Free Republic

"If the Republican Party follows the course of Palin and Beck and Company it's doomed."So said Sam Donaldson on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. His evidence? Democrat Bill Owens victory Tuesday in the 23rd Congressional district of New York. Readers are strongly advised to stow all fluids, combustibles, and sharp objects for the ignorance on display here might produce uncontrollable fits of anger (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript): (VIDEO AT LINK) Let me tell you that the wake-up call for the Republicans was the New York's 23rd. Now just as Rush Limbaugh couldn't prevent the Party from nominating...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says she's back on Twitter. Palin took to the social networking site earlier this year, tweeting about state government, national politics and everything in between. When she quit as Alaska's governor in July, she promised to keep her fans updated through tweets. But that didn't happen, and Palin instead posted regular updates on her Facebook page, which has nearly 1 million followers. In a Facebook posting Monday announcing more dates on her book tour, Palin said she'll provide Twitter updates from the tour. Her Twitter feed is SarahPalinUSA.(continued)

Matthew Continetti has a piece in this weekend’s Weekly Standard hailing Sarah Palin as the ideal leader of a new populist uprising. One obvious objection to his thesis: The populist Sarah is in fact one of the most unpopular figures in American life. According to Gallup, 63% of Americans say they would never consider voting for her. By a margin of 62%-31% Americans rate Palin “unqualified” to serve as president – by far the worst score for any leading Republican. In comparison, only 51% of Americans say they would never consider voting for Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee – and...

Obama said the main message he took from last week’s election results – with Republicans winning gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia – was that Americans are “nervous, and they’re worried and they’re anxious.” “I don't think there's any denying the fact that people are worried out there,” he said in an interview with ABC’s Jake Tapper today. Obama said Democrat Bill Owens victory in the special election in New York’s 23rd congressional district, the one bright spot for the president’s party last Tuesday, “sent an important signal.”

In 2008, a charismatic right-wing populist Republican governor won the heart of the party's base despite being forced to take a backseat to a more respectable "moderate" Republican. He was Mike Huckabee, and he is sad, and mad. Ben Smith followed Mike Huckabee around for a while as he sold his new Christmas book. Huckabee was the governor of Arkansas. He used to be fat, and then he got skinny, and now he is getting fat again. He's also basically as crazy Christian as they come, but he masks this with a genuinely likable sense of humor, which is why...

Sarah Palin Rallies Thousands Against Abortion at Pro-Life Event Milwaukee, WI -- Sarah Palin rallied thousands of pr-life advocates Friday night at a gala event sponsored by Wisconsin Right to Life. The former vice-presidential candidate and Alaska governor urged strong support for the pro-life position on abortion and end-of-life issues. http://www.LifeNews.com/state4555.html

Much will be said in coming weeks about Sarah Palin and the Republican Party -- especially after the Democrat "upset" in New York's 23rd Congressional District and the "over-the-top" Republican gubernatorial wins in Virginia and New Jersey. First of all, Palin will not leave the Republican Party. "As independent-minded and anti-establishment as she is," says Villanova University political science professor Lara Brown, "she seems to understand well one of my favorite quotes from political scientist John Aldrich from Duke University: 'The standard line that anyone can grow up to be president may be true, but it is true only if...

Why won't we nominate one of the most conservative leaders with proven electability on the GOP ticket in 2012? Sure, it will only be an year and a half in the Governor's chair. But, who cares. Obama was only in the Senate an year and a half before he ran. Bob McDonnell gave Obama (and his puppet) a thumping in a key state. He is a social conservative as well and has shown the road to win key elections.

The world is beset by a series of outlandish catastrophes in the much-hyped Sony Pictures movie. An earthquake-devastated Los Angeles slips into the sea, the Vatican collapses, its dome crushing worshippers and a tsunami dumps an aircraft carrier atop an exploding White House. Meanwhile a tidal wave sweeps across the Himalayas and a meteor shower strikes Earth. The director Roland Emmerich - a veteran of catastrophe in his earlier films Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow - was inspired by theories that the calendar of the ancient Mayans foretells the end of civilisation on Dec 21, 2012. "The famous...

