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With all the problems Jimmy Carter faced that year, it's hardly surprising that he was soundly beaten by Republican challenger Ronald Reagan in the presidential election of 1980. What is remarkable is that just a week before Election Day, the contest was a dead heat. "People think of the 1980 election as this huge landslide for Reagan, which in terms of the numbers, it was," remembers journalist Elizabeth Drew. "But I saw the numbers on the Friday before the election -- and both sides will tell you this -- it was a tie."

After falling for two straight months, the number of Americans who consider themselves Republicans jumped nearly three points in August. During August, 37.6% of Americans considered themselves Republicans. That’s up from 34.9% in July and 35.4% in June. It’s also the largest number of Republicans ever recorded by Rasmussen Report since monthly tracking began in November 2002. The previous peak for the GOP was 37.3% in September 2004. See History of Party Trends.

After falling for two straight months, the number of Americans who consider themselves Republicans jumped nearly three points in August. During August, 37.6% of Americans considered themselves Republicans. That’s up from 34.9% in July and 35.4% in June. It’s also the largest number of Republicans ever recorded by Rasmussen Report since monthly tracking began in November 2002. The previous peak for the GOP was 37.3% in September 2004. See History of Party Trends.

In the last three general elections - 2004, 2006, and 2008 -- young voters have given the Democratic Party a majority of their votes, and for all three cycles they have been the party's most supportive age group. This year, 66% of those under age 30 voted for Barack Obama making the disparity between young voters and other age groups larger than in any presidential election since exit polling began in 1972. This pattern of votes, along with other evidence about the political leanings of young voters, suggests that a significant generational shift in political allegiance is occurring. This pattern...

Yes, there is still four months to go, and an electoral map prediction seems ill-advised and premature... But what the heck... I based my projections on a modified RCP poll average: I included only recent polls of likely voters, ignoring RV polls. I also used a more conservative version of the "incumbent rule" for the undecideds in these LV polls. Certain theory holds that 80% of undecided voters will break for the challenger. For this analysis, I was more conservative and assume that 65% of undecideds will ultimately vote for Romney. Based on these criteria and assumptions, I've arrived at...

With 5 months to, trends spell trouble for Obama’s re-election hopes June 10, 2012 Like many FReepers, I have been closely watching state polling data for voter trends, good or bad. Coverage of the Wisconsin recall election has been interesting, in that it has been painted as a bad sign for President Obama (the state is now considered a toss-up), although softened by Obama’s purported 5-point advantage in recent polls. The real story in Wisconsin as it relates to the President is not that he still holds a lead; it is that this lead has plummeted dramatically versus his 2008...

Some "fun" highlights from Occupy Boston's website. Certainly an unorganized expression of free speech, any effort to paint the Occupy protests as tightly associated with, and in fact wholly comprised by socialist revolutionary agitators, would surely be a gross exaggeration on my part. End sarcasm, begin reality... This is all from the Occupy Boston website: Upcoming lectures in the Howard Zinn Memorial Lecture Series at Occupy Boston: World-famous radical feminist Roxanne Dunbar-OrtizMoney quote from her website is from her paper, "Hating the Rich" (2007): "In all the arguments about the crimes of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim religions, rarely is their greatest crime...

March 9, 2011Obama: "We're Turning the Corner" [politico.com] December 22, 2010Obama pledges "singular focus" on economy [cleveland.com / AP] September 3, 2010Obama stands by "Recovery Summer" [thehill.com] June 16, 2010Obama, Biden Declare "Recovery Summer" [politico.com] April 2, 2010President Obama on Job Numbers: "We Are Turning the Corner" [blogs.abcnews.com] January 21, 2010Obama to focus hard on economy after Democratic loss [cnn.com]

Mitt RomneyBorn March 12, 1947 – Detroit, Michigan Age in 2013 – 65 MBA degree, 1975 – Harvard Business School (Boston, MA) JD degree, 1975 – Harvard Law School (Cambridge, MA) BA degree, 1971 – Brigham Young University (Provo, UT) Profession – Businessman Political Career 2008 – Candidate for President of the United States (lost Republican primary) 2003-2007 – Governor of Massachusetts 1994 – Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Massachusetts (lost general election) Other 1999-2002 – CEO, Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2002 Winter Olympics) 1984-1999 – CEO & Managing Partner, Bain Capital Inc 1978-1984 – Vice President, Bain and...

Americans nationwide are evenly divided over the issue of same sex marriage. But Republicans in Mississippi are divided over a wholly different wedlock issue: interracial marriage. In a PPP poll [pdf] released Thursday, a 46% plurality of registered Republican voters said they thought interracial marriage was not just wrong, but that it should be illegal. 40% said interracial marriage should be legal. Gov. Haley Barbour, with a home state advantage in Mississippi, also topped PPP's survey of the GOP primary field at 37%, followed by Mike Huckabee at 19%, and Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich at 10%.

