Free Republic

Beto O’Rourke fell agonizingly short of becoming the first Democrat in a quarter of a century to win a statewide race in Texas but he may yet get a shot at an even bigger prize. O’Rourke, who was projected to lose to Republican incumbent Ted Cruz on Tuesday, had vowed that he would serve out his full six-year term in the Senate if victorious and would not run for president in 2020. But a defeat frees him of those obligations. And given how close he got to unseating a Republican in the ruby-ed Lone Star State, he is sure to...

He did astoundingly well for a Texas Democrat. He’s already got a national profile. He’s proved he can raise a ton of money without indebting himself to corporations. His Uplifting Articulate Guy persona presents a clear alternative to Trumpism without coming across as scolding or patronizing. While he lost his Senate race, he has experience in Congress, but not so much experience that past votes will haunt him. He’s shown a rare willingness to answer tough questions. And as the clip above indicates, he has the charisma to make a live-TV F-word somehow come across as endearing and wholesome. Beto...

After Pharrell, Rihanna has objected to US President Donald Trump using her music at his campaign rallies ahead of the midterms. The singer took to Twitter to protest after she learnt that her hit track "Don't Stop the Music" was reportedly played at a campaign rally Sunday for Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Rihanna was tipped off by Washington Post White House bureau chief Philip Rucker. "(Neither) me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies. Thanks for the heads up Philip (sic)!" she tweeted her reply to Rucker. The development...

Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City who is considering a 2020 presidential campaign, took another step closer to that possibility Sunday with a $5 million national advertising effort that encourages voters to support Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections — and offers Bloomberg’s centrist politics as a counter to President Trump. Bloomberg’s two-minute television ad, which features him speaking directly to the camera and standing before an American flag, first aired Sunday during CBS’s “60 Minutes.” It will air again Monday during the evening news programs on broadcast networks and on MSNBC and CNN. Bloomberg, 76, portrays...

It seems like only yesterday that I was writing about New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and her surprising pledge (during a debate) to serve her full, six-year term if re-elected nine days from now. (Okay… it was only yesterday.) The claim effectively removed her from contention for the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. At the time, I noted that “stories about politicians lying or going back on their word later rank right up there with dog-bites-man reports,” before going on to speculate that she might not have had that great of a shot at the nomination anyway.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand vowed to serve her full six-year term if she wins reelection in November, meaning she would not to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020. She has been mentioned a possible presidential contender, given her strength as a fundraiser and prominent perch in the Senate as a female lawmaker who represents an influential state. 'I will serve my six-year term,' Gillibrand said when asked about a presidential bid during a debate in Manhattan Thursday night against her GOP challenger Chele Farley.

Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, both considered top potential 2020 presidential candidates, were only in South Carolina at the same time for about two hours last Friday morning, but their individual visits offered a preview of a potentially historic presidential primary featuring two leading African-American candidates. If they do decide to enter the race, they are likely to spend even more time in South Carolina, whose Democratic primary is traditionally one of the first on the calendar. It is also a state where African-American voters have been a decisive factor in elections.

Is Rep. Tulsi Gabbard preparing for a run in the 2020 Democrat primary for president? The Hawaiian representative is the first Hindu to serve in Congress and an Iraqi war veteran. She’s also a Bernie Bro anti-war progressive who has even managed to get sideways with Hawaii’s teacher union. That takes some doing for a Democrat to lose the endorsement of a teacher’s union. She was one of just three representatives and the only Democrat who refused to condemn Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s genocidal chemical attack on his own people. After the attack, Gabbard traveled to Syria to meet...

If Senator Elizabeth Warren thought that releasing her DNA test results showing Native American ancestry would neutralize a Republican line of attack, she was wrong. The test — part of her strategic preparations for a likely presidential campaign — did not placate President Trump, who has mocked Ms. Warren as “Pocahontas” and once promised $1 million to a charity of her choice if a DNA test substantiated her claims of Cherokee and Delaware heritage. And her announcement of the results angered many Native Americans, including the Cherokee Nation, the largest of the country’s three federally recognized Cherokee tribes.

