Free Republic

John McCain could officially wrap up the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday, and he'll celebrate in Atlanta on Thursday. As the GOP establishment in Georgia begins to align behind the presumptive nominee, trouble still lingers among some conservative voters who doubt McCain's bona fides. Those skeptical voters ultimately could determine McCain's fate. Do they stay home? Do they vote Democrat instead? Tom Nesbitt is not sure what he's going to do. A retired postal worker from Turner County, the 66-year-old Republican voter said he's "disgusted" with his party in general and McCain in particular. "I have not yet decided whether I...

Immigration Moves Eyed; House Democrats Ponder an Election-Year Bill Steven T. Dennis, ROLL CALL STAFF House Democrats are crafting scaled-down immigration reform legislation despite the political minefields that surround the issue, with Hispanic Members seeking five-year visas for illegal immigrants who pay fines and pass criminal background checks. Immigration reform had been left for dead after last year's Senate train wreck, but pressures for at least stopgap immigration legislation have bubbled up within the Democratic Caucus. It's unclear if the behind-the-scenes discussions will actually result in a bill coming to the floor, but Democrats say drafts of legislation already have...

You don’t even know him. But you rage against him like he’s the neighbor who has his illegal lawn guy use a leaf blower to blast all his trash into your yard. You think you can feel your blood boiling when you hear him talk. You use words like “traitor, liar, egomaniac…” But you don’t even know him. Such passion can be rechanneled, if you allow yourself take a second look. Sure I had some biting nicknames for him. I had all kinds of complaints against him. He’s still wrong about some things. But when it started to dawn on...

WASHINGTON — The continuing drama of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination should not diminish what John McCain has accomplished on the Republican side of this campaign. The senator from Arizona still has to finish off the challenges from Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, but after Tuesday's victories in such key states as California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Missouri, and a commanding lead in delegates, the question is when, not if, he will secure the nomination. What is more, he has emerged — despite all the negatives of the George Bush legacy — as a serious possibility...

Have GOP Voters forgotten that just a few months ago, John McCain stood hand-in-hand with liberal icon Ted Kennedy pushing for the largest amnesty for illegal aliens in American history? While Rasmussen polling showed that Americans following the legislation very closely opposed it 3 to 1 (69% to 23%), McCain ignored the massive public outcry! The angry calls rolling into the Senate offices, including John McCain's, were between 50 and 100 to 1 against McCain and Kennedy's bill. We know this because we stood outside his door counting calls received by his staff and because other Senators told us the...

Following his wins in the South Carolina and Florida Republican primaries, Arizona Sen. John McCain has become the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination. He has spent the last year attempting to convince the conservative base of the Republican Party that he is one of them -- but his record in the Senate shows otherwise. Most voters know about his anti-free speech McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform. His temper is legendary, and his mistreatment of conservatives and fellow Republicans has earned him accolades from the liberal media who lovingly refer to him as a “maverick.” And he suffered a blow to...

McCain is loathesome. And, it's not just fellow Republicans who despise him. But, if the hard core GOPers want to hate their front runner, who are we to stop them: But Sen. McCain still confronts a problem both in the remainder of the nomination race, and, if he wins, in the fall: He is simply loathed by many fellow Republicans, often for the very bipartisanship and maverick streak that attracts independents. His biggest, and perhaps final, test comes Tuesday, when 21 states hold contests -- most of them open only to Republican voters. "So it is over. Finished. In November,...