Free Republic

It is the most spectacular trial ever held in Vietnam, befitting one of the greatest bank frauds the world has ever seen. Behind the stately yellow portico of the colonial-era courthouse in Ho Chi Minh City, a 67-year-old property developer stands accused of looting one of Vietnam's largest banks over a period of 11 years. The numbers involved are dizzying. Truong My Lan is charged with taking out $44bn (£35bn) in loans from the Saigon Commercial Bank. Prosecutors say $27bn may never be recovered. The habitually secretive communist authorities have been uncharacteristically forthright about this case, going into minute detail...

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s political advocacy group plans to invest $20 million this year to shape the conservative agenda, an effort to directly counter what Pence had previously described as populism “unmoored to conservative principles.”

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan in an interview Wednesday with the Washington Post bashed former President Donald Trump and “Trump populism,” lamenting that it was now the “establishment.” He said:I am in the minority my party right now. I’m not in the establishment. I’m frankly an anti-establishment Republican. And you, I think you can safely argue — I don’t enjoy acknowledging this — that Trump is the establishment and Trump populism is the establishment and that Trump populism is this more isolationist strain that I think is wrong and dangerous and I don’t support, but that does represent a large...

The European Union is scared -as it should be.The Globalist superstructure of the EU is at odds with the majority of the continent’s population, which is becoming increasingly Conservative and lending its support to populist and nationalist parties. (snip) So Brussels is scared. Unelected EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, I fear mongering in the MSM, warning that parliamentary elections in June voters will flock to rightwing populist parties.While fear mongering, Borrel, in a wonderful case of projection, blames the European shift right on ‘fear’ – and not in the very real widespread rejection of EU’s failed leftist policies.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has claimed populism is a pathway to “defeat for the Republican Party.” Former President Donald Trump, the current 2024 GOP frontrunner, is known for his populist positions, which brought him support from many disenfranchised leftists and independents. Pence made the comments during a Wednesday appearance on “America’s Newsroom” on Fox News. “Well, look, you look at this Republican field, whether it’s my former running mate or some of his imitators, and there is a push in this Republican primary to to move us away from our party’s historic commitment to American leadership on the world...

Former Vice President Mike Pence cast the 2024 election as a fight for the future of conservatism and called on fellow Republicans to reject the “siren song of populism” championed by former President Donald Trump and his followers. “Should the new populism of the right seize and guide our party, the Republican Party we’ve long known will cease to exist and the fate of American freedom would be in doubt,” Pence said in what his campaign plugged as a major speech at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College Wednesday afternoon. […] Pence linked the right’s populism...

Former Vice President Mike Pence reiterated his call on Republicans to resist what he called the “siren song of populism” during the 2024 presidential race, signaling that it will be his theme throughout his rumored run.Pence issued his plea when speaking during Republican Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser in Des Moines, Iowa.“I believe we have to resist the politics of personality and the siren song of populism unmoored to timeless conservative principles, and we need to stand firm on the conservative agenda of life and liberty and a commitment to freedom that has always led us to...

America may soon face one of two kinds of left-wing authoritarianism. One is the soft despotism of liberal technocracy. This authoritarianism wouldn’t overthrow the present structures of our society or upend the economy. In fact, it would have the support of the regime’s major institutions. It would seriously curb civil liberties, such as free speech and gun rights, and feel much less democratic. More people would be arrested over memes, but much would remain the same. Political life in America would look more like contemporary Western Europe. The other is a radical populism in the mold of Hugo Chavez, the...

GOP mega-donor Ken Griffin said it is time for the Republican Party to move on from former President Donald Trump and look toward a new party leader. Griffin said in an interview with Politico that he supported the Trump administration's fiscal policies, but that he believes the party should gravitate toward other GOP stars. "He did a lot of things really well and missed the mark on some important areas," Griffin said. "And for a litany of reasons, I think it's time to move on to the next generation."

Billionaire Citadel Investment hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin (pictured above, center) is one of the top purchasers of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for a 2024 presidential bid. In a recent article for Politico, Mr. Griffin openly explains what he expects from his investment in DeSantis: WASHINGTON DC – […] He has given nearly $60 million to federal Republican candidates and campaigns this election cycle. That puts Griffin behind just liberal billionaire George Soros, who’s given more than $128 million to Democrats, and Richard Uihlein, who aligns himself with far-right candidates and organizations, at about $62 million. […] While he’s supporting...

