Free Republic

Some wealthy contributors are shunning the Republican National Committee and donating instead to the other GOP campaign committees or directly to candidates - in many cases because of discontent with the leadership of Michael S. Steele, the party's national chairman. "I don't plan to give to the Republican National Committee this cycle, and no other major donor I know is planning to either," Christine Toretti, a Pennsylvania RNC member and a longtime major donor to the RNC and other GOP campaign committees and causes, told The Washington Times. Mrs. Toretti said that she and other major donors have never received...

Over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly upset at the way our elected officials, and even our candidates, have portrayed themselves on Sunday shows and in other media appearances. Their responses to real issues were without passion and their statements continuously rang hollow. The GOP has always been right on the issues. We cut taxes on all income levels, have saved millions of jobs, sounded the alarm on the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage crisis that Democrats chose to ignore and, most of all, offered solutions on issues of national security as Democrats sat and twiddled their thumbs. The problem...

A 2009 spending spree has left the Republican National Committee (RNC) with its worst election-year cash flow this decade. The largest GOP party committee has $8.7 million in the bank heading into an election year with 37 governors’ races, a dozen major Senate contests, dozens more in the House and an all-important redistricting cycle on the horizon. Said one RNC official: “It is very troubling, and the thing is, most people don’t understand this. But it is really troubling.”

January 6th, 2010, Dear Mr. Steele, I have been reviewing the platform of the Republican Party since mid 2006. Unfortunately I find myself in disagreement with the way the party has abandoned most conservative values that used to represent the core values American’s like myself hold with convictions. I am tired of the term bi-partisan because all that represents is capitulation and compromise in much of the legislation Republicans are actually involved in forming. Unfortunately our country has been hijacked by a group of left wing, Marxist oriented individuals who embrace Hugo Chavez and Revolutionary figures like Mao, Che, and...

Republic National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says Sen. Byron Dorgan's decision not to seek re-election "highlights just how vulnerable both Senate and House Democrats have become" since President Obama took office. Here is Steele's statement, released Tuesday: “Today’s announcement by Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota that he will not seek reelection in 2010 highlights just how vulnerable both Senate and House Democrats have become since deciding to walk in lockstep with President Obama’s government-run policies. "For nearly a year Congressional Democrats have been turning a deaf ear to the concerns of the American people and as the elections of...

Premise/Foreshadow: The RNC wants our money and we want the true conservative principles in place and we don't trust the RNC, and don't want to send them a dime until they prove they'll follow the true party platform or some derivation of principles Beck has espouse, others have espoused on FR. Let’s think about this. When the weasels call and ask for donations or send such in the mail, if we reply or say something on the phone, chances are we don’t reach anyone but a $9.00/hr hourly wager who is paid on commision and likely has no connection to...

With the Republican Party on the cusp of major gains in the House next year — and with the dream of retaking the House appearing to be a real, if improbable, possibility — one major obstacle remains: tightfisted Republican incumbents. The National Republican Congressional Committee, the key cog in helping to finance GOP campaigns, has banked less than a third as much money as its Democratic counterpart and is ending the year with barely enough money to fully finance a single House race — no less the dozens that will be in play come 2010. A big part of the...

Financial woes are dimming the GOP's bright prospects of making major gains in the House next year and some GOP strategists are blaming an unlikely source: Republican incumbents. The National Republican Congressional Committee, the financial arm for GOP House campaigns, has raised less than a third as much money as its Democratic counterpart and ended 2009 with barely enough money to fully finance a single House race, Politico reported Sunday. Despite evidence of solid opportunities in at least 40 districts this year, Republican incumbents have donated well below expectations, GOP strategists told Politico.

GOP Cash Woes Threaten House Bids Ben Smith, Josh Kraushaar – Sun Jan 3 With the Republican Party on the cusp of major gains in the House next year — and with the dream of retaking the House appearing to be a real, if improbable, possibility — one major obstacle remains: tightfisted Republican incumbents. The National Republican Congressional Committee, the key cog in helping to finance GOP campaigns, has banked less than a third as much money as its Democratic counterpart and is ending the year with barely enough money to fully finance a single House race — no less...

