Free Republic

Former VP rejects tribal politics. The president embraces it ANALYSIS | Two very different speeches by two very different politicians Thursday — made 1,600 miles apart — provide a possible preview of the next presidential campaign. Former Vice President Joe Biden, a potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, went first by feting his longtime friend Sen. John McCain at a memorial service for the late Arizona Republican in Phoenix. Biden spoke about “values, fairness, honesty, dignity, respect,” and McCain’s belief in “giving hate no safe harbor.” Biden spent much of his eulogy lauding McCain’s willingness to work with Democrats and lamenting...

A shout-out from President Trump has given a boost to a long-shot hopeful in the New York Senate race. Republican Chele Farley has a decidedly uphill battle in her race against Democrat incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand. Polls conducted earlier this summer have Gillibrand, running for her second full term in the Senate, ahead of Farley by an average of 29 points. So Farley was pleased when Trump called out her name at a Utica fundraiser earlier this month. "I want to thank Shell Farley," Trump said. "Good luck.” “It was unexpected," Farley said. "But I was very happy that he talked...

An Illinois candidate for congress is facing backlash after comparing President Donald Trump to al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden in a recording that was posted to an online news outlet. Sean Casten, who is running for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District, made the comments during the primary in February. The audio was posted on the Washington Free Beacon’s website on Thursday. In the audio clip, Casten can be heard saying, “I don’t mean to sound overly hyperbolic in this. Trump and Osama bin Laden have a tremendous amount in common because they both figured out how to use the bully pulpit...

Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that President Donald Trump called him after he delivered an emotional farewell to Sen. John McCain on the Senate floor, telling the South Carolina Republican he "did right by his friend." "He called yesterday after my speech and he couldn't have been nicer. He said, 'That was very sad. I just want to let you know you did right by your friend.' I said, Thank you Mr. President.'" Graham told CNN's Dana Bash in an interview on "Inside Politics" Wednesday, adding that the call from the President was "right out of the blue." Never one...

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) condemned President Trump’s warning of possible violence if the Democrats take back the House in the fall, calling it “fascism in the flesh.” “This is fascism in the flesh. This is the language of a fanatic that could be lifted from a tyrant’s playbook,” Pascrell tweeted Wednesday. “This is not a warning but an incitement. Unless we stand united against it." (TWEET-AT-LINK) The president told evangelical leaders Monday that Democrats will “violently” overturn Republican gains if they win back the lower chamber. “They will overturn everything that we've done and they'll do it quickly and violently,...

During an appearance on MSNBC Monday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) urged fellow Democrat lawmakers to make efforts to impeach President Donald Trump a central issue. A partial transcript follows: DAVID GURA: You’ve had a couple of days to consider what happened on Tuesday of this week, just to pivot to another subject here. That being what happened in a federal courtroom outside of Washington, D.C. in Alexandria, what happened in New York, as well. Michael Cohen plead guilty to some campaign finance violations, among other things. I want to read a little bit from your statement you issued after those...

Carter also said an additional statement Trump issued under fire is “still not as enthusiastic as it should be.” Jimmy Carter remains unimpressed with President Donald Trump’s belated effort to take note of and honor the late Sen. John McCain’s service to the U.S. In fact, the 93-year-old former president characterized it as “at best adequate.” Carter spoke with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday about Trump’s responses after McCain ― who endured torture as a POW during the Vietnam war, served more than 45 years in Congress and was the 2008 GOP presidential nominee ― died at his home in...

If you’re confused by President Trump’s reluctance to celebrate the life of Sen. John McCain, it’s because Trump knows something you don’t: his base. The Red Hats And Talk Radio wing of American politics has long had a problematic relationship with the Arizona senator. And by “problematic,” I mean, they hated his guts. For years, McCain was the poster child of the kind of Republicanism they loathed, the kind of Republicanism that eventually led many of these voters to turn to Trump in the first place. And if he were still with us, McCain would say “You’re damn right.” New...

Pastor Robert Jeffress said on Monday night that evangelical supporters of President Trump don’t support his alleged “extramarital affairs” but do support his “excellent policies.” “I know a lot of people are still perplexed- why are Christians so supportive of Donald Trump?” Jeffress said during an appearance on Fox News. “Well, it’s really not that hard to figure out when you realize he is the most pro-life, pro-religious liberty, pro-conservative judiciary in history and that includes either Bush or Ronald Reagan.” The pro-Trump pastor went on to say that is why he believes so many evangelicals remain committed to the...

Shadowed by the death of six-term Sen. John McCain, Arizona voters are nominating candidates to replace his seat-mate in a primary contest that lays bare the fissures in a Republican Party dramatically remade by President Donald Trump. Three Republicans are vying Tuesday to replace Sen. Jeff Flake, who is retiring after his fierce criticism of Trump made his political future in the state untenable. All three, including establishment favorite Rep. Martha McSally, have embraced Trump and distanced themselves from McCain — a sign of how far the late senator’s status had fallen with conservatives who dominate Arizona’s GOP primaries. The...

