Free Republic

For decades, Republican Party elected officials have tried to make nice with their Democratic Party colleagues, the liberal media and deep state bureaucrats. Instead of acting like courageous conservative leaders, they ended up delivering policies that were Democrat-lite. This capitulation led to the catastrophe the country is now facing under the Biden administration. President Joe Biden entered office after a disputed election, with no voter mandate, but that did not stop him from launching the most left-wing agenda of any administration in American history. His first year in office has been an utter catastrophe, the worst start of any American...

As “wounded healer” Ralph Northam moonwalks out of the Governor’s Mansion and “cheerful suburban dad” Glenn Youngkin settles in, the Commonwealth of Virginia is back and open for business. The 74th governor, who enters office tomorrow, promises bold change starting on Day One. And the Left is openly seething with rage. Similarly, a divided General Assembly (the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World) will garner attention — especially over cabinet appointment confirmations and Republicans pledging to undo extreme Democratic laws. New House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-Gate City) promised, “We’re setting an agenda that will make it easier...

Republican Glenn Youngkin's victory last week over former Virginia Democratic Gov.Terry McAuliffe has led most observers to predict that Republicans are sure to make big gains in next year's midterms. While I agree that the election gives Republicans cause for enthusiasm, I have learned during more than four decades in politics that overreach and assumptions represent a path to political failure. According to a USA Today/Suffolk poll released this week, President Joe Biden's approval rating is 38%, and Vice President Kamala Harris is at 28%. Of the top three things the respondents wanted Biden to do in the next year,...

Washington -- I am probably one of the few conservatives in America who wanted to see Terry McAuliffe win his lackadaisical campaign for a second term as governor of Virginia last week. He spent munificently. He brought in all the Democratic Party's big guns for help. He even tapped Vice resident Kamala Harris and resident Joe Biden, as unlikely as they were to give him a boost. He wore a mask. He did not wear a mask. He tried to make it a race all about Donald Trump, but Donald was golfing in Florida. He tried to make something of...

resident Joe Biden returned the morning of Nov. 3 to a nation that no longer supports him or his party. Virginia, which he carried 55% to 44% in 2020, has elected Republican Glenn Youngkin as governor, Republicans for lieutenant governor and attorney general, and recaptured a majority in the House of Delegates. Even more startlingly, in New Jersey, which Biden carried 57% to 41%, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is currently leading Republican Jack Ciattarelli by about 29,000 votes, with a few more to be counted. New Jersey, as part of the New York and Philadelphia media markets, has long been...

This week, reality struck back against Democratic electoral utopianism. Since 2012, Democrats have been convinced that a new, durable, near-unbeatable political coalition was in the making: a coalition largely comprised of college-educated white voters, women, younger Americans and racial minorities. This coalition would overtake the demographically shrinking "old, white majority" and win victory after victory. As Ruy Teixeira and John Halpin wrote for the Center for American Progress in the aftermath of Obama's reelection, "Obama's strong progressive majority -- built on a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, cross-class coalition in support of an activist ... is real and growing and it reflects the...

In the last days before Election Day, the Associated Press seems befuddled. One article was headlined, "Biden easily won Virginia. Why is McAuliffe struggling?" Is this really a brainteaser? With the public polls showing a toss-up, AP's Steve Peoples channeled the fears of Democrats that former Gov. Terry McAuliffe could lose to first-time candidate Glenn Youngkin, and the "finger-pointing and handwringing has begun." And "McAuliffe's hyper-focus on former President Donald Trump may not energize voters." Did they overestimate the appeal of McAuliffe's experience? For Republicans, this is the best line: "A McAuliffe loss on Tuesday would reverberate across the national...

Terry McAuliffe, a DNC fundraiser and Clinton flak who defiled the Governor of Virginia office from 2014-2018, is gunning for a second term this November.In the Democratic primary, he bested five challengers and spent a whopping $15 million in a contest where he was favored to win. Against political newcomer and Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin, however, he is struggling to negatively brand his opponent and make his attacks stick. Is “Fast Terry” ready for primetime? Not so fast. From blunders to fact checks, the 72nd Governor of Virginia isn’t a shoo-in for his old job in Richmond. And his...