Fred Thompson

The ideals of “country first,” and “service” won lavish praise at the Republican National Convention last night. The realities of the Republican party and President George W. Bush got rather less respect.
A parade of speakers in St. Paul, including Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a Hispanic businessman, an Arizona educator, and President Bush (speaking from the [...]

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney easily won Nevada’s Republican caucuses, while New York Sen. Hillary Clinton narrowly defeated Illinois Sen. Barack Obama to win the Democratic caucuses in that state.

With approximately 80 percent of precincts reporting, Romney had won 53 percent of a Republican straw ballot.  Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was in second place with [...]

A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee opening up a small lead over his competitors for the Republican presidential nomination.

Huckabee received the support of 25 percent of respondents in the poll, five percentage points ahead of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., received the support of [...]

The victories of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas in the Democratic and Republican Iowa caucuses, respectively, have naturally led to a great deal of discussion throughout the blogosphere.  While most liberal sites, even those of anti-Obama bloggers, were generally congratulatory toward Obama, conservative sites splintered between those that [...]

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who burst on the scene last summer as a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination, could drop out of the race within the next few days, according to a report in the online newsmagazine Politico.

Thompson initially appeared to be a frontrunner for the GOP endorsement, but has been criticized [...]

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., holds a lead over all her major Republican rivals, according to a new Gallup poll taken earlier this month.

Clinton widened her lead over the four major Republican candidates she was matched up against.  Her widest lead was over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who she led 54 percent to 38 percent.  [...]

Only days away from former lobbyist, Senator and TV star Fred Thompson’s entry into the Republican presidential field, what’s the situation?

A muddled one for the Republicans, and an interesting one for the Democrats.

The Republican field has played Musical Frontrunners for months now — first with John McCain taking the lead and falling to the second [...]

We will by liveblogging the Republican Presidential debate throughout the evening.  Keep refreshing this page for new content!

So to wrap up, how did people do?

Giuliani: F.  He sounded good at times, but if I was a pro-life Republican, I’d be pretty disgusted by him right now.  His abortion policy is not pro-choice–it’s completely incoherent.  And [...]

Republican candidates for the presidency will gather Thursday night at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., for their first nationally televised debate.  The debate, which will be carried on MSNBC and liveblogged here at Minnesota Monitor starting at 7 p.m., will feature 10 Republicans vying to succeed George W. Bush. Here’s a quick look at the Republican candidates and the [...]