Free Republic

"I don’t know anything about David Duke, okay," Trump said. "I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. I don't know, did he endorse me? Or what's going on. Because I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists." In 2000, Trump declined to run for president as a member of the Reform Party because the "Reform Party now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke, a neo-Nazi, Mr. Buchanan, and a communist, Ms. Fulani. This is not company I wish to keep." As Trump himself noted on Twitter, he also...

SAN ANTONIO - Before an address to a Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday, State Rep. and House Speaker Joe Straus discussed his record that he said included cutting taxes and promoting job growth. When asked about challenger Jeff Judson's suggestions in his advertising that Straus represents special interests, Straus said, "A smear campaign isn't going to work in the district that I represent, and it's not going to work across the state." "People know that Texas Republican legislators have done very, very well in recent years," he added. Greeting voters at an early voting site in the district, Judson...

This Atlantic story reveals how Americans lived 100 years ago. (HT Warren Smith) By the standards of a middle-class American today, that lifestyle was poor, inconvenient, dreary, and dangerous. (Only a few years later - in 1924 - the 16-year-old son of a sitting U.S. president would die of an infected blister that the boy got on his toe while playing tennis on the White House grounds.) So here's a question that I've asked in one form or another on earlier occasions, but that is so probing that I ask it again: What is the minimum amount of money that...

"Fair" Trade Let us now turn to some of the leading protectionist arguments. Take, for example, the standard complaint that while the protectionist "welcomes competition," this competition must be "fair." Whenever someone starts talking about "fair competition" or indeed, about "fairness" in general, it is time to keep a sharp eye on your wallet, for it is about to be picked. For the genuinely "fair" is simply the voluntary terms of exchange, mutually agreed upon by buyer and seller. As most of the medieval scholastics were able to figure out, there is no "just" (or "fair") price outside of the...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Character Abe Vigoda, whose leathery, sunken-eyed face made him ideal for playing the over-the-hill detective Phil Fish in the 1970s TV series "Barney Miller" and the doomed Mafia soldier in "The Godfather," died Tuesday at age 94. Vigoda's daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs, told The Associated Press that Vigoda died Tuesday morning in his sleep at Fuchs' home in Woodland Park, New Jersey. The cause of death was old age. "This man was never sick," Fuchs said.

This is a rough one. Cruz obviously wants to get it down to a one-to-one between him and Trust Fund Donnie. This'll leave a mark! Hank

Sad. I always really enjoyed him on the Fox Business panel shows. And really appreciated his courage to stand up as a conservative, coming from the Hollywood world. I always found it interesting that he chose to dive into the seemingly mundane world of finance and business after being part of the entertainment world. That, to me, made him a real original. That he was pretty much a solid conservative, all the more so. RIP. Hank

Influential Iowa Rep. Steve King has officially endorsed Ted Cruz for president, giving the GOP Texas senator a boost ahead of February’s Iowa caucuses. “Cruz has a proven record of standing up to both Democrats and Republicans to put the American people first, and I believe he is the only one who can unite conservatives around his campaign and build the organization needed to beat Hillary Clinton,” King said in a statement put out by the Cruz campaign. “With Ted Cruz, conservatives no longer have to accept a Republican nominee who doesn’t truly share our values.” King is a key...

OK, it's one poll. I have no idea how valid, or really who "Gravis Marketing" is - though I've heard of them before. Still fun and a little interesting. And not out of line with national polls...except as Ben Carson is concerned. Trump - 29 Cruz - 12 Rubio - 10 Christie - 8 Jeb! - 8 Carson - 7 Kasich - 5 Paul - 5 Fiorina - 4 Jindal - 1 Huckster - 1 Hank

"....Matalin, who served as a top political advisor to both presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, said she believes the favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination is Sen. Ted Crus (R-Tex), whom she said appeals to conservatives of all stripes. 'My money right now is on Ted Cruz,' she said. 'Again, I'm unaligned, but I think he speaks to the myriad factions of conservatism: Constitutionalists, Libertarians, the social conservatives.' 'I think he's whip-smart, as evidenced by his debate appearances, and he's a true, true, true constitutionalist, and everything's lining up for him,' she added. Matalin said the...

