Free Republic

Reporters from roughly 30 television networks, newspapers, magazines, and web sites celebrated the Fourth of July with Barack Obama at the White House last weekend. Why didn't you know that? Because they were sworn to secrecy. We reported yesterday that Politico's Mike Allen was spotted milling about as a guest at the White House's "backyard bash" by the pool reporter, who was allowed into the event for 40 minutes and kept in a pen before being ushered out. When Allen quoted from the pool report in his Playbook column the next day, he deleted a reference to his own name...

1st post:(keep in mind jaxright is a newbee as stated) I was looking for a video that I ran across recently from the 2004 Keyes/Obama Senate race debates where Keyes stated :"You are not even a Natural born citizen" to which Barack Obama replied: "That's OK, I am not running for president, I am only running for Senate." Has anyone else seen this? I can't seem to find it again. follow blog down to end..response from Keyes

The most persistent falsehood about Senator Barack Obama's background first hit in 2004 just two weeks after the Democratic convention speech that arguably set him on the path to his presidential candidacy: "Obama is a Muslim who has concealed his religion." That statement was contained in a press release and it spun a complex tale about the alleged ancestry of Obama, who is Christian. The press release was picked up by the conservative FreeRepublic.com Web site and spread virally and steadily as others elaborated on its claims over the years in e-mail messages, Web sites and, ultimately, books. It continues...

For a decade, Tom DeLay ruthlessly enforced Republican rule in Washington with such vigour that he was nicknamed "The Hammer". But the party's former leader in the House of Representatives will this month launch a national grassroots movement to combat the liberal activists who he believes outfoxed and outmanoeuvred Republicans to win the 2006 mid-term elections. Mr DeLay, who revelled in his reputation as a no-holds-barred Washington operator as the party's chief whip and then majority leader from 1995 to 2005, aims to instil an army of conservatives across the country with his political street-fighting skills. Tom DeLay: 'I have...

Check him out for yourself. He's the whole package. This is not only the kind of man you would want with you in the foxhole, this is the kind of man you want representing you in Washington – a man of integrity, character, moral clarity. This is a candidate I am excited about. Maybe you ask, "Farah, what can I do to support Col. West? I don't live in his district." The answer is simple. Do what I am doing. Send him the most generous campaign contribution you can. Maybe you don't have a man like West running in your...

UPDATE 5:10 p.m. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, in a brief order Wednesday afternoon, turned down a request that would have given an independent candidate in Maine for the U.S. Senate a place on the Nov. 4 ballot for that office. Souter acted without referring the stay application to his colleagues. There was no written opinion, just a simple denial order. The Justice’s action appears to assure the state’s two major party candidates, incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, and her Democratic challenger, Rep. Tom Allen, that they will not have to worry about an independent drawing votes away...

"These are the times which try Men's souls, the summer Soldier and the sunshine Patriot shall soon fade away", Thomas Paine These simple words were spoken during our first months of fighting for our American independence as we had suffered many losses. However, coming out of Valley Forge and crossing the Delaware River right before Christmas in 1776 George Washington led us to victory at Trenton and the tide began to turn. Our victory at Saratoga solidified our resolve and inspired the French to lend their resources to our fledgling Country. Even in the south where we faced Gen Cornwallis...

(Washington DC) Vets for Freedom is proud to announce its support of Allen West for United States Congress in the 22nd District of Florida. With a 20 year career as an officer in the Army, LTC West proudly served with distinction in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom, earning a Bronze Star, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals (one with Valor), and a Valorous Unit Award. Vets for Freedom applauds Allen’s commitment to continue his public service as a member of the United States House of Representatives. As a proud Army veteran of Iraq,...

Howdy to all the FReeper's out there, just wanted to take an opportunity to convey my sincere gratitude for all of your support. Since returning a simple e-mail to Fox Mulder 77 we have truly enjoyed an incredible response to our Congressional campaign, due to your support. I would just like to share with all of you an awesome statistic, we have had a total of nearly 1.2 million website hits with over 400,000 hits in June alone. This can be attributed to the Free Republic postings which have been the biggest director of web traffic to our Congressional campaign...

