Free Republic

Sarah Palin offered some unsolicited advice last night to Mitt Romney, the red-headed stepchild of GOP presidential frontrunners, encouraging him to more openly embrace the fiscal and social conservative side of the Republican party, and to develop a more robust relationship with the Tea Party movement. This morning on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom, host Martha MacCallum asked Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson and liberal “embed” Alan Colmes to discuss Romney’s strategy in engaging the powerful Tea Party contingent, which Carlson put in remarkably stark terms. After openly questioning why Romney hasn’t made more of an effort in including an energized...

People have been asking me all week if conservatives will stick with Herman Cain, but I think he's got a bigger problem than the conservative vote. A lot more women than conservatives vote, and the women I've talked to are finished with him. There's a new CBS poll which says that 38 percent of female Republican primary voters are "less likely to back him" now that more accusers have come forward. Among all registered voters, CBS reports that Cain has lost support among women since last month—from 28 percent in October to 15 percent now. My sense is that 15...

After Rick Perry's abysmal debate and Herman Cain's transparently false sexual harassment defense, it's more clear than ever that Romney's the one. Six weeks ago, I wrote that in the GOP race for the presidential nomination, Mitt Romney's the one — mostly because the other candidates have proved to be implausible or utterly inconceivable. And after Wednesday's Michigan debate, we now know with even more certainty who the Republican nominee will be. His name is not Rick Perry, whose potential comeback imploded in an excruciating, alternately comical and pathetic 50 seconds that left an indelible impression of someone out of...

Mark Levin flagged this on Twitter with this observation: “I think it can be said that Karl Rove has jumped the shark. In fact, the shark bit him on the ass. Good-bye Karl.” Maybe Karl Rove should have consulted with his Fox News colleague Greta van Susteren about Allred’s credibility in allegations involving political candidates. It’s hard to imagine that the appearance of Gloria Allred, of all people, will help Sharon Bialek seem more credible: (VIDEO AT LINK) “Credibility matters here, and Gloria Allred — while she is a Democrat and a liberal Democrat and openly so — nonetheless, has...

Republican presidential candidates, largely silent until today on the sexual harassment allegations plauging rival Herman Cain, are beginning to speak out. Frontrunner Mitt Romney labeled them “particularly disturbing,” while Rick Santorum branded them “unfortunate” and “a distraction.” Speaking with ABC News from Chicago for a series a year from Election Day 2012, Romney told interviewer George Stephanopoulos: “These are serious allegations.” He added: “They’re going to have to be addressed seriously. I don’t have any counsel for Herman Cain or for his campaign; they have to take their own counsel on this.” Romney, a lawyer as well as a former...

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney says allegations that rival Herman Cain groped a former employee are "particularly disturbing" and must be addressed. Romney told ABC News/ Yahoo! on Tuesday that he will not judge whether Sharon Bialek's claims against Cain are true. He declined to say whether they are disqualifying. ... Romney .. "These are serious allegations and they're going to have to be addressed."

Relatively few prominent Republican women have spoken out, so far, about the sexual harassment charges facing Herman Cain. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski started to change that today, telling CNN that she's "concerned" about the growing list of complaints about Cain's behavior: Murkowski made clear she was moved by the public account of Sharon Bialek, a single mother from Chicago ... "It takes incredible courage for an individual to come forward as this latest, as this one woman has," the third-term Alaskan said. "So it does cause me to wonder exactly what is out there. I am concerned." ...

Mitt Romney’s problem with the Republican Party is not just that he previously held liberal positions on a wide-ranging array of issues. That can be explained away, at least a bit, as pandering necessary to win votes in a Democratic state. The deeper problem is that Romney was promising behind closed doors to act as essentially a sleeper agent within the Republican Party, adopting liberal stances, rising to national prominence, and thereby legitimizing them and transforming the Party from within. Today’s Washington Post has more detail: "Mitt Romney was firm and direct with the abortion rights advocates sitting in his...

Responding to his insurgent campaign’s first crisis, Herman Cain was upbeat and defiant. “To quote my chief of staff and all the people around this country, ‘Let Herman be Herman,’ ” he said Monday. “And Herman is gonna stay Herman.” I was afraid of that. Cain’s policy positions range from the ignorant to the unworkable to the just plain goofy – and yet he is running first or second in most polls for the Republican presidential nomination. He trumpets his utter lack of government experience as a selling point and boasts of not knowing foreign leaders’ names. If through some...