I have posted pre-election analysis in the past (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/1241045/posts), but I always do my own analysis before presidential and midterm elections. It's been a while, though, since I posted any anaylsis to FR: The Senate's current makeup is 59-41 in favor of the Democrats, including Lieberman and Sanders. I am not making any breaking news by assuming that Rubio will keep Florida in the GOP column, or that Louisiana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Missouri, and Ohio will similarly remain in Republican hands. Similary safe bets are that Indiana, North Dakota, and Arkansas will change seats in favor of the GOP,...

I have read plenty of op-eds and posts decrying the House/Pelosi "Slaughter solution" as an unconstitutional avoidance of a direct vote on the healthcare bill, and I've read plenty in recent weeks about how the Senate's proposed use of reconciliation runs afoul of that procedure's intended use. What I haven't seen is a discussion of how the combination of these two tactics is undeniably and appalingly unconstitutional. I think my logic and analysis on this is irrefutable. Please tell me if and how I'm wrong. Article I, Section 7 of the US Constituion lays out the process for a bill...

NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon are dead. So are the rockets being designed to take them there — that is, if President Barack Obama gets his way. When the White House releases his budget proposal Monday, there will be no money for the Constellation program that was supposed to return humans to the moon by 2020. The troubled and expensive Ares I rocket that was to replace the space shuttle to ferry humans to space will be gone, along with money for its bigger brother, the Ares V cargo rocket that was to launch the fuel and...

Two recent stories have defined for me, or rather illustrated under no uncertain terms, what it is that drives and shapes this administration’s political orientation. The first illustration is the recent news that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently issued a recommendation to America’s health care community that mammograms under the age of 50 are counterproductive and unnecessary, even going so far as to discourage breast self-examination in general, citing a "moderate certainty that the harms outweigh the benefits." To be fair, while this is a government funded study (and the agency is part of the U.S. Department of...

In light of Obama's decision to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohommed in civilian court, I found it interesting that the US Senate killed an amendment that would have defunded any effort to try anyone in a civilian court, that was involved in the 9/11 attacks. Big surprise - it was killed by Democrats in a 54-45 vote. S.AMDT.2669 Amends: H.R.2847 Sponsor: Sen Graham, Lindsey [SC] (submitted 10/8/2009) (proposed 10/8/2009) AMENDMENT PURPOSE: To prohibit the use of funds for the prosecution in Article III courts of the United States of individuals involved in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. COSPONSORS(6): Sen McCain,...

There is obviously a lot of discussion on FR concerning Obama's decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civialian trial in NYC. Most of the comments have centered around the horrible possibility of a new terrorist attack against the court or somewhere nearby. I want to focus on another item I haven't seen discussed... what would happen to KSM, etc if the verdict is Not Guilty? Do they walk? Are they deported? As cleared, are they free to roam the streets of NYC? I am being deadly serious... If you open this to the civilian legal system, what would...

Freddie Mac: Recipients Senate Dodd, Christopher J $28,800 Senate Obama, Barack $21,450 Senate Clinton, Hillary $17,600 House Bachus, Spencer $11,500 House Bean, Melissa $11,249 Senate McCain, John $9,500 Senate Alexander, Lamar $9,000 Senate Bennett, Robert F $8,999 House Davis, Tom $8,999 House Boehner, John $8,000 House Pelosi, Nancy $7,500 Senate Reid, Harry $7,500 House Cantor, Eric $7,000 Presidential Romney, Mitt $6,050 House Frank, Barney $5,500 Senate Johanns, Michael O $5,490 Senate Warner, Mark $5,050 Senate Bond, Christopher S 'Kit' $5,000 Senate Durbin, Dick $5,000 Senate Lott, Trent $5,000 American International Group: Recipients Senate Dodd, Christopher J $104,300 Senate Obama, Barack...

In the two stories below on Rick Warren's Saddleback Church forum, Sen. Barack Obama made two striking comments. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/16/warren.forum/index.htmlhttp://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-saddleback17-2008aug17,0,2051277.story When asked which Supreme Court justice he would not have nominated, Obama's answer was: Clarence Thomas. Says Obama, "I don't think he was a strong enough jurist or a legal thinker at that time for that. I profoundly disagree with his interpretation [of the Constitution]." This is another way of saying that, in Obama's view, Thomas wasn't up to the job, and didn't have the experience or qualifications necessary for that high position. So, now... experience does matter? When asked to...

Although relatively young, at my present age of 26 years, I find myself struggling to reconcile my beliefs and political temperament into a more structured and cohesive package. Am I conservative? Of course. I voted for George W. Bush twice, am a regular listener to right-centric talk radio, and regularly frequent the conservatively themed website Free Republic. These traits and a sincere reverance towards the late, great Ronald Reagan certainly establish a core set of conservative credentials, do they not? But, still... I find myself at odds with so many current policies of the current conservative administration: border security, campaign...

Very early reactions by U.S. Senators seem to indicate that Harriet Miers is likely to be confirmed as the next Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Even though Miers nomination is just days old, 18 Senators have expressed support of her nomination, with 8 of these already indicating very strong support and the intent to confirm her as Justice on the Supreme Court. Those eight Senators indicating strong support are: Mel Martinez (R-FL), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jon Cornyn (R-TX), Kay Hutchison (R-TX), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), John Warner (R-VA) and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). The further...