Free Republic

Seeking to overturn a DOJ judgment that its voter photo identification law, passed in May 2011, violates the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA), the state of South Carolina recently announced that it is suing the Justice Department and Attorney General Eric Holder in federal court. The decision by South Carolina comes as the DOJ is vigorously working to stop the spread of states enacting or implementing voter photo ID laws, prompting fears that the Obama administration is undermining the integrity of the upcoming 2012 elections. In December 2011, the DOJ blocked South Carolina’s new voter ID law from taking effect...

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 13, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Within weeks, the top lawyers in a dozen states may file a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration’s controversial requirement that all insurance plans include access to abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization, the attorney general of Nebraska told LifeSiteNews. Jon Bruning told LifeSiteNews.com that 12 states had signed onto a scathing critique of the mandate and were preparing to take more serious action. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning On Friday, ten state attorneys general addressed a scathing letter to President Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis....

SPARTANBURG, SC (FOX Carolina) - Deputies said they were called to an Inman residence Tuesday night after a domestic dispute led to the wife shooting her husband in self-defense. Spartanburg County deputies said they were called to the County Estates Road residence about 8:24 p.m. where they found Robert Fowler, 43, lying and screaming on the ground with a gunshot wound to the buttocks and his wife holding the gun. Deputies said they determined that Fowler got into a fight with his son, pushing him and beating him in the face, and his wife tried to separate them before shooting...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's top prosecutor says the U.S. Justice Department was wrong to block South Carolina from requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote. Attorney General Alan Wilson asks a judge to overturn the decision by the federal government in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The Justice Department in December rejected South Carolina's law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls.

The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: "A well-regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." That sentence above all else seems to cause more debate than any other in the Constitution. In 2008 The Supreme Court found, and I think correctly so, that the founding fathers meant this to mean that individuals had the right to possess firearms to protect themselves from an overzealous and dictatorial government. Gun control advocates seem to think it means only the Army or...

Ann Liston and Eric Adelstein are hardened Chicago Democratic consultants. Their behind-the-scenes role helping the Wisconsin Democratic Party collect more than 1 million signatures to recall Gov. Scott Walker has put them in a campaign unlike any they've ever seen. The two 40-somethings said Facebook's power to reach voters, combined with a recentU.S. Supreme Court ruling that unfettered limits on corporate and union political spending, has rewritten their industry's game plan. "It's horrible for democracy but great for business," Adelstein said Tuesday, referring to the Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court decision. Voters in Wisconsin, South Carolina and Florida have been...

A 62-year-old Greer homeowner died as a result of a shootout with a woman who attempted to rob him at gunpoint at his front door, authorities said Tuesday evening. Greer Police Lt. Jim Holcombe said officers responded to a 911 call at 9:18 a.m. Monday at 203 Pelham St., and found two people with gunshot wounds inside the residence. “The investigation revealed that the homeowner answered the door at his residence, and the suspect asked for some money. When the victim refused to give her any money, she pulled a gun and he (then) pulled a gun,” according to a...

After the Republican presidential debate in Myrtle Beach last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Fox News, "I hope people in the country understand that we're Ronald Reagan Republicans in South Carolina. We believe in peace through strength and we're not isolationists." In an interview the next day, Graham's fellow South Carolinian Sen. Jim DeMint said on Fox Business,"If we spread ourselves too thin around the world we're not going to be able to defend the homeland, particularly with the level of debt that we have right now. It's foolish for us to think that we can have military bases...

THE VILLAGES, Fla. -- John McCain has become Mitt Romney's biggest advocate in this critical early primary state, one that made his own GOP presidential nomination inevitable four years ago. In an interview with RealClearPolitics after a town-hall meeting with about 100 seniors here, McCain often referred to Romney and his campaign as “we.” At the end of the interview, he asked intensely, “What’s [the RCP polling average] saying about us overnight after the debate?” A reflection of this sense of ownership was evident in his take on last Saturday’s South Carolina primary, which Gingrich won. “We haven’t had time...

