Free Republic

When the dust settles on this wild and wacky GOP primary season, there will be at least one clear Biggest Loser: the Republican National Committee. After 2012, when liberal journalists routinely hijacked the party's 20 televised debates while cashing in on ratings and advertising revenue, the RNC resolved to change narrative-surrendering business as usual. There would be no more cable TV anchors belligerently taking President Obama's side while arguing with the GOP nominee (as Candy Crowley infamously did with Mitt Romney over Benghazi). There would be no more former Democratic operatives-turned journalists injecting their left-wing social agenda into GOP primary...

The Washington Times and Liberty University were planning for a year. And then the Republican Party pulled the plug. More than a year ago, huddled in secret, the Republican National Committee began negotiations with conservative news organizations to wrest at least one presidential primary debate from the grip of the mainstream media. It was to be an event by and for the GOP's base, free of the constraints of a big network, to ensure candidates a forum to speak about conservative issues in a conservative frame for conservative voters. That debate would have happened this week at Liberty University with...

After attending last week's Trump rally in Vermont, I wrote: It's assumed by the GOP establishment that once the field narrows Trump will bump up against his natural ceiling. I think the opposite is true. Trump has essentially sat out these stupid ten-man TV debates and then resumed his rise once they're over. If it came down to a four- or three- or two-man race, the man I saw on Thursday night would be a formidable debate opponent. And I don't doubt he could hold his own against Hillary. We got a preview of that last night. Having endured "these...

The first Republican debate of 2016 on the Fox Business Network averaged 11 million viewers -- the smallest total for any GOP debate this season, according to Nielsen ratings data. The GOP debate this time last month, televised by CNN, averaged 18 million viewers in prime time. Still, Thursday's Fox Business debate ratings are impressive when put into proper historical context. The GOP debate slate -- with Donald Trump front and center -- continues to blow past ratings records from past primary seasons. -snip- The totals are down from Fox Business Network's first GOP debate, held back in November, which...

But the billionaire businessman said the majority of the GOP hopefuls were "nice to him," saying he was prepared for all 14 Republican candidates to lob attacks at him. "Ted Cruz was very nice to me, and I was nice to him. Most of the people were nice to me last night." Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Wednesday continued to bash CNN's debate coverage and GOP rival former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush a day after the network's Tuesday night debate. The real estate mogul appeared at his first campaign rally in Mesa, Ariz., since the last GOP debate of...

<p>RNC BREAKS PROMISE: ADDS ANOTHER DEBATE TO THWART TRUMP NOW 2 CNN DEBATES IN 3 WEEKS!</p> <p>EXCLUSIVE: CNN to host ADDITIONAL Republican debate on Tuesday, January 5th [in NH or IA] sources tell DRUDGE. Reversing initial RNC plan to limit number of sanctioned debates to 12... MORE...</p>

This report should make Donald Trump supporters angry! While taxpayers are often funding political debates, the Republican Party has the ultimate say over its own events. And while the GOP is supposed to stand for the principles of the Founding Fathers, it can be manipulated by the political establishment which can’t stand Trump’s conservative views. The real reason why the GOP is focusing on Trump’s threat to run as a 3rd party candidate is it would give them grounds to boot him from future debates. The Republican Party, to protect its interests, is probably willing to boot the front-runner candidate....

LIVE STREAM via FBN here. The two Republican presidential debates on the Fox Business Network are scheduled for 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST tonight. They are being held at the Milwaukee Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The 'kiddie table'at 7 p.m.: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. The main event at 9 p.m.: Donald Trump of New York, Dr. Ben Carson of Florida, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina of California, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and Kentucky...

Kelly used the foot massage reference to ridicule GOP hopefuls only to have her own oversized ego massaged Oh, but to be a fly on the wall on what the New York Times calls her “cavernous set” at Fox News when makeup and hair stylists are primping Megyn for The Kelly File. One can only imagine the hissy fits when things don’t go Megyn’s way.

What happened yesterday was not the end of the RNC’s poisonous hold on the Republican Party, but it was certainly the beginning of the end. This revolution is beginning to look like the first one. It was around this time in 1781 when reality came crashing in on British Commander Lord Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown Virginia. He was beaten and embarrassed by American patriots he considered rabble and was forced to watch his world being turned upside down. Yesterday, just 160 miles away in Alexandria Virginia, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, another enemy who considers America’s patriots rabble, was forced to...

