Free Republic

Republican presidential hopefuls are united in blasting President Obama for his chaotic enforcement of marijuana laws, but the unity quickly breaks down when they are asked how they would handle things if they were in the White House. Some have sent mixed signals, saying state decisions should be respected while questioning how Mr. Obama has respected those decisions. Others have refused to say how they would wield the federal bureaucracy against marijuana. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is one of the few potential candidates to take a firm stance, saying he would insist on following federal statutes that outlaw the drug....

The Maricopa County attorney is coming under fire for calling a veteran an "enemy" during a debate-- and he's not backing down from his words. This all unfolded at a debate over legalizing marijuana last week hosted by the Tempe Republican Women. Bill Montgomery told a veteran he had no respect for him after the vet asked for a meeting to discuss how medical marijuana has improved his life. "With all due respect sir, your name calling, 'potheads' offends me,” said Don Ream during a Q & A portion of the debate. Ream is a Vietnam veteran. He's been a...

The Arizona Senate rejected a bill Monday that would have abolished the controversial Common Core standards in that state. Some Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat the bill, 16-13, a fact that underscores that while Democrats could be expected to vote in favor of keeping a federally-funded initiative like the Common Core, the worst enemy of the conservative base of the GOP is actually other Republicans.As the Associated Press notes, repeal measure HB 2190 earlier passed the Arizona state House and the Senate Education committee, but the full Senate rejected the bill as it did a similar proposal last month...

My heart is broken right now realizing that harm has been done to LGBT people in this country. Much of it is real involving bullying and sexual abuse, among other things. But much of it is also imaginary leading to imaginary notions about 'enemies'. Those who have conservative religious beliefs about sexuality have been defined by activists that include major business leaders like Apple CEO Tim Cook as bigots, racists, KKK and Nazis. With that notion in their heads and with business- political-media support, one shudders to think what is happening at this moment in the attack on the Indiana...

Thank you for contacting me about the letter sent by Republican Senators to the leadership in Iran regarding a nuclear agreement. As you know, on March 9, 2015, 47 Republican Senators sent a letter to the leaders of Iran addressing a prospective agreement on Iran's nuclear program. In the letter, the cosigners advised that Congress could revoke any agreement reached with Iran. I did not sign this letter. While I believe that Congress should have a say on any agreement – after all, Congress will need to repeal the sanctions from which Iran seeks relief as part of an agreement...

Though Republican Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona ran as a candidate opposed to the Common Core standards in 2014, he claims a bill that would abolish the controversial initiative in his state is not “necessary” and wants, instead, to “fix” the standards.Arizona Capitol Times reports that Ducey has “walked a fine line” in the debate over the highly controversial standards, and, rather than call for repeal and replace the Common Core – rebranded as the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards by his predecessor Gov. Jan Brewer (R) – he has called on the Arizona Board of Education to review...

U.S. Senator John McCain’s wife Cindy has joined in an intensifying fundraising effort in a Saturday hard sell for donations that comes as the incumbent, some call weakened, appears to be feeling the heat from dissatisfied constituents and impending primary challengers heading into 2016. This new fundraising plea uses fear-invoking language in the first line of Cindy’s message, “The challenges facing our nation right now are grave.” Moving on, the message suggests Senator McCain is the “tough leader” who isn’t “afraid to do what is necessary” in correcting the wayward path of America. Potential McCain primary challenger Arizona State Senator...

At least 2,000 jobs will likely be lost in New Mexico’s oil and gas industry in the coming months because of sharp declines in the price of crude oil, according to estimates by the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

Rising star in Arizona, State Senator Kelli Ward, took time out of her busy late season legislative schedule to give Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle an exclusive interview on the weekly Breitbart News Saturday radio program. Buzz over fresh political leader Ward grows daily with talk that she is the “David” considering taking on threatened political “Goliath,” U.S. Senator John McCain, in the 2016 primary election. Ward started out telling Boyle she’s “still in the consideration phase,” while she finishes out the current Arizona legislative session. She said this week she’ll be focusing her efforts on her duties in the state Senate....

