Free Republic

Donald Trump's campaign started the month with a paltry $1.3 million in cash — a mere fraction of Hillary Clinton's $42.5 million war chest — putting the GOP frontrunner at a sharp disadvantage heading into the general election against Clinton's money machine. … And it's not just money — the filings revealed a campaign staff of less than 70, a number was dwarfed by Clinton's nearly 700 paid employees, and few of the campaign's expenses suggested work had begun to build out a more robust operation. All together, it's the most lopsided fundraising start to a presidential election in the...

Donald Trump’s announcement that he no longer stands by a pledge to support the GOP has thrown his hold on South Carolina’s 50 delegates in doubt. The Palmetto State was one of several that required candidates to pledge their loyalty to the party’s eventual nominee in order to secure a slot on the primary ballot. Though Trump won all of the state’s delegates in the Feb. 20 primary, anti-Trump forces are plotting to contest their binding to Trump because of his threat on the pledge Tuesday. The loyalty pledge is nothing new in South Carolina, where it has been required...

Chris Rock came out swinging in one of the best opening monologues in years and took on the diversity controversy from the get-go at the 88th Academy Awards. Last night also saw Brie Lawson win Best Actress, Leonardo DiCaprio snag Best Actor in his fifth nomination, Alejandro G. Iñárritu was named Best Director and Spotlight won Best Picture. With all that, the Oscars themselves had a not such a great night with a 23.1/37 in metered market results. That’s down 6% from the 24.6/39 that the ceremony got last year in early results from the 56 markets across the country....

A woman in a car with its windows down screamed "Allahu Akbar" as she ran up onto the sidewalk and ran-over upwards of 40 people in Las Vegas last night. According to one eye witness "As we were walking accross the street, this car comes flying through the red light. She ran up on the sidewalk and smashed into a group of people walking accross the street and into the group of people at the corner. She did not slow down and appeared to accelerate as she hit the sidewalk." According to that witness. there is a huge row of...

In one Facebook post, Pierson attacks the philosophies of economist Adam Smith who through his invisible hand theory pushed the notion that the free market was self-regulating. In another post, he describes himself as "Keynesian." "...I was wondering to all the neoclassicals and neoliberals, why isn't the market correcting itself?" he wrote. "If the invisible hand is so strong, shouldn't it be able to overpower regulations?" Pierson also appears to mock Republicans on another Facebook post, writing "you republicans are so cute" and posting an image that reads: "The Republican Party: Health Care: Let 'em Die, Climate Change: Let 'em...

Tucked within a release naming its new president and CEO, NPR announced today that it would seek to reduce its staff by 10 percent through a voluntary buyout plan. (The Washington-based organization employed 840 people in 2012.) NPR's board of directors just approved a budget for fiscal year 2014, which includes a deficit of $6.1 million, or 3.1 percent of its $178.1 million in revenue. The buyouts are intended to help plug the spending gap and, according to the release, will be offered "broadly across the organization." The board named Paul G. Haaga, Jr. as acting president and CEO effective...

West Virginia state Sen. Evan Jenkins announced Wednesday that he is switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party and will challenge longtime Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) in 2014. “West Virginia is under attack from Barack Obama and a Democratic Party that our parents and grandparents would not recognize,” Jenkins said. “I am proud to join the Republican Party in fighting Washington’s assault on our state, our freedoms, and our jobs.” Jenkins is the latest in a growing number of Democrats from Southern state legislatures to make the switch — with many of them coming in Louisiana and Mississippi,...

State Sen. Rick Ward III of Port Allen has formally announced he is switching political parties, the third state lawmaker to defect to the Republican Party in as many months. With his move, the GOP now holds a supermajority in the state senate. "Overall, I feel like the Democratic Party has left where I'm at," Ward said Tuesday. "I'm conservative. My voting record shows that." Ward added that "based on the feedback" he's had in his two years in the state senate that his district would be better represented by a Republican. "Based on the direction that both the national...

Abortion rights advocates have long maintained that abortion clinics are safe and that their procedures are no more invasive or dangerous than dental surgery or colonoscopies. Virginia recently passed regulations requiring abortion clinics to have wider hallways and doorways, expanded parking and entrance awnings. Supporters said the ­changes ensure the safety of women undergoing abortions. Opponents said the measure was a veiled attempt to shutter them. “NOVA Women’s Healthcare provided medical services to thousands of women,” Yarmosky said. “It was the largest abortion provider, but thousands of women also relied on them for birth control and other health care, and...