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV)-- Leonard Nathaniel discovered two men, one armed with a gun, had broken into his home. What they didn't know is that Nathaniel had a gun as well. North Charleston police were responding to a call of shots fired in Collins Park Villas near Dorchester and Michaux Parkway. On the way there, they saw a vehicle speeding down Dorchester Road. When the officers pulled the car over, they found 18 year-old Rashaun Dawson suffering from a gunshot wound. Dawson was then transported to MUSC. Arriving at the original crime scene on Big Ben Court, police spoke to...

The week before Christmas, my wife and I finalized the sale of our house in California, packed a minivan with the last remnants of our years there, and headed back east. It was a bittersweet goodbye. We'd lived in California full time or part time since 1985, and for the last 17 years right by the Pacific Ocean - a stunningly beautiful spot. When we first arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in '85 for what was expected to be a three-year stay it was as if we'd stumbled into the Garden of Eden. Perfect, predictable weather for months...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- In late October, Sheriff Chuck Wright, reacting to recent violent crime, told Spartanburg residents to arm themselves, but have those comments impacted crime rates? Numbers provided by the sheriff's office tell two different stories when it comes to crime trends. For instance, from October 31, 2011 (when the sheriff urged people to get guns) through January 24, 2012, certain violent crimes spiked, while others stayed the same or even dropped, as compared to the same time period the year before. From 10/31/2011 - 1/24/2012 there was one murder, 21 forcible rapes, 28 robberies, and 95 aggravated assaults...

Link only: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/newt-gingrich-trent-franks-_n_1229973.html?ref=mostpopular

How big?It is hard to over-estimate the importance of the South Carolina Republican primary. It was the second earthquake to hit the East Coast within the last six months — but this one could have far greater aftershocks.The epicenter is the Republican Party. With its future now radically altered, it could have profound implications for the nation.This could rank with California in 1964, North Carolina in 1976 and New Hampshire in 1980. Barry M. Goldwater in the Golden State, Ronald Reagan in the Tar Heel State and Reagan, again, in the Granite State, all ran as insurgents at crucial times...

South Carolina represents the heart of the conservative movement because its Republican voters are fierce fiscal and social conservatives, which means they fervently support the Tea Party and evangelicals. These voters are now popularly referred to as “Teavangelicals” and, predictably, dominated the Palmetto State’s primary. According to exit polling from Saturday’s first-in-the-South primary, 64 percent of those who voted in the GOP primary in South Carolina supported the Tea Party and another 27 percent were neutral. Only 8 percent opposed. In addition, 65 percent of primary voters were “Born-Again or Evangelical Christian.” What happened in South Carolina is important for...

Are we watching the meltdown of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney? Fending off pointed attacks by fellow GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum ... Romney looked ...flustered, stiff, and at times just babbled In comparison, Gingrich looked like he still had all the momentum from Saturday’s South Carolina primary win. He calmly answered questions ...(snip) The biggest surprise in the debate: Gingrich was not asked about his personal transgressions, ... ...After his 12-point South Carolina win, Gingrich has surged ahead in the Florida polls, leading 41% to the former Massachusetts governor's 32%. Still, Romney does expected to win Florida....

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Let me just tell you something, again, going against the conventional wisdom. Everybody is out there thinking the reason Newt triumphed is because of his media smackdown. That's not it. Everybody wants to credit Juan Williams and John King and the media for throwing softballs inadvertently setting Newt up for these answers. It's important, there's no question about it. It was great, but it's not about that. It's not even about Newt's great debate skills. You notice now the establishment is not saying, "That isn't gonna matter." They're trying to say that everything that's got Newt where...

