Free Republic

Former Utah state Sen. Dan Liljenquist announced today that he is challenging Sen. Orrin Hatch at the state Republican convention in April. “It’s time for a new generation of leaders to step up and take on the new challenges of today,” Liljenquist says in a 43-second announcement video posted to his campaign website. “It’s time for us to live within our means as a country and to balance our budget. It’s time to tackle the entitlement spending that threatens us all. And it’s time to return to the conservative principles that make this country great.” Liljenquist is the first major...

I have grown cynical of party politics in mature democracies, including the most exciting democracy of all, the United States. In the middle of a spectrum exclusively defined by Republicans and Democrats, personality and style must be favored over platforms that few candidates are ever able to implement. So many people are bored by politics in the U.S. that half of the voters don’t bother to vote. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If politics does not affect the daily life of citizens, to the extent that most can choose to ignore it, then some wisdom has been found...

Mitt Romney's top ten is made up of Goldman Sachs, followed by Credit Suisse (Switzerland), Morgan Stanley, Barclays (UK), Bank of America and JP Morgan. In contrast Romney's co-frontrunner in Iowa, Ron Paul, has a top three donor list made up of the US Army, US Navy and US Airforce.

The Club for Growth PAC endorsed state Rep. Carl Wimmer on Wednesday in the Republican primary battle for Utah’s new 4th district. Calling him a “free market champion,” Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said, “Wimmer is exactly the type of principled fiscal conservative we need in Washington. Carl will fight against big government and wasteful spending in Washington with as much force as he did in Utah.” Wimmer is expected to face at least two others — state Rep. Stephen Sandstrom and Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love — in the competitive open seat primary. Sandstrom officially announced his campaign...

Republican White House hopeful Jon Huntsman is calling on rival Herman Cain to disclose all of the details about the allegations of sexual harassment that topped the headlines last week. In an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, the former Utah governor said that Cain is “a decent man and a good candidate,” but the allegations are a distraction that has taken the focus away from more important issues. “It’s up to Herman Cain to get the information out and get it out in total,” Huntsman said. “That’s important because we’ve got some real issues to discuss in this campaign...

A poll unveiled this week from American Research Group shows that three Republican presidential candidates -- U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska -- are gaining serious momentum in Iowa, site of the first presidential caucus. Bachmann, who declared her candidacy in June and has been surging in polls at both the national and state levels, topped the poll with 21 percent. Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts placed second with 18 percent. Paul, who was the Libertarian candidate in 1988 and ran for the Republican nomination in...

In the past few weeks we’ve seen the media scrambling to promote a cat fight between Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. As the UK’s Telegraph recently wrote: The first shots have been fired in what could become an ugly battle between Sarah Palin and her potential rival Michele Bachmann for the Republican presidential nomination. [...] A Republican consultant who declined to be named because he is aligned with a rival camp, said: “The claws are out. It’s the cat fight everyone has been waiting for – Queen Sarah being taken on by the Palin mini-me.” This is all obviously designed...

Looking at the current GOP field, I share what seems to be the ubiquitous feeling of “blah.” Apart from Michele Bachmann, no one in the field appears to be serious about beating Obama, and the two guys getting the most love from the mainstream media, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, are destined to lose if they secure the Republican nomination. To be honest, just the fact that the mainstream media keeps them front and center should be warning enough for every lucid Republican. After all, this is the same way the media carried John McCain through the primaries in 2008:...

President Barack Obama's chief campaign strategist is dismissive of the Republicans who want his boss' job, saying they are eager to criticize the Democratic incumbent without offering substantive ways to help the country. David Axelrod says it's too early to start sizing up the competition, but he took on the emerging field of candidates when asked to assess the GOP' first major debate of the campaign season last Monday in New Hampshire. Republicans at that forum condemned Obama's handling of the economy and pledged to repeal his health care overhaul....

Last weekend, my dinner partner, a self-described "Theodore Roosevelt Republican, very disturbed and discouraged by the Tea Party movement," detailed for me the reasons Jon Huntsman Jr. could not win the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. "He is intelligent, attractive, has proven leadership credentials as a businessman and former governor, and would be best suited to take on Obama in a general election. So, of course, our party won't nominate him." Joking aside, rumors about the current U.S. ambassador to China (he is resigning that post effective April 31) and his future plans have the Washington chattering class buzzing. The entity...

