http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/gop/ en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:54:48 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050411/posts What do you do when you don’t want to like George Bush, and you don’t want to hate him either? As we near the end of the 43rd President’s term, one has to look back in amazement at how Bush could go from one of the most popular chief executives of all-time to one of the most hated. Bush seems to have become the anti-Reagan: whereas twenty years ago most Americans would have liked to see Reagan stay in office for another four years, now most Americans seem to want Bush to leave tomorrow. I voted for Bush twice, and... Human Events http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050411/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:54:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050379/posts John McCain and Barack Obama have both changed positions in this campaign. That's OK. Voters understand that politicians can and, sometimes, should change their views. After all, voters do. Witness the wide swings in their answers to opinion polls. But before accepting the changes, voters typically ask themselves three questions: Does the candidate admit he's shifting? What's the new information that altered his thinking? Does the change seem reasonable and not calculating? The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050379/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:53:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050249/posts One day after it was revealed that Sen. John McCain was to hold a closed-door meeting with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, Jindal said Wednesday that there is no way he will fill the bottom half of the GOP presidential ticket. "I'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee or vice president," Jindal told Fox News. "I'm going to help Sen. McCain get elected as governor of Louisiana." "Let me be clear: I have said in every private and public conversation, I've got the job that I want," Jindal said. It's not uncommon for those being considered for... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050249/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:17:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050208/posts If you want to start worrying about the presidential election this year, you can look at the comparison between 1996 and 2008. John McCain is a similar candidate to Bob Dole--a war hero, running on his experience, but also somewhat past his political prime. The Democrats had the advantage of incumbency in 1996, but of course Bill Clinton had been rebuked by voters in 1994. In July 1996, Democrats only enjoyed a 5.1 percent advantage in generic congressional polls. Yet in late July, Clinton was ahead of Dole in one Harris poll by 22 percent and in a Gallup poll... The New Republic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050208/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:19:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050181/posts Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed. "We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050181/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:23:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050104/posts My sentiments exactly, as I’ve made clear more than once before. We already knew who his top pick was; his second choice will come as no surprise, given his reasoning. Who he means by “boring, normal, mainstream Republican white guys” is left unsaid, but I think we’re all on the same page. hotair.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050104/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:43:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049885/posts Matthew Mahoney, $30,000-a-month executive director of the Senate Republican Campaign Commmittee and one-time head of Giuliani's presidential field operations was relieved of overall responsibility for the NY Senate's GOP campaign and told to concentrate on fund-raising and administrative chores....(rather than pushing the ex-mayor for governor). The demotion was also tied to Giuliani's failure to deliver on pledges to raise substantial amounts of cash for Republican efforts to hold the Senate. Giuliani was supposed to announce the creation of a fund-raising committee to collect cash for the Senate GOP, which some believe is designed to bolster the ex-mayor should he run... NY POST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049885/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:35:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049835/posts Boehner Rejects 'Contract With America' Republican Candidates On Their Own in Congressional Elections By RUSSELL BERMAN, Staff Reporter of the Sun | July 23, 2008 WASHINGTON — In the 2008 congressional elections, it will be every Republican for himself. Republicans on Capitol Hill are rejecting a sequel to the successful "Contract With America" campaign that won them the majority in Congress in 1994, a top party official said yesterday. "There will be no effort to try to nationalize the elections," the House Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner, told reporters at a lunch sponsored by the American Spectator magazine and Americans... The New York Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049835/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:40:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049712/posts Citing a lack of interest, the Nevada Republican Party has called off its state convention and will instead pick its delegates to the national convention by private conference call. The state party broke up its original convention in April when supporters of Ron Paul hijacked the proceedings and tried to elect delegates for their candidate to the national GOP convention in September. Party officials tried to reconvene on July 26, but they needed a quorum of 675 and received only 300 RSVPs, according to local reports. “With so many people concerned about the economy, it simply wouldn’t be fair for... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049712/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:42:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049613/posts WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate have freed GOP members to go against the traditional party platform if it will help them get re-elected, aides say. The Politico reported Tuesday that the GOP leadership set their members free amid fears they could lose five or more seats to Democrats in November. Republican leaders have told senators in tough re-election bids to side with Democrats on anything but energy and national security issues, a leadership aide told Politico. UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049613/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:43:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2049510/posts A friend of a friend produced this video, one of the best I’ve seen when it comes to documenting the anti-Americanism of the radical left. Complete with an upside down flag, spitting on an Iraq War veteran and calling him a rapist, it’s sure to make your blood boil. Good gosh, can we please rid our country of this kind of human garbage? You know, the Left would like to turn almost anything now into a hate crime. Do you think we could get the Dems in Congress to include US servicemen and women in their next piece of hate... wolkingsworld http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2049510/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:53:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2049466/posts In the last few days, oil prices have dropped twenty dollars a barrel due to the Republican surge against oil speculation. Below is the timeline. Why is McCain talking about Iraq? Republicans to head to ANWR- 7/9/2008 http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/09/republicans-to-head-to-anwr/Bush lifts executive ban on offshore oil drilling- 7/14/2008 http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/14/bush.offshore/index.html Feds release almost 4 million acres in Alaska for drilling- 7/17/2008 http://hotair.com/archives/2008/07/17/feds-release-almost-4-million-acres-in-alaska-for-drilling/U.S. govt to propose rules to develop oil shale- 7/21/2008http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN2145471820080721 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2049466/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:34:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049448/posts The McCain Administration By Randall Hoven   What can John McCain do to get conservatives to vote for him, enthusiastically and in numbers, while maybe even gaining votes from independents and sane liberals?  