Pledging to run a "national campaign" and denying he faces a do-or-die "Alamo" moment in Texas -- whose April 3 primary will award 155 delegates -- Newt Gingrich accused newly minted frontrunner Rick Santorum of being a "Big Labor Republican" who has attacked the Tea Party and amassed a voting record conservatives will find "dubious."

In an impromptu interview at the Fox News Washington bureau, the former House speaker claimed Santorum's clean sweep of this week's nominating contests in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri shows that the Republican presidential primary is a "wide open race" he can still win. Asked if Santorum's ascendancy deprives Gingrich's own candidacy of oxygen, Gingrich maintained that he appeals to a wider and deeper constituency in the GOP electorate.

"Among Tea Party members, I have a much stronger following than Rick does. read more »

The 2012 congressional elections are more than 10 months away, but some key votes already have been cast — and not by the electorate.

Judges, rather, are playing major roles in reshaping the House landscape this election cycle, as the courts in many states have ruled — or soon will — on disputed redistricting maps in several battleground states.

Democrats have won early-round court battles in Texas and California regarding congressional redistricting — a process conducted every 10 years based on census data that reflect changes in population. read more »

The Planned Parenthood abortion business in yet another state is facing accusations of massive Medicaid fraud related to billing for abortions and birth control — at a time when Congress is launching an investigation.

According to pro-life blogger Jill Stanek, a former employee of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has filed a whistleblower’s complaint with the Attorney General of Texas and the U.S. Department of Justice. read more »

ORLANDO, Fla. — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney pressed his attack Friday on conservative concerns over presidential rival Rick Perry’s support of favorable tuition rates for some children of illegal immigrants, hitting the three-term Texas governor’s claim that critics of the law are simply heartless.

“I think if you are opposed to illegal immigration, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have a heart,” the former Massachusetts told a gathering here for a Conservative Political Action Conference. “It means that you have a heart and a brain.”

Mr. read more »

Texas governor Rick Perry has quickly vaulted to the top of the Republican presidential race and he now faces questions from pro-life advocates about what he would do as president. One news report says Perry has answered one question by saying he would name a pro-life Vice President.

A pro-life vice president is important for any presidential administration, as pro-abortion Vice President Joe Biden reconfirmed recently when he failed to condemn the forced abortions and other human rights abuses associated with the one-child policy in China.

Paul Bedard of U.S. read more »

The battle between supporters of creationism and evolution made its way onto the 2012 campaign trail Thursday as a young boy, prompted by his mother, asked Texas Gov. Rick Perry questions on the subject, leading Perry to suggest both are taught in Texas public schools.

"How old do I think the Earth is?" Perry said repeating the boy's question. "I have no idea - it's pretty old. It goes back a long way - I'm not sure anyone knows really completely know how old it is."

But Perry continued, saying the boy's mother was really trying to get a response about creationism and evolution. While Texas public schools don't officially teach creationism, some claim Perry has pushed a weakened evolution curriculum to open the door for creationism in schools...

Besieged by financial debt, terrorism, and a multitude of natural disasters, America -- says Texas Governor Rick Perry -- is in the midst of a historic crisis. And for those reasons, he and other Christians will gather in Houston on Saturday for a day of prayer and fasting.

The Texas governor has been under attack from those who think he is merely using the event to bolster his political career. But David Barton, a Christian historian, president of WallBuilders, and of those who will help lead prayer at Saturday's event, insists Governor Perry is not promoting the event to call attention to his presidential prospects.

"He called this event when he was not thinking politics at all," Barton accounts. "When he called this event, he and I had just spoken, and the furthest thing from his mind was anything national. This is just a time to pray"...

The big question in the Republican presidential race is whether or not Texas Gov. Rick Perry will throw his name in the hat for the GOP nomination to face pro-abortion president Barack Obama. If he does, Texas pro-life groups give him high marks.

“Governor Rick Perry has always championed the pro-life cause, tirelessly advocating for the sanctity of innocent human life in numerous ways,” Texas Right to Life executive director Elizabeth Graham tells LifeNews.com.

“Governor Perry has worked alongside Texas Right to Life, helping shepherd our pro-life bills and eagerly supporting our measures,” Graham said. “As governor of Texas, he has intervened to stop anti-life legislation on a number of occasions, and he has helped clear obstacles when necessary”...

Governor Rick Perry's prayer rally scheduled for August 6 has drawn criticism ranging from atheist groups to liberal faith leaders across the country. During a recent conference call with spiritual leaders, however, organizers insisted there are no underlying political agendas.

With the prayer rally now less than a month away, supporters say they sense the event could be a landmark day. Dubbed "The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis," more than 6,000 people from around the nation have registered on its website, TheResponseUSA.com.

John Hagee, pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, said he expects to have at least ten bus loads of participants from the church he serves at the event. "We all sense that our nation is going the wrong direction," said Hagee during the conference call, "and only God can bring it back to where it needs to go"...

A former bus driver has sued his employer for allegedly discriminating against his religious beliefs and terminating his employment.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) represents Edwin Graning, a former driver for the Capital Area Rural Transportation System (CARTS), which is a nine-county transit service that often provides transportation in rural areas surrounding Austin, Texas. Senior attorney EdwardEdward White (ACLJ) White tells OneNewsNow the driver was dispatched in January to transport two women to a Planned Parenthood clinic.

"He called up his supervisor and said, 'You know, I'm an ordained minister...and Planned Parenthood does abortions. And I don't know if this lady's going there for an abortion. However, if she is, I want nothing to do with that,'" White accounts. "And so in effect, he was asking for his supervisor to just get one of the other CARTS drivers to pick up this woman"...