Free Republic

Erick Erickson was out of patience, tired of reading about Mitt Romney as a paragon of conservative virtue, tired of hearing the callers to his Atlanta radio show praise Romney’s record. The founder of the red-meat blog RedState.com sat down last fall in his Macon home, beside a towering painting of Abraham Lincoln, and banged out an epic rant. Romney was “unprincipled,” he wrote, and yet certain to win the Republican presidential nomination—an outcome that would cause “the destruction of the conservative movement as we know it.” Time has not softened Erickson’s stance. The onetime Presbyterian church deacon turned CNN...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Calling the Declaration of Independence more than words on an aging parchment, President Barack Obama marked the Fourth of July on Sunday by urging Americans to live the principles that founded the nation as well as celebrate them. "This is the day when we celebrate the very essence of America and the spirit that has defined us as a people and as a nation for more than two centuries," Obama told guests at a South Lawn barbecue honoring service members and their families. "We celebrate the principles that are timeless, tenets first declared by men of property...

In response to the oil spill, the Obama administration has canceled leasing offshore tracts for drilling that was planned off Virginia and the western Gulf of Mexico, and imposed a six-month moratorium on drilling exploratory and development wells in waters deeper than 500 feet. In a national survey of 522 adults, on a scale of 0 to 10,

Many of you saw the comments made by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels last week when he said the next president “would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues” so he or she could focus on the fiscal problems facing the country. As I’ve made clear, I really like Governor Daniels, and I consider him a friend and colleague, but his comments mirror those of the GOP establishment who view values voters dismissively as “single-minded.” The fact is that every value voter I know is truly committed to fiscal conservatism, but many fiscal conservatives and libertarians range from...

He lost to a total unknown, and now the former South Carolina lawmaker is calling foul. Vic Rawl, a former state Representative, filed a formal protest on Monday contesting the shocking primary "win" of Alvin Greene. "We have filed this protest not for my personal or political gain, but on behalf of the people of South Carolina," the Democratic hopeful said in a statement on his official Web site. "There is a cloud over South Carolina, that affects all of our people, Democrats and Republicans, white and African-American alike," he said. "At this point, the people of our state do...

Two Republicans considered by many to be mulling a run for president in 2012 — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee – are already lining up on the opposite sides of whether social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage should be at the forefront of the Republican Party’s electoral efforts. Conservative magazine The Weekly Standard ran a long profile of Daniels wondering whether he could be the party’s nominee to take on President Barack Obama in two years. After discussing the issues he feel are of highest importance — reforming entitlement programs and cutting the national...

In politics, 2 things matter - perception and effective policy. President Obama has failed in both. The Administration claimed to be "on top of this since day one," but the reality is that the President didn't personally address the issue for many days until the public outcry was too loud to ignore. While the President has had plenty of time in the last 50 days to play golf, host glitzy celebrity events at the White House and go on vacation - he's only managed a few self-serving photo-op stops in the Gulf. The President blasts the BP CEO, but hasn't...

.S. Rep. Jim Jordan and a Republican audience of 50 Friday basked in heady hopes they will wrest back a majority in the House. Jordan cited polls and other signs favoring Republican candidates, and drew laughter at his quips at Democrats' expense. "It's a great time to be a Republican," he said in a speech at a First Friday gathering in Findlay. "There are more people here today for lunch than watching MSNBC." The audience erupted in laughter. "We are going to put this country back on the right path," said Jordan, R-Urbana. "I really believe we're going to take...

At the oldest law school in the West, law is being made this semester, not just taught. In a case that carries great implications for how public universities and schools must accommodate religious groups, the University of California's Hastings College of the Law is defending its anti-discrimination policy against charges that it denies religious freedom. The college, which requires officially recognized student groups to admit any Hastings student who wants to join, may be well-meaning, says the student outpost of the Christian Legal Society. But the group contends that requiring it to allow gay students and nonbelievers into its leadership...

There is a race for state rep that is heating up in my part of Ohio for representative for the 76th district. Our current rep is a self proclaimed conservative, and has been mostly on fiscal issues and pro-life concerns. He is in favor of marriage of one man, one woman and has signed onto the Manhattan Declaration as such. Even so, he is being challenged in the Republican primary. Cliff Hite, our current rep, helped craft and voted for a bill that would give sexual orientation civil rights status under the Ohio code. To his credit, he worked on...

