Free Republic

"Newt Gingrich is a bad bet because he will embarrass the Republican party. He will do so through things he has already said and done, and in ways we cannot predict except to be sure — because character will out — that they will happen." Mona Charen today in NRO. Since we are writing for seasoned conservatives and their center-right sympathizers, those who value our common civilization and take pleasure in our common language, let us stipulate up front that we find former Speaker Newt Gingrich both articulate and often instructive on emerging issues, for example, the threat of an...

The spectacular rise of Herman Cain over the last fortnight has cheered conservatives and caused no small amount of angst among establishment Republicans who worry that the former Godfather’s pizza executive can’t beat President Obama in the general election. But those fears may be bogus. A recent Rasmussen poll shows Herman Cain beating Obama in a head-to-head match-up 43-41%, the only GOP candidate who beats the president one-on-one in recent Rasmussen surveys. But there are many conservatives who worry that Cain may not be ready for the big time, and that his inexperience in national politics will hinder his campaign...

The drumbeat has begun by the establishment to prematurely anoint their preferred candidate One of the reasons the Republican Party enjoys any popularity at all is because it is as comfortable as an old shoe: predictable, safe, conservative, and welcoming of those Americans who believe in old-fashioned values like overt patriotism, nuclear families, faith in God, and American exceptionalism. It is not a party of revolutionaries (the Tea Party is more classically defined as a counter-revolution), boat rockers, non-conformists, renegades, or heretics. This usually makes choosing a presidential candidate a rather staid affair with polite but pointed scrums among the...

Romney is Obama-Lite. Take the simple pledge: I will not vote for Romney for any reason.

Bachman bests Paul. Pawlenty third. Romney fourth. Works for me!

(CNSNews.com) - A question about the constitutionality of the government requiring individuals to purchase health insurance put Mitt Romney on the defensive at the Republican debate in Ames, Iowa, Thursday night. The individual mandate is the cornerstone of President Obama’s health care program as well as that imposed on Massachusetts under then-Gov. Mitt Romney. Chris Wallace asked Romney, "Do you believe the government has any right -- has the right to make someone buy a good or service just because they are a U.S. resident? Where do you find that authority...in the Constitution?” “Chris, you're asking me what do we...

Mitt Romney did a good job at Monday night’s Republican presidential debate. But not that good. The former Massachusetts governor used his previous presidential campaign experience to come across as polished and presidential in the debate. It helped that his opponents refused to go after him, preferring instead to play nice and criticize President Obama. It’s a lot easier to win a contest when the other side isn’t playing too hard. But Romney apparently let his good night go to his head. Like a smart candidate, Romney stayed in New Hampshire and did some retail campaigning on Tuesday. In the...

If Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination for president, Tea Party activists may not show up at all to vote in the general election, one leading group associated with the Tea Party movement is warning. “I think that’s a potential problem,” said Matt Kibbe, FreedomWorks’ president, during a wide-ranging interview with reporters at The Daily Caller. He also warned that if Republicans nominate another “John McCain,” activists might even vote third party in 2012. “I believe in redemption, but at some point, you sort of give up,” he said. “And we’ve given up on Mitt Romney.”

I’m not saying every tea partier is against Mitt Romney, but many prominent Tea Party groups are saying no to Romney for President. FreedomWorks, an influential Washington-based group working within the Tea Party movement, say they do not support Mitt Romney for President, because of his moderate record as governor. The group’s communications director said, it’s because “Romney has a record and we don’t really like it that much.” Brendan Steinhauser, the group’s liaison to smaller, grassroots organizations said, Romney is, “inauthentic.” They also have some beef with RomneyCare. Also, the Tea Party organization’s president and CEO Matt Kibbe was...

When the news reached the Press Gallery in the Capitol that Sarah Palin was going to be starting a bus tour in Washington, D.C. on Sunday - maybe an indication that she was about to get into the Presidential hunt - you could feel a bit more excitement creeping into the 2012 race for the White House. And when word came later that Mitt Romney will make his bid official next week, the contours of the Republican nomination battle seemed to be getting clearer and clearer by the minute. "This Sunday, May 29th, Governor Palin and the SarahPAC team will...

To the casual observer, it may seem early to be sizing up the 2012 Republican presidential field. But despite the fact that only one hopeful has announced plans to run thus far - that would be former Godfather's Pizza CEO and relative unknown Herman Cain - likely candidates have been working feverishly behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for a credible run at the GOP nomination. They've been lining up staff, speaking to key constituencies in early voting states like Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire, raising their profile through media appearances, and building the fundraising networks crucial to...

Don't blame the Democrats for the defeat of Christine O'Doneell and Sharon Angle. The RINOs have worked hard and worked WITH the Dims to make sure that the Tea Party candidates would not win. In Delaware, it was Karl Rove who opposed O'Donnell. In Nevada, it was a state level RINO who supported the Democrat. In Alaska, RINOs have done everything to prevent Joe Miller from winning. You can be sure that Ken Buck must have been done in by RINOs like Karl Rove. A suggestion to hit back at them - deny RINOs the right to post on FR....

Soon the Republican party will have no choice but to make Mitt Romney its leader. We've seen a suspiciously steady trickle of losers quietly exiting the ranks of 2012 hopefuls -- Bobby Jindal with his disastrous State of the Union rebuttal; John Ensign and Mark Sanford with their affairs; and most recently, Sarah Palin's bizarre resignation from the Alaska governorship. The only candidates left are Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty and Romney. If history is any guide, we should expect some foul disclosure out of the Huckabee camp any day now. You just can't get away with saying something like this...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are most interested in seeing Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee run for the party's presidential nomination in 2012. Those three received the highest scores among the 10 possible candidates evaluated in a recent Gallup Panel survey.

I realize everything can change fast in Iowa and New Hampshire, and some are rightly skeptical about the value of polling in a caucus state. I also recognize that some pollsters' methods of figuring out who's a "likely voter" are better than others. But if I were a Romney guy, I'd be pretty pleased about the trends in those two primary states. Romney's had a lead in the Hawkeye state for a while, but that lead seems to be growing, across several pollsters. Romney is up 16 on his nearest competitor (Huckabee) in Zogby, up 8 on his nearest competitor...