Free Republic

Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) will retire after two terms in office. The congressman said in a statementthat he's leaving Congress to spend more time with his family, opening up a Republican-leaning district and a coveted spot on the House Ways & Means Committee. "God has blessed me with a wonderful wife, Elizabeth, and two precious children, and for several months Elizabeth and I have been discussing whether to seek a third term in Congress, especially considering the formative ages of Mary Katherine and John. It has been an agonizing and difficult decision involving much prayer, thought and discussion. We have...

With black and Hispanic support clustered by district, Democrats in 2014 will have a hard time retaking the House. Psephologists—the fancy word for election analysts—like to talk about change and transformation. One party or the other, they say, is on the verge of forging an enduring national majority. One party or the other is doomed. What I have come to see in my number crunching is not change and transformation, but continuity. Three presidents in a row have been re-elected with 49%, 51% and 51% of the vote. Over the past two decades, Democrats won four of six presidential elections...