Free Republic

Weather concerns are prompting the Sevier County Tea Party to move a high-profile bash next week that will include Sarah Palin to the Sevierville Convention Center. The June 26 event, originally scheduled to take place outdoors at Smokies Stadium, marks the one-time GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor’s first public appearance in the region since she testified at the trial of an email intruder four years ago. Mindful of the possibility of rain, the event is shifting indoors, said Sevier County Tea Party Chairman Steve Osborn. Also set to appear is former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former New York...

Presidential hopefuls Sen. Rand Paul, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Sen. Rick Santorum are in Iowa to deliver their prescriptions for how to unite the Republican Party. […] It is Paul’s third trip to Iowa since the 2012 election. The Kentucky senator says the GOP should maintain its core message but make the party more attractive to black and Hispanic voters. …

I argued last week that Rick Santorum ought to drop any pretense of a long-shot 2016 presidential bid to focus on turning EchoLight Studios, the filmmaking outfit he runs, into the next blockbuster factory. That generated a bit of a discussion with Quin Hillyer, one of Santorum’s more well-known supporters (a summation of which can be found here)—but it’s worth exploring further how Santorum could make an impact upstream from politics. The primary reason conservatives are struggling at the ballot box, particularly in presidential elections that attract many low-information and less-engaged voters, is that liberals dominate the cultural media. Hollywood’s...

Audio/Video Ads Only: Sarah Palin has created a new radio ad for Chris McDaniel’s campaign: Likewise, Rick Santorum has a new TV ad for McDaniel via Political Victory Fund: So what big name is supporting Cochran? Trent Lott. I know. ZZZZzzzzzz:

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former presidential candidate Rick Santorum and other conservative heavyweights will be at Smokies Stadium next month for an event titled “America’s Last Stand.” The former Alaskan governor and presidential candidate will be joined by former New York judge Jeanine Pirro and one-time congressman Col. Allen West, who both now contribute to the Fox News Channel. Country crooner John Michael Montgomery and Cuban singer Jon Secada will provide entertainment. The event is sponsored in part by the Sevier County Tea Party. Tickets for the June 26 event range from $49 general admission seats to $1,000...

With a federal judge declaring a Pennsylvania ban on gay marriage unconstitutional on Tuesday afternoon, every state in the Northeastern corner of the country—Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and now Pennsylvania—has legalized same-sex marriage. Judge John Jones invoked the 14th Amendment to invalidate a 1996 Pennsylvania law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Like many of the other judicial decisions bringing down state marriage bans, this one framed the issue as a matter of civil rights. Jones wrote: In future generations the label same-sex marriage will be abandoned,...

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says the GOP has a problem, and they know it. "Areas where we should be winning, like in Ohio, and in Michigan, places where the economy is not strong, where the Obama administration policies have hurt there ... they're not voting for us," says Santorum, author of the new book "Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works." Establishment Republicans "realize we have a problem there. I don't think they have any clue how to fix it," says Santorum. "The tea party realizes, that's who they are, these are conservatives who don't think...

Rick Santorum is rebranding himself. With the bruising 2012 primary behind him and another presidential bid in his sights, the former Pennsylvania senator and famous culture warrior is out with a new book, Blue Collar Conservatives, that puts his longstanding interest in working-class issues at the fore. Defeating same-sex marriage has become reclaiming marriage culture. His new book’s index doesn’t have one reference to abortion, and it’s barely mentioned in the text at all. In Santorum’s much-longer 2005 work, It Takes a Family, several chapters are devoted to abortion. Medicaid goes from one mention in his 2005 book’s index...

In the past few days, three candidates who ran for the last Republican presidential nomination, including nominee Mitt Romney, have endorsed a higher minimum wage. Yahoo!Finance asks Mitt Romney Calls for Higher Minimum Wage. Does it Matter? Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential nominee in 2012, called on Republicans Friday to raise the minimum wage, going against the congressional leadership of his own party. Related Stories "I think we ought to raise it, because frankly, our party is all about more jobs and better pay, and I think communicating that is important to us," Mr. Romney said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”...