Could save America from a Hillary Clinton presidency that in reality is Obama’s coveted 3rd term in office Within a few weeks from now, Barack and Michelle Obama will appear ‘live’ on their very own Christmas card,assuring a peaceful Christmas-seeking world how, down at heart, they really love the U.S., God and particularly the now all but depleted armed forces. It’s called canned streaming and with today’s technology anybody can do it. Breitbart’s savvy editor at large John Nolte’s version of streaming is one that could save America from a Hillary Clinton presidency that in reality is Obama’s coveted 3rd...

This report should make Donald Trump supporters angry! While taxpayers are often funding political debates, the Republican Party has the ultimate say over its own events. And while the GOP is supposed to stand for the principles of the Founding Fathers, it can be manipulated by the political establishment which can’t stand Trump’s conservative views. The real reason why the GOP is focusing on Trump’s threat to run as a 3rd party candidate is it would give them grounds to boot him from future debates. The Republican Party, to protect its interests, is probably willing to boot the front-runner candidate....

DC Whispers, July 11, 2015 Just a few weeks earlier, GOP 2016 candidate Jeb Bush was sitting atop nearly every Republican presidential poll as he used his family name, media contacts, and a still formidable and long-standing Bush dynasty fundraising machine to place himself as the prospective favorite among a growing list of White House hopefuls. Then Donald Trump arrived, and now, Jeb Bush is quietly but urgently telling those around him that something must be done to diminish the sudden popularity of the New York billionaire. image: http://media.breitbart.com/media/2015/06/Trump-AP-Jeb-Reuters-640x480.jpg Initially during Mr. Trump’s rise in the polls, the Bush team...

The first Republican presidential debate is now in the books, and there is plenty to talk about. From a bizarre line of opening questions to, at times, combative exchanges, the debate had a little bit of everything. Did Donald Trump maintain his front-runner status? Did anyone pull off a surprise? Several candidates shined in the spotlight, and when it was all said and done, the biggest loser was Fox News. As the debate was about to start, the Fox News team of Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, and Chris Wallace seemed almost giddy. It was a strange tone, as if they...

The Republican National Committee has released the list of officially sanctioned debates. We have listed each debate below along with all important details. As more information is released, we’ll update this table with specific venue locations, moderators, live streams, and candidates.

The wait is over. Fox News said Tuesday that Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie and John Kasich will all appear on the dais Thursday for the first prime-time debate of the primary season. The seven other major declared candidates -- Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Jim Gilmore -- will appear at a debate earlier Thursday evening. The debate in Cleveland marks the beginning of a new stage in the Republican nominating contest, where candidates will likely...

Chances are Donald Trump has mastered the art of “under-promise, over-deliver.” The man best known for his confidence, even arrogance, has a surprisingly humble attitude toward his own debate skills. The pressure not to make a critical mistake was already great enough on the top candidates participating in next week’s Republican presidential debate, but it has increased exponentially with the emergence of the outspoken business magnate as the GOP front-runner. The other candidates have their hands full developing a “Trump strategy” to counter what the leading contender may do — a task made all the more difficult when Trump himself...

One idea that came up was to urge three leading candidates — Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor; Mr. Walker; and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida — to band together and state that they would not participate in any debate in which Mr. Trump was present, using his refusal to rule out a third-party bid as a pretext for taking such a hard line. The thinking, according to a Republican involved in the conversations, was that the lesser-funded prospects who have been eclipsed by Mr. Trump would follow suit, and the TV networks airing the debates would be forced to...

The first Republican presidential debate is one month away, making the next 30 days a critical period for the more than half-dozen candidates who are in danger of being left off the stage. The Fox News debate in Cleveland on Aug. 6 will only include the top 10 candidates, as determined by national polling averages. If the debate were held today, the governor of a critical battleground state would miss the cut, as would the winner of the 2012 Iowa caucuses. Businessman Donald Trump, meanwhile, appears on track to take the stage. Fox News has said it will determine the...

CONCORD, N.H. — For weeks, Rick Santorum has tried to shake every last hand in Iowa and New Hampshire. Lindsey Graham has been shuttling up to New Hampshire almost every other weekend to meet with small groups of voters. Carly Fiorina and Rick Perry have been getting rave reviews from their crowds in a number of the early states. Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/the-gops-debate-problem-118259.html#ixzz3bAuRRlK4