Free Republic

On the heels of the disastrous and obscene Omnibus Spending Orgy rubber stamped by the Obama Republicans in Congress last week – there is actually hope that we have turned the corner against the Republican Establishment wing of the Washington Cartel. It reminds me of the old adage about going bankrupt – first it happens slowly and then suddenly. That seems to describe the fall of the GOP establishment. The reality they face today is totally different from the one in 2014 – let alone 2012, 2010 and 2008. And yet, without some of the efforts in those cycles, we...

Man, I'm slap worn out. I realize that after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, national security and foreign policy were the appropriate themes of this debate, but almost three hours of it made for root canal and repetitive TV. Normally in the so-called "foreign policy" debates, there is still a good bit of discussion about what always ultimately decides these elections – the economy – but not last night. It was all foreign policy all the time, and that played to the advantage of Donald Trump for a couple of reasons. One is that nothing in the race...

In an exchange with Paul Krugman, political scientist Alan Abramowitz made one of the best cases I've heard for, as Krugman put it, "thinking the Trumpthinkable." At some point, Abramowitz argued, pundits need to admit that Trump has a good chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination. But that remains a minority viewpoint. Nate Silver, for instance, published a piece arguing that analysts extrapolating forward from Trump's current (and impressively durable) poll lead are likely to be disappointed. So I called Abramowitz and asked him to walk me through his argument in more detail. (snip)...... I saw what Nate Silver...

Did we just see Erick Erickson’s Red State draw a red line in the sand in front of Rush Limbaugh? And if so, is it another aspect of the booming dynamic known as “the Trump effect?” That very case can be made – as Erickson used Red State’s daily email blast lead story from Dan McLaughlin on Wednesday to fire shots across the bow of all talk radio hosts who are in any way supporting Donald Trump. And while Erickson does not have the by-line on this indictment, it is right in line with his recent dis-invitation of Trump to...

In last night's Republican debate on Fox News, there were a few moments of tension, most of which featured Donald Trump. However, the big story is that there is no big story. Trump was not his normal bigger-than-life personality, nor was he just another candidate. He and Jeb Bush were polite to each other, although Trump did bump elbows with all three moderators on one occasion each – and also had a pretty testy exchange early with Rand Paul. Rand also had an angry exchange with Chris Christie, and Rand got off a good line about the "big hug with...

Has Donald Trump made his first serious boo-boo of the campaign? For weeks, the media have trumpeted the supposed death of the Trump campaign. First, they claimed, Trump’s campaign imploded on launch thanks to his comments about illegal immigration. Then they claimed that Trump was finished because of his slap at Senator Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)43% ’s (R-AZ) war service. But neither of those comments alienated Trump’s base – he’s maintained his seven point lead over Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in the 2016 presidential polls, with no other candidate breaking double-digits in the polls. In fact, his original comments about...

Isnip)......I truly, honestly, and with all my heart and mind think Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters are making a yuuuuuuge mistake. I think they are being conned and played. I feel like a guy whose brother is being taken advantage of by a grifter. I’m watching helplessly as the con artist congratulates him for taking out a third mortgage......(snip)

Just a link to the poll

A few days ago the NC House passed a bill that lifts the ban on Sunday hunting (with a gun, you can already bow hunt on Sundays) on private property. Still a ban within 500 yards of a church, and some other exclusions. Localities can reinstall the ban in the future if their local community wants to. Great discussion of the liberty / social conservative dynamic at play. What say Freep nation?

Just found a charge on my AMEX each month from a company called Video Blocks, of Reston Virginia. 79 bucks a month. I've no idea who these people are. Something to do as a download service. I've never heard of them. I called them of course, and their customer service center is a boiler room full of phonies handling complaints...I could hear other conversations in the back ground. They couldn't find me on their system, or tell me what I'm buying for 79 a month, or how long I've been a customer. Obviously a dodge. Anyone know anything?

When I told my friends in New Jersey nearly ten years ago that I was packing my bags and heading south, they thought I’d lost my mind. ...(snip)......When I told them I had no desire to inherit the pension liabilities that New Jersey’s public unions and politicians were irresponsibly saddling on their own citizens, things got downright gloomy......(snip) Last month, in a move that shocked residents of northern New Jersey, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz USA announced it was moving its headquarters from Montvale (just miles from where I grew up) to Sandy Springs, Ga. And it’s bringing nearly 1,000 people along with...

Hagan up 9 points...yes 9 points.....at almost 30% in. Unless that includes all the ghettos, this is scary.

What is going on in Florida???? I just saw a crawl that Charlie Crist was up 57-40 with 21% of the vote in. 21% is significant. Someone from Florida tell me something to make me feel better about this.

Republican Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts said Friday that he thinks the IRS targeting scandal was driven by Valerie Jarrett’s office in the White House, according to information that he saw that Democrats tried to “whitewash.” Roberts told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt that he participated in a Senate Finance Committee investigation into the IRS scandal but “the effort was made by the majority, by the Democrats in the Congress, to simply end that investigation,” which he called a “whitewash.” “I’m convinced that even Valerie Jarrett was involved,” Roberts said.

Need some help remembering: where Mike Huckabee has demonstrated his establishment thinking and his lack of understanding of conservative issues (outside of the social issues)- and where he has bought into big government solutions. I'm on a panel tomorrow about Huckabee in 2016 (I did not choose the topic) - and I need some memory jogging.

After being told by 3 or 4 associates whom I respect that I must watch it - and after putting it off for months - I finally dug in and power watched both seasons in past couple weeks. I was astounded, on so many fronts. This is must see TV for political junkies. I mean, anyone might like it, but the politically involved will find it fascinting, and teachable, illustrative….. Anyone else

I've gotten solitications from the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the past few days…with return envelopes. I've put sharp messages related to Mississippi shenanigans in both envelopes and sent them back. Will it have impact? Who knows….but if a lot of folks did, it might. I think there's some buyers remorse already about this.

If this doesn't move you, you are made of stone. I mean, you won't believe it either. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=254129501442239&fref=nf

So Nancy Mace has radio ad buy attacking Lee Bright. Not Lindsey Graham, not Obama, Harry Reid, liberals in general - but Lee Bright. Any Mace supporters? We need to hear from you.

A funny thing happened on the way to Michael Sam just wanting to play football -- and on being judged by his performance on the field and not his sexual orientation. After all, we were told ad nauseam, by Sam and his promoters in the sports media, that this is what Sam is about. If you Google “Michael Sam just wants to play football,” some 67 million results pop up. He also flatly stated that he "wanted to stop talking about his sexual orientation" and "let (his) work on the field speak for itself” in a radio interview, among other...