<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif.—A Republican has won a hotly contested state Senate contest in the southern San Joaquin Valley, with his top Democratic rival conceding Wednesday that the race will not go to a runoff.</p> <p>The special election victory by Hanford cherry farmer Andy Vidak will have no practical effect on the state Senate, where Democrats retain a supermajority, but serves as a psychological boost for the party after massive GOP losses in recent election cycles.</p>

A Republican will once again represent Peabody on Beacon Hill. That's the shocking outcome of Tuesday's special election in the 12th Essex District. There were three candidates vying for the seat left open by the death of Joyce Spiliotis last year. Republican Leah Cole, who is new to politics and was a longshot candidate until recently, scored a major upset and garnered 35 percent of the vote over 34 percent that went to Democrat Beverley Griffin Dunne and 31 percent for unenrolled candidate Dave Gravel. According to the City Clerk's office, total voter turnout was 20 percent or 5,351 out...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas legislators passed a law Monday requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, overriding Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of the bill, which he called an expensive solution to a non-existent problem. The Republican-led state House voted 52-45, largely along party lines, to complete an override that started in the GOP-controlled Senate on a 21-12 vote last week. Only a simple majority was needed in each chamber. "We are trying to protect the integrity of one of the most fundamental rights we have here in America," said state Rep. Stephen Meeks, a Republican...

ACKSON – Veteran Democratic state Sen. Nicky Browning of Pontotoc switched political parties Tuesday, giving Republicans a 32-20 super majority in the 52-member Senate. Browning, 61, represents Senate District 3, which covers Pontotoc, Union and parts of Calhoun counties, and is chairman of the Senate County Affairs Committee. He has been in the Senate since 1996. “Conservatives in Mississippi are working to build a bright future for our state, and it is wonderful to have Senator Browning join our effort,” Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. “I am very pleased to welcome him to the Republican Party.” Lt. Gov....

In a poignant signal of a fast-changing media landscape, The Boston Phoenix sent out a short and simple tweet Thursday afternoon: “Thank you Boston. Good night and good luck.” With that terse dispatch, the ground-breaking, Boston alternative weekly, which only six months ago reinvented itself from tabloid newspaper into glossy magazine, put a final punctuation mark on its announcement that its current issue, dated March 15, will be its last. Sister publications in Providence and Portland, Maine, will stay in business, but WFNX.com, the Phoenix Media/Communication Corp.’s online radio station, will not continue in its present form, its fate to...

For six years, legislator Lindsey Holmes has represented West Anchorage as a Democrat. But as of Saturday afternoon, she’s a Republican. The announcement that Holmes had switched parties came after a two-hour caucus meeting, where members of the House Majority hashed out what the change meant and occasionally tuned into the NFL playoffs. It was unexpected, and Holmes thinks she’ll get a wide range of responses from her district. “It’s going to come as a great surprise to some people,” Holmes said. “I think other people will not be as surprised. I think some people will have sort of seen...

Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, Speaker Philip Gunn, and a host of other Republican elected and party officials will welcome a new member to the ever growing GOP in Mississippi Tuesday. It appears that Freshman State Representative Jason White of House District 48 is set to announce that he is switching parties, pushing the Republican majority up to 65 in the Mississippi House of Representatives. House District 48 has long been primed to go red. If you will recall, the Democratic leadership under former Speaker Billy McCoy sought to eliminate HD 48 during redistricting back in 2011 because...

One of the more intriguing narratives for election 2012 was proposed by political scientist Brendan Nyhan fairly early on: that it was "Bizarro 2004." The parallels to that year certainly were eerie: An incumbent adored by his base but with middling approval ratings nationally faces off against an uncharismatic, wishy-washy official from Massachusetts. The race is tight during the summer until the president breaks open a significant lead after his convention. Then, after a tepid first debate for the incumbent, the contest tightens, bringing the opposition tantalizingly close to a win, but not quite close enough. The Election Day returns...

GRAND RAPIDS – Roy Schmidt’s filing deadline switch to the Republican party has been immediately embraced by GOP colleagues who credited the now-former Democrat from Grand Rapids with aligning for the people he represents and not a party platform. Schmidt, who served for 16 years on the nonpartisan Grand Rapids City Commission, said in a statement that his ideals and priorities remain the same. “I am a moderate dedicated as ever to representing the people of Grand Rapids, and will always fight for improving education, public safety and protecting children,” Schmidt said. He was not available for interviews on the...

On the heels of Countdown host Keith Olbermann‘s firing from Current TV, the network and sources close to it have been quick to buttress their case for the dismissal with details of the temperamental star’s antics. One such source tells Mediaite, among other things, that Olbermann went through 8 different car services (he doesn’t drive), and complained to the network that some of the drivers “smelled,” and “talked to him,” the latter detail echoing a leak that once dogged then-Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain. Earlier, Howard Kurtz tweeted that he was “Hearing allegation that Olbermann switched car co’s and vendors...

After three days of floor debate, the Pennsylvania House has passed a bill requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls. Governor Tom Corbett signed the bill into law Wednesday night. Opponents call it a "poll tax," while supporters insist it's "common sense." Counties are being told about the upcoming changes, according to Ron Ruman, a spokesman for the Department of State. For the April 24 primary election, poll workers are supposed to request, but not require, that voters show photo identification. "And then we're asking that the poll worker hand that voter a small sheet of paper which...