Mitt Romney’s greatest asset and his primary pitch to voters, the assumption that he is the most viable candidate to face President Obama in a general election, is taking a bruising after Newt Gingrich trounced him in South Carolina on Saturday. The latest Gallup tracking poll of the electorate shows President Obama at parity with both Romney and Gingrich – both Republicans pull 48 percent of the electorate to Obama’s 50 percent. Among national Republicans, Romney’s 10+ point lead over Gingrich has evaporated nearly overnight. Romney’s 23 point lead over Gingrich on January 15 has turned into a 1 point...

As Mitt Romney puts the South Carolina primary in his rear-view mirror and hits the accelerator in a bid to win Florida, he may discover himself crashing headlong into the bitter legacy of Charlie Crist, the former Florida governor who defected from the GOP and was soundly defeated for the U.S. Senate by Marco Rubio. Romney’s “Charlie Crist” problem is this: Romney’s chief campaign strategist and several of his most senior campaign staff were Crist’s top political advisers — the same ones who crafted Crist’s moderate, ignore-the-tea-party strategy epitomized in Crist’s famous “hug” of President Barack Obama. That strategy led...

Just days before the South Carolina primary, polls showed Mitt Romney leading Newt Gingrich. Then came the debates and the question about Gingrich's private life, which brought a devastating response from the former Speaker of the House — and a standing ovation from the audience. Apparently the television audience felt the same way, judging by the huge turnaround in the support for Gingrich. The stunning victory in South Carolina brought Newt's candidacy back to life. But the message from South Carolina was about more than a reaction to how Gingrich dealt with a cheap shot question from the media....

Mitt Romney has helped re-energise the Tea Party Just three days ago, many pundits were writing the obituary of the Tea Party. The unstoppable rise of Mitt Romney and the hopeless divisions within the conservative field seemed to suggest that the radical grassroots movement had passed away. The UK’s Guardian newspaper (a sort of Pravda for public sector workers) was gleeful. Ewen MacAskill wrote, “The noise and energy associated with the Tea Party since it exploded on to the US political scene three years has been stilled, overshadowed in recent months by the youthful enthusiasm of the Occupy Wall Street...

Two of the key arguments of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential candidacy—that he knows best how to handle the economy and stands the best chance of beating President Barack Obama—were dismissed by conservative South Carolina voters in the Republican primary Saturday, according to exit poll data from the state. That finding shows why former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won a solid victory, and also suggests the Romney camp may seek new ways to drive home its core message in the contests that lie ahead. In all three nominating contests so far, at least a plurality of voters have said...

One week ago, Newt Gingrich was on the ropes in South Carolina, under near-universal assault on the right from his attacks on Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital. Everyone from Rush Limbaugh to the Club for Growth and the Wall Street Journal had all declared their disgust. The conservative backlash had given Romney a double-digit lead in the polls. At a candidate forum hosted by Mike Huckabee, Gingrich was booed by the crowd when he tried to defend his Bain attacks. Fast forward one week, and Gingrich is the winner of the South Carolina primary. Not only did Gingrich win,...

There are several explanations we’re likely to hear about the outcome in South Carolina on Saturday. Most of them will involve the voters being silly and not knowing what’s good for them. (I especially like the variant that says South Carolina voters went for Newt Gingrich – Newt Gingrich! – because they’re right next to Georgia. Yeah, right. Gingrich is Mr. New American South.)

COLUMBIA, SC -- They won't say it publicly -- they don't want to appear churlish or disrespectful on a night they took a serious beating -- but it's no exaggeration to say that even after losing the South Carolina primary to Newt Gingrich, members of Mitt Romney's circle find it absurd -- almost crazy -- that the former House speaker has even a ghost of a chance of becoming the Republican Party's presidential nominee. In their view, Gingrich has barely run a campaign. As they see it, Team Gingrich doesn't have the money, professionalism, brains, or organization of the Romney...