I had an opportunity to attend a campaign event for Allen West, a Republican running for Florida’s 22nd Congressional District against incumbent Ron Klein (D), yesterday and can tell you that I walked away feeling better than I have in weeks. You see I too am one of the majority of Americans who believe that this country is headed in the wrong direction, a line Democrats and mainstream media love to toss around. But not for the reason they would have you believe like Bush’s policies, the war in Iraq or anything to do with Republican politicians. No like most...

Well FReeper's, here we are, a conservative leader running for Congress that needs our support!!

<p>A leading democrat says Americans need to get used to paying $5 to $6 a gallon for their gas.</p> <p>U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, has a double dose of predictions on gasoline prices that nobody wants to hear: Prices are going up a lot more, he says, and the nation doesn't have any good ways to bring prices down.</p>

LtC. Allen West will be on at 4:05 and 4:30. Links below:

I had lunch with him today, and he REALLY liked this video!!

EthicsDaily.com reported 11 arrests, three convictions, two lawsuits and one suicide involving alleged sexual abuse by clergy in 2007.Other stories included a church that allowed a convicted sex offender to preach from its pulpit while knowing about his past and comments by the president of the Southern Baptist Convention denying clergy predators are a "systemic" problem and accusing victim advocates of using the issue for personal gain. Those stories were part of ongoing coverage of efforts by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests to pressure the 16.3 million-member convention to establish an independent review board for clergy sex...

Allen Won't Run for Va. Governor in '09 By BOB LEWIS – 50 minutes ago RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — George Allen, a former U.S. senator and governor of Virginia, will not run to lead the state again in 2009, he said Tuesday. Allen made his plans public in a statement to The Associated Press to end speculation about his participation in the upcoming gubernatorial race. He served as governor from 1994 to 1998 and in the U.S. Senate from 2001 until last year, when he suffered a bruising re-election loss to Democrat Jim Webb. The Republican wrote that he and...

Who Created the Fake Thompson Dropout Story? http://www.politico.com/reporters/JonathanMartin.htmlJust as Dick Cheney had "a fever" for launching the Iraq war (or so Colin Powell told Bob Woodward), Jonathan Martin has had "a fever" for politics, government, public affairs and history from an early age. Martin grew up in a family that took subscriptions to all three weekly news magazines and he was subjected to a vacation diet of battlefields, museums and other landmarks of historic note. Thus imbued with a deep curiosity about The American Experience -- not to mention a working knowledge of every significant National Park Service-run property along...

McLean, VA - Today the Fred Thompson campaign announced that two leading Virginia Republicans will serve as the campaign's Virginia Co-Chairs. Former Senator George Allen and Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell will lead the Thompson campaign operation in Virginia. A self-described "Common Sense Jeffersonian Conservative," George Allen has served the Commonwealth of Virginia for over twenty years. Allen first represented Virginia as a delegate in the General Assembly where he held Thomas Jefferson's seat. Elected to the United States Congress in 1991, Allen was later elected as Governor of Virginia in 1994. While in office he achieved criminal justice reform,...

State Rep. Bob Allen's troubles may only get worse. Seconds after he was convicted Friday of soliciting a sex act in a park bathroom, legislative leaders were discussing how to remove him from office. "This conviction makes it impossible for Rep. Allen to represent responsibly the citizens of his district," Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio said in a statement. "Furthermore, it is my personal belief that it harms the reputation of the Florida House of Representatives. We will now take the appropriate steps." Allen, R-Merritt Island, who did not testify in his own defense, insisted he is innocent. "I have...

One of the fun parts of being the host network of the debate is finding out first who the campaigns are lining up to spin for them post-debate. The campaign with the most interesting spinners on their team for tomorrow's CNBC/MSNBC/WSJ debate: Fred Thompson. His campaign has requested Spin Room credentials for one-time presidential hopeful/former Virginia Sen. George Allen as well as Liz Cheney, daughter of VP Cheney.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German factory worker stole over a million screws from his employer and skewed the market with his cheap stolen goods, police said Friday. "In the end, it became obvious that screws were being sold for much less than they usually cost," said a spokesman for police in the southern city of Wuerzburg. Over two years, the 33-year-old assembly plant worker smuggled between 2,000 and 7,000 screws out of work each night, and auctioned them on an Internet site, police said. The scheme cost his firm around 110,000 euros ($156,000). The man confessed after officers raided his...