This midterm year, in which many states have to choose between non-entities and the certifiably insane, Ohio is blessed by a real political dogfight. The Senate battle between representative Tim Ryan and Hillbilly Elegy author, JD Vance, is becoming one for the ages.

Hungary can no longer be considered a full democracy, the European parliament has said in a powerful symbolic vote against Viktor Orbán’s government. In a resolution backed by 81% of MEPs present to vote, the parliament stated that Hungary had become a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy”, citing a breakdown in democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law. ...

The likely Conservative leadership winner should ignore pleas to move to the centre Pierre Poilievre’s complete dominance of the Conservative party leadership race is undeniable no matter who your favoured candidate is. Should he win, as seems all but inevitable, Poilievre should ignore the advice of critics and pundits on the left, as well as some within his party, who argue he needs to moderate his message and policies. The Conservatives have tried that for the last two elections and it is a losing strategy. Instead, the party should embrace the chance to bring forth an agenda built around Poilievre’s...

Steve Cortes, a conservative news personality and past adviser to former President Donald Trump, was one of media’s first prominent voices to speak in favor of the “America First” movement. An advocate for what he describes as “economic nationalism” and “cultural conservatism,” Cortes actively supports the candidacies of individuals who subscribe to Trump’s rebranded style of Republican orthodoxy. Two of the most recent candidates Cortes has aligned himself with during the 2022 GOP primary election cycle are Arizona senatorial hopeful Blake Masters and Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate nominee J.D. Vance, both of whom hold the 45th president’s endorsement. Like Cortes,...

Nearly 2 out of 3 Americans questioned in a new poll said that the Supreme Court should uphold the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. The survey published Sunday found that 64 percent of respondents said the nation’s highest court should keep the decision the way it is, while 36 percent disagreed. Eighty-four percent of those who want Roe upheld said that overturning it would move the country in the wrong direction, and 82 percent said reversing it would be dangerous to women and for Americans’ rights.

Mark Levin: "If you believe in America first, from our Declaration to our Constitution to our founding principles, to our economic system, then you must reject American Marxism, nationalism, populism and all the other -isms… Reject these dangerous ideologies. That are incoherent but are destructive. This country has been through this before."

Fox News host Mark Levin explained what "America first" means to him, Sunday, by debunking the notion that our founders were "nationalists." The "Life, Liberty & Levin" host said how the word "nationalist" cannot be found in our founding documents because the founders and framers "believed in Americanism," guided by "natural law and rights," not nationalism" or "populism." "The Tenth Amendment rejects nationalism. It’s federalism. Talks about state sovereignty. Why do we have a Ninth Amendment? Have you read that one lately? It talks about individual liberty, it is in my view, a reflection of the Declaration. They put it...

President Donald Trump took a lot of heat from the mainstream, business and free-market Republicans for implementing tariffs against China and other countries. The common criticism was that it was a populist, anti-free market move. They pointed to it as evidence that he is a populist, not a conservative (I recently addressed the differences between populists and conservatives, showing the accusation to be a red herring). The MSM jumped on it even more, declaring — as if they are the authority — that Trump was going against Republicans. Was he? Look at history. The Founding Fathers imposed tariffs. The first...

Under President Donald Trump, many conservatives started calling themselves populists. The term hasn’t been popular in significant numbers since the late Ross Perot ran unsuccessfully for president as a third party candidate in 1992. He was no conservative, falling somewhere between the left and the right on the spectrum. So what is this all about, some conservatives taking the term for themselves? Just like Perot, there are elements of populism that overlap with conservatism, and elements that tilt more to the left. It sounds great; power to the people, not ruled by the elites. Trump railed against the deep state,...

Pushing back on recent pro-worker populism on the Right, the American Enterprise Institute's Michael Strain writes that "workers need a growth-and-participation agenda." The addition of the word "participation" to traditional pro-growth ideas is especially important today. Millions of pages of study and commentary have rightly made the case that economic growth lifts all boats. But while necessary, economic growth without the removal of existing government barriers to work and entrepreneurship won't be sufficient. It can't cure the participation crisis that traps many workers and lower-income Americans. In addition to the money we make through our jobs, most of us find...