Any judgment of Barack Obama’s presidency based on a handful of off-year races is overstating the case. Trying to decipher the real meaning is something like reading tea leaves, and just as reliable. Still, they are clues and warnings, at least, for the national parties. My reading of the leaves: independents flexed their muscle and gave Obama a warning, passing health care reform is going to be a little harder but still in the cards, and New York voters deepened the Republican identity crisis. You could say this was in a part the opening blow of Obama vs. Sarah Palin...

Pfizer (PFE) has laid off 26,300 employees since 2005, and hopes eventually to lay off a total of 30,900 through 2012, according to its 10-Q filing with the SEC. The company had several rounds of layoffs before its acquisition of Wyeth in an attempt to get $6 billion in annual savings out of its business model. The company has said it wants to ax about 19,500 jobs to make the Wyeth merger work. The new company will have about 130,000 workers. The layoffs are ongoing, Pfizer said: In the third quarter of 2009, we reduced our workforce by approximately 1,100...

Democrats have some thinking to do after Tuesday's elections, but Republicans don't have time to think. They're too busy trying to survive the party's internal purge and avoid being shipped off to political Siberia. Will loyal members inform on others for harboring suspiciously moderate views? Will anyone judged guilty have to wear a sign saying "Republican In Name Only" as penance? Will there be re-education camps? Will deviationists face the Enhanced Interrogation Technique of being forced to listen to the wit and wisdom of Glenn Beck, at ear-splitting volume, for days on end? Or worse: When Sarah Palin's memoir, "Going...

Inevitably, it seems, films about the end of the world generate much discussion — and, often, controversy. Five months ago, hype about the soon-to-be-released disaster film, 2012 (trailer), prompted me to publish a piece under the headline, How Would the Governments of Our Planet Prepare Six Billion People for the End of the World? Today, I came across more “buzz” about the film set for release Nov. 13 that prompts me to write about it again.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue speaks to the way Catholics and Muslims are treated in the upcoming film, “2012”:When we got word recently that the movie “2012” depicts the Vatican being blown up, along with the famous statue from Rio, Christ the Redeemer, we were unmoved. Why? Because this occurs during the end of the world in a massive destruction. This kind of sensationalism, we reasoned, is standard fare for director Roland Emmerich: he is the guru of the “blow ‘em up” genre of movies. But now we’ve learned that while Catholics get theirs, Muslims are spared. Out of fear,...

Over the past few months, I have been testing the waters with numerous articles advocating Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) as a possible candidate for the Republican nomination to be our Presidential candidate in under three years. The response from readers of this blog, and folks who ran upon the articles that I had written, has been amazing. I have received at least three emails asking me what can I do? How can we start a draft Senator DeMint for President 2012 organization? Will this lead into a Nation-wide third party movement? Not to mention numerous comments in support of...

'2012' maker destroys Vatican, Jesus, but leaves shrine in Mecca alone. The maker of the upcoming apocalyptic film "2012" has conceded he enjoyed orchestrating the visual disintegration of the world's religious symbols, such as the Vatican and the famous statue of Jesus overlooking Rio de Janeiro. But he left an Islamic symbol alone because he feared the reaction from the Muslim world. In an interview with the online SciFiWire website, Roland Emmerich said he had considered including the destruction of the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure in Mecca worshiped by Muslims as being built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. "Well,...

Who Do You Think is the Most Likely GOP Contender in 2012 of This Group? Mitt Romney 46% 2,273 votes Sarah Palin 27% 1,341 votes Tim Pawlenty 17% 837 votes Newt Gingrich 9% 423 votes

Barbara Walters will sit down with former Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for a five-part series of ABC News interviews to begin airing on "Good Morning America" Nov. 17, the morning her highly anticipated book "Going Rogue: An American Life" is released. The wide-ranging interview will cover her public life as Governor of Alaska and her Vice Presidential run in 2008, as well as her private life. This is Walters' first interview with the political figure.(continued)

Who do you think is the most likely GOP Contender in 2012 of this group?Scroll down a bit... on the right side.

