Free Republic

I have been keeping my own record of the 2012 GOP Primary results, adding each primary as it occurs. I have created an html/internet version which I have posted here on FR a few times. I have been asked by a number of FR members to post a thread where I can update this file regularly, so this is that thread. Last night we saw what could be a bell weather for this primary election. Rick Santorum, agruably the most conservative candidate left in the field, had a clean sweep, winning the popular vote in Colorado, Missouri, and Minnesota...and doing...

JEDDAH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Thursday expressed alarm over the anti-Islam rhetoric coming out as the US presidential elections race heats up as well as over the recent results of parliamentary elections in some European countries. “The rise in Islamophobia in Western politics is a great concern for the OIC,” said Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the OIC. The radical right-wing parties have won significant political weight in the parliaments in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden and France as well as the European Parliament; in addition, such groups as the English Defense League in Britain and...

The coverage was hard-hitting and shocking to some: Members of Congress received special opportunities to get in on the ground floor of stock offerings, and were actively trading in shares of companies “whose prosperity they influence and whose conduct they help to regulate.” --snip-- Given the political environment, members of Congress appear eager to insulate themselves not only from the suggestion that they have some market advantage over average Americans but also from what they expect could become a potent campaign charge in a year when many usually safe incumbents could face a challenge. Sarah Palin provided the contours of...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain says he has no plans to back any of the potential candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. Talking to Politico, McCain, R-Ariz., said he "most likely" will not make any endorsement before the Republicans have a nominee. "I think I'm staying out of this for the first time in many years," McCain said.

Michele Bachmann talks the issues and 2012. Tea Party favorite on 2012 potential, GOP agenda

She can raise a ton of money and has national name recognition, but has no legislative record and carries a reputation as a bomb thrower. Crossing the media transom this week comes a story brought to us by the Star Tribune in Minneapolis and not, I should point out, from The Onion. Michele Bachmann is considering a run for the White House. IÂ’ll just give you all a moment to let that sink in.At first blush, the idea might not seem all that far-fetched. We may begin by considering that two of the most daunting hurdles a prospective presidential candidate...

Rep. Michele Bachmann gave her most direct answer yet on Friday when asked if she was running for president: “I am going to Iowa," she said. "There’s your answer. I am going to Iowa.” Bachmann’s response, in an interview with ABC News on Friday, was the strongest statement the Minnesota Republican has made indicating that she’s interested in a White House run. On Wednesday, when asked by the Star Tribune if she was considering a presidential run, Bachmann was more ambiguous: "I'm continuing speaking out on the issues just as I have for the last few years," she told the...

ABC News says U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann is considering running for president and will confer this month with GOP officials in Iowa about her prospects in that early caucus state. Citing an unnamed "source close to the three-term congresswoman," the network said in a report Wednesday that Bachmann will hold "multiple meetings to seek advice from political forces there and party elders close to the caucus process before coming to a final decision regarding a potential presidential run." Bachmann, a Republican who represents Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District, has roots in Iowa, having been born in Waterloo, Iowa. Bachmann also is...

From the instant his fruitful eight-year reign ended, Republicans have pined for the next Ronald Reagan. To date, no man has succeeded in filling the conservative standard-bearer's legendary boots. Well, maybe it's time to swap boots for pumps. Could he be a she? Sarah Palin, you say? Perhaps, but there's actually another outspoken, attractive, fearlessly conservative Tea Party favorite firing up the center-right grass roots: Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican. Forget a Senate run. The buzz inside the Beltway is that Mrs. Bachmann may be looking to add a woman's touch to the Oval Office (beyond just sprucing up its...

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and Washington Post associate editor Eugene Robinson said on national television Thursday that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has a history of saying "crazy-ass things." After doing so on MSNBC's "Countdown," Robinson was offered $100 by Keith Olbermann if he would title his next article using exactly those words (video follows with transcript and commentary):

When the 112th U.S. Congress is officially sworn in on Jan. 5, two black Republicans will be among the new majority in the House of Representatives. Do you think the G.O.P. has made progress in attracting African-Americans to the party? One thing that you guys aren’t talking about is the fact there were 42 African-Americans that ran on the Republican ticket in this election cycle; 14 made it to the general election, and 2 of us were elected to the House. [Snip] Do you consider President Obama a good leader? Not really. [Snip] Michael Steele, the chairman of the...