Free Republic

By KIMBERLY LEONARD 04/06/2024 09:38 PM EDT HOLLYWOOD, Florida — Ron DeSantis is making nice with his most loyal donors and, at least over the weekend, ignored Donald Trump. During a retreat in South Florida for the governor’s donors that featured golf, cigars and spa time, and little mention of the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, DeSantis thanked and wooed the people who most avidly supported his presidential run. Part of the weekend was also to brainstorm how he could keep Florida front and center in the conservative movement with more than 2 and a half years left as governor. Robert...

President Joe Biden attempted to attract voters of former presidential candidate Nikki Haley after she refused to endorse former President Donald Trump. Biden’s tactic attempts to divide the Republican Party by exposing Haley’s refusal to endorse Trump following her departure from the race. “Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign,” Biden said in a Wednesday statement. “I know there is a lot we won’t agree on.”

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Even a cup of coffee didn't sway one stubborn independent voter — though Republican Mike Huckabee gave it his all Tuesday as New Hampshire residents went to the polls in the state's presidential primary. Outside the Brookside Congregational Church in Manchester, Huckabee waded into the crowd to greet voters outside the polling place. He ran into Joe Legay, 70, and asked him what candidate was getting Legay's vote. "I'm independent," Legay said, ducking the question. "So I have one more chance, what can I do? Can I pour you coffee?" Huckabee asked, then poured him a cup...

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Relying on self-deprecating jokes, unusual candor and outright flattery, President Bush on Saturday wooed lawmakers he not only needs but will have to answer to in the final two years of his presidency. Bush had not seen fit to attend a Democratic congressional retreat since 2001, his first year in office. But the new political reality that has Democrats in charge of Capitol Hill for the first time in a dozen years changed his mind. When he appeared before House Democrats at a Virginia resort, he seemed to be trying to make up for lost time. With...

Hoping to attract support among black voters in his re-election race, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is aggressively courting black clergy by luring them to the same after-school aid program that was a springboard for his political career. About $500 million in state grant money for schools, nonprofit groups and faith-based institutions is available this year for the first time under Proposition 49, the initiative Schwarzenegger promoted in 2002. That effort lay the groundwork for his entry into the recall campaign the following year. In recent months, the governor's staff has been offering black churches help in applying for the competitive grants...

Sarkozy woos young with call for new French 'revolution' By Henry Samuel in Paris (Filed: 04/09/2006) Nicolas Sarkozy, the French Right's brightest hope to succeed Jacques Chirac next year, kicked off his unofficial presidential campaign yesterday with a rousing speech to thousands of young party faithful. The interior minister and head of the ruling UMP party outlined a series of detailed proposals to "reinvent the Republic" and "create a new French model" in an address timed to coincide with la rentrée, the nationwide return to work after a lengthy summer break. Mr Sarkozy's rally cry, which closed the UMP's youth...