Free Republic

Trump! Clinton! Is that all there is? No. Fortunately, we have other choices. A recent poll shows that if the election were held today, 11 percent of Americans would vote for a Libertarian, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. That's surprising, since last election Johnson got just 1 percent of the vote. This year, he's doing better, probably because Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hold the highest percentage of "unfavorable" reactions from voters in more than 30 years. I assume the Libertarian total will go higher, since most poll respondents had no opinion about Johnson. They probably don't know who...

Planned Parenthood continues to be a key issue for pro-life voters, and for good reason. Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States, performs over 300,000 abortions a year, traffics in baby body parts, and receives nearly a half-billion dollars a year in government funds. Pro-lifers want their government to have nothing to do with Planned Parenthood. So what have the candidates for President said and done about Planned Parenthood? Republicans: Donald Trump has never held public office and has no voting record on Planned Parenthood. He has spoken about them several times saying both that he would...

Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have released their tax return information while both attacking Donald Trump, who refuses to release his. On Saturday the Florida senator and the Texas senator made public up to fiver years previous tax information hoping to shame Trump into letting voters see his, too. Rubio released summaries of five tax years Saturday and Cruz later released summaries of four years, from 2011 to 2014, according to NBC News. Cruz accused Donald Trump of hiding his tax returns from voters during Sunday's broadcast of 'Face The Nation'. Cruz said Trump could be hiding as many as...

The CIA’s latest diversity program includes an effort to recruit transgender individuals into the ranks of America’s spy service. As first reported by The Washington Free Beacon, the CIA’s three-year “Diversity and Inclusion Strategy” says “dedicated programs” are in place to recruit individuals from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, as well as from the LGBT community and elsewhere. It says: “We will continue to enrich our workforce by targeting diverse communities across the United States to meet our talent needs, with dedicated programs for citizens of African, Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Native American descent; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,...

How many candidates does it take to change a light bulb? How many Donald Trumps? Only 1, but Donald doesn't change the bulbs himself. He hires people who hire people who hire people. And all the bulbs get changed in a timely manner or you're fired. How many Ted Cruzs? Only 1. But first he lies about whether the bulb is Canadian. Then he sends violation notices out about the burned out bulbs. Then he lies about whether Trump can get a light bulb changed. Then he changes the bulb. Then he lies about having changed the bulb. Marco Rubio?...

Yahoo! Finance reports Sen. Ted Cruz's four super PACs received 57 percent of their money from financial-industry sources, but are essentially funded almost entirely by three wealthy donors: "Cruz has the most unusual arrangement with Wall Street. His wife Heidi is a Goldman Sachs executive based in Houston (who's on leave during the campaign), and four Cruz super PACs got 57% of their money from financial-industry sources. But those super PACs are funded almost entirely by three wealthy donors, including investor Robert Mercer of the New York hedge fund Renaissance Technologies and energy investor Toby Neugebauer, who operates a Houston...

Global markets appear to be poised for another panic, the presidential campaign isn't giving us much to choose from, and we just surpassed $19 trillion in government debt. But I'm more worried about something that affects me personally - the common cold. I hate being sick with a cold. I hate the scratchy throat and the difficulty to sleep, concentrate or breathe. The only upside to getting a cold involves the consumption of several Irish hot toddies - generous amounts of Jameson whiskey poured into a cup of tea - that tide me over until my good health returns. But...

Dr. Carson, While I did not support you this time around, I liked you. You seemed genuine and up to now, a real Christian. Since December, you have been bleeding staff, most of which left to go to Ted Cruz's campaign. Even the morning of the caucus, several more left. In December, we read that several staffers had complained that your 'friend' Armstrong Williams was listened to more than your paid staff and several missteps had occurred because of that. You apparently still listen and confide in him, hence the misstep just before the caucus Monday night. Since you are...

Lackluster Debate Freezes Race Amanda Carpenter January 29th, 2016 This may be the first GOP presidential debate without any consequences. Perceptions from before and during the debate remain after. Donald Trump is far away from the pack, churning furiously away in his own universe. Ted Cruz is his closest competitor in orbit, with Marco Rubio behind. Elsewhere in the sky are Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Ben Carson, John Kasich, and Chris Christie fighting to be seen by the voters. sans Trump. Without Trump present, the debate was a series of questions, exchanges, and canned lines we've all heard before. The...

Speaking on Good Morning America and Morning Joe this morning, Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski hinted that other candidates were thinking of dropping out of the upcoming Fox News debate after Trump decided to bail. He asserted that anchor Megyn Kelly was "obsessed" with his boss, which was one reason why Trump decided not to participate. "Megyn Kelly is totally obsessed with Mr. Trump," Lewandowski said on Good Morning America. "She's done multiple shows on why he shouldn't be even involved in the race on television. She's completely obsessed with him. It's impossible to have a fair and honest...