Washington, DC Saturday, January 21, 2012 Addressing supporters at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, Rick Santorum said, "Three states, Three different winners, what a great country." He also said that this campaign is "painting a bold vision for this country." Santorum also stated that he is moving on to Florida, Colorado and all the upcoming states holding primaries and caucuses. Updated: Saturday at 9:06pm (ET)

South Carolina Saturday, January 21, 2012 Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has won the South Carolina primary. In remarks at his SC headquarters, Gingrich said "thanks to everyone in South Carolina who were with us to change Washington." He also stated that it was "very humbling and very sobering to see so many people who want to get their country back on the right track." Updated: Saturday at 10:07pm (ET)

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A new surrogate for Mitt Romney warned Saturday night that if Newt Gingrich is the nominee he could give Democrats united control of Congress. Henry Barbour, a top Rick Perry fundraiser who endorsed Mitt Romney after the Texas governor dropped out, said Gingrich could not beat President Obama and would cost Republicans many House and Senate seats. Barbour told The Hill that endorsing Romney and coming to his South Carolina rally was a "very easy decision" because of Gingrich, who he said would turn the presidential race from a referendum on Obama into "the adventures of Newt...

Not even 24 hours passed before the Establishment hive was out in force this morning, after Newt Gingrich's stunning decimation of Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary. Chris Christie said that Newt has been an embarrassment to the party. His political paramour, Ann Coulter (who endorsed Romney in 2008, then Christie this cycle, and now Romney again...three liberals in a row) deemed him the "least conservative" of the current field and the least electable, among other snarky and degrading comments I will not repeat. Paradoxically, She also repeated the old liberal saw that we need to reach to the...

No candidate has won the GOP nomination for President without winning South Carolina since Ronald Reagan in 1980. But every one of those candidates who won had also won either Iowa or New Hampshire. We’re now confronted with a designated front runner, Mitt Romney, who got less votes in Iowa in 2012 than he got in 2008 and who lost South Carolina. His reason for being somehow remains that he is “electable.” If you read a lot of the Republican commentary coming out of Washington even before the polls closed, suddenly South Carolina is irrelevant and the hick rubes of...

Given the rather decisive nature of the South Carolina Republican primary -- Newt Gingrich won by about 12 points -- we can be rather brief with the takeaways here. 1) There is no good news buried in here for Mitt Romney. None. As of this writing, Mitt Romney is leading in three counties in South Carolina: Charleston, Beaufort (Hilton Head) and Richland (Columbia). He lost fast-growing, coastal Horry County, home of Myrtle Beach, by 15 points. He lost Greenville and Spartanburg, in the upcountry, by similar margins. He lost Edgefield County by 40 points. Romney likely lost all seven congressional...

Since it was first held 32 years ago, the South Carolina Republican primary has been won by the party’s most electable candidate, the one backed by the Republican establishment and invariably the winner of the nomination. On Saturday, the state veered in an extreme direction, and the outcome spoke poorly for a party that allowed itself to be manipulated by the lowest form of campaigning. Newt Gingrich won the primary by a decisive margin of 12.5 percentage points, and there is no mystery about how he did it. Two-thirds of voters interviewed in exit polls said they made their decision...

Is the date Jan. 21 about to be a lot brighter for Newt Gingrich? As South Carolina votes Saturday, Mitt Romney’s campaign sent a press release wishing Gingrich a “happy anniversary” for the House decision to reprimand him, which happened on Jan. 21, 1997. Headlined “Happy 15th Anniversary, Mr. Speaker,” the release said, “Fifteen years ago today, Newt Gingrich became the first House speaker in American history to be reprimanded by his colleagues.” Gingrich was investigated for tax irregularities and for campaign finance disclosure violations in the late 1990s. The matter, conducted when Republicans controlled the House, was settled when...

To say Newt Gingrich capped an extraordinary comeback with a South Carolina victory doesn't quite capture what happened. It was more like vindication. The former House speaker came from behind to overtake Mitt Romney on Saturday in a state that for decades has chosen the eventual Republican nominee. On the way there, Gingrich triumphed over months of campaign turmoil and at least two political near-death experiences as well as millions of dollars of attack advertisements and potentially damning personal allegations. He did it by finding his voice and rallying conservatives with a populist defiance. "The American people feel that they...