When I interviewed director Roland Emmerich a few months ago about his upcoming disaster flick "2012," the first question I asked was, "Why do you like killing the world?" His response: "It makes for a good story." Over the past fifteen years, Emmerich has crafted some great tales about global doom, featuring some spectacular scenes of destruction. He had aliens zap the White House in "Independence Day," he let a massive lizard flatten New York City in "Godzilla," and he sent killer tornadoes through downtown Los Angeles in "The Day After Tomorrow." For "2012," Emmerich set his sites on destroying...

When I interviewed director Roland Emmerich a few months ago about his upcoming disaster flick "2012," the first question I asked was, "Why do you like killing the world?" His response: "It makes for a good story." Over the past fifteen years, Emmerich has crafted some great tales about global doom, featuring some spectacular scenes of destruction. He had aliens zap the White House in "Independence Day," he let a massive lizard flatten New York City in "Godzilla," and he sent killer tornadoes through downtown Los Angeles in "The Day After Tomorrow." For "2012," Emmerich set his sites on destroying...

Roland Emmerich has admitted that he feared a fatwa would be placed on him if he filmed a scrapped scene for 2012. The filmmaker is well known for decimating famed landmarks on movies including The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day. He stated that while he decided to destroy the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro because he is "against organised religion", he was fearful of the Islamic religious decree for a sequence that was planned but not shot. The 53-year-old wanted to demolish the Kaaba, which is a cube-shaped building at the heart of Mecca and is...

2012: Politically Correct Apocalypse Statue of Christ the Redeemer Crumbles The Kabaa Remains Intact thelastcrusade.org In Roland Emmerich’s latest film, you will see the destruction of St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Vatican, Notre Dame, and Westminster Abby. You’ll also see the collapse of the White House, the Capitol, Big Ben, and the House of Representatives. But 2012,the new film which purports the show the end of world, does not contain any scenes of Saudis being swallowed up by desert storms or Dubai being sucked into a sea of oil. Yes, all the great structures of Western civiliation and Christianity will...

Results of Freeper only vote on Pail vs Romney for republican primary.

So Sarah Palin has started endorsing candidates, by boosting conservative Doug Hoffman for an upstate New York congressional seat in tomorrow’s elections. Maybe she should make that a regular practice. Endorsements matter, despite what the chattering heads say on cable news. And multiple Palin stamps of approval could be good for the recipients, the Republican Party, and ex-Governor Palin herself. Plus, the ads would be fantastic. Decoder can see one now: “Hi, I’m Sarah Palin, Brander of MavericksTM. I’ve taken time from my busy schedule here in Alaska because it’s important you know that [CANDIDATE NAME] is a maverick, just...

BARCELONA (Reuters) – A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project. The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost 3 million euro (2.7 million pounds) for a three-night stay at the hotel, with this price including an eight-week training course on a tropical island. During their stay, guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and travel around the world every 80 minutes. They...

"You know the thing I think that makes us different from other people around the world, is I think Americans still have a strong streak of independence. And an even stronger streak of independence from government. And attempts to control things by government, tend to nettle Americans, and to draw resistance. And the liberals and democrats continue to think that the desire for security, and for comfort, and for assurance – all the things that you’re supposed to get from a socialistic system, that those factors are going to outweigh those streaks of independence and self reliance. And I think...

He was called a dumb actor -- a mere mouthpiece for wealthy controllers on the right, who fed him lines and pointed him toward a lectern to deliver them. He communicated well and knew how to act the part, having trained in those arts. But he was really an empty suit. Today, many rank that man -- Ronald Reagan -- among our greatest presidents. That he was not the derogatory things he had been called was a matter of record. Well before running for the presidency he had wedded himself to the core ideas he espoused in that office --...

CANCUN, Mexico - Roland Emmerich has an ongoing project: destroying the world. In 1996's Independence Day, the German director sent aliens to wipe out the White House. In 1998, he unleashed Godzilla to wreak havoc on the streets of New York. In 2004's The Day After Tomorrow, he froze the planet in a new ice age. But in his new film, 2012, to be released Nov. 13 and already the eye of a vast promotion storm, things get really bad. Emmerich, who has earned the unofficial title of "Master of Disaster," admits having searched Google for a doomsday scenario even...

