Free Republic

<p>Our purpose and goal on FR is to restore, defend, preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States and to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity!!</p> <p>The goal of the domestic enemy (the left), i.e., the statist liberals, Marxists and progressives is just the opposite.</p>

According to the survey, which was released Monday, 28 percent of Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP say they support Perry as their party's presidential nominee, with Romney at 21 percent. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is at ten percent, with Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who's making his third bid for the White House, former Godfather's Pizza CEO and radio talk show host Herman Cain, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, all at seven percent. The poll indicates that Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is at four percent, with former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania at three...

When Mitt Romney's second book, No Apology, came out a year ago, it looked like he was moving away from the far-right demagoguery of his 2008 bid for the presidency, and toward a more moderate centrism for the 2012 election cycle. (See "New and Improved Romney," Talking Politics, February 10, 2010.) But times change, and so does Mitt. A year later, with the Tea Party–fueled extremism of the 2010 midterms foretelling a rightward tilt to the GOP presidential primaries, Romney is tacking back — as evidenced by changes made to two sections of the text in the new paperback edition...

And Politico effectively joins Barack Obama's re-election campaign. Politico's increasingly leftward lean has finally caused it to fall over entirely. The sheer volume of anti-Palin stories over the last week was breathtaking. It's clear that they have targeted Palin. To wit: First they were critical of Palin for not saying anything: Tucson shooting presents 2012 test Their widely divergent reactions — from Tim Pawlenty’s subtle distancing from his beleaguered rival, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin; to her virtual disappearance; to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s feeding of the right-wing base — are telling for what they show about the...

Andrea Michell is discussing Sarah Palin (what a surprise) with Democrat David Bonier and Republican strategist Vin Weber, here's the video of Weber. ------- MITCHELL: "She had the choice of when to speak and the tone. and one has to wonder why doesn't she have a wider circling of advisers. i don't know any political strategist of a national campaign, republican or democrat who thinks that was a smart thing to do. VIN WEBER: "Well, we really don't know who advises her. She's quite isolated from what you might think of as the Republican establishment. No one is quite sure...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was clear Sunday on what he wants in a 2012 GOP presidential nominee: "the most electable conservative." But the senator was pressed on NBC's "Meet the Press" on specifically which of the current names believed to be in the ring would deliver. "Probably [Mitt] Romney," Graham said. "He's got his problems as a candidate, but so does everyone else," he said.

I tweeted that I would vote for anyone, including Sarah Palin, for President before Barack Obama in 2012. The responses ranged from crazy to obvious insults to GOP troll pretending to be a Democrat. I expected as much. As a lifelong unapologetic Liberal Democrat, I’m very secure with my politics and philosophy, and I don’t really give a crap. Sure I lost a few followers but there are always more. I wouldn’t be surprised if this blog didn’t receive similar responses. FYI, Palin doesn’t mean Sarah Palin literally, but she is included, it means any Republican, Libertarian, Democrat, breathing human,...

When I was a Senate staffer more than a decade ago, Republicans hit on a tactic to advance school choice. They kept narrowing the eligibility standard to cover poorer and poorer families with children in only the most spectacularly failing schools, daring Democrats to vote against the most sympathetic possible group of students. I remember one liberal senator saying in exasperation, "Someday, you are going to make this impossible to oppose." . . .

As Sarah Palin ponders a 2012 presidential campaign, some prominent Republicans are urging her to resist the temptation to run even as her devoted followers flock to her book tour. In recent days, a debate has broken out among Republicans over whether the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and popular activist would be able to defeat a politically weakened President Barack Obama in two years. The criticism, rejected by Team Palin, reflects concerns among establishment Republicans that the former Alaska governor lacks the gravitas to oust a sitting president, even a struggling one. Palin has a very strong following in...

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is also a presumptive candidate for President in the 2012 election, which was a topic of conversation on The Tonight Show last night. Host Jay Leno opened the light, if not somewhat boring interview with questions about a potential White House bid, to which Romney replied, “If you ever see me sign up for a gig on Fox News, it’ll be a clear indication that I’ve decided to run for president,” adding “that’s not in the cards anytime soon, thanks.” It was a gentle yet pointed dig at the cable news channel who includes on...