South Carolinians are voting today in the GOP primary, which some pundits see as the candidates' last stand for getting the GOP nomination to run in the general election. On weekends on All Things Considered today, host Guy Raz talked with Danielle Vinson, the chair of the political science department at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., about what is often considered "dirty" South Carolina primary politics. "If you don't come of out here with a first or second place, it's hard to keep going," she says. "So by the time they get here everybody takes off the gloves." One of...

SPARTANBURG, S.C.-- A customer at the Waffle House on Chesnee Highway shot and killed a gunman attempting to rob the business early Saturday morning, according to a report from the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to a report of an armed robbery attempt at the Waffle House restaurant at 2230 Chesnee Highway at 1:13 Saturday morning. They discovered that two men had attempted to rob the business. Deputies said a customer at the restaurant who was a concealed weapons permit holder attempted to thwart the robbery and hold the suspects at gunpoint with his handgun until authorities arrived. However,...

COLUMBIA, SC -- They won't say it publicly -- they didn't want to appear churlish or disrespectful on a night they took a serious beating -- but it's no exaggeration to say that even after losing the South Carolina primary to Newt Gingrich, members of Mitt Romney's circle find it absurd -- almost crazy -- that the former House speaker has even a ghost of a chance of becoming the Republican Party's presidential nominee. In their view, Gingrich has barely run a campaign. As they see it, Team Gingrich doesn't have the money, professionalism, brains, or organization of the Romney...

Authorities say a customer at a South Carolina Waffle shop pulled a gun and shot one of two men trying to rob the restaurant. Authorities said the customer had a concealed weapon permit and tried to hold the two men at gunpoint until officers arrived, but that one suspect began to point his gun at the customer, who then fired shots. The second robber fled and is being sought by authorities.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum were shoved and a baby stroller was left knocked over after a group of “Occupy” protesters disrupted his election-night gathering and threw glitter on him Saturday night. The ruckus occurred after Santorum made remarks to supporters following his third-place finish in the South Carolina primary Saturday night. One female protester threw glitter on him before quickly being escorted away. The protesters yelled phrases suggesting they disagree with Santorum’s stance on gay issues. They chanted “bigot!” as they were escorted out of the auditorium at the College of Charleston along with...

Schmidt: "Not only are we not moving toward a coalescing of support with the establishment of Newt Gingrich, we're probably moving toward a declaration of war on Newt Gingrich by the Republican establishment. And if Newt Gingrich is able to win the Florida primary, you will see a panic and a meltdown of the Republican establishment that is beyond my ability to articulate in the English language. People will go crazy," And you will have this five week period until the Super Tuesday states that will be just as unpredictable, tumultuous as any period in modern American politics. It will...

After Newt Gingrich was declared the winner of the South Carolina primary Saturday night, Karl Rove suggested that the candidate has CNN’s John King to thank for his victory in the Palmetto State. “Taking on the media is always good in a Republican primary,” Rove said on Fox News. “John King couldn’t have set up the question in a more positive way for Gingrich to just nail it and haul it right out of the park.”

It was an exceptional evening for Newt Gingrich in South Carolina as he soared to a landslide victory over rival Mitt Romney Saturday night in the Palmetto State as supporters at his victory party welcomed him by chanting, “Newt can’t quit! Newt can’t quit!” “The biggest thing that I take from South Carolina is that it is very humbling and so sobering to have so many people who so deeply want their country to get back on the right track,“ Gingrich said. “It’s not that I am a good debater; it’s that I articulate the deepest felt values of the...