The lawyer for a woman who settled a sexual harassment complaint against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain in the late 1990s says that Cain may have violated the confidentiality terms of the agreement by commenting on its specifics over the past 24 hours. "Herman Cain and others have already disclosed that there was a confidential settlement," says Joel P. Bennett, a Washington-based attorney specializing in employment law, who also represented the woman when she negotiated her settlement. (snip) "I don't know if she'll ever go public," he said Tuesday. (snip) Without having the agreement in hand, Bennett says he doesn't...

In an email to POLITICO this afternoon, Robinson admitted that the site routinely blocks Romney supporters from posting -- and offered no apologies for the practice: Free Republic is a pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun, pro-small government, pro-constitution, pro-liberty site. Governor Romney is none of the above. His record is that of an abortionist, gay rights pushing, gun grabbing, global warming advocating, big government, mandate loving, constitution trampling, flip-flopping liberal progressive with no core values. That and the fact that he is the chief architect and advocate for ObamaCare disqualifies him for any consideration whatsoever on Free Republic as a potential nominee...

The top campaign contributors behind President George W. Bush's vaunted political network are slowly coming off the sidelines, and many are lining up behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Poll: Romney may have the most to gain from Cain scandal Will Rahn October 31-2011 If the sexual harassment allegations against former pizza mogul Herman Cain turn out to be credible — or simply refuse to fade away — polling suggests that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney stands the most to gain, the Washington Post reports. While it’s too early to say what if any damage the allegations reported by Politico on Sunday will do to Cain’s campaign, they have the potential to shake up the race. Cain has been polling in first or second place for more than a...

(snip) Graham said it is crucial for the U.S. to continue to support Israel, and said the president has "thrown Israel under the bus" by talking about settlements and pre-1967 borders. "It is our best friend in the Middle East," Graham said. He did praise the president for sending military advisers into Uganda.Graham said he is hoping to hear more on foreign policy from the Republican presidential candidates. "Rick Santorum is speaking like Ronald Reagan better than anybody else on peace and strength," Graham said. "Ronald Reagan confronted the challenges of his time. He did not isolate America." Graham declined...

BOSTON — On the Republican campaign trail, the health care debate has focused on the mandatory coverage that Mitt Romney signed into law as governor in 2006. But back in Massachusetts the conversation has moved on, and lawmakers are now confronting the problem that Mr. Romney left unaddressed: the state’s spiraling health care costs. After three years of study, the state’s legislative leaders appear close to producing bills that would make Massachusetts the first state — again — to radically revamp the way doctors, hospitals and other health providers are paid. Although important details remain to be negotiated, the legislative...

The TEA (Taxed Enough Already) party sprang up in spontaneous rebellion to big government's big spending, big taxing ways. TARP, the bailouts, the PORKULUS package and ObamaCare lit the fuse. TEA partiers support the constitution's limited government restrictions. TEA partiers are non-partisan, i.e., we oppose the big government, big spending, big taxing moves of both the major political parties. This is an open rebellion against business as usual big spending, overreaching government! We demand a return to constitutionally limited government!! The socialist/progressive Democrat party is our natural enemy and they understand that and attack us accordingly. The big government RINO...

<p>Our purpose and goal on FR is to restore, defend, preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States and to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity!!</p> <p>The goal of the domestic enemy (the left), i.e., the statist liberals, Marxists and progressives is just the opposite.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney's early success in the Republican presidential race is challenging the tea party's clout. Will it continue to pull the GOP sharply right? Will it slowly fade? Or merge with mainstream Republican elements in a nod to pragmatism, something it's hardly known for? On the surface, Romney's strength seems at odds with the tea party's fiery success in ousting Republicans seen as compromisers, and in making the House GOP caucus more ideological, even when its leaders plead for flexibility. Romney defends the government's 2008 bank bailouts, plus the mandated health insurance he initiated as Massachusetts governor....

After watching the GOP presidential debate the other night, it was hard to avoid this conclusion: Mitt Romney looks more and more like the GOP presidential nominee. He's the best debater. He's got his issues and his rejoinders down pat. He brushes away his opponents like lint on his lapel. And all with such ease. That said, there's a teensy problem he just can't seem to beat: Conservatives don't like him. Or trust him. Or really want him to be the GOP nominee. Sure, you say, Republicans never like their nominees, and they still manage to vote for them. There...

In 2008, John McCain's campaign team discussed whether they should let Sarah Palin be sworn in as vice-president if they were to win the election, according to campaign staffer Nicolle Wallace. "There certainly were discussions -- not for long because of the arc the campaign took -- but certainly there were discussions about whether, if they were to win, it would be appropriate for her to be sworn in," Wallace tells Time's Claire Suddath. In her new novel, It's Classified, Wallace has a character -- a mentally ill female vice-president -- which she says is based on her experience working...