Free Republic

You can always judge the merits of a cause by the means used to advance that cause. If lying and deceit are part and parcel of making the case, then the cause is unworthy. On the other hand, the truth needs no defense, nor does it need false advertising. It will eventually prevail – and it will prevail to the extent that we are willing to pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to it. Keep this in mind as the presidential campaign heats up.

How White House gay marriage declarations are affecting other Democratic candidatesBy Rachel Rose Hartman | The Ticket – 19 hrs ago **SNIP** Tim Kaine, Joe Donnelly, Bob Kerrey and Sen. Claire McCaskill are among those Senate candidates who have been pressed this week to explain or reaffirm their stances on gay marriage amid highly competitive elections. **SNIP** But Donnelly quickly distanced himself from the president, saying Thursday that marriage should be between a man and a woman, according to the Associated Press. Donnelly faces Republican state treasurer Richard Mourdock this fall. Staff for incumbent McCaskill expressed a more nuanced position...

Three of the four candidates seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Virginia agree that efforts to repeal the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – which authorizes the direct election of senators – are impractical at best. In post-debate interviews in Roanoke on Saturday, where all four candidates participated in a forum sponsored by the Republican Party of Virginia, the candidates expressed their views on the 17th Amendment in response to questions posed by the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner. ‘Repeal Amendment’ alternative Jamie Radtke said that she does not think the repeal efforts are viable, “so I’ve been...

NationalJournal - The Obama campaign responded on Wednesday to criticism from two GOP candidates regarding his remarks on the Trayvon Martin killing, condemning their remarks with strong words of their own. “I think it’s abysmal, despicable that people like Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are trying to make this a divisive issue,” said Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, on CNN’s Starting Point, adding that “they should watch their own words.”

The same questions were to be asked of each candidate. That did not happen. Just watch the questions Mitt Rpmney receives that no other candidate receives. Did Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich receive a very emotional question? This forum was made to be a pre-planned ad for Mitt Romney!

After two months of voting, none of the Republican candidates for president is getting much support from the GOP leaders who could play an important role in determining the party's nominee for president. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has the most endorsements. But they are coming in more of a trickle than a waterfall. The Associated Press has polled 106 of the 117 so-called superdelegates -- members of the Republican National Committee who will automatically attend the party's national convention this summer and can support any candidate for president they choose, regardless of what happens in the primaries. The results:...

At this stage in the GOP primary, few within the Tea Party are certain which is the best among a questionable group of candidates—so questionable that many believe the frontrunner, Mitt Romney, wouldn’t even be in the race if voters weren’t continually being told he had the best chance to defeat Obama. According to economist and Tea Party expert, Stephen Johnston, a Juris Doctorate with Theological degree, therein lies the issue at hand. For most hardworking, taxpaying Americans, at all costs, the outcome in November must be an Obama defeat...

NewsBusters reported Friday that Oscars host Billy Crystal intended to mock GOP "idiots" during Sunday's awards presentation. Roughly forty-five minutes in, Crystal was true to his word taking a cheap shot at the Republican presidential candidates (video follows with transcript): Billy Crystal: A dark knight, an American psycho, a charismatic crack addict. You'll get to choose one on Super Tuesday. And of course the audience found it hysterical.

MADISON — A new poll highlighted potential problems for Democrats and Republicans this year in Wisconsin, according to one political expert. Around the state, the state Senate recall elections process is on hold, a federal lawsuit against the GOP-drawn redistricting maps proceeded, and a flurry of bills have moved through the Legislature as the scheduled end to the spring session approaches. Survey says … Former Gov. Tommy Thompson bests U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin in a head-to-head matchup between the two candidates, who are vying to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl, according to a new poll of Wisconsin voters by...

Many Americans, conservatives among them, have been voicing the opinion that social issues have no part in campaign debates, are criticizing Rick Santorum for placing them in the forefront of his campaign, and are branding him as unelectable as a result. I take issue with those points of view for two reasons: Firstly, social issues, when considered in their broadest sense, should play a major role in any campaign and none other than our Founders cautioned us to demand that they do. Secondly, it is not Rick Santorum who is declaring that social issues are the entire focus of his...