GOP U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown has been all but abandoned by the same national Republican committees that pumped hundreds of thousands in campaign cash to former governors Mitt Romney and William Weld

GOP U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown has been all but abandoned by the same national Republican committees that pumped hundreds of thousands in campaign cash to former governors Mitt Romney and William Weld during their long-shot bids for U.S. Senate. The snub has outraged local Republicans who say national conservatives should be jumping at the chance to nab the first open Senate seat in decades despite Brown’s tough odds in the Jan. 19 special election. ...In 1994, NRSC’s leader, then-Sen. Phil Gramm, vowed an “all out effort,” during Romney’s underdog battle against Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. The national party boosted...

GOP U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown has been all but abandoned by the same national Republican committees that pumped hundreds of thousands in campaign cash to former governors Mitt Romney and William Weld during their long-shot bids for U.S. Senate. The snub has outraged local Republicans who say national conservatives should be jumping at the chance to nab the first open Senate seat in decades despite Brown’s tough odds in the Jan. 19 special election.

'Unbelievable what this man can get away with on the air, Matthews discusses Rep. Griffith switching parties and wastes no time attacking the GOP + (Photo of Matthews from 1982)

Here is video of Robert Gibbs taking a shot at Michael Steele and the RNC after being asked about Steele's comments saying that the Democrats are "flipping the bird at the American people."(Video) When asked for the Presidents take on Michael Steele's comments, Gibbs responded "how much did that interview cost, I wonder?" Gibbs went on to say that "there are millions of people that are watching their health care rates skyrocket, and instead of giving chippy interviews it might be good to actually be part of the negotiations and a solution to make health care reform a reality for...

Michael S. Steele, Republican National Committee chairman, is using his title to market himself for paid appearances nationwide, personally profiting from speeches with fees of up to $20,000 at colleges, trade associations and other groups - an unusual practice criticized by a string of past party chairmen. Mr. Steele, elected in January to the $223,500-a-year RNC post, is working with at least four outside agencies in Washington, New York, Boston and Nashville that book the speaking engagements. He charges between $8,000 and $20,000 for an address, plus first-class travel and lodging expenses.

Steele for Chair RNC Chairman Michael Steele, the former Lieutenant Vote up this image! Chairman of the Republican Natiional Committee Michael Steele said the Democratic Party is "flipping the bird to Americans" over their latest health care reform bill, despite the jump in support over the legislation. The latest move to reform health care in the United States has caused grief, anger and rage among leaders in Washington and the American people as the health care debate moves into its final stages and a possible conclusion come Christmas Eve. Michael Steele, Chairman of the RNC, spoke in a conference call...

George W. Bush's State of the Union address must have baffled anyone who voted for him based on his pledge to cut the size of government. That speech has been properly and efficiently pilloried by Joseph Stromberg, Alan Bock, and others. The speech was both Wilsonian and Clintonian, which is to say that it proposed a political solution for all human problems and backed this idea with a promise of massive increases in federal spending on just about everything. But should we really be so surprised? Contrary to popular myth, every Republican president since and including Herbert Hoover has increased...

In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.

Elliott Broidy, the former Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee, plead guilty yesterday to offering $1 million bribes to officials with New York state's pension funds. In return, Broidy got a $250 million investement in the Wall Street firm he worked for: Broidy, who also resigned as chairman of Markstone Capital Partners, the private equity firm, admitted that he had paid for luxury trips to hotels in Israel and Italy for pension staffers and their relatives -- including first-class flights and a helicopter tour. Broidy funneled the money through charities and submitted false receipts to the state comptroller's office...

Jim Robinson's Free Republic started a great movement the other day...it's the RINO FREE AMERICA PROJECT...It is now on facebook also. If you are a facebook member, I ask you to join. We need to show Washington that there is a movement going on and RINO's will not be tolerated.

