Free Republic

The 2014 Republican primaries have been good for incumbents and the GOP establishment over Tea Party candidates. Texas is having none of that. In Tuesday's GOP primary runoff elections, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst lost his bid for re-election to state Sen. Dan Patrick, a former talk radio host backed by Tea Party groups. This is Dewhurst's second big loss to the Tea Party — he was upset by Ted Cruz in the 2012 GOP primary for U.S. Senate. Patrick will face state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D) for the unusually powerful Texas lieutenant governorship. The Tea Party also won...

Thompson Strolls Through S.C. Gun Show By JIM DAVENPORT – 2 hours agoLADSON, S.C. (AP) — White House hopeful Fred Thompson called his trip down aisle of rifles, shotguns and pistols at a gun show "a day in paradise," and said he wished he could come back to spend more time and money.It was the former Tennessee senator and "Law and Order" actor's second trip to a gun show since launching his late bid for the GOP nomination in September.He reached out and picked up an old M-1 Garand rifle and raised an over-and-under Winchester shotgun suitable for the...

When one political party tries to influence the other's presidential primary race the reasonable assumption is that someone is trying to stop the nomination of a candidate that party does not want to face in November.BR> That's why a Democrat-aligned group injecting itself into the Republican campaign by alleging that Fred Thompson lobbied for abortion rights is a pretty good indication the other side thinks he has serious potential. Thompson has become a force in the GOP polls even though almost half of Republicans and more than half the rest of the electorate say they don't know enough about him...

Bush, Jews And Democrats(Part IV) By Jason Maoz, Senior Editor There never was much doubt that Jews would vote in large numbers for Democrat Lyndon Johnson over Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964 — a year when even many moderate members of his own party were high-tailing it away from the GOP`s outspokenly conservative standard bearer. Johnson, the incumbent who assumed office upon the assassination of John Kennedy in 1963, adroitly positioned himself as a man of the sensible center while Goldwater, disturbingly ambivalent about his own presidential ambitions and qualifications ("Doggone it, I`m not even sure I`ve got the brains...