The Conservative Party, beginning its 47th year, continues to be the champion of the taxpayers of New York State and now more than ever the proposals in this legislative program are needed to restore New York’s fiscal well being. The Conservative Party urges the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government to adopt the following proposals in order to restore New York's fiscal credibility, properly educate our children, keep our citizens safe and maintain the values that made New York the Empire State. The Conservative Party made substantial contributions in bringing New York State back from a credit rating equal to...

Gary Johnson Gearing up for 2012? The pro-drug legalization, pro-immigration, small government budget hawk and former governor of New Mexico looks to be preparing for a run. Gary Johnson is preparing to launch his Our America PAC shortly, as soon as he gets all of his legal ducks in a row. He will be hitting the trail hard soon, traveling the country to speak in support of issues and candidates, re-immersing himself in the public policy debate. This December, Governor Johnson will also be releasing a book entitled “Seven Principles Of Good Government,” published by The Heartland Institute (a conservative-libertarian...

Okay, let's find out who the Freepers would vote for in a Republican Primary.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (R) is setting up a new political group to potentially set up a run for the White House. The former two-term governor, known for his libertarian leanings, is setting up a new 527 group, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, over which he'll preside as an "honorary chairman." The move raises the specter that Johnson might wage a bid for the GOP -- or Libertarian Party -- nomination for president in 2012. Candidates often set up groups, more frequently Political Action Committees (PACs) to raise money for or support other candidates. Johnson said...

Mitt Romney passed over the race for the open Senate seat in Massachusetts, but has decided to get involved in his own way. He is holding a fundraiser for Republican state Sen. Scott Brown, in his long-shot bid to become the successor of the late Edward M. Kennedy.. Romney will appear tonight with Brown in Wrentham, Mass. The event should provide a needed financial shot in the arm for the under-resourced campaign -- Brown raised $154,000 through Sept. 30, the lowest of any of the major party candidates. State Attorney General Martha Coakley led the four-person Democratic field with $2.2...

Sounding more like an independent than a Democrat, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., tells ABC News he will campaign for some Republican candidates during the 2010 midterm elections and may not seek the Democratic Senate nomination when he runs for re-election in 2012. "I probably will support some Republican candidates for Congress or Senate in the election in 2010. I'm going to call them as I see them," Lieberman said in an ABC News "Subway Series" interview aboard the U.S. Capitol Subway System. Lieberman infuriated fellow Democrats in 2008 by supporting Republican presidential nominee John McCain as well as congressional candidates...

Will Ron Paul give it another go in 2012? The Texas congressman and hero of limited government advocates will visit the key early primary state of South Carolina on Nov. 9 to deliver a speech "on the future of individual liberty and the importance of the U.S. Constitution" at the University of South Carolina, student groups said Tuesday. The announcement comes a week after Paul scheduled a visit to Iowa on Nov. 13 to speak to students at Iowa State University.

It is important to understand radical Muslim theology, not because it is true, but because some of the people who believe it want to kill you. Likewise, it is important to understand a lesser known theology which may also spawn efforts to harm. This week, Fightin Words entertains the fringe, exploring the New Age movement, theosophy, Luciferianism, and similar paradigms which share a common vision of a coming “enlightenment” or “shift in consciousness” which will subvert the “Old Order” and unify humanity under a single banner. Those who resist this shift will be “holding humanity back,” and are to be...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is once again making headlines by publicly pondering a 2012 presidential bid. Yesterday, as Politics Daily and Politico report, Gingrich talked about a possible bid on CSPAN's Washington Journal. In the interview, Gingrich said he would make the decision in February of 2011 and that probably would run if he and his wife, Callista, decided that they feel "a requirement as citizens that we run," which would be based on how they asses the other candidates running for the Republican nomination. "We are going to reach out to all of our friends around the country,"...

Gary Johnson is preparing to launch his Our America PAC shortly, as soon as he gets all of his legal ducks in a row. He will be hitting the trail hard soon, traveling the country to speak in support of issues and candidates, re-immersing himself in the public policy debate. This December, Governor Johnson will also be releasing a book entitled “Seven Principles Of Good Government,” published by The Heartland Institute (a conservative-libertarian think tank).

