Free Republic

Take Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee out of the 2012 presidential mix, says Al Cardenas, new chair of the American Conservative Union: If they were serious about running, "they'd probably be here." Interviewed at the end of the second busy day of his organization's Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Cardenas dismissed the chances of the two high-profile no-shows. "Both Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin would be formidable contenders, but are unlikely to be nominees," he told On Calll. "But my sense I they're not serious about running because I would think they'd probably be here if they were."

The race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination starts in earnest this week at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. Too early, you say? On the contrary. With the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary only 12 months away, it may soon be too late for anyone who wants to run for president to begin the hard work of raising money, recruiting a staff and wooing Republican activists. So let's get started. Here's the conventional wisdom, fresh from the corridors of power, on the state of the Republican race: There are really only two spots on the...

Various factions are developing among GOP groups over whether the American Conservative Union (ACU), headed by Tom Keene, should have accepted a “homosexual rights” group (GOProud) to be a co-sponsor of its annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which begins February 10th.  Several groups are boycotting the event, such as the Heritage Foundation, the Family Research Council, The American Principles Project, and the American Family Association.  In addition, politicians Mike Huckabee and Jim DeMint have declined invitations. Past keynote speakers have included Ann Coulter, President Ronald Reagan (14 years in a row!) and Glenn Beck. Last year, shouting matches erupted...

Here’s a first-hand story of the effects of illegal immigration. Both my parents died of cancer. Toward the end of my mother’s life, my brothers and I took her to hospitals more times than we care to remember, for life-prolonging procedures – until there was nothing more that could be done. During her final month I took her to the local Hospital Emergency Room one night. We arrived at about 10:30 p.m. and found the waiting room literally filled with non-English-speaking Latinos. None of the people ahead of us appeared to have an emergency or to be in great distress....