Republicans must "be careful" before nominating a presidential candidate identified with the Tea Party movement, a veteran former senator said Friday evening. Former Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) warned his party against nominating a candidate too quickly after the early caucuses and primaries, urging the GOP to instead pursue someone with more national appeal. "If you're going to nominate a national candidate, don't make the mistake of assuming that those who attend the early caucuses and the early primaries speak for the nation as a whole," Bennett said on Fox News. "If you're going to have a national candidate, you'd better...

Does Mike Huckabee really hate Mitt Romney so much he'd run for president just for the chance to throw haymakers at his old rival? As a new poll shows the two Republicans running neck and neck against President Obama in the 2012 presidential race, the rivalry between Romney and Huckabee that began during the 2008 campaign resurfaced Monday when Politico published a story titled "Huckabee throws a Mitt fit." Click to enlarge Associated Press Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee From the archive News analysis: Analysis: Why Jon Huntsman Jr. may be running for president – Jan. 31, 2011 Huckabee: Israel...

Today's highlighted links of the LDS Church and its members in news coverage include Huffington Post-published predictions of a Mormon in the White House and the Book of Mormon on the New York Times' best-seller list within the next two years as well as a look at Utah Catholics anxious to share Temple Square with their out-of-state peers. HuffPo's "What Will Be The Top Religion Stories of 2012" offering leads off with two bold predictions regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "1. "2. The Book of Mormon will be on the New York Times Bestsellers list throughout...

LAYTON -- A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can become president of the United States of America, says Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush. "Absolutely," said Rove, who was in Layton on Thursday night for a stop-over to address a room full of fellow Republicans at the Davis Conference Center. While he was at it, Rove, who served as the keynote speaker for the Davis County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, autographed copies of his book. More than 400 people attended the event at a cost of $50 per person, which...

SALT LAKE CITY -- We're a few days past the official announcement that Jon Huntsman Jr. will resign the U.S. ambassadorship to China, presumably to run for the White House in 2012. At this point, prominent political commentators seem to be generally taking one of two positions: either that Huntsman made a very bad decision to run now, or that this is what he needs to do to set himself up to be a Republican frontrunner in 2016. Almost nobody in the blogosphere who isn't associated with Newsweek believes Huntsman has a legitimate shot at winning the 2012 presidential election....

Put Jon Huntsman Jr., the U.S. ambassador to China and former governor of Utah, on the shortlist of potentially strong GOP candidates for president or vice president in 2012. It is time for the Great Mentioner in American politics to mention Huntsman as a major rising star with a great political future. He is the kind of political leader most Americans seek, long on experience and achievement and far removed from the vicious attack politics most voters abhor. As the president speaks tonight, the state of the union is simple. Americans want more jobs in an economy that lifts all...

Jon Huntsman, the U.S. Ambassador to China and a former Republican Governor of Utah, has hinted he might run for President, Newsweek reported on Saturday. President Obama convinced Huntsman to resign his post as Utah Governor in 2009 to become the ambassador to China. At the time, there was some speculation that Huntsman, a moderate, could challenge Obama in the 2012 presidential race. David Plouffe, Obama's chief campaign manager in 2008, had even said Huntsman was the only candidate who made him "a wee bit queasy" in the 2012 election. According to The Huffington Post, "when Obama selected Huntsman for...

State Returns from SC (polls close at 7pm EST): http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/16213/28352/en/summary.html From NC (polls close at 730 EST) http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/17242/28326/en/summary.html For Utah (Polls Close 10pmEST) http://electionresults.utah.gov/xmlData/300010.html If anyone has better links, please share them. GO Haley, Scott, and Lee!