In the promo fluff for its future flop, CNN calls Kathleen Parker a "conservative" commentator. So what's a "conservative" in CNN's book? Someone who, when accused of taking part in the media assassination of Sarah Palin, brags that she didn't merely take part—she "led it." Supposed conservative Kathleen Parker made her bizarre boast on this evening's Parker Spitzer. It came in the course of her interview of John Ziegler, creator of the documentary "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted.” While denying she had been "duped" by Obama, Parker admitted that during the campaign she "bought into...

WASHINGTON — A leading House Republican says Sarah Palin cost the GOP control of the Senate. Questioned about those comments on Tuesday, a spokesman for Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama said the remarks had been taken out of context but didn't retract them. Bachus, in line to become chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, initially blamed Palin last week at a local Chamber of Commerce luncheon. According to the Shelby County Reporter, he said the Senate would be in Republican hands if not for losses by tea party candidates endorsed by the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential...

At their new political high-water mark, Republicans have plenty of reasons to celebrate - and at least one large cause for worry. On Election Day, voters shattered the Obama agenda of expanded public benefits and increased income tax progressivity, leaving the president to reassemble his goals with glue and tape. During this midterm cycle, Republicans became reacquainted with estranged friends: independents, seniors, college-educated voters, working-class voters, rural voters and suburban voters. The Republican Party will benefit from the infusion of diverse, attractive new leaders, including some, such as Florida Sen.-elect Marco Rubio, with Tea Party pedigrees...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said Monday it would be "great" for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to run for president in 2012. "She would be a great thing for the Republican primary process," said Romney, a 2008 presidential candidate and a potential candidate again in 2012. "It'd be a good thing for her to get in." Romney, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) have all rallied around Palin, who on Sunday night condemned suggestions that GOP operatives in Washington were looking to stall any potential presidential aspirations...

DAYTON, OHIO - Mitt Romney ambled through the exhibits at the InfoTech 2010 conference here the other day, shaking hands, posing for photos, sneaking an occasional chocolate turtle and, ever the salesman, promoting the candidacy of yet another Republican candidate. On this trip, he was stumping for Rob Portman, the Republican Senate candidate who is heavily favored to win his race Tuesday. Romney was self-effacing as he moved along the rows of exhibits. "This is Rob Portman, he's running for Senate," he said as he introduced the former congressman to a group at one exhibit. "I'd love for you to...

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Cindy McCain, wife of Republican U.S. Senator John McCain, says she doesn't know if Sarah Palin is capable of running the country should she run for president.

In the past week, two hit pieces have been written against Governor Palin. The first was the piece by Jonathan Martin that was been thoroughly debunked as "flat out lies" by practically every source he identified by name. This was followed yesterday by a second hit piece in the New York Daily News that, hilariously, claimed that it will be Governor Palin's fault if the GOP doesn't take back the Senate. Whitney discussed this silliness in a post last night. To Whitney's analysis I would add that the GOP establishment has no idea how thin the ice is upon which...

Nicolle Wallace on Bill Maher just admitted that she was no fan of the Tea Party. Now I knew that I was not a fan of hers because of comments she made about Our Sarah, but had no idea she was so openly against the Tea Party. Nicolle laughed hysterically at every vulgar,rude slanderous remark that Maher made about basically ALL the Tea Party candidates. She mocked COD about the first amendment? We all know that COD was only stating the fact that the phrase separation of Church and State was not in the Constitution. Nicolle was just hateful. I...

I've been assuming for a while that Sarah Palin is fairly likely to run for president, and reasonably likely to get the nomination if she does, and then if the economy is still bad she could win and then the country will crumble and suffer some apocalyptic disaster and the survivors will envy the dead. Anyway, Jonathan Martin has a terrific piece collecting some reporting about the flakiness, bordering on total dysfunctionality, of Palin's political operation. This is a huge relief: Take, for example, the case of Palin’s interaction with the campaign of Sen. Chuck Grassley, an iconic figure in...

The election is two weeks away, but the campaign trail reviews of Sarah Palin already are in, and they aren’t pretty. According to multiple Republican campaign sources, the former Alaska governor wreaks havoc on campaign logistics and planning. She offers little notice about her availability, refuses to do certain events, is obsessive about press coverage and sometimes backs out with as little lead time as she gave in the first place. In short, her seat-of-the-pants operation can be a nightmare to deal with, which, in part, explains why Palin doesn’t often do individual events for GOP hopefuls.