Free Republic

He represents a hotly contested Latino-majority district in Florida. Trump’s favorable rating among Latinos nationwide is, um, 12/77. Democrats will, of course, give special attention to turning out Latino Democrats in Florida. Curbelo’s probably doomed with Trump at the top of the ticket no matter what he does, but crossing the aisle for Hillary is an obvious first step. Frankly, he may be better off switching party affiliations if he wants to hold his seat. One of the eight thousand fascinating things about Trump as nominee would be watching how congressional loyalties shake out. Some, in purplish districts, will go...

Joining the ranks of leading Republicans who will not commit to supporting Donald J. Trump if he becomes the party’s standard-bearer, Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland said Thursday that Mr. Trump should not be the party’s presidential nominee and that he would consider voting for another candidate in November if he is. “I’m not a Trump fan,” Mr. Hogan told The Associated Press in an interview. “I don’t think he should be the nominee. At this point in time, I have no idea who the candidates are going to be or who I’m going to vote for.” Mr. Hogan said...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—All three of the remaining presidential candidates got the prime speaking slots Monday night at the annual AIPAC policy conference, to which we were not invited, alas, although that seems to have been somewhat epidemic. But any chance we get to hear Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny starver from the state of Wisconsin, talk about foreign policy, the area in which Joe Biden literally laughed him out of the campaign in 2012, is one that we never should pass up. (Remember when Ryan explained to us that, in Afghanistan, it snows during the winter? Gravitas!) Of all the barefaced...

Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois on Friday became the first Republican senator to call for an up-or-down vote on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, saying on a Chicago radio show that his colleagues ought to “just man up and cast a vote.” That Kirk would be first to break with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other GOP colleagues, who believe the next president should pick the replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, is not particularly surprising: Kirk was already one of two Republican senators, with Susan Collins of Maine, to call for hearings.

Tim Macy, Chairman of Gun Owners of America, wrote an open letter to Second Amendment supporters exposing Republican presidential candidate John Kasich’s real anti-gun agenda.Labeling Kasich the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” still in the presidential race, Macy points to Kasich’s close relationship with Leftist, Communist, billionaire George Soros. In fact, the Soros Fund Management is one of John Kasich’s top financial contributors.“This can hardly be a surprise,” Macy writes. His full letter can be read here. An abbreviated version is below.Kasich and Soros share two important traits: (1) their desire to mess up the Republican selection process for devious motives,...

A lawyer for former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland asked a federal appeals court Friday to overturn his client’s corruption conviction, arguing the government too broadly applied a federal law. But a government lawyer told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City that the conviction should stand, claiming prosecutors rightly charged the Republican with falsifying documents to hide political work he did in two congressional campaigns. Rowland was sentenced to 2½ years in prison last year for allegedly conspiring to disguise work he did on a failed 2012 congressional campaign and a 2010 campaign. This is the...

The former presidential hopeful and chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee reckons the looming threat of a so-called "Brexit" will hurt the global economy and weaken the West....David Cameron welcomed McCain's harsh words on Friday morning and labelled the statement an "important intervention" in the fight to safeguard Britain's EU membership. Important intervention by @SenJohnMcCain – UK membership of EU vital for security & prosperity of both Europe & U.S. — David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 18, 2016

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – A state lawmaker from Knoxville said Wednesday that ISIS should be allowed to recruit at the University of Tennessee and other state universities during discussion about a bill protecting free speech on college campuses. The bill, called the “Tennessee Student Free Speech Protection Act,” is sponsored by Rep. Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville) and would require the governing boards of Tennessee higher education institutions to adopt a policy on freedom of speech and expression. Martin said during a subcommittee meeting that he believed students’ free speech had been diminished due to unfair policies.

By Steve Peoples and Nicholas Riccardi | AP March 17 at 3:54 PM PHOENIX — Fearful of a Donald Trump nomination to lead the GOP, conservative leaders huddled privately in Washington on Thursday in search of a plan to stop the billionaire businessman. His Republican rivals braced for another Trump victory, this time in delegate-rich Arizona. The GOP has an eager alternative in Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, yet some party leaders are exploring “other avenues” instead of rallying behind the fiery conservative, an ominous sign that Republican leaders’ deep dislike of Cruz complicates their overwhelming concern about Trump. “The establishment is like...