Julián Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and secretary of Housing and Urban Development for President Obama whose 2012 Democratic National Convention speech transformed him into a national leader overnight, is a hard man to keep track of. For months, the 44-year-old Castro has been hopscotching between Nevada, Florida, Arizona and other battleground states to campaign for Democrats ahead of the 2018 midterms. He dutifully trekked to the Iowa State Fair in August for a turn on the famous political soapbox. Last weekend, Castro was back in Iowa to stump for Democrat J.D. Scholten, who is challenging alt-right-winger and neo-Nazi...

At a town hall meeting last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren finally revealed she was taking “a hard look” at running for president. Now it’s clear just how hard she’s looking. Monday’s grandiose, made-for-media detailing of her Native American ancestry — complete with DNA documentation — erased any questions about the Massachusetts Democrat‘s intent.

Elizabeth Warren is not Native American. Her ancestry has been traced by Cherokee genealogists back to the early 1800s, as far back as there are records, and there are no Native American ancestors. The one potential Native American ancestor was Warren’s great great great grandmother, Sarah O.C. Smith, but an initial 2012 report about that was debunked and The Boston Globe was forced to issue a retraction.

Biden’s the challenger who most worries Trump, for good reason. He’s universally known, has a common touch (in every sense of the word), and might be more formidable in the Rust Belt per his Scranton pedigree than, say, Elizabeth Warren is. He’s also 75, but even that’s not much of a liability in context: The guy running a distant second behind him is 77. The first @CNN numbers for 2020 Democratic presidential nomination just released this morning:Biden 33%Sanders 13%Harris 9%Warren 8%Booker 5%Kerry 5%Bloomberg 4%O’Rourke 4%Holder 3%Garcetti 2%Avenatti 1%Gillibrand 1%Klobuchar 1%Patrick 1%Bullock <1%Delaney <1%— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) October 14, 2018...

At key points in U.S. history, one of the two parties has served as a bulwark against those who threaten our Constitution. Two years ago at the Democratic Convention, I warned of those threats. Today, I have re-registered as a Democrat – I had been a member for most of my life – because we need Democrats to provide the checks and balance our nation so badly needs.

Donald Trump @therealDonaldTrump You don’t hand matches to an arsonist, and you don’t give power to an angry left-wing mob. Democrats have become too EXTREME and TOO DANGEROUS to govern. Republicans believe in the rule of law - not the rule of the mob. VOTE REPUBLICAN!

As mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti was able to celebrate his city winning the race to host the 2028 Olympics. Now he is nurturing hopes of enjoying the games as US president. While a raft of other senior Democrats fudge whether they are going to throw their hats into the ring, Mr Garcetti, 47, has made little secret of his presidential ambitions even if he has stopped short of formally announcing that he is actually seeking the nomination. As far back as November last year, he was dropping less than subtle hints that he could be the person to...

At 1418 this afternoon, I did not receive the presidential test alert. I'm a little worried. I know several people that received it, no problem, same area code, same town, but not me. What did I do? Was it a technical glitch? My phone was on, I waited purposefully to see the screen that says I got it. But I didn't get it. So what now? Do I contact my senator and complain, maybe it was something I did in my past, maybe it was a phone conversation that was previously recorded by the NSA, I just don't know what...

When questioned on the one-year anniversary of the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting, President Trump said his administration was looking to soon “eliminate” bump stocks. Trump was speaking to reporters in the White House’s Rose Garden on Monday about the new trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, when he took a moment to pause and acknowledge the anniversary of the event that left 58 dead and some 850 wounded, saying the shooting as “a horrible, horrible time in the life of our country.” Just over an hour into the conference, when asked about the subject...

17 days ago there was a big Storm coming. 14 days ago the POTUS announced that the Declassification of numerous documents would take place immediately. These documents were to be released "forthwidth". Where's the beef?

Whoever did this did a very good job! Very funny.