Alternate headline: Romney not running for President in 2016. Mike Barnicle braced Mitt Romney on the GOP’s demographic issues and its “conservative bent” on popular initiatives like immigration reform and a minimum-wage hike. Romney talks about the big tent of Republicanism, but notes that he supports a minimum-wage hike:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO “I think we ought to raise it, because frankly, our party is all about more jobs and better pay, and I think communicating that is important to us,” Romney said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”In recent days, two of Romney’s former opponents, Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty,...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Thursday morning said he supports an increase in the minimum wage, breaking with many Republicans who have stood against it. “I, for instance, as you know, part company with many of the conservatives in my party on the issue of the minimum wage. I think we ought to raise it,” the 2012 Republican presidential nominee said. “Because frankly, our party is all about more jobs and better pay.” Romney’s comments come after Senate Republicans rejected a vote on a Senate bill that would have increased the minimum wage to $10.10. Recently, though, former Minnesota...

It is "appropriate" for Republicans to use investigations, such as those into Benghazi and the IRS, for election campaigns, two-time presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Friday. Romney stressed that the investigations would not be taking place if Republicans did not have a majority in the House. "There would not be an investigation into Benghazi, there would not be an investigation into the IRS, were there not a Republican House. And, so to say, 'Look, elect Republicans so that we can have these kinds of investigations' is appropriate," the former Massachusetts governor told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." The issue of using the...

In a break with many in the Republican Party, Mitt Romney says he backs a move to raise the minimum wage. "I, for instance, as you know, part company with many of the conservatives in my party on the issue of the minimum wage, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee said Friday morning. "I think we ought to raise it, because frankly, our party is all about more jobs and better pay, and I think communicating that is important to us," Romney added in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Hours after former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called for an increase in the minimum wage, Neel Kashkari, one of the party’s top candidates for governor of California, said such a move would be devastating to workers. The timing of the clash was awkward for Kashkari, a former investment banker from Laguna Beach. Romney is one of the Republican luminaries – including former Govs. Pete Wilson of California and Jeb Bush of Florida – whose support Kashkari has featured in campaign mail and TV advertising.

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum dismissed Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential ambitions, claiming “the Republican Party is not a libertarian party” and suggesting few GOP voters would be swayed by Paul’s small government message. Santorum swiped at the senator Monday during an appearance on CNN’s “Crossfire,” where he told left-wing host Van Jones that Republicans “need a positive agenda” to win in 2014 and 2016. “So positive agenda,” Jones replied. “Rand Paul, who now seems to be everywhere. He’s the frontrunner in your party. Do you agree with his ideas, are you going to support Rand Paul?”...

The Talk Shows May 4th, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas; Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento, California; Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; Richard Williams, father of tennis players Serena and Venus Williams.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.; former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabber; former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said Monday he’s not convinced the GOP cares about poor people as much as Democrats do. “People ask me, ‘Do Republicans care as much about the poor as Democrats do?’” Santorum said at a New York meeting of conservatives. “I’m not sure we do. I’m not sure we do. And the reason I’m not sure we do, is because I don’t hear us talking about them very often.” The remarks came during the Q-and-A portion of the event, where Santorum was promoting his new book, “Blue Collar Conservatives.” He was asked whether he supports the...

“There’s going to be a fight on the right to see who will be the Christian conservative choice of 2016,” says Jamie Johnson, a former Santorum campaign staffer. “I’ve never seen the stars aligned like this before in Iowa, with so many possibilities. I love Rick Santorum, and I wish him the best, but this is a new day.” It’s a day when GOP Sens. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) are rock stars and when former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee could jump in and steal a lot of the evangelical support. And that’s just the fight for the...

Sen. Rand Paul brought his national crusade against the war on drugs back to his home state, giving testimony before the Kentucky state senate in favor of an amendment to restore voting rights to felons after they get out of prison.The amendment, which state Republicans have forestalled for years, looks like it may finally pass. Today, only Kentucky and Virginia permanently strip felons' of their voting rights. Most states require a probationary period before felons can vote again, but states like Iowa and Florida have such punitive laws that they may as well be permanent. Only Maine and Vermont have no restrictions on felons voting, including when...

Of all the electoral maneuvers lately — Huckabee heading to Iowa, Santorum huddling with advisors, Allen West refusing to rule anything out, and even Joe Scarborough visiting New Hampshire — this is the most interesting. Is there room for Perry this time, though? Perry, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, will be in Des Moines and Davenport on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28. He will be sitting down with business leaders to discuss a wide range of issues, according to Bob Haus, an adviser in the state. He also will be taping an episode of “Iowa Press,” Iowa Public Television’s weekly...