Free Republic

Something to whet your appetite for tonight’s Thunderdome debate. Could Newtmentum really have shot him to a six-point lead after he trailed Romney by double digits just a few days ago? Note that PPP’s data comes from a one-day snapshot, which means a smaller-than-usual sample, which in turn means a larger-than-usual margin of error of five points. Newt’s may very well be leading right now, but … by six?Even so, as I write this, InTrade gives him a 42.5 percent chance of winning on Saturday. After Perry’s endorsement, Palin’s quasi-endorsement, and Santorum’s fade, who wants to bet against him? This...

In the Republican presidential candidates’ debate on January 7, Rep. Ron Paul said: “I’m the only one up here . . . that understands [that the] true racism in this country is in the judicial system.” He said this racism has to do with “enforcing the drug laws,” and then added: “They [blacks] get the death penalty way disproportionately.” Two groups immediately defended Paul — his supporters, and commentators on the left. The former support anything Paul says; and the Left supports anything that Paul says that portrays America as ugly (see, for example, the defense of Paul by the...

[SNIP leading up to the "advice" from a former GW Bush adviser] ....A win in SouthCarolina will be overwhelming proof that Romney is just “right” enough to win the nomination. If that were to occur, Romney would have won in the conservative Midwest, the more liberal/independent Northeast and the conservative South. Perry, Santorum and Gingrich need a win, place or show in SouthCarolina to continue to Florida. ...The real question will be one for Gingrich to answer. If Gingrich doesn’t come in a close 2nd or 3rd in South Carolina, will he engage in a “scorched earth policy” that if...

Rep. Ron Paul says he’s in it to win it and the campaign boasts that it has a comprehensive strategy in place to ensure that happens. But behind the scenes Campaign Manager Jesse Benton admits to ABC News that the team is plotting a back up strategy in case the congressman doesn’t pull in enough delegates to become the nominee. If the campaign comes up short at the convention, Benton says the plan is to use all the delegates awarded to Paul as a bargaining chip to force the Republican Party to stick to its limited government platform. Benton says...

I knew this would happen and in a way, it is a good thing because it will also bring focus to Barack Obama's eligibility. Reading the paperwork on this I found out some things I wasn't aware of pertaining to our citizenship statutes back in the 1940's such as the statute listed in this challenge, U.S. Nationality Act of 1940 Sect 201, 54 Stat. 1137 which provides provides the law by which a person born outside the U.S. is bound by in order to qualify legally as a U.S. citizen. For some that do not know, according to Mexican law...

Pro-family leaders today forged a consensus in support of Rick Santorum at meeting at a private ranch in Texas. Santorum is eminently worthy of social conservative support. He has easily been the most vocal and the most unwavering of all the candidates in standing for the sanctify of life and the sanctity of marriage, and against the homosexual agenda. He is an easy candidate to back. But what he lacks to run a nationwide campaign is money and infrastructure, which evangelicals probably can't give him. Rick Perry, on the other hand, has the organization and the fund-raising capacity. What he...

The State Board of Elections is asking Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) to investigate “irregularities” with signatures that presidential candidate Newt Gingrich submitted to get on Virginia’s ballot, board chairman Charlie Judd said Saturday. Gingrich’s campaign told state officials it had submitted 11,050 signatures. But a Richmond area firm hired to collect them turned in 1,500 signatures that appeared to be signed by the same person. “We hired somebody who turned in false signatures,’’ Gingrich told reporters late last month while campaigning in Iowa. “We turned in 11,100 – we needed 10,000 – 1,500 of them were by one guy...

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Saturday that Republicans will err if they don’t scrutinize Mitt Romney’s role in a private equity firm called Bain Capital. Gingrich, the former House speaker, said President Barack Obama will hammer away at Bain if Romney is the nominee this fall. “I don’t see how you can expect us to have a presidential campaign in which an entire sector is avoided,” Gingrich said on a Fox News program that included five of the six Republican candidates. Each fielded South Carolina voters’ questions for almost 20 minutes. Many Republican and conservative leaders have...

Jere Brower, his wife Clara, and his 4-year-old daughter Ana, have a very good reason to believe Texas Congressman Ron Paul when he said people view his supporters as "dangerous." The 38-year-old Atlanta man and his family have been targeted by militant Ron Paul supporters, one of whom threatened to "kneecap" him, then rape his wife and young daughter. Mr. Brower said he has also received death threats from supporters of Ron Paul. The trouble started when Brower and some of his Facebook friends decided to have a laugh over Ron Paul's ties to racist and anti-semitic groups. He wrote...

Looks like there’s a little war brewing between Rick Perry and former presidential candidate Herman Cain, who recently criticized the Texas governor’s depth and knowledge of political issues. “I hope Herman doesn’t think running a Godfather’s Pizza is the same as running the state of Texas,” Perry said on Laura Ingraham’s Radio Show after the host played a clip of Cain’s comments and the Texas governor touted his job creation record in the state. During an interview on the Fox Business Network Wednesday, Cain called Perry a “foregone superstar” who “wasn’t deep on any of the issues.” “He started out...

Michele Bachmann wants a radio ad that she thinks implies her endorsement of Newt Gingrich pulled off the air in South Carolina. A lawyer for the Minnesota congresswoman sent a letter to radio stations Friday night saying that a spot being aired by the pro-Gingrich super PAC “Winning our Future” uses a clip from an introduction Bachmann delivered when Gingrich fundraised for her during a previous congressional campaign. Bachmann has not endorsed anyone, and she’s done nothing to indicate that she intends to weigh in anytime soon.

Presidential candidate Senator Rick Santorum deployed a sexist strategy in IA. His IA Evangelical surrogates promoted the idea that a female cannot be an elected official or a commander-in-chief. The same Evangelical surrogates repeatedly called upon Rep. Michele Bachmann to withdraw from the race although she led the Senator and other male candidates in the polls. Bob Vander Plaats, CEO Family Leader and Santorum endorser, also, rejected two consensus votes in favor of Rep. Bachmann polled among Evangelical pastors at a meeting hosted by an organization close to the Family Leader. Home school parents circulated a treatise written in 2004...