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, will endorse Tim Bridgewater, one of the candidates who ended his bid for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate. Bridgewater and Mike Lee defeated Bennett at the state Republican Party Convention last month and will face each other in the party's primary June 22. Bennett was originally expected to be in Utah Friday to make the announcement, but it has been rescheduled until Monday, sources told the Deseret News. Bridgewater, who was in Washington, D.C., earlier this week, stopped short Thursday of confirming he had secured Bennett's support. "I hope by Monday we have a...

To watch the live feed from the Utah Republican Convention, go to the url above. Senate Candidates are giving their statements now.

Unless Sen. Bob Bennett's political fortunes change dramatically in the next two weeks, he could become Utah's first incumbent U.S. senator to lose his party's nomination in seven decades. A new Salt Lake Tribune poll of Republican delegates shows Bennett running in third, behind GOP challengers Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater. Lee logged 37 percent support in the survey, while Bridgewater came in at 20 percent, and Bennett lagged at 16 percent. The survey of 400 Republican delegates, with a 4.4 percent margin of error, was conducted April 22-25 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C. It comes...

Sen. Bob Bennett's re-election bid could be in serious trouble, based on reports of widespread opposition to the incumbent at Tuesday's Republican caucuses. While not definitive, interviews with a dozen caucus-goers around the state reflected a familiar theme: Support was not coalescing behind any Bennett challenger, but there was a strong "anybody-but-Bennett" sentiment.

While we’re all focusing on picking Charlie Crist off in the Florida Senate Primary, I think if conservatives really want to send the GOP establishment a message, target number one a high priority should actually be Bob Bennett of Utah. Just to clarify for those of you freaking out that I said target number one should be Bennett: the Bennett race happens before the Florida race. That said, we should be targeting more than just Florida. Bennett is worth picking off because he is an incumbent troublemaker. Granted, it was a poor choice of words on my part, but I...

On the state Capitol steps, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff today announced that he will run for the U.S. Senate to help salvage our "blessed but troubled nation" from the slide toward "socialism." "The winds of change, they are a-blowing," Shurtleff said in prepared remark. "Not the bigger government, corporate welfare, radical liberal nannyism type of change promised and now being implemented by [President Barack] Obama. But, starting today, we the people of Utah, we the people of the United States, are taking back America!" In a fiery speech filled with red-meat rhetoric used by talk-show hosts like Glenn Beck, whom...

President Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, said that Governor Huntsman makes him a "wee bit queasy.” He is referring to Huntsman supposedly being a legitimate challenger to President Obama in 2012/2016. After Plouffe’s comment Huntsman got a lot of media play, which has intensified with him being picked as the new ambassador to China. The Democrats know exactly what they are doing placing a moderate-squishy Republican in the limelight. I guess the Dems apparent fear is supposed to make us start screaming to have Huntsman as the Republican nominee in 2012. They media think the message from his ambassadorship is...

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who has been open about his interest in challenging Sen. Bob Bennett in the GOP primary next year, said Thursday afternoon that an announcement about his 2010 plans will come on May 20 at a press conference in Salt Lake City. Shurtleff told a local Utah television station last week that he wants to run for Senate, but that his wife has asked him for time to talk him out of making the race. On Thursday, as he was preparing to leave on a trade mission to Israel with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Shurtleff said...

- As he nears a final decision, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is giving "prayerful consideration" to running for the U.S. Senate. In an exclusive interview with ABC 4, Shurtleff says he will make a decision about challenging Bob Bennett by the end of next week. In a very candid interview Wednesday, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told us he wants to run for senator. But his wife is a different story. Mark Shurtleff told us, "She asked for a month to talk me out of it." Shurtleff's wife, according to the attorney general, has concerns about things like: “...having to commute,...

Illegal dishsoap and detergent, Legalized recreational marijuana. IN GOD WE TRUST no longer on the quarters. Things that are happening now, like taxes NOT EQUAL. This is why our founding fathers left, and came and created the UNITED STATES, and the bill of rights, and the constitution. So we ARE FREE, TO live and worship accordingly. Our Government is in WAY more than they should be. They want in even more, to tell us how to live, what to drive. We are not under a ruler or a GOD (the Government)We have a God and we will continue to worship...

Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) is not entangled in scandal, he’s never shown a hint of vulnerability and there’s no Democrat on the horizon who’s poised to knock him out of his Senate seat. Nevertheless, he could be in jeopardy in 2010. Bennett’s problem is the Republican primary. State Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who won election to a third term in November with 70 percent of the vote, told POLITICO in an interview that he’s leaning toward challenging Bennett and may make an announcement as soon as this week. Many Utah Republican insiders say they expect Shurtleff to take the plunge...

Believe it or not, some Utahns are already looking at races for 2010. Perhaps the most prominent is GOP Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who says he's considering running against Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, next year. This would be a "free" race for Shurtleff, since he won re-election last November to a third four-year term. Shurtleff could run against Bennett, and if the attorney general lost that Republican Party challenge, he would still be in office for two more years. Shurtleff says he'll decide soon whether or not to challenge Bennett — who has already announced he's running again. I'm...

The faces of the new republican party that will put our country back on track are found to be on the likeness of Congressman Chaffetz and Andy G

Click photo to enlargeJason Chaffetz (Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune)«12»An anonymous Web site attacking 3rd District challenger Jason Chaffetz, accusing him of malicious lies and campaign law violations, was run by a staffer on Rep. Chris Cannon's campaign payroll. Cannon's campaign says they had no idea that the young man they hired to put up lawn signs was also running the Web site. "There is absolutely no connection between that Web site and the fact that he was paid by us," said Cannon spokesman Joe Hunter. The site, thetruthaboutjason.com, was taken down this week after inquiries from The Salt Lake...

Former homebuilder Bill Dew, a Republican, announced Monday that he will challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson in the 2nd Congressional District. Matheson, a four-term Democrat, represents a district that covers the southeast part of Salt Lake County, a small northeastern part of Utah County, and, in a horseshoe-shaped area, eastern, southeastern and southwestern Utah. This is Dew's first run for elective office. A millionaire through his homebuilding business, Dewbury Homes, Dew said he is willing to "spend substantial" amounts of his own money in the race. He declined to give a number. Matheson has been challenged by wealthy Republicans before....

One of the big stories in the Republican presidential race last week was a series of controversial survey calls in Iowa and New Hampshire that asked respondents some pointed questions about Mitt Romney. Specifically, voters in the first two Republican contests received calls with negative messages about the former governor’s religion, his Vietnam-era military deferments, his sons’ lack of military service, and the notion that Mormons believe the Book of Mormon is superior to the Bible. The question, of course, was who was responsible for the calls. For one thing, they may have been illegal — as the Union Leader...

Illegal immigration was the core issue at the Utah Republican Convention on Saturday that hurled 10-year veteran Congressman Chris Cannon into a June primary election with political novice John Jacob. "Immigration is huge with the delegates," Jacob said after a runoff ballot gave him 52 percent of the vote to Cannon's 48 percent. "Chris Cannon tells them, 'I'm tough on illegal immigration - look at my record.' Well, his record does not show that." Americans want a change, said Jacob, an Eagle Mountain business owner. But they don't want Democrats. "These delegates sent a message to Washington, D.C., that we...

The list of potential challengers includes Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s chief of staff, Jason Chaffetz; state Rep. LaVar Christensen of Draper, and Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard. KSL radio talk show host Doug Wright also isn't ruling out a bid.

You guys should check this group out. I met one of their members out in Ohio working with a congressional candidate. They knew what they were doing and I was impressed but i didn't realize that Alex had his own team until yesterday. I looked at their website its got some really solid ideas in terms of strategy. Check it out: http://www.vandenberg-strategies.com

The reality is that Urquhart is very seriously considering the prospect of challenging Sen. Orrin Hatch for the GOP Senate nomination. If Urquhart pulls the trigger, this would be the most serious intra-party challenge of a big-time incumbent in many years.

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Gannett Fails One-Newspaper Communities/Counties- Port Huron Times Herald a Queue for Government Intervention? In particular, with today’s concentration of all reporting medium with just a few companies- who determines the void or lack of reporting in the best interest to citizens. I’ve challenged a Gannett newspaper, the Times Herald of Port Huron Michigan of its obligation citizens in one-newspaper counties. There appears to be an immediate need to make certain legislation be brought requiring corporate newspapers to better report news and serving the communities they cover. At a crucial time with the 2004 Primary literally days away- this particular newspaper,...

