Free Republic

“The Imperial Presidency” was written in 1973 out of Arthur Schlesinger’s concern that the U.S. presidency had exceeded its constitutional limitations. If Schlesinger were merely concerned in 1973, he’d be downright terrified today. According to Trevor Loudon’s blog, New Zeal, an American Caesar has emerged on the political landscape in the form of our current commander-in-chief. New Zeal bases its premise on the Presidential Appointment and Streamlining Act (S. 279), which is stampeding through the Senate with Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., clutching at its reins. Since its introduction, seven Republicans jumped on board in support.The stated purpose of the bill is...

Jon Kyl's sudden retirement announcement has set off a domino effect on the ambitions of several Senate Republicans.  When Senator Kyl retires in 2012, he will be vacating the position of Senate (Majority, most likely) Whip, in addition to his Arizona Senate seat.  Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (RINO, TN), the 3rd ranking member in the GOP leadership, has announced that he will seek the Whip position.  Senator John Cornyn, the Chairman of the NRSC, will challenge Alexander for that key leadership role.  Also, if Alexander vacates his current position as Conference chair, there will be a race to succeed him....

WASHINGTON —A radio reporter in the classic movie 'Mr. Smith Goes To Washington' dramatically tells his listeners that filibuster action in the U.S. Senate is 'democracy's finest show.' That might have been true in director Frank Capra's world. But in today's ultra-partisan Washington, the show is in danger of being canceled, or at least cut short. A group of Senate Democrats frustrated by Republicans' success in using the filibuster to thwart President Barack Obama's agenda is pushing for new rules to limit the parliamentary tool, which enables a single senator to hold up a piece of legislation by talking on...

Backroom deals won’t do Tennessee much good if America’s national security is compromised. Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander (R) and Bob Corker (R) must not have considered national security when they decided to vote in favor of ratifying the dangerous New START Treaty. They also failed to research Russia’s alliance with countries like Iran, China, North Korea and Venezuela. It appears the Tennessee Senators were interested in bringing home the pork at the expense of our nation’s security. Zachary Roth’s December 23rd article states: “It will likely include more than $6 billion dollars for a uranium processing facility, to be built...

But the modernization isn't likely to be carried out in anything like a rational, cost-effective way..... It will likely include more than $6 billion dollars for a uranium processing facility, to be built at the Y-12 weapons compound in Oak Ridge, Tennessee..... Indeed, the states' two GOP senators, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, both said that money for modernization -- and therefore, in all likelihood, pork for their district -- was a key condition of their support.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander will travel Friday to Delaware to campaign for tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell in her uphill Senate race against Democrat Chris Coons. O'Donnell "will help provide a badly needed check and balance on a runaway federal government that has given us too much spending, too many taxes, too much debt and too many Washington takeovers," the Tennessee Republican said in a statement. Alexander is scheduled to attend an event with O'Donnell in the morning, a Republican operative said, although the location and other details were unclear. Alexander and other top Republicans have been criticized...

SNIPPET: "Four of them - German citizens identified only as Tarek Alexander H., Daniel P., Renee Marc S. and Jonas T. - face charges of supporting al-Qaida, al-Qaida in Iraq and Ansar al-Islam, and membership in a criminal organization. Another four face those charges and additionally are accused of trying to recruit members or supporters for al-Qaida or al-Qaida in Iraq. In keeping with German privacy rules, they were identified only as Harun Can A., Salim Mohammed A. and Vivian S., all German citizens; and Emin T., a Turkish national. The key figure in the founding and organization of the...

Tennessee’s U.S. senators are among the richest of the 535-member Congress, according to newly released financial disclosures. U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., added more than $1 million to his wealth in 2009. With a worth last year of at least $18.3 million, he’s the 16th-richest member of Congress, according to an analysis by The Hill, a Washington, D.C., political newsletter. U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., reported no change last year but remained among the wealthiest senators, with a net worth of at least $12.1 million, The Hill reported. Among The Hill’s 50 wealthiest members of Congress, three were from Georgia...

Citing her treatment of military recruiters as dean of Harvard Law School, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said this morning that he will vote against Solicitor General Elena Kagan for a spot on the U.S. Supreme Court. He joins another senator from the Mid-South, Roger F. Wicker, R-Miss., in expressing opposition to President Barack Obama’s nominee. “I voted against the president’s nomination of Elena Kagan to be Solicitor General and I will vote against her confirmation to the Supreme Court for the same reason: I remain deeply troubled by her aggressive opposition to allowing military recruiters the same access to Harvard...