Marco Rubio Says He Won’t Run for Re-Election — or Governor in 2018 Rebecca Ballhaus Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is done with politics – at least for now. The former presidential candidate and once-rising star in the Republican Party, who quit the race after losing his home state’s primary on Tuesday night, told reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday that he is not looking to remain a member of Congress. “I’m not running for re-election to the Senate,” he said. “I’m going to finish out my term here.” Florida bars candidates from running for two offices at once, and Mr....

How many times can one remember where the National Rifle Association and the New York Times agree on an issue? One count them on the fingers of one hand, and have a few left over. However, when it comes to Barack Obama’s pick to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, an unexpected synchronicity occurs … of sorts, anyway.The NRA’s legislative arm accused Obama of showing “utter contempt for the Second Amendment and law-abiding gun owners” with the nomination of Merrick Garland: “With Justice Scalia’s tragic passing, there is no longer a majority of support among the justices for...

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz warns as part of his stump speech that we are one Supreme Court Justice away from losing our Second Amendment Right to keep and bear arms. On Wednesday, President Obama nominated for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia just such an individual -- Judge Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbis, a Bill Clinton appointee.

After Donald Trump swept four of Tuesday’s five state primaries, party bigwigs are set to meet on Thursday to lay out a plan to derail the frontrunner’s path to the nomination. According to Politico, the meeting was organized by former Bush administration official Bill Wichterman, conservative activist Erick Erickson, and Bob Fischer, a prominent GOP fundraiser and bundler. Aside from coordinating efforts to prevent Trump’s nomination, conservative activists and party leaders will also mull an option that was unthinkable just half a year ago: breaking with the Republican Party and launching an independent, third party bid for the White House....

"The media has created the perception that the voters choose the nomination. That's the conflict here," [said] Curly Haugland, an unbound GOP delegate from North Dakota. ... Most delegates bound by their state's primary or caucus results are only committed on the first ballot. If subsequent ballots are needed, virtually all of the delegates can vote any way they want, said Gary Emineth, another unbound delegate from North Dakota. 'It could introduce Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, or it could be the other candidates that have already been in the race and are now out..."

Am I losing my mind? Donald Trump gives me the creeps at times. He offends my Christianity. His persona turns me off. He can be all other the map in terms of consistent principles. But there is something inside of me that wants him to kick the stuffing out of the powers that be. Even though I am a Cruz man I could see myself voting for the guy. Am I losing my mind?

A high-ranking sheriff’s official in Arizona refused to allow a television news reporter into a press conference on the basis that the reporter “hates the sheriff.” But the reporter only exposed an embarrassing truth about Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu that the sheriff had been denying for years. That he was, in fact, a sadistic schoolmaster who oversaw and encouraged the abuse of children during a prior career more than a decade ago in Massachusetts.

Shows willingness to compromise on gun rights. It could be the most damaging “Dear John” letter of the 2016 presidential primary race. A letter from former President Bill Clinton disclosed just days before the Ohio primary is causing Ohio Gov. John Kasich problems on the campaign trail. Kasich tells GOP voters he can “get things done” by working with Democrats but also stresses he is a “defender of the 2nd Amendment.” The letter from Clinton shows Kasich made a deal to restrict the Second Amendment rights of American “on one of the most critical votes on guns ever,” according to...

Mitt Romney, in his latest attempt to help stop Donald J. Trump, joined Gov. John Kasich of Ohio on the campaign trail on Monday as Mr. Kasich tries to pull out a victory in his home state. At an air museum between Akron and Canton, where Mr. Kasich’s campaign bus pulled in next to a World War II-era bomber, Mr. Romney highlighted Mr. Kasich’s experience in Congress and as Ohio’s governor. “Unlike the other people running, he has a real track record,” Mr. Romney said in introducing Mr. Kasich at the town hall style event. “He has the kind of...

In a room full of Republican donors last week, Gov. John Kasich said something you don’t normally hear at a GOP fundraiser. “This isn’t popular to always say, but I believe there is a problem with climates, climate change in the atmosphere,” Kasich told a Ross County Republican function on Thursday. “I believe it. I don’t know how much there is, but I also know the good Lord wants us to be good stewards of his creation. And so, at the end of the day, if we can find these breakthroughs to help us have a cleaner environment, I’m all...

Bernie Sanders has criticized Trump about his pause for Islamic immigration and said all the great religions of the world promote love. But there's a major religion that advocates killing people who do not believe the same thing. This should be an important concern. It would be interesting for people to list facts here what John Kasich has indicated about Islamic immigration. Please list your referenced facts here.