And the beat goes on in the Republican primary, as Romney continues to pound his head against the 30 percent glass ceiling, unable to pull away from the pack because he just can’t rally the conservative base. It leaves conservative pundits like Gregg Jackson and Steve Deace, coauthors of the new book We Won’t Get Fooled Again, with no other choice but to believe that, if voters weren’t being told Romney is the GOP’s best chance of beating Obama, the former Massachusetts governor would’ve been out of the race a long time ago. And why? Because in this mock letter...

And the beat goes on in the Republican primary, as Romney continues to pound his head against the 30 percent glass ceiling, unable to pull away from the pack because he just can’t rally the conservative base. It leaves conservative pundits like Gregg Jackson and Steve Deace, coauthors of the new book We Won’t Get Fooled Again, with no other choice but to believe that, if voters weren’t being told Romney is the GOP’s best chance of beating Obama, the former Massachusetts governor would’ve been out of the race a long time ago. And why? Because in this mock letter...

Out on the campaign trail, Fed head Ben Bernanke is an unpopular guy. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have both said they would replace Bernanke, not reappoint him. Rep. Ron Paul would swap the whole Federal Reserve monetary system for a gold-linked dollar, making the yellow metal legal tender. And it was Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, before he dropped out of the race, who said more quantitative easing by the Fed would be "almost treasonous." Republicans in Washington are equally unimpressed by Bernanke. Rep. Paul Ryan recently criticized the Fed for bankrolling our huge budget deficits and thereby accommodating...

Republicans gathered in St. Joseph Saturday night regarded differences within their party not as fractiousness but a sign of good health leading to this year’s elections. Gathered at the annual Buchanan County Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at the St. Joseph Country Club, GOP officeholders and office-seekers called the party energized statewide and nationally. The fact that so many races have produced hard-fought primaries only means a broader base of support for the general elections against Democrats, they said. Missouri U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt said primaries prove a testing ground for candidates at all levels. “I think we’ll see that in the (U.S.)...

Bill Smith, Editor: For those who are not one of the 10,000 people attending CPAC 2012 in Washington, D.C., below is a witty summary of the top four Republican candidate speeches by conservative warrior and great lady (yes, I'm biased - see photo). She does it in 20 Words or less - LOL! By Michelle Malkin: Newt Gingrich: I am not the Establishment. Mitt Romney: I am not a liberal. Rick Santorum: I am not Mitt/Newt. Ron Paul: I am not at CPAC.

Principled conservatives are wondering how the candidate who signed into law taxpayer-funded abortions for just $50, promoted gay youth pride days as governor, and created the blueprint for Obamacare is winning the Republican presidential primary race? Conservative best-selling author Gregg Jackson, and nationally-syndicated radio host Steve Deace, have the answer in their new book We Won't Get Fooled Again: Where the Christian Right Went Wrong and How to Make America Right Again. In their new book, Jackson and Deace nail celebrity faux conservatives like Ann Coulter as the ones really to blame for the rise of Mitt Romney by using...

Rush Limbaugh is right in that a strong conservative message will win the election. He is wrong in his implication that Gingrich is necessarily the better man to deliver it. As much as I admire Newt, one exit poll statistic out of Florida will shape the rest of the primaries, and the general election as well. It is this: Romney led Gingrich among female voters nearly two to one, 51 to 28. Minds can still be changed, but human nature is a little tougher. Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/underestimating_mitt_and_newt.html#ixzz1lEpTauut

Positions of GOP Candidates for President Download a matrix on the policy positions of the leading Republican candidates for President. Clear your cache before downloading to ensure you receive the latest version. The matrix is continually being updated, so check back regularly for the latest information. The last update was 01/01/12 at 8:30pm. There are two versions of the Presidential Matrix to choose from: http://southernnh912.com/sites/default/files/PresidentialCandidatePositions_Summary_0.pdf http://southernnh912.com/sites/default/files/PresidentialCandidatePositions_1.pdf

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL JANUARY 24, 2012 By Bret Stephens The GOP Deserves to Lose That's what happens when you run with losers. Let's just say right now what voters will be saying in November, once Barack Obama has been re-elected: Republicans deserve to lose. It doesn't matter that Mr. Obama can't get the economy out of second gear. It doesn't matter that he cynically betrayed his core promise as a candidate to be a unifying president. It doesn't matter that he keeps blaming Bush. It doesn't matter that he thinks ATMs are weapons of employment destruction. It doesn't matter...