TITUSVILLE - State Rep. Bob Allen told police he was just playing along when a undercover officer suggested in a public restroom that the legislator give him oral sex and $20 because he was intimidated, according to a taped statement and other documents released Thursday. Allen has already denied any wrongdoing, but the recordings and documents offered new details about what he and police say happened on July 11 inside the men's room at Veterans Memorial Park. "I certainly wasn't there to have sex with anybody and certainly wasn't there to exchange money for it," said Allen, R-Merritt Island, who...

<p>The long-awaited Indiana Jones adventure will mark a reunion of the original duo, with Karen Allen reprising her role as the feisty, hard-drinking Marion Ravenwood. Allen starred opposite Harrison Ford in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first film in the series.</p>

Fla. State Representative Accused Of Soliciting Sex In Men's RoomPolice: Allen Offered To Perform Act For $20TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- Florida state Rep. Robert "Bob" Allen, R-Merritt Island, was arrested Wednesday and charged with soliciting an undercover male officer for sex at a park in Central Florida, according to police. Investigators said Allen was acting suspicious and went in and out of the men's restroom at Veteran's Memorial Park, located on East Broad Street. Minutes later, authorities said, Allen solicited the male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20.Click here to find out more! Allen was then...

Forget the phrase "Where in the World is Matt Lauer"? How about "Where in the World is George Allen"? I found him! I interviewed him yesterday at his home near Mount Vernon in Virginia because I'm working on a future story about the legacy of Ronald Reagan and how that is impacting the 2008 GOP presidential race. Allen knew Ronald Reagan very well and so did his father. He is now heavily involved in promoting the Reagan Ranch Center and the conservative values that the group teaches to high school and college students around the country, Anyhow, at the end...

THE THOUGHT-FACTOR IN ACHIEVEMENT ALL that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts. In a justly ordered universe, where loss of equipoise would mean total destruction, individual responsibility must be absolute. A man's weakness and strength, purity and impurity, are his own, and not another man's; they are brought about by himself, and not by another; and they can only be altered by himself, never by another. His condition is also his own, and not another man's. His suffering and his happiness are evolved from within. As he thinks,...

A year ago, Dick Wadhams never thought he’d be back in Colorado full time trying to resurrect the state Republican Party. Wadhams, the silver-tongued Las Animas native who has led upset campaigns across the country, expected to be getting Virginia Sen. George Allen prepped for his presidential run. That was before Allen made his infamous “macaca” remark amid what should have been an easy reelection bid, and suddenly both he and Wadhams, his press secretary, found themselves out of their jobs. One week after that debacle, Wadhams fielded a call from Colorado Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, who suggested that...

If you are a Virginia blogger, chances are that the Webb campaign has an opposition research book on you. Bloggers that made the cut include Chad Dotson, Jim Hoeft, Ben Tribbett, Waldo Jaquith, Josh Chernila, Lowell Feld, Jim Riley, J.C. Wilmore, Jon Henke, and a host of others. These are not your typical background checks either... a significant amount of money was spent crafting the kind of opposition research one would typically find on a candidate running for public office. It seems as if the Webb campaign made a strategic decision to unleash this opposition research if something damaging came...

Virginia conservatives say they are galvanizing their base and raising money to elect candidates who share their core principles, even if that means campaigning against Republicans. "We're looking at good, fiscal conservative candidates for 2007 and are very excited about getting them elected to the Virginia Senate, where we believe the real leadership problems exists," said Robin DeJarnette, executive director of the Virginia Conservative Action PAC (VCAP). Virginia's conservative campaign mirrors a national movement that ascribes the Republicans' historic losses in Congress last month to the Bush administration and national Republicans' abandonment of conservative tenets such as limited spending, lower...

Sen. George Allen yesterday implored his colleagues to give presidential nominees a fair chance during a farewell speech that left the Virginia Republican's political future wide open. Mr. Allen's stunning November loss helped Democrats, who have blocked many of President Bush's judge and agency nominees, regain the Senate majority. "Accord [nominees] the fairness of an up or down vote," Mr. Allen said. "It's part of representative democracy." "Let's have John Bolton be the last casualty of the unfortunate partisan obstructionism," Mr. Allen said, referring to Mr. Bush's pick for ambassador to the United Nations. Mr. Bolton received his ambassadorship through...