The Washington Post ombudsman on Sunday chided his newspaper for ignoring the voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party, saying The Post remained "virtually silent" as the story developed in recent weeks. The newspaper carried a full-length news article about the case on Thursday. But ombudsman Andrew Alexander wrote that readers have been contacting him "for months" wondering what was taking so long for The Post to show interest in the controversy. "The Post didn't cover it. Indeed, until Thursday's story, The Post had written no news stories about the controversy this year," Alexander wrote. "That's prompted many...

The rise of the Tea Party movement, the defeat of Bob Bennett, the victory of Rand Paul -- all these have all been driven by a popular backlash against runaway spending in Washington. The Republican Party's hopes of retaking Congress rest on its ability to convince conservative and independent voters that the GOP will restore fiscal discipline if trusted with power this fall. Yet take a close look at the people sitting around the table at the Senate Republican leadership meetings. There are nine senators at that table -- and all but three are members of the powerful and exclusive...

"Russian 'Bin Laden' killed by Moscow's special forces Russia exulted in the death of a terrorist dubbed "the Russian Bin Laden," yesterday claiming it has proof he was behind a deadly train bombing last November that left 28 people dead." By Andrew Osborn in Moscow Published: 7:11PM GMT 07 Mar 2010 SNIPPET: "The FSB intelligence service said a special forces operation had resulted in the death of Sheikh Said Buryatsky, an Islamist convert whose real name was Alexander Tikhomirov."

Today’s healthcare summit at Blair House in Washington D.C. today was simply for in all honesty a COMPLETE FARCE. From start to finish, it was waste of not only the taxpayer’s money, but also of precious tv time that could be better spent on cutting taxes and reducing spending on the government level so that the private sector could begin to produce jobs again.

Alexander's men wore linothorax, a highly effective type of body armor created by laminating together layers of linen, research finds. A Kevlar-like armor might have helped Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.) conquer nearly the entirety of the known world in little more than two decades, according to new reconstructive archaeology research. Presented at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in Anaheim, Calif., the study suggests that Alexander and his soldiers protected themselves with linothorax, a type of body armor made by laminating together layers of linen. "While we know quite a lot about ancient armor made from...

WASHINGTON — The third-ranking Senate Republican said Wednesday the Obama administration appears to be launching a Richard Nixon-like political strategy of making an “enemies list” of people who disagree with the president. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who once worked in President Nixon’s administration, warned the White House that such a “street brawl” approach of attacking political opponents “can get you in a lot of trouble.” Alexander offered no evidence that Obama is developing an actual list, as Nixon famously created for his opponents. But, he said, “I have an uneasy feeling only 10 months into this new administration that...

Sen. Lamar Alexander, (R-Tenn.), from the Senate floor today, likened President Obama's war against FOX News to former president Richard M. Nixon's infamous "Enemies List". Alexander cited numerous recent examples of groups under siege by Obama's White House, including, as left-of center Politico recently put it, attempting to "neuter" the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, similar to Nixon's tactics forty years ago. Alexander should know. He was an aid of Nixon's in the 1970's.

A growing number of conservative talkradio show hosts, including Jim Vicevich have been bringing up that President Obama has set up an "enemies list" just like Richard Nixon has done. Lemar Alexander brings this up in an interview by Neil Cavuto. Well he’s not the first. Krauthammer and Rove said the same thing right here. But this is a Senator who’s been there and seen that so it carries a little more weight. I agree with Rush. I think this does nothing. This doesn’t even give Obama a tingle.

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Republican Conference Chairman, suggested on the Senate floor this morning that the Obama White House is plotting a political strategy similar to that of ex-President Richard Nixon and may be on the verge of preparing its own “enemies list.” This afternoon, Fox News’ Neil Cavuto interviewed him regarding the comments. (videos below) Alexander, who served in the Nixon White House, offered what he said was a “friendly suggestion” to the White House not to repeat the errors he saw committed by the staff of the disgraced former president. “This behavior is typical of street brawls and...

The third-ranking Senate Republican said Wednesday the Obama administration appears to be launching a Richard Nixon-like political strategy of making an "enemies list" of people who disagree with the president. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who once worked in President Nixon's administration, warned the White House that such a "street brawl" approach of attacking political opponents "can get you in a lot of trouble." Alexander offered no evidence that Obama is developing an actual list, as Nixon famously created for his opponents. But, he said, "I have an uneasy feeling only 10 months into this new administration that we're beginning...

Senator urges Obama: Don't start enemies list 25 mins ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top Republican invoked the memory of the scandal-marred Nixon administration on Wednesday to urge U.S. President Barack Obama to "back up" and not "start an enemies list." Senator Lamar Alexander told Reuters he has begun to see the Obama White House adopting an attitude similar to that of the Richard Nixon White House four decades ago, that "everybody is against us and we are going to get them." Alexander cited as examples the Obama administration's suggestion that it may support stripping the insurance industry of its...