HELLO FREE REPUBLIC AND WELCOME TO AN EXCLUSIVE FREE REPUBLIC CALL TO ACTION BURNIN' DOWN THE TENT!!! We have all been frustrated and angry at the way we have been treated by the political elite in this country. They have ignored us, belittled us, overlooked us, and singled us Conservatives out for their special brand of contempt. It is bad enough when liberals and Democrats do it, but the betrayal of our Constitution and of our whole system of Conservative values and morals at the hands of the party we built and supported for lo these many years has...

Recently Jim Robinson posted two threads declaring Free Republic’s determination to see Conservatives elected and ousting Rino's from government. Jim and a great many Freepers believe that we need to take back control. But the RNC is not hearing us. Activism is called for NOW. 2010 is nearing and we need Conservative candidates to run. The time is ripe and people are ready for another 1994 type election. But we need to make the RNC hear us loud and clear. This is the Rino Free America Project. Get involved. Make them listen. Write a letter and MAIL it. Republican...

Here is video from Face the Nation today, where Dick Armey, Ed Gillespie, and Dedee Scozzafava discussed the proposal for a Republican National Committee ten-point statement of principles to evaluate candidates for office. Scozzafava is the liberal New York "Republican" who dropped out of the New York 23 Congressional Race at the last minute and endorsed the Democrat, who eventually won. Scozzafava says she would be a "7" out of 10 on the list of principles. Armey said the Republicans lost the New York 23 race the day they nominated Scozzafava. . . . (VIDEO)

AUSTIN – Here's what I did not hear at the annual confab of Republican governors held here this week: The words socialist, extremist, or government takeover. With the focus on jobs, jobs and jobs, the only red meat was the Texas barbecue. And by design, there was no Obama-bashing. [snip] Barbour cautioned Republican candidates to refrain from attacking the president, period: "People want the president to succeed; good Lord, they want the country to succeed, and particularly the first African-American president has a lot of goodwill. . . . We need to be careful, we need to treat the president...

The Republican National Committee has no comment on the emails that suggest that manmade global warming is a hoax perpetrated by biased “scientists.”

Trevor Francis, communications director of the Republican National Committee, abruptly resigned Monday, and two Republican strategists familiar with the situation said he was pushed out because Chairman Michael Steele didn’t feel he was getting enough credit for the GOP’s electoral success earlier this month. Francis had only been in the job since March, and neither he nor the RNC veered from the sort of vague explanations that typically suggest a less-than-amicable political breakup. RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho would only say that Francis was “pursuing other opportunities,” and Francis allowed just that he was “returning to my career in the private...

RNC chairman Michael Steele defended Sarah Palin today, urging the media to "give the woman a break." "She's someone who's going to be a part of our political future as a party and that's a good thing," Steele told MSNBC. "I'm excited about it." Steele's response to Palin resigning as governor: "I thought it was a smart move for her to make so she can focus on the future and let Alaska focus on its future without her leadership being a distraction to the good people of the state." On Palin's qualifications to run for national office: "I'm still mystified...

Members of the Republican National Committee are pushing a resolution built on "conservative principles and public policies" and opposition to "Obama's socialist agenda" that Republican candidates would have to largely accept and adopt if they want the party's support. The New York Times reports that ten RNC members have signed onto the resolution, which was circulated today. It contains ten principles, among them support for the Defense of Marriage Act, gun rights and "military-recommended troop surges" in Iraq and Afghanistan; opposition to President Obama's health care reform efforts, cap and trade legislation, a card check bill and amnesty for illegal...

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican National Committee will announce Monday that veteran political strategist Alex Castellanos will assume a senior communications role at the committee, an RNC official tells CNN. (snip) "Now the RNC has a new focus and direction - the 2010 elections," Castellanos said when reached by telephone. "And I am happy to help."

November 23, 2009 G.O.P. Considers ‘Purity’ Resolution for Candidates By ADAM NAGOURNEY The battle among Republicans over what the party should stand for — and how much it should accommodate dissenting views on important issues — is probably going to move from the states to the Republican National Committee when it holds its winter meeting this January in Honolulu. Republican leaders are circulating a resolution listing 10 positions Republican candidates should support to demonstrate that they “espouse conservative principles and public policies” that are in opposition to “Obama’s socialist agenda.” According to the resolution, any Republican candidate who broke with...