I am posting this to see what you all think of something that has been going around in my head for several weeks now. I believe that Obama wants the Republicans to win the House and/or the Senate in 2010. I came to this conclusion after watching him struggle for so long with a democratic majority in both houses to pass his agenda. Face it - with that many dems in both houses, they should have passed much of his agenda long ago with little to no trouble. That leads me to my theory. He wants the Republicans to win...

Republican challenger John Kasich continues to lead incumbent Democrat Governor Ted Strickland in the race for Ohio's statehouse, according to a poll released this week. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds Kasich leading Strickland 47% to 41%. Faced with that match-up, five percent (5%) like some other candidate, and eight percent (8%) remain undecided. Last month, Kasich posted a 47% to 40% lead over Strickland and in early December was ahead 48% to 39%. The polling data also showed the race currently split along gender lines. Kasich holds a massive 23-point lead among...

I am sorry I missed the Super Bowl because I was on my way back from Israel. Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for a great win and the Colts for an otherwise great season. Now that I am back, I have seen some of the Super Bowl’s commercials and one of them caught my eye. A car company had a commercial that had an interesting reference to Green Police giving people tickets for their lifestyle choices. For some of us that’s not too far of a stretch for a government growing bigger and bigger by the day under this...

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- This week, I posted a story on Fortune.com saying that a Value Added Tax is fast becoming the only option America has left to solve the current fiscal crisis. In the piece, I said that former Arkansas Governor and leading Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee favors a VAT to replace the income tax. I received numerous angry emails stating that the ex-governor advocates a solution called a "Fair Tax" that's quite different from a VAT.

Tyler Frost, 17, a senior at Heritage Christian School in Findlay, Ohio has been suspended for attending a prom with his girlfriend because the Findlay High School’s prom allowed dancing and music. This Taliban-like ruling is based on the Christian school’s policy that forbids dancing, rock music, hand holding and kissing. Principal Tim England says that Frost was supposed to receive his diploma on May 24 but will now receive an “incomplete” on his remaining assignments. He absence will be hard to miss: he is in a class of four students. England further threatens that, if he learns that Frost...

"Do the Right Thing," Mike Huckabee. Sentinel: Penguin Group, $25.95 In the few weeks Mike Huckabee's book, "Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America," has been out, he has seen great success, already topping The New York Times' Best-Seller List. The start of a new year and a new president is a peak time for Huckabee's book. The reader sees the country's leadership from the inside lens of a man who reveals both interesting and surprising details of the people and the politics. When Gov. Mike Huckabee entered the 2008 Republican presidential race,...

This is a ramble from a guy working a night shift that is not used to doing so, but I wanted to vent my spleen ........ It saddens me to admit this, but I can safely say that conservatism was defeated in 2008. It was defeated so soundly, that it never even made it to many ballots to even be voted on in November. At the presidential level, it was defeated in February. "Social" and "populist" conservatives lined up behind Mike Huckabee, while "fiscal" conservatives lined up behind Mitt Romney, opening the door for "non" conservatives and RINOs to nominate...

Now that democrats will be taking us head long into European socialistic democracy for the next 2 years, it is time to recalibrate the conservative agenda. No more compromising politicians - we need exciting ideas and candidates. Here is a potential list of things (offer yours as well): (1) Get serious about the fair tax. Obama proved that by telling folks that he will give them money from the rich in an income tax system, no Republican argument will stand. (2) Immigration - this is a populist issue we can win on. Build the border, keep out illegals, slow down...

Well, I can report a small victory. A guy in my office was an Obama supporter in the primary. He is about 25, single, hates Bush, etc .... After a few conversations the past couple of weeks with him, he came in with his sticker on and a smile on his face and said "I voted for McCain!" I was stunned.

PRINCETON, NJ -- More of John McCain's voters cite his "values" or "views" as one of the main reasons they are supporting him for president today than did so a month ago: 20%, up from 7% in early September. McCain's values and views now compete with his experience and qualifications (26%) as the top draw for his voters.