Free Republic

After the Senate voted to start the debate on the so-called health-care reform bill, the Democrats held a press conference, patting themselves on the back for the success of their underhanded tactics in thwarting the will of the people. How I'd have loved for some journalist to demand that the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, answer one particular question: "Sir, is it true that this bill won't kick in till 2014 but taxpayers will start paying for it immediately?" Of course, no one in our elite media had the gumption to demand an answer from Democrat leaders. Nor are they...

Intelligence officials on Wednesday disputed suggestions that President Obama is sending 30,000 more troops just to fight 100 Al Qaeda operatives estimated to be remaining in Afghanistan, arguing that their influence with the thousands-strong Taliban makes them far more harmful than their numbers would indicate. The officials responded after an ABC News story referred to the intelligence community estimate on the number of Al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan as "Obama's secret," and something he deliberately omitted mentioning in his speech Tuesday night. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., invoked the 100 figure in her response to Obama's Afghanistan strategy speech Tuesday night....

Republican candidates have a seven-point lead over Democrats for the second straight week in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Support for the candidates from both parties remains unchanged from last week. Republicans have held the lead for over four months now. Democrats currently have majority control of both the House and Senate. Voters not affiliated with either party continue to heavily favor Republicans, 43% to 24%.

The political force our new, and frequently loud, “silent majority” has unleashed in 2009 will determine America's future in 2010 and 2012. It should not be underestimated. In November 1969 President Nixon addressed the American people from the Oval Office about his plans to end the Vietnam War. Most of the speech was dedicated to that topic but towards the end he uttered this one line that has defined the speech ever since. “And so tonight to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans, I ask for your support.” The reaction to the speech was extremely positive as...

Cook Political Report House analyst David Wasserman notes a telling indicator that the political environment in 2010 is shaping up to be favorable for Republicans: Several Democratic candidates have decided to drop out of tough races, while Democratic members of Congress who rarely face serious challenges are finding themselves with their toughest re-elections in years. Over the last week, three Democratic candidates touted by national strategists abruptly withdrew from their races: Solano Beach Councilman Dave Roberts (running against California Rep. Brian Bilbray), state Rep. Todd Book (running against Ohio Rep. Jean Schmidt) and Tennessee Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Paula Flowers...

Here is video of Dick Morris tonight on Hannity where he said he is ready to predict that Republicans will retake control of BOTH Houses of Congress in the 2010 Elections. Morris says this beginning at the 5:53 mark of the video. Morris names the seats he believes the GOP will take in the Senate: Six fairly easy pickups according to Morris - Dodd in Connecticut, Delaware, Reid in Nevada, Lincoln in Arkansas, Specter in Pennsylvania, and Colorado. He believes the Governor of North Dakota could run and beat Dorgan, and that Rudy Giuliani can run and beat Gillibrand in...

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Former Republican presidential candidate endorses Montgomery's gubernatorial candidate. WSFA 12 News confirmed overnight that Mitt Romney will endorse state treasurer Kate Ivey in her Republican race for governor. Romney cited Ivey's conservative background as the main reason for his support. Ivey served as Alabama chair-person of Romney's 2008 presidential campaign.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Representative Ron Paul proved to be a surprising presence in the presidential race in 2008. Now his son, Dr. Rand Paul, has become an unexpected contender in the 2010 Senate race in Kentucky. Dr. Paul — an ophthalmologist and a son of the congressman, a Texas Republican and former presidential candidate — has become a serious challenger in the race to succeed Senator Jim Bunning. Capitalizing on a hearty distrust of government and an anti-Republican-establishment fervor among conservatives, he has used the Internet to raise more than $1.3 million since he began his campaign in August. “This...

(snip) Trey Grayson, a Republican candidate for US Senate, was the keynote speaker on the issue of global warming last year at Eastern Kentucky University as part of the National Focus the Nation event. Now, why is that such a big deal? Well, the Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for Focus the Nation is none other than Van Jones. Yes, that's right, the self-proclaimed communist Obama hired to be the Green Jobs Czar that had to tuck tail and resign at midnight. WHOA Now, let's back up a bit. Here's a bit of history on Focus the...