Less than two weeks after the Jihadist attacks in Paris, Islamic terror came to the shores of the United States for the third time in less than a year. The attacks in San Bernardino have been the driving news story of the week; often putting the Presidential race on the back burner. In the wake of the shooting, and failed bombing of a San Bernardino County holiday party, Ted Cruz made a strong point that what the nation needs is a “wartime president.” This is in sharp contrast to a president, who for days after the attacks has continued to...

Among the many duties of the president, the pardoning of a turkey on Thanksgiving stands as perhaps the most important. It is for that reason that conservative online publication IJ.com invited a few Republican presidential candidates to practice their turkey-pardoning skills, thereby making the case to the American people that they are truly Oval Office material.

...Mike Huckabee and Sen. Ted Cruz...have dismissed Planned Parenthood's announcement of its $20 million campaign against pro-life candidates as a notice coming from a group that “lies” and is lacking in “credibility.” ...In a new video announcing the abortion business' campaign, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards referred to the pro-life base of the GOP as "extremists" and placed them on notice....Rick Tyler, national spokesperson for Cruz's campaign, told Breitbart News, "Planned Parenthood has been exposed for who they are and no amount of money is going to either repair their image nor harm pro-life candidates because Planned Parenthood has no...

DES MOINES | Voters who wish to pick a presidential candidate and at the same time support a federal renewable fuel program that benefits Iowa corn growers have at least nine options, according to an advocacy group’s new report. America’s Renewable Future, an Iowa advocacy group that promotes the federal rule that mandates a certain amount of corn-based ethanol be placed in the nation’s fuel supply, on Tuesday issued a midterm report card on the 2016 presidential candidates. Nine candidates — six Republicans and all three Democrats — earned the report’s top grade for their expressed support for the federal...

It does not often happen. On November 1, 2015, rare comity will occur among most of the Republican Presidential candidates. Campaign representatives will meet to plan the best way to handle their common enemy—the mainstream media in future debates. … This was supposed to be a debate about business and economic policies. How was it possible for moderator John Harwood to ask a vacuous touchy-feely question of Mike Huckabee as “when you look at him [Donald Trump], do you see someone with the moral authority to unite the country?” Understandably, the crowd booed the question, and other candidates chimed in...

So the 3rd debate has come and gone. The feckless republicans have caved to Obama once again. Evil men who are in control have evil plans for all of us who are not one of them. The media, once again, have shown their ugly bias for the world to see. Hmmm. In some ways we have a lot to be thankful for. We have a good field of candidates this year, although some are not so conservative, a good handful are. When have we had such a choice? This election cycle is pretty interesting, if you think about it. Not...

Here we have an online quiz which, with a handful of questions, matches you with candidates who most share your beliefs, offers scores and analysis, and reveals the positions of candidates who have evidently taken the same quiz. I frankly have no idea why piglet Roseanne Barr is in the mix, but maybe it will be of interest to someone. Me? I was surprised to have so much in common with Bobby Jindal.

Forbes put together the definitive wealth list of the candidates, compiling the net worth estimates of the top 20 Republican and Democratic contenders. Forbes used a variety of documents, including financial disclosures with the Federal Election Commission, property records, mortgage papers and tax records. Obviously, billionaire Donald Trump took first place. But how did the others stack up? Check out Forbes' full rankings below: 1. Donald Trump $4.5 bil Richest candidate by a long shot is the GOP front-runner. 2. Carly Fiorina $58 mil Former HP CEO has over 1,000 investments. 3. Hillary Clinton $45 mil Half of power couple;...

I was a a Maker Faire today and noticed a 60ish man wearing a shirt with the words "United We Stand" and "9-11-2001" on it. Thinking he might be a fellow traveler, I struck up a conversation and asked him who was supporting for President. "Not Biden, not Biden," he said. "I don't want Hillary either. Um, what is his name? Oh yeah, Boehner!" (He pronounced it properly as 'Bayner'.) "Boehner?" I replied. "Are you sure you mean Boehner?" "Yeah, Boehner," he insisted. I took pity on him. "Do you mean 'Bernie'? Bernie Sanders?" "Yes, that's who it is," said...

The week that was supposed to see multiple candidates drop out of the race for the Republican nomination saw none drop as all 15 candidates qualified for the South Carolina ballot by the September 30, 2015 deadline. For the first time in a long time, the media isn’t talking about a candidate that has dropped out. Donald Trump appeared on “60 Minutes” in a wide-ranging interview. During that interview Trump came out with new policy positions, many of which raised eyebrows. Will Lindsey Graham be the only U.S. Senator not on the stage at the CNBC debate at the end...