Newt Gingrich Wins South Carolina Primary By Uniting Reagan Republicans By Van Hipp January 21, 2012 Newt Gingrich’s South Carolina State co-chairman John Napier knew the “Gingrich surge” was real last Sunday afternoon. Napier, a former U.S. Congressman and retired Federal Judge, pulled into the parking lot of the Land’s End Restaurant in Georgetown, S.C. for a Gingrich event expected to draw 25-30 people. Instead, over 350 people showed up before others had to be turned away. Napier said, “There were people there we hadn’t seen since Reagan ran.” Napier should now. He was swept into Congress from a rural...

Rick Santorum said he would be pleased with a third-place finish in South Carolina Saturday but vowed to stay in the presidential race through the Florida primary no matter what. He also blasted his "desperate" rival Mitt Romney for perpetrating "cheap stuff" as Mr. Romney's position as front runner here melted away the past week... "We finally were given the victory in Iowa," Mr. Santorum said. "If we had had it two weeks ago, it might be a very different situation. It might have been a very different race." Mr. Santorum also said he was disappointed in Mr. Romney after...

JANUARY 21, 2012 Challenges Mount for Rick Santorum By PATRICK O'CONNOR and BRODY MULLINS CHARLESTON, S.C.—Republican White House hopeful Rick Santorum burst out of Iowa earlier this month on a wave of unexpected momentum. But after a third-place finish in South Carolina, the former Pennsylvania senator finds himself limping into Florida without a clear path to victory and an unforgiving landscape for an under-funded candidate. With 95% of the precincts reporting, Mr. Santorum was the top pick of 17% of Republican primary voters in South Carolina, well behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's 41% and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's...

Update: Chris Cillizza of WaPo tweets that “Close Jeb Bush ally tells me that no Romney endorsement is in the works.” Jeb’s camp being coy, or is he getting cold feet about throwing in with Romney after tonight’s drubbing?

Congratulations, Newt!! The Gingrich Revolution begins here and begins now!! Thank you very much, South Carolina!! Thank you very much, Rick Perry!! And now it's on to Florida!! Free Republic is all in for Newt and the rebellion is on!! I'm understanding from his debates and his website that Newt wants to totally dismantle the Marxist/socialist welfare state, fire the czars, repeal ObamaCare, repeal Dodd-Frank, repeal Sarbanes Oxley, privatize social security and medicare, return all federal socialist welfare programs to the states and the people to be controlled locally or shuttered, audit and neuter the Fed, fire Bernanke, fire the...

PercentDelegates* Gingrich 194,459 votes 40.6% 15 Romney 128,066 votes 26.8% 0 Santorum 83,408 votes 17.4% 0 Paul 64,348 votes 13.4% 0 Cain 4,832 votes 1.0% 0 Other 3,464 votes 0.7%0 * South Carolina lost half of its 50 delegates as a result of breaking Republican party rules and moving its primary forward to Jan. 21. The party will award the remaining 25 delegates based on the results of individual congressional districts as well as the overall tally.

Conservatives, Evangelical Christians Rebuff Romney In South Carolina By Tom Curry Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who just a few days ago seemed poised to capitalize on his New Hampshire primary victory to win South Carolina, failed to appeal to conservative, lower-income, and evangelical Christian voters in the state, which led to Saturday’s victory for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. And exit poll interviews indicated that South Carolina Republicans emphatically disagreed with the judgment of their GOP counterparts in New Hampshire that Romney was the Republican best able to beat President Barack Obama in November. Forty-five percent of voters interviewed...

Newt Gingrich Wins South Carolina Primary By Mark Z. Barabak January 21 Newt Gingrich surged to victory Saturday in the South Carolina primary, riding a pair of strong debate performances to overtake Mitt Romney and stop his seemingly relentless march to the GOP nomination. (snip) Former Massachusetts Gov. Romney appeared headed for second place, with former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas trailing well behind. With a tight smile, Romney addressed supporters in Columbia about an hour after the polls closed and immediately displayed a more pugnacious style. Without mentioning his rival by name, Romney...