The poll of 600 likely Republican voters in St. Clair County Michigan’s State Representative District 81 countywide found Alloway leading Pavlov by 12 points, 48 percent to 40 percent in a three-way race with Yale Republican Steve Pray Nader included in the ballot test.

“A Michigan Impossible until we work together ending illegal state house electioneering practices” Joe Alloway-R Michigan House District 81 St. Clair County Michigan PORT HURON – JULY 11, 2004 - Please listen to a recent interview (http://66.92.134.175/~benburch/old/TrupianoShow-(10-5-2004).mp3) exposing Michigan’s #1 area to reform and that’s ending illegal activities in Michigan’s House Republican Caucus Communications Office! Very few citizens asked have no idea of what that word means. Folks, the bottom line is we’ve had some major problems in this antiquated, 50-person staffed office and they’re just coming public. Take recent revelations of state employees assigned to representatives as campaign managers...

I just got back last week from driving across the country, I live in Washington State and drove to PA in see my wifes family and took I-80 and I-90 back home. With my Bush/Cheney sticker from 2000 in my back window along with my W-04 sticker I got a aproviel rating of about 75% judging from the honks and thumbs ups from fellow drivers. Funny how I got the 1 finger salute from the folks with the Kerry stickers. My question to you is do you vent your hate and anger at fellow drivers on the road with a...

Congressman Chris Cannon has closer-than-expected primary, Jon Huntsman easily nominated for Governor.

Last night, I was told that a report was recently published by some DC think-tank. This report ranked members of congress in order of taxpayer-friendliness, i.e. it examined their votes on tax-related bills and determined where any particular member of congress came in on higher or lower taxes for their constituents. The same person who told me about the report told me that a whopping 75% of house and senate members from my state were in the top 20 LEAST friendly to taxpayers in their voting records. Have any of you heard of this report? Can you point me to...

Are you a registered voter?? Do you know anyone who needs to register?? Check this out: http://www.ConservativeAlerts.com/vote.htm Ultra liberal "MoveOn" is attempting to register 100,000 new left wing voters. WE need to register 200,000 new conservative voters!! Just click on the above link, click on your State, fill in the necessary information, print it out, and mail it in!! It's a simple as that!! As you all know, this will be the most important election in our lifetime. Our future depends on it, and the future of our children depends on it. It is an election we MUST win!! DO...

I've seen the senate races heating up, but not nearly as much on the house seats. I'm mostly using information from DC POLITICAL REPORT and POLITICS1. STATES Alabama DISTRICT 3 - The other Mike Rogers (R) won in 02 with 50.3% over Democrat Joe Turnham(48.2%) in an open seat. So far, it looks as he is facing Democrat Bill Fuller, Ex-State Human Resources Commissioner. I haven't heard much about this race, but the first defense is hardest. Alaska SENATE - Lisa Murkowski(R) vs Ex governor Tony Knowles. This will be a tough race as Knowles is an ex-governor and Murkowski...

Journalists, political pundits and other Hysteric Left activists are desperately trying to spin some cosmic significance out of Sunday's Spanish elections. The "conventional wisdom" is that the Spanish Election results are some sort of significant defeat for President Bush and the War on Terror. As usual the "News Media's" thinking is neither conventional nor wise. What all the various activists miss is the reality of American Exceptionalism. As much as the International Political Left hates, and try's to deny, the reality is the USA operates on a completely different political level then the rest of the world. On Sunday, the...

The reason for my apology was that throughout this primary season we have been hearing about the record turnout of voters participating in Democrat caucuses and primaries. I bought the lie. The truth is that, except for Iowa and New Hampshire, there has not been any sort of record turnout for the Democrats. Even in New Hampshire the vote was far less than what the Republicans had when they last had a contested primary in 2000. The Democrats this year had 219,787 votes in their primary. The GOP in 2000 had 239,523 votes. That 20,000 difference is major in a...