Imagine that your son has a habit of sprinkling copious amounts of bird seed and setting up impromptu birdbaths in your yard. You then notice that your property is starting to seem like an aviary, and, as beautiful as the birds are, they’re becoming bothersome. So you approach your husband and ask him to remedy the problem. He then promises to build a scarecrow, but doesn’t complete the job. And, when the situation persists and you again ask him to help, he simply scratches his head and replies, “You know, it’s just not realistic to remove all these birds from...

If the Republican Party wants my vote, the percentage likelihood of hard-core, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-family, anti-gummint judicial nominees and nominees to important cabinet and bureaucratic posts had better be like Ivory Soap: 99 44/100% pure. You can settle for trash like Romney in defense of materialistic interests. I will not cooperate with further sellouts by the money, money, money crowd in the GOP who think it is perfectly OK to use every tactic in the book including multiple faux candidacies to dilute the vote and mountains of ill-gotten money to buy endorsements and votes and getting STDs from the lamestream...

Repeat a big Democrat talking point often enough, and it becomes the truth. There is a certain liberal narrative that has recently filtered down to many independents and even some conservatives: the idea that the current crop of Republican candidates is weak, wanting, and worrisome. The lament is, "Hell's bells, the guy in the White House is out of his depth, but what alternatives does the GOP offer?" The idea, I suppose, is that we might as well just re-elect Barack Obama. At least he has four years of golfing, government-growing, and greenback-gobbling experience. This characterization of the Republican field...

Repeat a big Democrat talking point often enough, and it becomes the truth. There is a certain liberal narrative that has recently filtered down to many independents and even some conservatives: the idea that the current crop of Republican candidates is weak, wanting, and worrisome. The lament is, "Hell's bells, the guy in the White House is out of his depth, but what alternatives does the GOP offer?" The idea, I suppose, is that we might as well just re-elect Barack Obama. At least he has four years of golfing, government-growing, and greenback-gobbling experience. This characterization of the Republican field...

No, it's not true that the Establishment (such as it is) is responsible for the sorry state of the non-Romneys in the current Republican field. It's not the Establishment's fault that Jeb Bush, John Thune, Paul Ryan, Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie and others stayed out of it, while an ex-pizza salesman, a political crank, a congresswoman who served five years in the House, an eccentric former House speaker whose foibles proved too much for even his caucus, and a shrill and divisive hard-line culture warrior who lost his last race five years ago by a 17-point margin, decided that this...

Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are arguing like girls on the playground. The USA Today piece is funny, but it shows the absurdity of meaningless rhetoric. Voters who knew and understood Herman Cain's 999 plan may be left to wonder what Romney and Gingrich stand for except attacking each other, and defending themselves. Iowans do not like candidates bickering with each other.

IN JANUARY the battle to become the world’s most powerful person begins—with small groups of Iowans “caucusing” to choose a Republican nominee for the White House. It is a great opportunity for them. Barack Obama is clearly beatable. No president since Franklin Roosevelt has been re-elected with unemployment as high as it is now; Mr Obama’s approval rating, which tends to translate accurately into vote-share, is down in the mid-40s. Swing states like Florida, Ohio and even Pennsylvania look well within the Republicans’ grasp. Yet recent polls show the president leading all his rivals: an average of two points ahead...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has always been the religion of the future — demographically, organizationally, fervently. Well, the future is now. Not only are there two Mormons running for the Republican presidential nomination (Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman) but the religion itself was taken even more seriously in national debates — albeit some of it having to do with one of Mormonism's most celebrated converts, Glenn Beck, and making it big on Broadway (The Book of Mormon by the creators of South Park)...about two-thirds of white evangelical Christians, according to a Pew Poll, do not consider...

I have seen a common thread through many postings on Free Republic lately: Why are our candidates so poor? Why do our Republican or conservative candidates seem so deficient, so..."pathetic"? (described that way on a thread I was viewing just today). Why is this the case? In my opinion, it is not that our candidates suffer by comparison, they clearly don't. If a candidate embraces conservative viewpoints on greater than 50% (might even be lower) of the issues out there, they would be far preferable to any liberal candidate out there, in my opinion. But it doesn't SEEM that way....

Republicans want to win Election 2012. Will voters desperate to put a republican in the White House overlook Newt's past infidelities? A group called Iowa Christian Leaders in Government blasted Bob Vander Platts and Gingrich in a scathing article about "marital problems". The President of Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, Steve Scheffler said his group would not be endorsing any candidate. Scheffler said it was up to each supporter and member to vote for their conservative of choice.