Via Red State, I find disturbing audio of California Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, speaking in glowing terms about Jesse Jackson... "And I thought about something that the Reverend Jesse Jackson said to me several years ago. He very graciously came to the offices of Hewlett Packard to visit me, because we were doing some work together for his Rainbow Coalition. And he said to me, 'You know, Carly, every game is better when everybody gets to play.' And I thought it was such a great way of describing why everything is better when all people, regardless of color or...

Where is the main election Live Thread. I count on FR for those...can someone direct me?

Establishment Republicans, looking to push back against Tea Party conservatives they blame for undermining the GOP brand, face an early test of their clout with the grassroots in Tuesday’s primary election for Alabama’s 1st congressional district. Amid a concerted effort by the Chamber of Commerce to secure a win for former state Sen. Bradley Byrne in the deep-red district, polls show his race against conservative underdog Dean Young remains a toss-up. “No one can say that one side will definitely win, and that’s what’s got everybody so nervous,” said David Mowery, an Alabama-based Republican strategist. Byrne and Young are vying...

Truth Revolt, the right’s answer to Media Matters for America, fully launched Monday with a petition to get MSNBC host Al Sharpton kicked off the air. The group’s Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro writes: "Sharpton doesn’t dislike all 'crackers.' One of the companies that has run commercials on Sharpton’s show is Ritz Crackers, owned by Mondelez International. Mondelez gave TruthRevolt this statement: “At Mondelez International we demonstrate our commitment to responsible corporate citizenship by participating in programs that best serve a wide range of local communities and their interests and needs. We extend our responsibility to the sponsorship of tasteful, believable television programming...

Don Wade, a pillar of Chicago radio, has died of a brain tumor, about a year after the condition forced the morning show host off the air. He was 72. Mr. Wade spent 55 years in broadcasting, 27 of them at WLS-AM 890, according to a statement Sunday on the station's website confirming his Friday death. In recent years, he worked mornings co-hosting "The Don Wade & Roma Show" with his wife. Colleagues said Mr. Wade was a relentless researcher who would wake up in the middle of the night to get ready for his 5 a.m. show. The "lovable...

OK, I don't watch a lot of regular network programming. Here's what I watch: Major Legue Baseball College and NFL Football FoxNews Occasional reruns of Frasier, which appear on the Hallmark Channel I believe. My wife, however, watches various things on Bravo like those insipid Real Housewife shows, Top Chef, etc. (Yes, I know...) and Lifetime Channel. Neither of us have seen a SINGLE Romney ad in weeks. Not one. I have seen dozens of Obama ads, and they appear to be generating new ones all the time. The most recent, today, was a rebuttal to the debate featuring Andrea...

September 7, 2012 - National General Election Ballot National Likely voters Sep 4-6 Obama 46% Romney 49% Other/Undecided 5% Sample size: 1200 likely voters Sample dates: September 4-6, 2012 Margin of error: ± 3 percentage points Question wording: If the general election were being held today between Barack Obama for president and Joe Biden for vice president, the Democrats, and Mitt Romney for president and Paul Ryan for vice president, the Republicans, for whom would you vote - Obama and Biden or Romney and Ryan? (names rotated) Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney 85% to 11% among self-described Democrats (38% of...

Despite being outraised by his opponent, Flake, a six-term congressman, had seen strong backing from both establishment and tea party Republicans in his quest to win the open seat soon to be vacated by retiring Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl....

"For the first time in their long campaign slog, independent polls are showing the so-called movement candidate, tea party favorite Ted Cruz, leading the GOP establishment favorite, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. They are trying to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison in the U.S. Senate and face off once again in the July 31 runoff election. “If less than a million people vote and Cruz wins, he’s likely to have coattails,” said Mustafa Tameez, a Houston political consultant. “He’ll pull in a lot of the movement candidates.” Cruz has insisted all along that his supporters have the enthusiasm, and a new survey...