The joy of rebuilding November 26, 2009Fred Hutchison, RA analyst Conservatives will soon have one of the great joys of this life: the joy of rebuilding with like-minded comrades. I happen to believe that the time for rebuilding is coming soon. First, consider the following facts that convince me that this is so. Subsequently, I shall portray rebuilding as a time of special blessing for united groups of like-minded people. The suburbs in revolt The recent election victories can be credited to moderate and independent suburban voters who are swinging away from liberals and Democrats and voting for conservatives and...

Last month the unemployment rate climbed above 10% for the first time in more than a quarter century. Less noticed is that male workers crossed this same threshold six months earlier. Since the U.S. became the world's dominant economic power, no downturn has fallen more disproportionately on one gender. The unemployment rate for men, 11.4%, based on seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, outpaces the rate for women, 8.8%. We now have the largest jobless gender gap since tracking became possible in 1948. The gap reached its previous peak, 2.5 points, in 1967 and 1978. Today's gap...

Democrats in Congress may need redemption with voters next year. But can President Obama save them? Some strategists believe replicating the model that produced Democratic gains in the past two election cycles--a combination of mobilizing new voters and independents, along with an energized party base--is the answer. Victories over the past four years even convinced some an enduring Democratic majority had emerged. President Obama's 2008 win only punctuated that ascendancy. Others believe dancing on the Republicans' grave is premature. Sinking the GOP was an easy target when the party had controlled the White House since 2001. Republican unpopularity--in an environment...

(CNN) - The battle for NY-23 is over. The battle for NY-23 has just begun. After conceding the congressional race to Democrat Bill Owens for the second time in the district’s special congressional election, Doug Hoffman has announced the launch of his 2010 campaign for the seat. “So where to now? Full speed ahead to 2010,” the 2009 Conservative Party nominee told supporters in a message posted on his campaign’s Web site. “Although I’m conceding an election today, I do it with the certainty that we will win back this seat a year from now.”

It’s not too early, apparently, to test opinion on the 2012 presidential race. Pollster Scott Rasmussen has asked likely voters to decide between Barack Obama and three reasonably well-known Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin. He also asked about their preferences in three-way pairings between those candidates and recently-resigned CNN commentator Lou Dobbs. There are three interesting findings. Number one. Obama is essentially tied with all three Republicans, leading Huckabee 45%-41% and Palin 46%-43% and even with Romney at 44%-44%. In other words, Obama is running at his job approval ratinRg level, which Rasmussen has at 46%-54%. This...

Calling himself not the most likely candidate to unseat U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, State Sen. Sam Caligiuri withdrew from that race Tuesday and entered the Fifth Congressional District race. His move came about one week after Connecticut Republican Party chairman Chris Healy encouraged him to switch. In so doing, Caligiuri runs against fellow Republicans Justin Bernier and Mark Greenberg, and Democratic incumbent Chris Murphy. State Sen. Andrew Roraback, R-30, endorsed Caligiuri, with whom he has worked for years. Calling Caligiuri a person of integrity, Roraback does not believe Caligiuri hurts himself by switching races. “I think he is helped because...

Some great numbers to head into the Thanksgiving holiday from Scott Rasmussen. Rasmussen has released some numbers for the 2012 Presidential Election with the usual Republican suspects.

It is now extremely clear how the democrats plan to pursue their toxic legislative agenda in spite of overwhelming opposition to their plans. And how they plan to combat the consequences of their toxic actions in the 2010 election. They are going to use the taxpayers money to buy support from the unions and special interests. YOUR money will be used against YOU to allow these corrupt politicians to continue to pursue their toxic agenda. A clear example … In what is being reported as the “Second Louisiana Purchase,” the democrats have modified the Obamacare legislation to provide at least...

There is very little difference between democrats and republicans and the people get frustrated with that. On the surface they pretend they are different and quibble about things; but at the end of the day they both want the same stuff, bigger government. They might argue on how we grow it but they all want it to be bigger and the argument is :should the taxes be 38% or 32%?’ No one is talking about having them zero or ten percent. They argue about the trivial stuff, there is no substantial difference. The Republicans are making a big deal about...

Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) emailed supporters today to say he's considering a primary against John McCain and to ask for funds to pay off his 2006 campaign debt. "You have contacted me with words of encouragement following the release of a Rasmussen Reports Poll which finds me in a statistical dead heat with John McCain for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 2010," Hayworth wrote, referring to this poll. "Miss Mary, our children, and I will do a lot of praying and a lot of talking in the days ahead, as we determine the best course...

Republican candidates have extended their lead over Democrats to seven points, their biggest lead since early September, in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Support for the Republican party held steady from last week, while support for Democrats dropped slightly. Republicans have held the lead for over four months now. Democrats currently have majority control of both the House and Senate. Voters not affiliated with either party continue to heavily...

Raleigh, N.C. – Democrats are having to work harder than expected to defend a lot of their Senate seats in 2010, but it doesn’t look like Wisconsin will be one of them. Russ Feingold leads former Governor Tommy Thompson 50-41 in a possible match up. He takes 88% of the Democratic vote to Thompson’s 82% of the Republican vote and also holds a 47-41 lead with independents. Thompson no longer has the popularity that propelled him to four terms as Governor. 45% of voters in the state have an unfavorable opinion of him to just 38% who view him positively....

Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) is unlikely to run in a GOP primary against Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), let alone win, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Monday. Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said he expects the former congressman, who's been mulling a primary challenge to McCain's right next year, to carry on his activities as host of a radio show, and not as a candidate.

State Rep. Kevin Yoder (R) wasted little time acting on Rep. Dennis Moore's (D-Kan.) retirement announcement, opening an exploratory committee this morning. Yoder, an attorney, made the announcement in a press release. He is currently in his fourth term in the state House, where he serves as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. "As our nation faces unprecedented challenges, we must have new energy and a fresh response" Yoder said. "Wasteful overspending in Washington threatens to bankrupt our nation's future. Government must learn to live within its means and we must endeavor to reduce bureaucracy and barriers to success."

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican National Committee will announce Monday that veteran political strategist Alex Castellanos will assume a senior communications role at the committee, an RNC official tells CNN. (snip) "Now the RNC has a new focus and direction - the 2010 elections," Castellanos said when reached by telephone. "And I am happy to help."

A new Rasmussen poll shows the Arizona Senator in a dead heat with potential GOP primary challenger J.D. Hayworth. BY ALYSSIA FINLEY John McCain may have been the GOP's national standard-bearer just a year ago, but now he's in electoral trouble at home. And this time no one can claim it's because of Sarah Palin. A new Rasmussen poll shows the Arizona Senator in a dead heat with potential GOP primary challenger J.D. Hayworth. Mr. Hayworth served as a congressman from 1995 to 2006, when he lost in a squeaker to Democratic Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell, who prevailed by hounding...

A few weeks ago seven of the eight incumbent Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates who lost their seat to a Republican had one other thing in common - a lower National Rifle Association (NRA) rating that their opponent . . . [and] the disparity in support for gun rights between the parties seems to have sharpened.

Y'all, this primary for the Kentucky Senate race is just amazing...never a dull moment, that's for sure! Here's a little breakdown for those of you who aren't up to speed. I have written previously about Dr. Rand Paul, there's Kentucky Secretary of State, Trey Grayson, Bill Johnson (who is endorsed by Dr. Alan Keyes, no less!), and a host of others, all in contention for the Republican slot on the ballot. To say there's a lot of politicking going on is the understatement of the year.

It is time to cast aside all remaining doubt. President Obama is not trying to lead America forward to recovery, prosperity and strength. Quite the opposite, in fact. In September of last year, American Thinker published my article, Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis. Part of a series, it connected then presidential candidate Barack Obama to individuals and organizations practicing a malevolent strategy for destroying our economy and our system of government. Since then the story of that strategy has found its way across the blogosphere, onto the airwaves of radio stations across the country, the Glenn Beck...

