http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/gop/ en-us Sat, 2 Jan 2010 04:17:14 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2419332/posts -The Race42012 staff was asked to take look ahead and share their predictions for the coming new year. Our readers are encouraged to post their own predictions in the comments. Adam Brickley Sarah Palin continues her recovery and cements herself as de-facto leader of the GOP after vigorously campaigning through 2010, after which she begins work on a second and more issue-oriented book. Mike Huckabee decides that he rather likes being a media figure and veers away from presidential politics – he pursues either a nightly show on Fox News or a daily radio program. Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty... Race42012 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2419332/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 04:17:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419292/posts The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Republican Party stands to potentially make a big comeback in the 2010 Mid-term elections: After losing the White House and nearly 70 congressional seats in the last two elections, Republicans are poised for a strong comeback in 2010, with significant gains likely in the House and a good chance of boosting their numbers in the Senate and statehouses across the country. The results could hamper President Obama's legislative efforts as he prepares to seek reelection and reshape the political landscape for a decade beyond, as lawmakers redraw congressional and state political boundaries... Freedom's Lighthouse http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419292/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 02:16:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418885/posts A number of House Democrats have announced they are retiring, and party officials say more could follow in a tough midterm election year of high unemployment, a slow economic recovery and a very angry electorate. A growing number of Democrats have read the handwriting on the wall that tells of bleak prospects for their party in 2010 when Republicans are expected to pick up seats in the House and possibly in the Senate, too. Historically, the party out of power makes gains in an administration's midterm point, and that seems to be what is in store for the Democrats this... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418885/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 11:48:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418860/posts American voters have been demonstrating a lack of confidence in both parties lately. George W. Bush nearly destroyed the Republican Party, but Barack Obama is giving it a chance at resurrection. Karl Rove dreamed that he and Bush, like strategist Mark Hanna and President William McKinley in 1896, would create a generation of Republican dominance. Instead, he delivered both Congress and the presidency to the Democrats. Bush turned off libertarian-leaning moderates and independents with his profligate spending, his excessive social conservatism, and the foundering war in Iraq. Some of those independents voted Democratic in 2006 and 2008, figuring that the... CATO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418860/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 08:18:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418835/posts Reporting from Roswell, N.M. - After losing the White House and nearly 70 congressional seats in the last two elections, Republicans are poised for a strong comeback in 2010, with significant gains likely in the House and a good chance of boosting their numbers in the Senate and statehouses across the country. The results could hamper President Obama's legislative efforts as he prepares to seek reelection and reshape the political landscape for a decade beyond, as lawmakers redraw congressional and state political boundaries to reflect the next census. All 435 House seats, 36 in the Senate and the governorships of... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418835/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 06:19:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2418329/posts The history of third parties in America is a long and storied tradition, if you are a drunken frat boy on a Friday night. However, if you are a conservative and believe in the Constitution, the history does not bode as well. TheCypressTimes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2418329/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:59:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417940/posts President Barack Obama campaigned as the candidate who would work across the aisle and bring Republicans into the debate. But in his first year in office, he’s discovered it’s tough to change Washington. Obama has reached out to GOPers on a number of issues, inviting Republican lawmakers to the White House to discuss the stimulus package, the war in Afghanistan and healthcare. Those efforts, however, have yielded almost no results in the voting columns as partisan tension remains high and Republicans have dug in to oppose the president's policies on climate change, healthcare and the economy. During the campaign, Obama... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417940/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:34:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417364/posts Interestingly, as I write this, word comes from the paper that one of the GOP candidates for Governor of South Carolina, has been AWOL from his day job. Gresham Barrett, a South Carolina Congressman, has been absent from more votes in the United States House of Representatives than any other Congressman, Democrat or Republican. Barrett is, like the other guys in the race, a good guy, but I have to ask what these guys have sacrificed for their principles. We are used to guys compromising in the name of comity and saving face and power. Rarely do we see a... RedState http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417364/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:13:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2417097/posts As reported by Jules Crittenden, the national GOP has all but abandoned Scott Brown in his bid for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in the January 19 special election. Brown's opponent, Martha Coakley, is a down-the-line liberal who is vulnerable because she will be a puppet for the Democratic leadership. If Massachusetts voters want more of the same, they can get it with Coakley. If they want change they really can believe in, Scott Brown is the answer. But the national GOP couldn't seem to care less. The amount of funding provided to Brown has been minimal. Coakley, on the other... Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2417097/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:07:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416943/posts For John Thune, 2010 looks like a good year to run for re-election. For Tim Johnson, it looks like a good year not to. Thune, the first-term Senate Republican from South Dakota, showed well in a statewide sampling of voters that offered more troubling results for Johnson. Thune’s job approval rating of 57 percent is particularly strong when compared to the 28 percent and 31 percent approval ratings for Democrats and Republicans in Congress overall, respectively. Rapid City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416943/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:06:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416887/posts GOP U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown has been all but abandoned by the same national Republican committees that pumped hundreds of thousands in campaign cash to former governors Mitt Romney and William Weld during their long-shot bids for U.S. Senate. The snub has outraged local Republicans who say national conservatives should be jumping at the chance to nab the first open Senate seat in decades despite Brown’s tough odds in the Jan. 19 special election. ...In 1994, NRSC’s leader, then-Sen. Phil Gramm, vowed an “all out effort,” during Romney’s underdog battle against Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. The national party boosted... www.bostonherald.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416887/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:55:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416839/posts GOP U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown has been all but abandoned by the same national Republican committees that pumped hundreds of thousands in campaign cash to former governors Mitt Romney and William Weld during their long-shot bids for U.S. Senate. The snub has outraged local Republicans who say national conservatives should be jumping at the chance to nab the first open Senate seat in decades despite Brown’s tough odds in the Jan. 19 special election. Boston Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416839/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:16:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416086/posts GOP Wants Democratic Defectors On Health Bill Republicans hopeful in rival party’s ‘great unrest’ before arduous revision Dec . 27, 2009 WASHINGTON - The White House sought to downplay differences on Sunday between the two versions of healthcare legislation passed in Congress as Democrats prepared to meld them into one, while a top Republican saw "great unrest" and perhaps more party-switchers among Democrats. The Senate passed its version of healthcare reform, President Barack Obama's top legislative priority, on Thursday with no Republicans voting for it. The House of Representatives passed its bill on November 7 with just one Republican vote.... Reuters via MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416086/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:07:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416029/posts New population figures give a boost to the GOP By: Chris StirewaltPolitical EditorDecember 28, 2009 The 2010 census is sure to be controversial.Republicans will thunder about the community organizers who get hired to do the counting, and Democrats will wail that the homeless and migrant workers are undercounted.But in the final pre-count estimate just released by the Census Bureau, we already have a broad idea of where the results are headed and what they will mean politically.The numbers are cause for alarm for Democrats.Of the states gaining House seats -- Texas (three) and Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416029/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:44:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414882/posts TPM reports: "With Democratic senators united on the health care bill today, their campaign arm has settled on an attack plan for 2010: Republicans would "repeal" it if they win control. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, aggressively challenging incumbent GOP senators and vying for open seats, will paint the Republicans as only interested in obstructing." So, the Democrats' attack plan is to tell voters that the GOP will repeal the budget-busting, tax-hiking, Medicare-cutting, abortion-funding, big insurance and big pharma giveaway that only has the support of 35% of voters. Brilliant! Conservatives have been saying that if Obamacare passes Republicans should... The Weekly Standard Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414882/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:50:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414744/posts It is 2009's quiet story -- quiet because it's about what didn't happen, which can be as important as what did. In this highly partisan year, we did not see a sharpening of the battles over religion and culture. Yes, we continued to fight over gay marriage, and arguments about abortion were a feature of the health-care debate. But what's more striking is that other issues -- notably economics and the role of government -- trumped culture and religion in the public square. The culture wars went into recession along with the economy. The most important transformation occurred on the... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414744/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:01:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414271/posts For Democrats like Harry Reid, who called them "evil-mongers," and Nancy Pelosi, who called them "un-American," the NBC News poll must have hit like a sucker punch at a Georgetown wine-and-cheese. The Tea Party movement, those folks rallying against spending last spring and Obamacare in the summer town halls, are viewed more favorably than the Democratic Party. Forty-one percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party movement, to 35 percent for Obama's party. Only 24 percent view Tea Party activists unfavorably, while 45 percent hold a negative view of the Democrats. While Tea Party types played a... Human Events http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414271/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:23:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414441/posts I want to commend Sen. Harry Reid, extraordinary work that he did, Speaker Pelosi, for her extraordinary leadership and dedication. Having passed reform bills in both the House and the Senate, we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that I can sign into law. And I look forward to working with members of Congress in both chambers over the coming weeks to do exactly that. With today's vote, we are now incredibly close to making health insurance reform a reality in this country. Our challenge then... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414441/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:28:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414413/posts Next year is an election year in Congress and will provide a very tough crucible in which to create immigration reform, an incendiary topic even in normal times. Now come immigration reform advocates who remind President Barack Obama of his campaign pledges in 2008 and of his promises earlier this year to tackle the emotional issue in 2010. Earlier this month, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., with 87 co-sponsors, introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009. The bill includes increased border security, enforcement and an employment verification system for employers to screen new hires. But... http://www.mercedsunstar.com/359/story/1245773.html http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414413/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:45:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414410/posts The Democrats passed a highly unpopular bill with two votes to spare in the House and none to spare in the Senate. Now they have to blend the bills (mostly reflecting the Senate one) and get them back through both chambers — after hearing from their constituents over the holidays. Furthermore, the House bill passed only because of relatively strong anti-abortion language demanded by pro-life Democrats in particularly precarious seats. The Senate bill doesn't contain that language. So either the anti-abortion Democrats in the House or the pro-abortion Democrats in the Senate are going to have to cave. Combine this... The Corner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414410/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:32:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414407/posts The Senate on Thursday cleared a $290 billion debt-limit increase, giving the federal government two more months of borrowing authority. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/73543-senate-votes-to-raise-debt-limit-by-290-billion http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414407/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:27:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414100/posts I listened to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell on Sean Hannity’s radio show yesterday. He sounded tired and barely able to rally the troops against the Democrats’ government health care takeover. He told Sean’s guest host at the end of an obligatory-sounding critique of Harry Reid that, and I quote, “We’re going to fight ‘em all the way to the finish line.” That’s what he said: “We’re going to fight ‘em all the way to the finish line.” Before the cloture vote on sneaky Sunday, Sen. John McCain had sounded the same message with more energy, invoking John Paul Jones... Michelle Malkin http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414100/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:25:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2413898/posts Allahpundit: Via Weasel Zippers. The money line: “Are you going to keep building your party with Dixiecrats, ex-Democrats, who think the Democratic party is too mainstream?” Savor that last word, as it suggests that a party pushing a signature bill that’s now -20 in net approval in some polls is the one that speaks for the great “mainstream.” The idea of a liberal silent majority goes hand in hand with the idea of the GOP as a radical collective, which is where the confederacy meme comes in here. Nothing new for “Hardball”: Kathleen Parker pushed that smear herself back in... Bully Pulpit http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2413898/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:30:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413877/posts I think that a lot of congressional Democrats are going to pay the price of Obamacare, but Andrew McCarthy highlights a key point: The best thing about Mark Steyn's guest-host stint on Hannity last night -- other than Jonah's joining him on the panel -- was that Mark asked some pointed questions of two brilliant political strategists, Dick Morris and Karl Rove, that seemed rooted in Mark's theory that, on health care and all it entails,"The Dems are thinking strategically; the Republicans are all tactics." For my money, I think the theory is being borne out: Democrats have their eyes... Powerline http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413877/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:56:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2413379/posts 'Unbelievable what this man can get away with on the air, Matthews discusses Rep. Griffith switching parties and wastes no time attacking the GOP + (Photo of Matthews from 1982) hotairpundit http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2413379/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:55:05 GMT