A Charlottesville city prosecutor is recommending that no charges be brought against any participants in the scuffle Oct. 31 between a U.Va. law student and backers of Sen. George Allen... The scuffle occurred at an Allen campaign stop at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel. University of Virginia law student Mike Stark filed an assault complaint after being thrown to the floor by Allen supporters after he tried to ask Allen whether he had ever spat at his first wife.

ALLEN - A pregnant woman came home to a frightening sight and even more frightening news, police said: A strange man was in her bedroom and told her he had been hired by her husband to kill her. "Your husband wants you murdered," the man told Roxane Sterling, according to police reports. He then told the woman, who is eight months pregnant, to call police. The man had entered the empty house in this Dallas suburb while the woman's husband and their 3-year-old son were visiting relatives in New Mexico. Albert Jackson Sterling II faces two counts of criminal solicitation...

As a last little gift to America, Senator George Allen, who was narrowly defeated by James Webb this month, has introduced what may be his final piece of legislation: a bill that would allow the carrying of concealed weapons in national parks. The argument behind the bill is that national park regulations unfairly strip many Americans of a right they may enjoy outside the parks. The bill has passed to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where we hope it will die the miserable death it deserves. America’s confusion about the Second Amendment is now nearly total. An...

A statewide canvass of the Nov. 7 election results shows Democrat Jim Webb beat Republican U.S. Sen. George Allen by 9,329 votes, the State Board of Elections said Thursday. The results will not be official until they are certified by the board Nov. 27, but the statewide canvass is complete. Barbara Cockrell, the board's deputy secretary, said the official results may differ slightly from those posted Tuesday. Webb received 1,175,606 votes to Allen's 1,166,277 - a difference of 0.39 percent out of 2,370,445 votes cast, the canvass showed. Independent Green candidate Glenda Gail Parker received 26,102 votes, and there were...

Martin wants to point out that if it weren't for the icky evangelicals, we'd still have Allen as Senator in Va.

This past summer, between my third and fourth year of college, I decided to volunteer in my home state of Virginia on the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb. For most of the summer, I worked behind the scenes at the campaign office in Arlington, helping set up field offices statewide and performing other odd jobs. In the second week of August, I was dispatched by the campaign to serve as Republican Sen. George Allen's tracker on a "listening tour" across the state. Tracking was a rather solitary pursuit; I videotaped Allen's public appearances whenever I was admitted into...

Conservatives backed Webb The lesson of the 2006 election in Virginia is clear: It takes a Republican to beat a Republican in the U.S. Senate . Virginia's electorate voted 1,327,269 to 997,877 in favor a constitutional amendment -- a fairly drastic action -- banning homosexual "marriage" in Virginia. However, they also voted 1,174,816 to 1,165,881 for former Reagan administration Navy Secretary James H. Webb Jr. over far more likeable George Allen. Constitutional Amendment 1 that passed on Tuesday clearly tells us that 57 percent of Virginia voters are conservative and only 43 percent are liberal, moderate or libertarian -- combined....

If you voted absentee in the 8th District portion of Fairfax County then your rights may have been violated. The evidence strongly suggests that Fairfax County, Virginia lost 2300 absentee Senate votes in the 8th congressional district. Fairfax County is reporting in its vote totals that 24.4 percent of absentee voters in the 8th didn't bother to cast a ballot for senator, despite the Webb-Allen race being one of the most hotly contested in the nation. Contradictorily, Fairfax County reports that in the 10th and 11th District portions of the county more than 99 percent of voters cast ballots in...

Congratulations to The Weak-ly Standard. The "conservative" magazine did a wonderful job promoting Democrat senatorial candidates Jim Webb, Harold Ford Jr., and Jon Tester in it's last two issues immediately preceding Tuesday's election. The Standard wrote a long tribute to Webb, calling him a "blood and soil conservative". Despite Harold Ford Jr.'s very low ACU lifetime congressional voting record of 19, the Standard tried to portray him as being similar to his conservative opponent Bob Corker on the issues. Apparently, the magazine was enamored of the notion of having little Harold in the U.S. Senate. But, most outrageously, the last...

LEXANDRIA, Va. — Two days after American voters spoke, Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen made their decision final when he conceded his Senate battle to challenger Jim Webb, officially completing a Democratic sweep of Congress. Allen conceded the race at 3:15 p.m. ET during a press conference Thursday in Alexandria, Va. "Sometimes wins, political or otherwise, can blow the leaves off branches or even break limbs but a deep-rooted tree … will regrow in the next season," Allen said during his concession speech. The voters of Virginia have spoken, he said, "and I respect their decision."