Late Sunday night, I received an email indicating Donald Trump just may be getting back in the race to unseat Obama and take back our beloved land! “We firmly believe that Donald Trump is the best choice for President and have been encouraging him to run,” says the action alert from a group of grassroots Patriots out of Costa Mesa, CA. This is one strong businessman that the media won’t destroy like the outsider we saw bite the dust last week! Trump’s theme of TIME TO GET TOUGH, the theme of his blockbuster book, is starting up this second Trump...

It may seem a technical point to some, but to those focused on abortion as an issue, it isn’t. Breaking from groups that believe human life begins at the moment an egg is fertilized — also the position of the Catholic Church, of which he is a member — former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told ABC News he believes life begins at implantation. But he expressed confidence that he can win the vote of anti-abortion activists despite this difference.

Whether you’ve been watching every debate or are waiting until the field narrows, the 2012 presidential election push has gotten underway. So what will the impact be on your business? No denying, the economy will be a hot topic this go-around. And tax reform remains an integral part of any strategy to right the ship. One specific target? Corporate taxes. With good reason: The United States is well above-average in its corporate tax rates. While the international average falls around 20%, we blow that away. But maybe not for long. The candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination plan to...

The Republicans' Farcical Candidates The US Republican race is dominated by ignorance, lies and scandals. The current crop of candidates have shown such a basic lack of knowledge that they make George W. Bush look like Einstein. The Grand Old Party is ruining the entire country's reputation. Africa is a country. In Libya, the Taliban reigns. Muslims are terrorists; most immigrants are criminal; all Occupy protesters are dirty. And women who feel sexually harassed -- well, they shouldn't make such a big deal about it. Welcome to the wonderful world of the US Republicans. Or rather, to the twisted world...

Here is a fun new campaign video in the 2012 GOP Republican U.S. Senate Primary for Hawaii. It was meant as a prelude to the annual 2012 Hawaiian Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner at Hilton Hawaiian Village (thus the quotes from Lincoln in body of the video). Abraham Lincoln, the founder of our party, and the President's Day's festivities were taken into account, but when I showed this to my scrutinizing kids, a 'new life' came about for the video. Enjoy!

LITTLE ROCK — As election season gears up in Arkansas, candidates are bringing out their big guns — literally, in some cases. The one campaign issue in Arkansas that tends to unite even the fiercest political rivals is support for gun rights, which is seen as a key credentialing tool for office-seekers at all levels in the Natural State. Tom Cotton Last week, 4th District congressional candidate Beth Ann Rankin announced on a radio show and in a campaign news release that she was “a proud gun owner” and the new holder of a permit to carry a concealed weapon....

The real cause of the housing bubble and collapse is very simple: An Executive Order by Bill Clinton and enthusiastically championed by George Bush, 13166, forced banks to make bad loans or no loans at all. And Newt Gingrich was championing putting an end to EO 13166 years before the collapse of the banking industry. In the late 1990s, a grand compromise was reached between President Clinton and Senate Banking Chairman Phil Gramm. Long ago, government types decided that home ownership was the key to fiscal stability, but too many blacks didn't qualify for loans. The banking industry argued that...

Several recent polls have shown a near four-way tie among top GOP contenders in the Iowa caucus, which kicks off the nominating process on Jan. 3. A Nov. 10-12 Bloomberg News poll, for instance, showed Herman Cain at 20%, Ron Paul at 19%, Mitt Romney at 18% and Newt Gingrich at 17% among likely GOP caucus goers. But the real story isn't that horse-race snapshot: It's how few Iowa caucus-goers have committed to a candidate with less than two months to go before the main event. A survey conducted by the Polling Company for Independent Women's Voice on Nov. 11-13...

Conservative Candidates Weak Against Obama A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet A friend, whose opinion I value in the extreme, continues to assure me that Obama will lose in November of 2012. I, on the other hand, continue to be dubious… also in the extreme. Recently, I received an email from a conservative democrat friend who told me, flat out, that the republican field does not look well, at all, and he is beginning to believe that Obama will be returned to the Oval Office for four more years as a result. He wants Obama gone, too. In our electronic...

Every 2012 contender attended college. They all graduated. They went to schools like the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Texas A&M, Morehouse, Penn State and Emory. But decades have passed since these Presidential candidates first stepped onto campus as freshmen. Is it time for an Econ 101 refresher course? America's Econ 101 professors say yes. In their view, the candidates continue to offer ideas and policies that wouldn't pass muster in their classes -- populated by 18 year-old college students. "There are so many economic 'misstatements' being made," said Jonathan Lanning, a professor at Bryn Mawr who is teaching two introductory...

