Free Republic

The Republican Party is now more hated than it's been in 24 years, new research shows - and it might be the fault of Donald Trump. In October, 37 percent of people polled had a favorable view of the Republican Party and 58 percent viewed it negatively. Now those numbers are 33 percent in favor and 62 percent against, according to data released by the Pew Research Center Thursday. That puts the party at its lowest point since 1992 - the latest point in a drop that has coincided with the rise of Trump.

A group of high-profile social conservatives warned Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus in a letter this week that their supporters could abandon the GOP if the party seeks to change its position on social issues, particularly same-sex marriage. Thirteen social conservatives, representing various influential groups, wrote Priebus ahead of the RNC's quarterly meeting this week in Los Angeles to sternly rebuke the conclusions of a post-election report that advised Republican elected officials to adopt a softer tone toward social issues. "We respectfully warn GOP Leadership that an abandonment of its principles will necessarily result in the abandonment of our...

Conservative activists say President Bush should push forward with his second-term mandate ratified by 59 million voters on Election Day, including a constitutional amendment banning same-sex "marriage." On issues ranging from tax cuts to Social Security to abortion, Republican stalwarts yesterday said the president should stick to his winning campaign agenda, rejecting calls to "reach out" to the Democratic minority in Congress. "Democrats still don't get it," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "What they want Bush to do -- change the goals he told voters he'd get done if they gave him a second term --...