That the GOP should somehow do whatever it takes to become more moderate, to build a bigger tent over those in the center and on the center-left, is exactly the wrong answer for the party and, more importantly, for the country which depends upon its traditional common sense, values and restraint. The Republican Party must instead patch the holes in the proverbial tent over those on the political right who have been left out in the rain since George W. Bush began his second term. Republicans must focus intently on the proper role of the federal government with regard to...

WASHINGTON -- The national debate among Republicans over their party's future is nowhere sharper than in South Carolina, where Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint pursue distinctly different visions for restoring GOP primacy at the polls. Graham and DeMint, who profess to be friends and live within an hour's drive of each other in the conservative Upstate, prescribe conflicting cures for the Republican ailments that led to sweeping defeats in the last two national elections. Graham, a Seneca Republican elected to his second term last year, says the party must stop alienating young people and Hispanics and start promoting pragmatic,...

2012 peek at Pawlenty's PAC fundraiserJonathan Martin – Fri Oct 23, 12:26 am ET Hundreds of mostly young Republicans gathered Thursday night at a Washington brewpub to lend their support to, size up or just catch a glimpse of Minnesota Gov. and 2012 prospect Tim Pawlenty. Over beers and pretzels, the committed and the curious saw what amounted to an informal debut in the capital for the potential presidential candidate. The fundraiser was ostensibly to support the PAC Pawlenty opened earlier this month, yet for the after-work crowd of Republicans strolling around the terrace of the Capital City Brewing Company...

Notebook: Sec. Clinton | October 23, 2009 As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton's approval rating is at 65 percent, higher than both Michelle and President Barack Obama's. Katie Couric comments that even conservatives are changing their tune.

<p>With America’s first ever black president, there’s hope for ethnic minorities in the US to step forward. Bobby Jindal is one such man – the present governor of Louisiana is the youngest in the country and won with 88% votes. Bobby Jindal was touted to be John McCain’s running mate, before the position was taken by Sarah Palin (was it his dark skin? or did he turn down Mccain’s propsal?). Anyway, that has changed.</p>

In the not too distant future, a sign that says "Palin for President 2012" could pop up along Highway 101 in San Carlos. That's because a federal judge this week ordered the city to stop enforcing part of its sign ordinance, in response to a lawsuit that contends the law violates free speech rights.

In a Daily Beast op-ed the former Bush speech writer says Sarah Palin is still the class of the 2012 field, and she's not going away anytime soon. Why? Because the rank and file are fed up with the establishment Republicans who have almost drained all of the "Grand" out of the Grand Old party, and they see Palin as the cure for the disease they carry. A few excerpts: The latest news in Washington is that the conservative Minnesota governor (and potential 2012 presidential contender) has caught the eye of the city’s top Republican gurus. You remember them. The...

Is 2012 the end of the world? If you scan the Internet or believe the marketing campaign behind the movie "2012," scheduled for release in November, you might be forgiven for thinking so. Dozens of books and fake science websites are prophesying the arrival of doomsday that year, by means of a rogue planet colliding with the Earth or some other cataclysmic event. Normally, scientists regard Internet hysteria with nothing more than a raised eyebrow and a shake of the head. But a few scientists have become so concerned at the level of fear they are seeing that they decided...

Cited on a variety of Internet shops like The AtlanticWire, Newser and Lara Ebke’s Red State Eclectic yesterday was a quote from Matt Lewis, writer, blogger and commentator from Alexandria, Va. He writes in Politics Daily: “If recent elections are any guide, the Republicans' heads will tell them to choose Mitt Romney. Their hearts whisper something else. Is ‘Sarah’ the name of this siren song?” W. McCahill at Newser says: “No matter what kind of gains Republicans make in the midterm elections next year, it’s going to be tough to unseat President Obama — and that’s why the GOP is...

2012 Doomsday Not Likely, Mayans Insist Mark Stevenson, Associated Press   Oct. 12, 2009 -- Apolinario Chile Pixtun is tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the Mayan calendar supposedly "running out" on Dec. 21, 2012. After all, it's not the end of the world. Or is it? Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. "I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff." It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood's "2012" opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the...