Free Republic

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker said Thursday that in the event of a contested convention, the Republican nominee will likely be someone who is “not currently running.” “I think if it’s an open convention, it’s very likely it would be someone who’s not currently running,” Walker said. “I mean, who knows. The one thing I qualify — it’s like the qualifications you see on those ads you see for car dealerships. I think any of us who comment on this election have to qualify that almost every prediction’s been off, so it’s hard to predict anything,” Walker added. Walker’s own run...

It looks like Paul Ryan will do the job, but he’ll do it on his own terms. He laid them out at a Republican-conference meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, telling his colleagues he wants the bickering to end. That means, Republicans said as they exited the meeting, he wants universal endorsements from the various caucuses, specifically from the conservative Freedom Caucus, the Republican Study Committee, and the more moderate Tuesday Group. He gave members until Friday to let him know if they could rally behind him, so that he could make preparations or give other candidates the opportunity to...

If rebel conservatives and establishment Republicans in the House can agree on anything, it's likely supporting Paul Ryan for speaker. Across the Sunday talk shows, members of the Freedom Caucus that helped drive Speaker John Boehner toward retirement said they could swing behind Ryan in the wide-open race for a successor. That's what Boehner and his allies want, too. But the fragile, theoretical consensus falls apart over just how the speaker should wield power. Freedom Caucus members want major changes in how the House works, including shifting some power from their speaker to committee chairmen. The ideal speaker, these conservatives...