Seven Southwestern states will soon be infiltrated by 1,200 military special ops personnel as part of a controversial domestic military training in which some of the elite soldiers will operate undetected among civilians. Operation Jade Helm begins in July and will last for eight weeks. Soldiers will operate in and around towns in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado where some of them wil drop from planes while carrying weapons loaded with blanks in what military officials have dubbed Realistic Military Training. ....snip....

A former CFO is now on food stamps after a video he posted on YouTube two and half ago criticizing Chick-Fil-A went viral and destroyed his career. Adam Smith, 37, was the CFO of a medical device manufacturer in Arizona, until the summer 2012, when he -- and thousands of other people -- started protesting against Chick-Fil-A for the fast-food chain’s anti-gay stance...

Wife and I, in hot tub this morning, just before dawn, caught sight of a long-duration, glorious meteor/fireball with a long tail. For us (in Eastern Arizona, White Mountains), it began at about 10 o'clock high in the NW sky and arced toward the western horizon. Lasted a good 15 seconds, very bright. Anyone else see it?

<p>PHOENIX - The suspects in a fatal brawl with police outside an Arizona Wal-Mart have been identified as a family from Idaho who had apparently been living in a vehicle in the store's parking lot for days before the melee, authorities said on Tuesday.</p>

COTTONWOOD, Ariz. — One of the nine suspects was killed. Another was shot in the stomach. All eight responding officers were injured, including one 10-year veteran who required surgery. It’s the aftermath of an all-out melee in a Walmart parking lot in Cottonwood, Arizona, a town of 11,000 people about an hour’s drive south of Flagstaff. But details are murky outside of the injury and arrest reports....

U.S. Sen. John McCain is running a “sponsored post” on Facebook with the intention of building support for a potential re-election campaign. While the intended audience is unclear, the paid post is boomeranging big time. “If I decide to stand for re-election to the United States Senate, I will give it everything I’ve got — and your continued support means a great deal to me. Please stand with me today,” the senator’s Facebook post reads.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Fifth grader Aaron Bencomo brought the Arizona Senate Education Committee to tears as he testified in support of HB2190, a bill to end Common Core in the Grand Canyon state. With his mom Kristi sitting to his left beaming with pride, Aaron decimates the “one size fits all” Common Core standards detailing how they are destroying his love of leaning as they ignore kids’ unique learning needs for the sake of conformity. I dare you not to tear up as Aaron cites from the Declaration of Independence to support his desire for the adults in the room...

Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” veteran lawmaker Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), his long time friend, is his first choice, he will support Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) if he wins the nomination for president in the 2016 election. McCain said, “If the Republicans Party nominates him, I do. He is a valued member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He and I are friendly and I think he is a very viable candidate.”

At first blush, it looks like Dick Durbin’s demagoguery did more damage than first thought, but that’s not the real issue. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham [see second update], both strong advocates for comprehensive immigration reform and usually among those looking for compromise and comity in the Senate on presidential nominations, came out foursquare against the confirmation of Loretta Lynch. In fact, McCain went so far as to declare on the Hugh Hewitt Show that “no Republican should vote for her confirmation,” given her support of Barack Obama’s executive amnesty: JM: Hugh, I know your time is short....

‘The president has his priorities so screwed up that it’s unbelievable,’ senator says... “The least of your problems are what Bibi Netanyahu said in a political campaign,” McCain said Sunday. “I think the president maybe shouldn’t like it, but thousands are being slaughtered by ISIS. The Iranians have taken over the major capitols of Lebanon, Syria, Beirut and Baghdad. It pales in significance to the situation which continues to erode throughout the Middle East, and it puts America at risk. … The president has his priorities so screwed up that it’s unbelievable...Either that or he’s delusional. I’m not sure which,”...

Options to stop a nuclear Iran are not yet limited to President Obama’s bad deal or war WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Trent Franks, R-AZ-8, today reintroduced the Sanction Iran, Safeguard America Act to impose sanctions against Iran and help safeguard America in the face of the Obama Administration’s disastrous proposed nuclear deal with Iran.“As the self-perpetuating negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program drag on, it is time for a moment of clarity,” said Sen. Cruz. “It is time to tell the American people the truth. These talks are not going to prevent the Islamic Republic...