her silence on health care reform, were a deliberate attempt to undermine the President...