Last week had to be a bit awkward for Democrats. They labored to pass a health care bill that, among other things, establishes a government advisory panel to curb health care costs with industrywide medical recommendations. And at just the wrong moment, a similar government advisory panel provoked outrage by recommending that women stop getting so many breast cancer screenings. Unruffled, the Democrats pressed on with their 2,000-page health care bill, going so far as to hold a rare Saturday night vote on whether to proceed to debate. There's a good reason they are in such a rush to pass...

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) is set to announce Monday that he will not seek reelection next year, sources confirmed to The Hill. Moore’s exit will pave the way for a tough open seat defense for Democrats, as the six-term incumbent has resolutely held on to a conservative-leaning district that has often frustrated Republicans. Moore, 64, won the seat from one-term Rep. Vince Snowbarger (R-Kan.) in 1998 and has been a target ever since. Despite his perseverance, Republicans believed they had an opening again with Democrats pushing proposals that could be unpopular in the deep red state.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat who confounded the GOP by winning six consecutive elections in a heavily Republican district, will not seek re-election next year, key Democrats said Sunday.

A dangerous mythology has gripped the Democratic Party. It holds that the reason Democrats took a shellacking in the midterm elections of 1994 was that their members failed to pass Bill Clinton's health care overhaul. The logic goes that if Congress had gone along with Clinton's $331 billion plan (who would have guessed it would end up seeming like a bargain?), Democrats wouldn't have lost 54 seats in the House. The Republicans could have won as many as 41 seats that year and remained in the minority, where they had been mired for 40 years. Democrats have developed an alternate...

The Republican party wonders why conservatives are so disappointed with it?Another glowing example of the problems confronting the Republican party occurred yesterday.  The Senate Republicans had the opportunity to force a full reading of the Senate's proposed health care bill so that every bit of the 2,200 pages would be made public by the reading, and so the people could become much better informed about its contents before it is passed...if it is passed.  It had the opportunity to really hold the Democrats' feet to the fire over this abominable excuse for legislation that is being crammed down the throats...

PHOENIX -- A new statewide poll suggests John McCain could get a fight in his bid for another term in the U.S. Senate. And it would come from his own party. A telephone survey of 570 likely Republican primary voters conducted by Rasmussen Reports found McCain the favorite of 45 percent of those questioned. But former Congressman and current radio talk show host J.D. Hayworth was backed by 43 percent, well within the 4 percentage point margin of error for the poll. Hayworth told Capitol Media Services late Friday he has not made a decision, saying he is in the...

Gov. Charlie Crist’s office is “looking into” the possibility of removing embattled attorney Scott Rothstein from the state’s Judicial Nominating Committee. Rothstein has offered to surrender his license to practice law. But, he may remain a member of JNC unless, or until, he’s charged with a felony crime. Gov. Charlie Crist named Rothstein to the JNC in August 2008. “Typically, the governor would only step in when felony charges are filed against a public official,” said Sterling Ivey, Crist’s spokesman. “Whether we will act before that point in this case is not clear yet. Our legal office is looking into...

Democrats are starting to worry that President Obama's "charge-and-spend" debt, new "cap-and-trade" tax and "apologize to the world" agendas are going to hurt them when they run for re-election, leaving the WorldNetDaily Freedom Index ticking up to 53.2 on a 100-point scale, despite a month of relatively few major controversies. "What I think is going on here is that Democrats are growing slightly more concerned that the Democratic initiatives in Washington may come with a steep political price tag outside the beltway," said Fritz Wenzel of Wenzel Strategies. "This is especially true after the Democratic election losses in deep blue...

Senator Landrieu and Senator Lincoln have announced they would give their vote to Senator Reid and the White House to allow ObamaCare to the Senate floor. For the group of U.S. Senators up in 2010 — the ones facing the independent voters that turned 2:1 against the Democrats in the New Jersey and Virginia elections — they will each be tagged all election cycle with providing the one vote needed for ObamaCare to come before the Senate. They could have stopped it, but they did not. The vote on cloture on the motion to proceed needs 60 votes, and therefore...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20--President Carter would easily defeat either former Gov. Ronald Reagan of California or former President Gerald R. Ford if the election were held today, according to the Gallup Poll.