Hot Air Presidential Poll: Halloween Please vote only once. Your ballot should take less than a minute to complete. We'll announce the results after voting has concluded. As always, double voters will be removed from the final tally, so no cheating http://hotair.com/archives/2011/10/31/hot-air-presidential-survey-halloween-edition/

A great steak isn’t the only thing U.S. Senate candidate Craig Miller knows how to “fire up,” if Friday’s crowd at the Boca Raton Republican Club was any indication. The former CEO of Ruth’s Chris steakhouse surprised a few guests when a speech about his humble beginnings as a dishwasher quickly led to strong words of advice to young people and protesters, who, Miller said, “believe their government has failed to take care of them.”

As an example of a Republican Party Hobson`s Choice candidate, Herman Cain, and his proposed `opportunity zones`, not only would his `opportunity zones` violate the Constitution, but they are a very bad idea in respect to the power that would be exercised by our folks in Washington under opportunity zones and how that power would affect our political system! I object to the federal government entering my state and using the force of the federal government to pick winners and losers by allowing people living in an federally designated opportunity zone to be relieved from paying federal taxes, while those...

Anti-Wall Street protests are growing in number across the country and around the globe, but their political impact remains unclear and will likely depend upon their staying power. At a minimum, the protests have become a channel for public anger over rising economic inequality and Washington's ineffectiveness. "They are a pretty good thermometer for the level of discontent in the country," said John Green, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. "But the connection between Republicans and Wall Street and the banks will surely be an election issue next year." Romney used...

Mark Halperin's Grades from the GOP Debate: Romney: A Cain: A- Gingrich: B+ Santorum: B+ Huntsman: B- Perry: C Bachman: C- Paul: C-

The pundits busy divining the reasons Herman Cain won that Florida straw poll so handily can't be blamed—it was a compelling spectacle and a distinctly satisfying one as straw poll results go.To have listened to the candidate's prescriptions in his speech to the delegates Saturday was to see why. Everything he told the audience had been said, in one way or another, by most of the leading Republican candidates. The difference here was -- is -- Mr. Cain's unfailing capacity to speak as though from a core of fire deep inside him. An irresistible strength -- as is the mordant...

The Republicans’ presidential debate Thursday night sponsored by Fox News and Google gave primary voters and caucus-goers at least one good reason to reject every candidate on the stage. The interesting question now is whether someone else will enter the race — at just about the same point in the election cycle in which Bill Clinton entered the Democratic race in 1991. The spotlight was hottest on Rick Perry, the frontrunner in national polls since he announced his candidacy in Charleston, S.C., on Aug. 13, the same day that Michele Bachmann won the straw poll in Ames, Iowa. Perry’s problem...

Women are to be allowed to vote in Saudi Arabia. K ing Abdullah bin Abdulaziz announced the change yesterday and also said women would be allowed to run in elections. However, the new law will not come into force until 2015. In a speech, the king said the move was in accordance with sharia law.

By now these debates are getting boring. We know where all these people stand on every major position, we know their ideas, their weaknesses, etc. Several of them have been around for years. How about a fresh perspective? A way to get insights and even revelations that moderators just can’t dig out with their canned questions? I suggest the next debate be “THE BATTLE OF THE SPOUSES” and the participants will be the candidates’ wives (and/or husbands if applicable). We could ask personal things like: Are you, as his wife, his "moral compass"? Is he really a nice guy? Does...

Is it me or is the number debates that the Republican candidates are having turning into a negative instead of a positive. Personally, while I want to learn more about the candidates, we have hit a tipping point in the productivity of them. It feels like now we are just opening up issues that, which ever candidate wins, will be used by the Democrats against them. Are we really gaining any new knowledge. I may be the lone wolf on this, but interested in others thoughts on it.

Debates among Republican presidential contenders have completely ignored what should be a litmus test issue for all who wish to be considered for the office—not just by gun owners, but by all Americans: What will they do to determine the truth about “Project Gunwalker”? We know that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been holding hearings with at least two more slated for sometime later this year. And we know that Attorney General Eric Holder has directed the Office of Inspector General to conduct an investigation under authority of the Department of Justice. These efforts should proceed,...