YouTube didn’t even exist in the last election - and it may help decide the Senate. Consider: U.S. Sen. George Allen’s race in Virginia hinged on a few thousand votes. How many people downloaded his infamous “Macaca” gaffe - where he tossed the apparent racial slur at an opposition volunteer - from the video Web site? Nearly 400,000. And the scene of his campaign heavies manhandling a liberal blogger: 180,000. They can’t all have been Democrat partisans and people from out of state. And, of course, the people who downloaded it talked about it, so the effect ripples outward. Missouri’s...

I officially call upon the head of the Republican party in Virginia to resign. In 2004, 70% of the estimated 200,000 voters in the Presidental race went to reelect President Bush. Then............ In 2005, We had a slamdunk for Governor, Jerry Kilgore, It should have been a blowout win, but we lost. In 2006, We had a slamdunk for US Senate, Sen George Allen, It should have been a blowout win, but we lost. Candidates don't always do or say the right thing, but if this trend continues, we will lose whatever majorities we have in the Commonwealth, and may...

Democrats win control of Senate with Jim Webb victory in Virginia.

Update: 5% of Virginia precincts have not reported! Latest numbers at 7:30 PM show only 94.81 percent of precincts reporting. Who knows how many votes that represents. But, if all precincts were the same size (a big if), it would represent 124,678 votes remain to be counted if the total vote of 2,493.567 represents 94.81%. Of course, these could all be small precincts. But, even so, 5% still not reporting. Is it conceivable this could change the outcome? Here are the numbers at 7:30 PM J H Webb Jr Democratic 1,173,805 49.55% G F Allen Republican 1,166,488 49.24% Shortfall: 7,317...

Top Republicans in Washington will give Sen. George Allen a few days to take stock of his legal and political options before beginning to pressure him to concede to James Webb. Senior Republican officials and White House aides believe that Webb won the race. Several outside advisers to Allen want him to make the decision quickly; others in his campaign want to make sure that there's no chance a cache of new votes will turn up. One question: when will (will?) the AP call the race? [MARC AMBINDER]

The race for Virginia Senate is so tight, a zero vote could count. A precinct in James City County reports zero because it is a "ghost precinct". But that zero tally was causing problems with election results on Wednesday.SnipJames City County General Registrar Alan Cole, Sr. says the report on the state website that only 14 of 16 James City County precincts reported is incorrect, sort of. "James City County precincts were 100-percent reported at 8:18 last night. Part of the problem is 2 of our precincts are referred to as ghost precincts. We really only have 14 precincts."

Official VA reports from Isle of Wright County: Allen 6,984 Webb 5,050 92% of precincts http://sbe.virginiainteractive.org/nov2006/l_02.htm CNN Numbers: Allen 6,984 Webb 9050 92% of precincts http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/VA/S/01/county.002.html One of these numbers is wrong. And its a typo

Looks like Allen has it. The two remaining counties not fully reported, Arlington and Charlottesville, do not have enough remaining votes to bail Webb out......in my opinion. Whoopee! PF

(Arlington, VA.) ? Senator George Allen routinely tells Virginians one reason they should vote for him is that they ?know? him. And now Allen says he?s finally ready to run on his record and ideas."......... "Do Virginians know that Senator Allen made excuses for a Bush appointee that was caught aiding an illegal immigrant?"......... ........"Chavez housed and gave money to the immigrant in 1992 and 1993, and Allen rushed to Chavez? defense saying ?She was helping someone in need.? ?Chavez, who lives in Purcellville in Loudoun County, donated at least $500 to Allen?s 2000 Senate campaign and she also held...

Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell writes that her paper's coverage of Virginia Republican Senator George Allen has been "relentlessly negative" and without balance. Howell also says a profile of Maryland Democratic Senate candidate Ben Cardin was not critical enough — calling it "relentlessly positive"— while the paper underplayed a story about several prominent black Democrats endorsing Republican Michael Steele— who is an African-American. And Howell agrees with some readers that photographs in the paper tend to show Democrats looking cheerful and confident — and Republicans looking grim. The New York Times says for the first time in memory it is...