Fascinating NYT articles from the late 70s about the same things we see today. The GOP needs to be more moderate, reach out to independents, they're too conservative, Reagan is bad news, too extreme, etc... Things never change. Here's some highlights: From 10/3/77: Mr. Ford drew a warm but not particularly enthusiastic response when he told the Republicans that their party's future lay in avoiding idealistic extremes and in attracting non-aligned voters..."In my judgment the radical liberal or idealistically pure conservative policies will not in the long run attract the independent voter". It was a remark that some listeners interpreted...

AUSTIN – Here's what I did not hear at the annual confab of Republican governors held here this week: The words socialist, extremist, or government takeover. With the focus on jobs, jobs and jobs, the only red meat was the Texas barbecue. And by design, there was no Obama-bashing. [snip] Barbour cautioned Republican candidates to refrain from attacking the president, period: "People want the president to succeed; good Lord, they want the country to succeed, and particularly the first African-American president has a lot of goodwill. . . . We need to be careful, we need to treat the president...

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Vote in Our Poll: What's Your Top 2010 Issue?

John McCain may have been the Republican Party's national standard bearer last year, but now it looks like he may have a hard time just hanging on to his Senate seat. A new Rasmussen Reports poll of likely 2010 GOP primary voters in Arizona finds the longtime incumbent in a virtual tie with potential challenger, J.D. Hayworth. McCain earns 45% of the vote, while Hayworth picks up 43%. Another candidate, anti-illegal immigration activist Chris Simcox, is picking up 4%. Hayworth, 51, a conservative former U.S. congressman who now is a popular radio talk show host in Phoenix, is reportedly interested...

With less than a year until Election Day, the stakes for this country could not be higher. Nancy Pelosi and her puppets have put our country on a path for bankruptcy and rationed healthcare.   With that in mind, I wanted to take a moment to tell you about an exciting project - Reverse the Vote. This site is a tool that allows concerned Americans to directly support the challengers of 24 vulnerable Democrats who voted to take your healthcare away and put it in the hands of federal bureaucrats.This project will hold these 24 Democrats’ feet to the fire for voting...

John McCain's problems inside his own party were hardly overcome by his place as its nominee, Rasmussen reports. The new poll shows McCain up just two points, 45% to 43%, in a hypothetical contest with former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, now a popular local radio talker, who's mulling a bid.

Hope and change hits 29 states, the sad thing is, Obama is just getting started...Chart from CNN..

Former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain said Thursday he has read Sarah Palin's book and has no regrets about picking her as a running mate. (snip) He also said if Mrs. Palin decides to run for president in 2012 and becomes the Republican Party nominee he would vote for her. "I hope she has every success," Mr. McCain said. "She's still pretty popular."

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman have been working overtime to craft a climate bill that can attract significant GOP support. But they aren’t exactly scoring points with their mutual best friend in the Senate, John McCain. “Their start has been horrendous,” McCain said Thursday. “Obviously, they’re going nowhere.” McCain has emerged as a vocal opponent of the climate bill — a major reversal for the self-proclaimed maverick who once made defying his party on global warming a signature issue of his career. (snip) Former aides are mystified by what they see as a retreat on the issue, given McCain’s...

Sometimes a poll result slaps you in the face. That was the case for me when I saw Public Policy Polling’s results in the 2nd congressional district of Arkansas. PPP has the incumbent, Democrat Vic Snyder, leading three unknown Republicans (two-thirds to three-quarters of respondents could not describe their feelings toward them) by margins of 44%-43%, 44%-42% and 45%-42%. No, it doesn’t matter which Republican got the best score. The news here is that a seven-term Democratic incumbent, an intelligent man (he has earned an M.D.) with no disqualifying personal characteristics or accusations of scandal (so far as I know)...

Former State Representative Allen Quist announced Wednesday night that he will run against U.S. Representative Tim Walz for the First District Congressional Seat. In a press release, Quist said: "If people like what Congress is doing, they should vote for the incumbent. But if they believe, as I do, that Congress is headed in the wrong direction, then I will be the alternative." Quist had previously established a web site and Facebook page, so the formal announcement of his candidacy was not unexpected. A Republican, Quist served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1983 to 1988, runs...