Georgia Democrats hope that President Donald Trump helps fuel a blue wave that will surge over Republicans on the November ballot. But that doesn't mean they're putting him at the center of their election plans. For as much as state Democrats despise Trump -- and opinion polls consistently confirm they do -- he's been largely missing from campaign trail attacks. Stacey Abrams, the party's nominee for governor, studiously avoids mentioning the president as she stumps across the state. And many of the down-ticket candidates have followed her lead, instead focusing on their policies -- or their GOP opponents' stances. At...

(Senator Flake talked to Chuck Todd on McCain on his Sunday talk show round, saying McCain was the 'voice for civility' and especially needed in Trump era, link here) When asked if he supports a candidate in the primary in Arizona for his seat, Flake said, “I wish them well.” On his endorsement, he added, “Nobody would be asking for a Republican primary, I can tell you that. This is very much — you know, I am not happy about it, but this is the president’s party right now. I think that we’ll be sorry for that in the future,...

During Sunday’s “The Cats Roundtable” on New York AM 970 radio, pollster and political analyst Pat Caddell weighed in on the 2018 midterm elections and said it was pretty obvious Democrats would “make an effort to impeach” President Donald Trump if they took the House. “I’m not sure this is an ordinary midterm, any more than 2016 was an ordinary presidential election. I believe we have yet to see this election engaged,” Caddell told host John Catsimatidis. “And it should be a national election. It will be nationalized. One of the issues is going to be impeachment. I don’t think...

After a week that saw President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman convicted on eight counts of fraud and his former lawyer plead guilty to felony campaign finance charges, the president's job approval rating remains virtually unchanged, new polling from NBC News and The Wall Street Journal shows. But the stability in Trump's approval rating also comes as more than half of voters say he has not been honest and truthful regarding the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. And fewer than three-in-ten voters are convinced that Trump himself is not implicated in the wrongdoing of the six of his...

Legendary coach Vince Lombardi was famous for his four-minute homilies. He would conclude team meetings with a story or analogy that would illustrate a point that he wanted his players to remember. Some of his remarks have become the centerpiece of motivational quotes used in business ever since. Quality control experts particularly like Lombardi’s, “We will pursue perfection and we will chase it relentlessly. Knowing all the while that we can never achieve it. But in the process, we will find excellence.” One of his sermons was so memorable that many of those teammates can recite it almost word for...

In the rush and fervor to impeach President Donald Trump, Democrats should look over their collective shoulder. One might reconcile with the devil they know instead of the devil they do not. What happens if Trump is impeached and removed from office? An even more aggressive conservative is waiting the wings who will make President Trump seem like a panty-waisted beginner. Vice-President Pence will assume office for the remaining term and then elected for a subsequent term. Untold conservatives voted for Trump hoping Mike Pence would eventually take the reins. America knew Donald Trump. Was there any doubt of his...

My variation on Selena Zito: Right now the value of Trump to the Trump voter is he is all that stands between them and the people who hate them every bit as much as they hate Trump. The Manhattan (NY County) District Attorney’s office is investigating the Trump Organization for possible criminal violations. The current NY Attorney General Barbara Underwood, holding the spot temporarily after her anti-Trump predecessor Eric Schneiderman resigned in disgrace, is going after the Trump Foundation. Democrat candidates for Attorney General are trying to outdo each other with promises that they will be the most aggressive in...

American political leaders of both parties are paying tribute and offering prayers for ailing Arizona Sen. John McCain, but President Donald Trump has so far been silent. Neither the White House nor the president has yet spoken out after McCain's family announced Friday that the former prisoner of war and longtime public servant would no longer seek medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are praising McCain and offering prayers for his family, as is Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee....

President Donald Trump's actions during the campaign -- possible conspiracy to accept help from a foreign national and to violate campaign-finance laws in order to hide two alleged extramarital affairs -- as well as his actions once he became president (e.g. possible obstruction of justice, witness-tampering) are at issue for special counsel Robert Mueller and for Congress in the context of impeachment. For now, let's assume that Trump did nothing wrong during his presidency, that only his pre-election conduct is at issue. Most commentators have taken the view that Mueller cannot indict for criminal activity during Trump's presidency, although this...

Billionaire Tom Steyer is leading a multi-million dollar effort to remove Donald Trump from the presidency. He is also looking into pursuing the job himself – especially if Democrats do well in elections this fall. Steyer has said publicly that he's not ruling out a 2020 run for president. But behind the scenes, the former hedge fund chief is taking a more aggressive approach toward launching a campaign for the White House, sources told CNBC. According to interviews with six people close to Steyer, the Democratic mega donor has privately indicated he's preparing to make a decision about running. He...