I think I have a way.  Senator, tell us who will be in your administration.  Speeches, especially at this point in the campaign, are all spin -- they tell us nothing.  Personnel decisions are real, and they can tell us a lot. For conservatives, McCain must pick solid conservatives who are genuinely qualified for their positions.  We'd like to see high ACU ratings, for example.  If we... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049448/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:03:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048713/posts <p>Not since the elections of 1950 and 1952 have consecutive "wave" years swept the House of Representatives. Surveying this year's House prospects, one cannot rule out a half-century repeat. Where are the Republicans?</p> <p>In the 29 states where voter registration is tracked by party, Democratic rolls have grown by almost 700,000 since the 2004 elections, while Republicans have shed nearly 1 million over the same period, as Rhodes Cook points out in the University of Virginia's election-tracking "Crystal Ball." Much of this owes to a lively Democratic primary. One should not read too much into registration, which does not necessarily predict November success.</p> The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048713/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:06:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048674/posts It’s only been a week or so since Tony Snow’s passing, and I can still hear him speaking to me. Snow was an outstanding fill-in host for Rush Limbaugh a decade or so ago, and at times he seemed to be a superior host to “El Rushbo” himself. Snow explained and defended his conservative views with a clarity and skill that was as effective as it was entertaining. Like fellow Limbaugh fill-in Dr. Walter E. Williams, Snow made conservatism intellectually as well as emotionally appealing. I’m sure that he convinced some liberal listeners to reconsider their views. Cancer has not... Human Events http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048674/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:04:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2048619/posts Don't toss me a bone in the form of soundbites and platitudes. Sell your position to the voters. Washington's Farewell http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2048619/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:26:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048599/posts "They've done real well the past few years," Wilkins said of House Republicans. "I was disappointed when they let Mark Warner talk them into a tax increase" -- a reference to the $1.4 billion rise for cops, schools and welfare that led to the Warner presidential boomlet. That increase in 2004 might not have occurred had Howell not looked the other way. He allowed several Republican anti-taxers to duck a do-or-die vote in the Finance Committee on the Warner package, clearing the way for passage. During Wilkins' brief reign, one usually got the impression the trains were running on time.... http://www.inrich.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048599/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:26:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048489/posts <p>Could 2008 Be a McCain Landslide? American Thinker, WA - Jul 12, 2008 Ah yes, dear readers, this title has nailed me. I'm an unconventional thinker, a woman who is wont to go madly against the grain, in nearly all matters. I'm usually in the unpopular camp, the one who disdains conventional wisdom and consensus science. I'm just too darned independent-minded for my own good sometimes.</p> AmericanThinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048489/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:19:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048394/posts Almost anything can happen in an election year, but among conservatives, almost everyone seems to agree that no matter who captures the White House in November, the movement that has ruled the Republican Party since the 1960s and mostly dominated American politics since 1980 has lost its way. Across the spectrum of the right, writers and thinkers have turned their relentless analysis inward, a kind of political EST seminar aimed at self-transformation. The International Herald Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048394/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:24:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048117/posts Rudy Giuliani is launching a new fund-raising committee to dole out cash to New York GOP candidates - a move that could help him collect political chits as he weighs a run for governor, The Post has learned. It's the first major political move by the former mayor since his run for president flamed out in January. The Giuliani camp is expected to announce the creation of the committee as early as Monday. The same day, he'll hold a small fund-raiser at the Grand Havana Room on Fifth Avenue for his existing federal political action committee, Solutions America. Sources close... nypost.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048117/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:45:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048267/posts From New York to San Francisco, I've been asked over and over: Given the state of the country, how could Barack Obama and John McCain be so close in the polls? The answer - at this point it's not about Obama vs. McCain. It's about Obama vs. Obama. Upscale, white "Sex and the City" women are still livid over how they perceive the Obama people treated Hillary Rodham Clinton during the Democratic primaries. He has got a major, major problem there, and they feel he has done nothing to address it. I'm not saying women will vote for McCain -... The San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048267/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:11:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2048215/posts Is it time for Senator Mitch McConnell,Republican Leader - United States Senator for Kentucky,to go? me http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2048215/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:02:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047906/posts The 11th commandment of politics is that elected officials shall not take sides in their party primaries. Then again, Missouri Republicans are burdened with so many sins, what's one more? For an insight as to why the GOP is down and out in Washington, take a look at Jefferson City. That's where Sarah Steelman, the state treasurer, is running in an Aug. 5 primary for the Missouri governorship. And it's where her reform campaign against earmarks and self-dealing is threatening the entrenched status quo, causing her own party to rise against her. Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047906/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:01:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2047573/posts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0SmE8ebD0M youtube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2047573/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:04:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2047457/posts anyone who’s heard Allen West speak live is sure of one thing: Here stands the next Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately, al-Jazeera has realized this as well. Two nights ago the West campaign received an interesting phone call. A national TV network wanted to interview the candidate that very night at 9, with no time to spare. The network? You guessed it, al-Jazeera. When asked the details of the interview, the station coordinator said “well, we need West’s home address and we’ll pick him up and take him to the interview tonight (essentially to an undisclosed location).” At this point West told... Canada Free Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2047457/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:13:11 GMT