Free Republic

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.

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,”...

Conservatives are seething after an outside group aligned with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) spent hundreds of thousands of dollars targeting a trio of Republican lawmakers over threats to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Tea Party Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) equated the attack ads to GOP “cannibalism,” while his conservative colleague Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) called them a “stupid” tactic that would backfire. American Action Network, a nonprofit whose board includes former Boehner chief of staff Barry Jackson, launched the $300,000 ad campaign earlier this month with TV spots depicting terrorists and accusing GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Tim...

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...

Republican 2016 hopeful Gov. Scott Walker (WI) is headlining a Leadership Series event for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry on March 25 at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown. The event will be hosted by radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt and will feature welcoming remarks by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R). According to the Chamber’s press release, the event is the first of the Leadership Series luncheons that feature “prominent political leaders from around the country who are considering a run for the White House.” Regarding Walker, the Chamber says, “Job growth has marked Walker’s tenure, with Wisconsin adding...

Kelli Ward, a physician and state senator in Arizona, says she might challenge Sen. John McCain in the state’s Republican primary next year. In recent weeks, Ward has been busy meeting with national conservative groups that back challengers to Republican incumbents while trying to determine if she could raise enough money to mount a credible campaign. In a Thursday interview with The Daily Caller, Ward argued that McCain, who is 78, would be vulnerable in a Republican primary. She suggested she would contrast herself with the longtime senator over his support for comprehensive immigration reform. Here is a transcript of...

Yesterday, Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin took to the floor of the senate and accused the Republican caucus of institutional racism over the postponement of a vote confirming Loretta Lynch as the next attorney general.

Dina Galassini is an unexpected champion of the First Amendment. Dina lives in Fountain Hills, Arizona, a quiet suburb in the metro-Phoenix area that is made up of mostly retired residents who love golf, good weather, and great views. But a champion she is, and it all started with a simple email. In 2011, there was a bond election in the town of Fountain Hills. Dina opposed the bond measure and emailed 23 friends and acquaintances asking them to join her in opposing the measure by writing letters to the editor and forwarding her email to their friends. She also...

Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio, who bills himself "America's Toughest Sheriff," and his chief deputy offered on Tuesday to accept civil sanctions for contempt of court, ahead of a hearing next month in a federal court in Phoenix. U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow ordered the four-day hearing, which could lead to penalties, such as fines or jail time for six-time sheriff Arpaio, four other individuals, and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Police in Mesa, Ariz., say they are looking for an active shooter following reports on multiple shooting victims at several locations in the city. Mesa Police Dept. @MesaPD Follow Working active shooting scene 1600 w main st. Avoid the area. Main at westbound closed in that area. 9:56 AM - 18 Mar 2015

PHOENIX (Reuters) - One person was shot and killed and five others were injured in a shooting on Wednesday that unfolded across multiple locations in Mesa, Arizona, the Arizona Republic newspaper reported on its website.

An Arizona sheriff known for crackdowns on illegal immigration has acknowledged that he violated federal court orders in a racial profiling case. Lawyers for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and top aide Jerry Sheridan said in papers filed late Tuesday that their clients agree they have committed civil contempt of court. They asked a judge to call off hearings next month to examine the violations. The judge would decide whether to cancel the hearings. Among the violations was a court order that barred Arpaio's deputies from detaining people based solely on the suspicion that they're in the country illegally. The...

WASHINGTON – Local law enforcement must be involved in securing “the rural parts of the Southwest border,” which is still dangerously insecure, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels told a Senate panel Tuesday. “Sheriffs are a direct voice of trust in their respective counties so I think it’s important that we continue that voice with the sheriffs,” said Dannels, who told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee not to “ignore us.” Dannels’ testimony came during a two-hour hearing that brought residents and officials from Texas and Arizona to Washington to share their “perspectives from outside the Beltway” on Southwest...

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, are both leaving the door open to running for office someday. CBS News asked the couple in a Friday interview if they harbor political ambitions and would consider running for election. “Maybe,” said Giffords. "You never say never," added Kelly. "It's not something I have planned. You know, right circumstances, I might consider it."

House Bill 2368, introduced by Republican Representative Bob Thorpe of Flagstaff, Arizona, was passed this Wednesday by the Arizona House. House Bill 2368 seeks to bar the state of Arizona from funding any executive orders issued by President Obama, or policy directives issued by the Department of Justice. According to the Arizona State Legislature website, the bill includes the following provisions: "1. Prohibits this state or any of its political subdivisions from using any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with an executive order issued by the President of the U.S. that has not been affirmed by...

FORT HUACHUCA — Defending against love when it is part of a scam is what soldiers have to do, along with watching out for more personal identity attacks against them. In a February release of reports gathered in 2014, and published by the Federal Trade Commission, two of the 102 pages dealt with statistics involving America’s armed forces. Fort Huachuca Spokeswoman Tanja Linton said, just like the nation’s civilian community, service members — men and women — and their families are targets of scammers. In the FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, the Army, which is the largest service in...

Of the many people I've met over the last two years who are opponents of an Article V Convention of States to Propose Amendments to the Constitution, one of my greatest regrets is that there are many with whom I would most likely agree on virtually every other issue in modern-day political discourse. Many of them, however, almost proudly admit that their positions on a COS are rooted in a decades-old fear of the unknown and an inability to trust their fellow citizens, while most COS proponents put their faith in stringent, new safeguards and an optimistic view of the...

The conservative Club For Growth released its annual scorecard for 2013 on Monday, bestowing two Republican U.S. senators — Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah — and four GOP congressmen with 100 percent ratings for their voting records “based on issues relating to limited government and economic growth.”The four congressmen with perfect ratings for 2013 are Republican Reps. Matt Salmon, Trent Franks and David Schweikert of Arizona and Tom McClintock of California. Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan got a 99 percent rating in 2013 “but because of rounding has a 100 percent LifeScore,” the group said.“2013 saw...