Link only, per FR copyright rules

There were too many GOP Presidential candidates in the 2008 primaries. Some were excellent; some were not. Unfortunately, this large group beat each other up in the debates, weakening the opportunity for any of them to win the presidency.

Here you are, Michael: Full of embarrassing bravado, grossly inaccurate, clueless on impact of your words, clueless on voices in the conservative world, an unwarranted superior attitude, and a Racist. You're toxic. You can't be rehabilitated. It's not working out. It's not me ... it's you. Get out.

It dawned on me during the NY 23rd Congressional race, an election which normally would have gone unnoticed by most of us. What began with a relatively benign election on a national scale increasingly became a seminal line in the sand for me, and many other conservatives. As the campaign ran its course, it became difficult to distinguish between the SEIU backed Democratic Owens and the ACORN backed Republican Scozzafava. As Glenn Beck often describes this match up, it was a choice between progressive and progressive-lite; and in this case, I couldn’t distinguish which was which. I recall being somewhat...

Republican Party chairman Michael Steele told Republican National Committee staff to immediately put an end to providing RNC employees with insurance for elective abortions. After learning of the abortion coverage from a news report, late Thursday evening Steele issued a statement: "Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose. I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled." According to RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho, Steele then instructed staff to let their insurance carrier know that the RNC wished to opt out of the...

Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and purveyor of the GOP "Contract With America'' that helped his party win control of the House after President Bill Clinton's election, says GOP chairman Michael Steele has started work on a new framework for 2010 that he is calling "First principles.'' "I've been talking with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, '' Gingrich said today, speaking with students at C-SPAN's Cable Center Class. "He is developing a first principles model that I think is a very exciting , positive step in the right direction,'' said Gingrich, who has said that he will...

A chagrined GOP Chairman Michael Steele has told Republican National Committee staff to immediately stop providing RNC employees with insurance for elective abortions — an option that Republicans strongly oppose as Democrats try to pass a health care overhaul bill. "Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose," Steele said in a statement late Thursday after learning of the abortion coverage from a news report. "I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled." Steele instructed staff to inform the insurance carrier that...

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee's health insurance plan covers elective abortions for its employees, an option Republicans strongly oppose in health overhaul legislation that Democrats are trying to push through Congress. Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele learned of the policy's abortion coverage Thursday through a news report and immediately instructed staff to inform the insurance carrier that the RNC wanted to opt out of elective abortion coverage, RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said. "Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose," Steele said in a statement. "I don't know why this policy existed in the past,...

Let’s keep this simple. Word got out today via Politico that the RNC’s health care package for their employees covers abortions. At the risk of belaboring the obvious, if you at any time have donated to the RNC since 1991 (when this policy apparently took place), some incremental portion of your donation went to the administrative costs of running the RNC, including employee salaries and benefits packages. Part of “benefits packages” in this context is apparently a health care package that pays for abortions. For thirty years, we have fought tooth and nail to prevent our tax money from being...

Republicans will enact the health reform proposal they unveiled this week if they take back the House, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) pledged Thursday. Appearing on the Republican National Committee's (RNC) online town hall, Boehner and other House and Senate leaders said they sensed momentum behind GOP efforts to halt Democratic health reform legislation, which is set for a vote on Saturday. "If we get in the majority after the election, I plan to enact our healthcare plan," Boehner said during the town hall.

After the salutory "Dear Friend", Michael Steele quickly endears me with the underlined warning of "Your immediate action is required." No, Mr. Steele, my immediate action is not required of you. Your immediate action is required of me, if you expect a Republican vote (much less a donation) ever again. Mr. Steele demands, with great urgency, an immediate response to his Push Poll questions, plus a donation, of course. Does Michael Steele know what's getting mailed out to former loyal Republicans in his name? If not, he is inept. If he does, he's more than inept. He is tone deaf....

At a meeting of Washington conservatives this morning, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, expressed pride over GOP success in last night's election. But questions about NY-23 remain -- so I asked him whether there was an effort to get New York Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, the GOP nominee in that race, to endorse Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman. "There was a huge effort," he replied.  When asked about rumors that the New York Republican Party picked Scozzafava because of the advice of Washington insiders who felt she would be a more electable candidate, Boehner rolled his eyes. "We told them...

A day after Tim Pawlenty took a few shots at Olympia Snowe, RNC Chairman Michael Steele came to her defense. Asked on Morning Joe whether there was room for the Maine centrist in the GOP, Steele responded "absolutely." Welcome! Welcome! Because--you know why that's important? Because every footprint of this party is different from region to region, from county to county. I can't win in the northeast with someone who'd be a better candidate suited in the south....So the reality of it is I'm looking to find my candidates where they are. And I want to lift them up because...

In last year's campaign, the one true thing Obama said to his critics was, "The political ground is changing under your feet." But what is not sufficiently recognized is that is going on again, right now, in the opposite direction. That is what yesterday's elections showed. And what yesterday's political earthquake revealed about the landscape is that the biggest miscalculation going on right now is that the Republicans underestimate their own strength. As a result, they may fail to take maximum advantage of the political tsunami that is coming in 2010, just building to what is to come in 2012....

Dear Mr. Steele, It is with regret that I must decline to offer any financial support to the RNC at this time. Although I still consider myself a Republican I cannot support what I believe to be misguided leadership and a total disconnect with the core constituency. Most “career” Republicans would rather support the monster that is the Republican machine than serve their citizenry with honor, sacrifice and duty. Virtues this great constitutional republic so desperately need. America is truly at a crossroad as you have pointed out however, I believe that my targeted financial support of conservative, servant-minded candidates...

A third-party conservative, Doug Hoffman, won support across the GOP Sunday in his race for a House seat in upstate New York, after the Republican nominee pulled out over the weekend. (snip) Many Republicans say they see independents who only a year ago were voting Democratic shifting to conservative candidates amid continuing unease about the economy and disenchantment over government spending and Democratic plans for health care and environmental regulation. (snip) "This is a weather vane for a year from now," said Rob Ryan, a spokesman for Mr. Hoffman. (snip) The intraparty tensions in upstate New York are on display...

'm writing about this for my USA Today column, but the Frank Rich hissy fit is a perfect example of the real story of the election. The story is not that the GOP is self-destructing, it is that the conventional wisdom is being shown to be ludicrous. For some time now Frank Rich, Sam Tanenhaus and countless others (including David Frum) have been arguing that the GOP is a rump party and the only way for it to survive is for it to embrace me-too Republicanism of one flavor or another. The story of all three major races (VA, NJ,...

Under pressure from conservative forces within her own party, Dede Scozzafava, the regular Republican nominee in the interim House race for New York's 23d District, suddenly withdrew from the race today. Though endorsed by the Republican National Committee and big GOP establishment names like ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Scozzafava had fallen to third place in polls of the upstate longtime Republican district next to the Canadian border. Her retreat came in the face of a vigorous campaign by Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, who was backed by Sarah Palin, Dick Armey and Fred Thompson, among others. Her surprise move sets...

I’m hearing that the NRCC is pulling out of NY-23. It’s coming from a credible source familiar with the operation inside of the beltway Committee. That being said I just reached out to Matthew Burns, Spokesman for the Scozzafava campaign, who denied this claim. He said it was “False.” Protecting the candidate or categorically true – we’ll let this flesh itself out in the public. I’ll also avoid giving you the analysis of what this could mean for now. Look for links in the comments. UPDATE: I’m on the ground and I have personal confirmation from an additional, credible source...

"Perhaps more ominously for his ( Newt's )rapidly fading hopes for a 2012 Presidential bid, conservatives are beginning to question his integrity. His constant repetition of the false "she's locally selected" mantra seems as off message as Scozzafava's numerous well documented campaign missteps.""Either Newt Gingrich is lying, or someone misled him."But how can "the smartest guy in the room", with a reputation as a scholar and seeker of truth have been so easily misled about a set of facts that could be discerned with half an hour's worth of phone calls?"